Small Business Profit Boosters
« Previous EntriesProfits Hidden In Your Business: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#15)
There is money hidden in your business. Money that you could be using. Money that, unless you do something about it, will slip through your fingers and vanish without a trace.
Where is this money – and how do you get it?
Most businesses have many hidden opportunities for discovering “windfall profits” – but I want to focus on just one of those opportunities in this article.
That “opportunity pocket” is: marketing and advertising.
In my experience, almost every business – whether it be retail, service, professional practice, or “business to business” in its nature – is unconsciously letting profits slip away.
Your biggest opportunity most likely lies hidden inside your underperforming sales copy (copy that isn’t selling as many units/contracts/ memberships as it potentially could be).
If you want to make more sales without spending a single dime in additional ad costs, this article might be the most important document you read this year...
Market Offline to Build Online Lists: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#14)
One of the biggest challenges in building your online business is to build a large e-mail list.
A list of prospects and buyers that you can use as a foundation for your online business.
It's harder than ever to build e-mail lists online, as customers are more reluctant to opt in for free e-zines (or other mailing lists) than ever before.
What's the best way to build an e-mail list? Rest assured, e-mail marketing is just as important now as it ever has been, and perhaps even moreso. So what do you do?
“Dumbing Down” Gets More Sales: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#13)
Have you ever read a website and it just seemed to “stiff” or “formal” to you?
Or you felt like they were talking over your head, using a lot of buzzwords and lingo you didn’t understand?
Me too.
That leads to this little tip that will REALLY help your copy make more sales (or generate more leads, or whatever you need it to do)…
Keep it simple! Yes, even “dumb it down”.
Copy should read like conversation; it should flow naturally and be easy to listen to (or read).
Google Helps Start Your Online Business: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#12)
I hear from so many people who feel overwhelmed by the complexity of starting an online business.
There are only a few simple things you need to get started making money with your own internet-based business.
It’s not complicated, really.
Let me break it down for you. I’ll tell you the basic items you need, and Google can tell you the rest (just search for information on the areas where your knowledge is weak or incomplete). Here’s what you need:
Test Your Marketing Quickly, Easily, and Free: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#11)
I get a lot of questions from clients and students and people who read my blog asking, “How do I get started testing and tracking? I know I should be split-testing and tracking my sales copy, but I don’t know how!”
“And how about Taguchi testing - do I have to use that, too? What about multivariate testing?” The questions go on and on in this often-confusing subject!
Now for the good news: split-testing is easy! By using simple, yet sophisticated, split-testing techniques, you can increase your conversions and gain more business.
Forge the Links That Strengthen Sales: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#10)
Every piece of your website is a link in the sales chain.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
One way to get quick sales boost is: find the weak or broken links in your sales process and strengthen or repair them. And almost every website has at least a few week or broken links. I’m not just talking about hyperlinks, here… I’m talking about any crucial part of the sales process. Here are some examples of things you might want to do:
Market by the Numbers: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#9)
If you’re business is not producing the online sales and profits you want, knowing only four crucial numbers can instantly show you where the problem is.
And how to fix it.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Visitors: how many people show up to your website each month? You can track these easily in your web hosting account, or you can use a service like Google Analytics.
Market by the Calendar: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#8)
We live by the calendar.
Our year is marked by signposts.
Dates on the calendar around which we plan our annual journey.
In the USA, some of the major calendar signposts include:
• New Year’s Day
• SuperBowl Sunday
• Valentine’s Day
• St. Patrick’s Day
• Easter
• Memorial Day
• Mother’s Day
• Father’s Day
• Independence Day
• Back to School
• Labor Day
• Halloween
• Veteran’s Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
There are many others, of course, and your list will vary depending on your cultural and religious background.
Know Your Lines: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#6)
Every day you and your employees come into contact with your customers.
For most companies this is a disaster.
Every contact with your prospects and customers is either an opportunity, or a problem. There is no in between.
Question: why do we leave these interactions to chance?
We all instinctively know there is usually a “best way” to answer the phone, greet a customer, run an interview, or deal with a customer service issue.
Yet we (and more frighteningly, our employees) do absolutely nothing to prepare for these interactions. What if you changed that?
Magic Power Gets Anyone To Do Anything: 21 Small Business Profit Boosters (#5)
As marketers and entrepreneurs, we have a simple job.
To get other people to do what we want them to do.
There is a tactic that gives almost magical powers of persuasion.
You can, quite simply, get practically anyone to do practically anything.
It’s so simple you’ll be tempted to shrug it off.
Don’t.
Here it is…
“Enter the conversation already taking place in your prospect’s mind.”
As far as I know, that idea originated with Robert Collier. It’s a simple principle, but not easy to do. So how do you do it?
« Previous Entries
