• Improving enquiries – being creative in generating enquiries is the secret to customer attraction. The coffee shop offering a free muffin will win over the coffee shop next door without the free muffin. Find a point of difference… ask yourself “what will make a customer choose me over my competitor?” And when you find your unique selling proposition shout it out in every way you can possibly think of.
• Improving the conversion of those enquiries – after all the cost and effort of attracting a customer it’s now up to you to sell them something. You need to answer every objection, have a strong risk reversal guarantee with a product and service range for all their needs. Often this area can be dramatically improved in many businesses. I ask businesses what they believe their conversion rate to be and they usually say around 50%… They are always shocked when they start to measure it and it is less than 20%. This is a good thing though, as it leaves lots of room for improvement!
• Improving the average transaction size – your total sales over the last year divided by the amount of transactions will give you your average transaction size.

Your Headshot

According to PhotoFeeler.com, if you don’t want to look out of touch, you must have a modern headshot. That means not only having a photo that actually looks like you, but your pose and the background can have a huge impact on your credibility.

Your Bio

When was the last time you read your own bio or professional profile? What’s changed since it was first uploaded to your Web site? What impact have you had in your work that you have neglected to share?

Your Social Media Profiles

Just as I stated above, these mini bios need to be current and relevant to your audience. Offer specific examples of your skills, experience, and the type of clients you work with or want to work with.

Your Offers

Take a hard look at what you’ve been selling over the past year. What sold well and what didn’t? If something has not sold well, such as a specific program or workshop you’ve been offering, is it time to enhance it or scrap it altogether? It may be time to step out of your comfort zone and create something new and exciting to make you stand out this year.

List Building

The first step in determining how to segment the referrers is to review that pre-show attendee list. Generally, referrers are more difficult to select by title than decision-makers, but sometimes you can use your industry experience to determine relevant selection criteria. Many of the pre-show lists will have “industry type” or some similar field you can select from; possibly your company has better luck in targeting leads by geography, so you can select in that fashion.

If the pre-show list has very few fields to select from, and you are promoting to a referrer base, then you may want to consider an alternative channel to deliver your offer to your prospects. You might place an ad in the trade show guide attendees receive, or produce a stand-alone insert to be placed inside the bags attendees are given. Or, you might purchase a sponsorship package which includes point-of-show signage.

Once you select your audience, you need to choose your offer. For the referrer, we recommend you utilize the chance to win a physical product via a drawing, rather than the guaranteed gift in exchange for the person’s time.

There are many giveaways out there, and about half of them are oriented … Read the rest

One of the main problems with starting a roofing business is the skills needed to be able to successfully put a new roof on a house. Another problem is that these skills are usually not taught in any school, so you have to find someone that is experienced in this area, and mentor under them for some time before you are able to perform the task on your own. Good employees can also be very hard to find to work in the roofing business. The job is very demanding, and has to be performed in extreme heat and extreme cold, so it takes a special type of person to be tough enough to perform this job.

As if these problems were not bad enough, another obstacle to starting a roofing business is trying to acquire enough capital to get started. Since many of these roofing businesses fail for the reasons above, banks and other lenders are sometimes wary about loaning money to a startup roofing business. Even if you are one of the lucky roofing businesses to get funded, you still have the problem of developing a customer base. Many consumers will not hire a roofing business unless they have … Read the rest

It’s Getting Louder

The music was getting louder and louder as I approached the parking lot. It was coming from across the street. It was an automobile dealership, Mock’s Ford, and it was alive with action. There was a band playing, with folks of all ages dancing to the music, a barbecue filling the area with its popular aroma, and yes, people were buying cars. The excitement and activity drew me like a magnet to metal.

In front of the sales office, a local radio station, Cruisin’-FM, was conducting a live-remote broadcast allowing all in attendance to be involved. I located the dealership president, Don Carr, and during our chat he told me that they had sold almost as many cars so far that weekend as they usually sell in a month. To top it off he said, “We’re not giving these cars away.” Carr created a weekend partnering alliance with his community and won big.

And Still Making a Profit

How would you like to sell your products at that rate and still make a profit? You might be saying, “That’s great for selling cars, but what about me?” The answer is to get involved with your community in … Read the rest

Commercial mortgage borrowers should seek out long-term commercial mortgage loans that are not subject to recall or balloon payments. Commercial properties should not be financed with short-term funds. It is essential to obtain long-term financing of at least 15-20 years (and longer is even better). This is a prime example of using contingency planning to help commercial borrowers adapt to unknown future circumstances. Commercial borrowers should expect to encounter higher interest rates for longer-term financing (when compared to short-term traditional bank loans). However, most commercial borrowers will be pleasantly surprised when they see lower monthly payments in spite of a higher rate. The resulting improvement in positive cash flow can be the critical difference that creates a truly successful business investment.

Commercial real estate loans under one million dollars should be assumable. This strategy is primarily about flexibility and providing for a more orderly transfer of a business to someone else in the future. It is also an example of using contingency planning to select a commercial lender by anticipating future circumstances and selecting a commercial real estate loan that will help a commercial borrower adapt to those circumstances.

Seller seconds and other variations of subordinate financing should be allowed. … Read the rest