Understand your customer to successfully market your small business
By Dr. Leslie Roberts | September 3, 2010
“I’m starting a social media consulting business – I want to sell my services to other businesses. Can you give me some clear selling strategies that I should use?”
Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customer – what do you think they need to know about you and your company to buy from you? There are usually three things your potential customers need to know whether you’re selling social media services or ballpoint pens:
- How is this going to help my business? (What’s In It For Me?)
- Why should I buy from you? (Credibility)
- Prove it. (Facts)
If you can give that information to your customer – with gusto – you’ll close the sale.
More proven selling tactics for small business
In addition to the three points of knowledge above, here are a few other proven tactics in successful sales and marketing:
- Customers buy from people they like.
- Customers buy from people who understand their needs.
- Customers like to buy “remarkable” products and services, not ordinary.
- Customers want to know what makes you “remarkable” – so tell them.
- Customers like to be heard – so listen.
- Customers will have objections – learn to respectfully respond to every objection.
Bottom line in sales and marketing? Know your target market, understand their needs, be remarkable, deliver remarkable, each and every time. You’ll be a winner.
Topics: Small Business Tips and Advice | No Comments »
Tip of the Month: Working from Home
By Mary-Kate Handforth | September 1, 2010
It sounds like the holy grail of employment options. Whether you’re working from home one or two days a week or self-employed with a home based business, working from the house sounds appealing for most people. Think about it. There’s no commute, you’ll save time and gas money, you don’t need to get dressed up, you can get the laundry done – what’s not to love?
Check out a few tips about working from home to help you decide if it works for you, and make the most of it.
Set some office hours. Just like you show up for work at the same time every day and leave at the same time every day, plan to do this when you work from home. Of course one of the bonuses of working from home is that these office hours are more flexible, but if you don’t plan to work, it won’t get done.
Likewise if you don’t plan an end time, you may keep working until you have everything done. The catch for most entrepreneurs is that the to-do list will keep on growing. Making time for family, friends and creative pursuits is important for yourself, which makes it important for your business too.
Leave your personal life in the living room and your work life in the office space. Keeping your work life and personal life separate is tricky when you work from home. Setting some physical boundaries for different activities can help.
Think about communication. How will you communicate for your business? Email, telephone and online communication like Skype can make it possible for you to work nearly anywhere, but there is no substitute for face to face communication. Make a point to get out of your house and talk to people for work whenever you can. This will help you avoid pouncing on your significant other when they come home from work in an effort to connect with a live human being. Trust me – they’ll appreciate it if you take a walk over to the coffee shop and chat up the barista sometime before the end of the work day!
Setting up a strategy to manage your tasks, time, and communication will help you with a smooth transition into working from home, along with boosting your productivity. Like anything in business, plan for success!
Have you got any tips for working from home? We’d love to hear them!
Topics: Small Business Tips and Advice | No Comments »
Promoting social entrepreneurship among women in Saudi Arabia
By Samantha Garner | August 27, 2010
At GoForth Institute, we’re strong proponents of entrepreneurship education in developing countries. It’s a great way to help people create sustainable growth in their communities.
For this reason, we were excited to come across a blog post on Babson College’s site, talking about The US-Saudi Women’s Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, their partnership with The Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College, Dar Al Hekma College, and ICF International. In this one-year program, young women from Saudi Arabia were taught all the skills they need to become social entrepreneurs. They learned about social entrepreneurship, developing leadership skills and how to create business plans. They then launched their business ideas with the support of the program.
Watch the video on Babson College’s blog for more info on this great initiative to support women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia.
Topics: Entrepreneurship News | No Comments »
Entrepreneurs play a critical role in developing countries
By Samantha Garner | August 19, 2010
In GoForth Institute’s August newsletter, we examine the role of entrepreneurs in developing countries and what obstacles they must overcome. Entrepreneurs are vital to ensuring the sustainable success of their communities. However, in developing countries, they must contend with lack of access to funding, lack of small business education and lack of supportive infrastructure. But it’s not all doom and gloom! In our newsletter, we talk about how entrepreneurs in developing countries can make their particular environment work for their businesses rather than against.
We also highlight Peru’s Manchay Alto farming community:
Founded in 2004, the Foundation builds sustainable communities in developing countries through Life Resource Centres. According to the Foundation’s website, these centres “serve the communities by providing training and opportunities in economic infrastructure, health, education, and financial services in the region.”
One such Life Resource Centre is currently underway in the community of Manchay in Peru. Approximately 190,000 people live in this semi-rural community and 42% of them live in poverty. Over half of the homes in the Manchay community are built from wood and reed, with dirt floors. None of the homes have running water, sewage systems or electricity. The centre is training local farmers in entrepreneurship programs, helping them to diversify their product and improve lives in their communities.
Join us in the August newsletter and read about how the Manchay farmers are using small business skills to create sustainable, positive change in their communities!
Topics: GoForth Institute News, Small Business Tips and Advice | No Comments »
CRM software is not created equal
By Dr. Leslie Roberts | August 13, 2010
When it comes to customer relationship management – or CRM – you need to be organized and on the ball. In this day and age, we turn to technology solutions more often to help us in our businesses. At GoForth Institute, we love technology, but can’t stress enough how important it is to plan first, implement technology second. And not just any technology – the right technology for your needs.
A few years ago, Computerworld published a great article about choosing the right CRM software for your small business. The article asked small business owners exactly why we use the CRM software we do – is it because your business has always used it? Did you get a discount from a salesperson? Is it the one your competitors use? Ask these questions about any other system or process your business has and you can see why they aren’t necessarily the best reasons for making a small business decision.
So – how do you choose the right CRM software for your small business? All software is not created equal. The article stresses the importance of finding CRM software that works for your business, not making your business work for your software. Take the time to understand what exactly your small business needs out of customer relationship management software. Do you need email newsletter dissemination? Does it need to be web-based? Are sales reports necessary? Once you’ve narrowed down your choices to one or two, take advantage of trial periods to test out your software. And we recommend walking away if there is no trial period available – investing in your business should always be done with as much information as possible.
The Computerworld article has a list of great questions to ask CRM software vendors – titled “Grilling Your CRM Vendor” (figuratively, not literally). Click here and scroll down to the bottom of the article. These are valuable answers to have in choosing the right customer relationship management software for your business. Knowledge is power. Happy hunting!
Topics: Small Business Tips and Advice | 1 Comment »
