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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for September, 2002 ======================== ======================== The NMSDC (National Minority Supplier Development Council) Network includes a national office in New York and 38 Regional Councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including most fortune 500 companies. The Regional Councils certify and match more than 15,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations which want to purchase goods and services. http://www.nmsdcus.org The Women's Business Enterprise National Council
(WBENC) is dedicated to enhancing opportunities for women's business
enterprises in America's major business markets. In partnership
with women's business organizations throughout the United States,
WBENC provides access to a national standard of certification and
provides information on certified businesses to purchasing managers
through an Internet database - WBENCLink. http://www.womenconnect.com/wbenc ======================== “Inc. Yourself” by Judith H. McQuown
(Career Press). 297pgs, $27.99. “101 Best Home Businesses” by Dan Ramsey (Career Press), 252pgs, $14.99. ISBN: 1-56414-531-X. Want to start a business and looking for ideas. Here is a great place to start – in addition to ideas for a business there are a few pages to assist you in starting and operating the business. For each business idea (from Antique restoration service to Wedding Planner there are brief paragraphs detailing what the business is about, what you need to start, who are potential customers, what to charge, potential income, how to get started, and using a computer to increase profits. “The Commonsense Guide to Running Your Own Business” by John Aylen (JIST Publishing), 120pgs, $12.95, ISBN: 1-57112-100-5. You need to do a lot more reading than just this book to successfully operate your business but this inexpensive quick read will alert you to many useful “common sense” principles for daily operations. ======================== You’re a one-person business! What gets done is up to you – success or failures belong to you. It’s a lot of responsibility but the freedom is worth it all. Right? Right? I know, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and it seems that there is simply not enough time to do all you want to do! There is a way out of this dilemma – technology! There is little doubt that technology has allowed the small one-person businesses to flourish right under the noses of the big guys. We’re more flexible, have less inertia, provide more personal service, and respond to needs of customers. But we need to ensure that we make good use of every minute and this means thinking through the various tasks we perform and decide how technology can assist. Here are a few specific examples –no doubt you will come up with more! 1. Answering the telephone. Ah, the phone – a great tool and a great irritant. Save time by having a good answering machine (or, if absolutely necessary, an answering service). How do you spend time on the phone? If you find that you’re frequently answering the same questions consider an answering system that allows the caller to depress different numbers for various snippets of information. 2. Do you spend time driving to the local copy center? Maybe you should have your own copier or possibly a faster printer – even a color printer which are becoming very inexpensive. Think about the cost of trips in money and time when determining if you should really spend $500 on a newer, faster printer. 3. Answering questions; presenting information to clients. Necessary but time consuming. Consider the Internet. This wonderful tool is amazing. Place a listing of frequently asked questions about your product or service online; a catalog; details about your background; customer endorsements; and other details that a customer may want to view. Advertise your website just like you would advertise your telephone number. 4. Mailing and shipping. The last thing you need is to waste time in lines at the post office! Don’t do it. Get yourself a postal scale and meter (Pitney-Bowes has an inexpensive program). Use the postal service Internet site (www.usps.gov) to determine costs and the most economical ways to mail. 5. Use e-mail rather than the telephone. Much more efficient and no playing “tag.” 6. Automate you banking. Sign up for your banks internet-based services. If they don’t offer this service, look for another bank! Make every minute count! ======================== Pro-Net (http://pro-net.sba.gov) is an electronic gateway of government procurement information for small businesses. It is a marketing tool and a "link" to procurement opportunities and important information. Pro-Net is a cooperative effort between The Small Business Administration (SBA) and a number of government based minority associations. Pro-Net's database contains information on nearly 200,000 small, disadvantaged, 8(a) and women-owned businesses. It is used by federal and state government agencies as well as prime and other contractors seeking small business contractors, subcontractors and/or partnership opportunities. Pro-Net is open to all small firms seeking federal, state and private contracts. Businesses profiled on the Pro-Net system can be searched by SIC codes; key words; location; quality certifications; business type; ownership race and gender; EDI capability, etc., making it a great procurement tool. Businesses can easily include their company information (profile) via Pro-Net's website at http://pro-net.sba.gov/ by filling out a form. Once listed you will be responsible for your business profiles and other information current. Profiles are structured like executive business summaries, with specific data search fields that are user-friendly and designed to meet the needs of contracting officers and other potential users. Profiles also provide vendors an opportunity to put a controlled "marketing spin" on their businesses. Companies with "home-pages" can link their web site to their Pro-Net profile, creating a very powerful marketing tool. The Pro-Net website also provides a number of useful links to other sources of procurement opportunities. Get listed today - it's free. ======================== Use these 5 powerful buying stimulators in your ads, web pages and other sales messages to get more sales. They produce immediate results without increasing your costs. 1. CONVERT BENEFITS INTO FEELINGS People usually buy a product or service because they expect to feel a certain way after the purchase. Keep this in mind as you develop your ads, web pages and other sales tools. Use vivid word pictures to dramatize the pleasant feeling your customer will experience when enjoying the benefit produced by your product or service. The following portion of a business opportunity ad I saw recently illustrates this concept: "No boss. No schedule. No debt. Money to buy what you want and lots of time to have fun." 2. DRAMATIZE THE FEELING OF LOSS After telling your prospect what they will gain from buying your product or service, tell them what they will lose if they do not buy it. Most people fear loss more then they desire gain. Strengthen your selling appeals by reminding prospects of what they will lose if they do not buy from you. For example, the above business opportunity ad becomes more powerful by adding the following: "Or... continue building wealth for your boss while you struggle month after month just to pay your bills." 3. REDUCE PRODUCT CHOICES Promote only 1 product or service each time you advertise. Most people have difficulty selecting one product to buy when their decision forces them to delay or reject buying something else they also want. When prospects cannot make an easy choice they often make no decision at all -- and you lose the sale. TIP: Combine several products or services into one package for one price. Eliminate the difficult decision of selecting and rejecting items by not including an option to buy any items separately. You will get more sales because your prospect's buying decision is limited to a simple "yes" or "no". 4. INCREASE THE BUYING OPTIONS Offering choices of WHAT to buy reduces your sales. But offering choices of HOW to buy increases your sales. Offer many different ways for customers to buy from you. The same method is not convenient for everybody. Prospective customers are more likely to act immediately when their favorite way of ordering is available. For example, many online marketers only accept orders online. They could easily increase the number of sales they get by including options to order by phone, fax and postal mail. 5. SIMPLIFY THE BUYING PROCEDURE You get more sales when you make it easier for customers to buy from you. Look for ways to make your buying procedure easier and faster. For example, many online marketers use a shopping cart to process their orders -- even when they offer only 1 or 2 items. Don't force your customers to endure the complicated process of a shopping cart just to order 1 item. Some will abandon the process ...each one a sale you lost needlessly. Use a simple online order form instead of a shopping cart when you offer only 1 or 2 items. It generates more sales. Each of these buying stimulators will increase your sales. Start using them now in your ads, web pages and other sales messages. They will produce immediate results without increasing your costs. Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in generating low-cost leads. Contact him at BobLeduc@aol.com. Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |