by Donna Maria on December 27, 2009
This is the third in a series of posts featuring small business owners’ suggestions for things you can do to be successful in 2010.
Last week, I told you about Joan Morais, an IBN member who increased her productivity and profitability this year by hiring a virtual assistant. I also told you about Marla Bosworth, a member who doubled her 2009 sales by doing a few simple things that anyone can do. Today, I’m sharing how fragrance therapist and natural perfumer JoAnne Bassett used a free blog to beef up her business in 2009.
Of course you know from the posts in my Blogging Category that I firmly believe that anyone who wants to maximize their business opportunities needs to use a blog to do it. That’s why it gives me great pleasure to know that JoAnne is enjoying great success with her blog. Here’s how blogging helped JoAnne expand her business this year, and her suggestions for why you should launch a blog of your own, if you haven’t already done so. Continue Reading…
by Donna Maria on November 20, 2009
by Donna Maria on October 21, 2009
A salesman once told me that he had to get through an average of 11 “no” responses before he got to one “yes.” He defined “no” responses as more than just the word. Also included, he said, are things like body language (excessive fidgeting, arms folded across chest, furled brows, etc.) and being easily distracted in the middle of conversation.
A few days ago, I had a conversation with Tom Dillon (pictured), the former owner of a successful hardware store in here in Charlotte. Tom told me that, throughout his career in sales (the owner is always “in sales”), he followed very specific steps to overcome the “no” and get to the “yes” when it came to selling his products. The steps are: feel, felt, found, and here they are. Continue Reading…
by Donna Maria on August 13, 2009
Lisa Rodgers of Indie Beauty Network member Cactus and Ivy contacted me earlier this week about a fun, easy way she’s using to increase subscribers to her newsletter and expose more people to her products. It combines all of the elements that make running a small and independent business enjoyable: it’s fun, it’s easy and it produces results. Lisa is hosting a Natural Goodness Giveaway to give away $150 of her products to one lucky winner.
The products in the prize (not all pictured here) include goodies like Lisa’s Lemon Razz Reed Diffuser, Key Lime Cactus Body Wash and Spearcalyptus Body Soap. I asked Lisa to share a little about how she put this program together.
Continue Reading…
by Donna Johnson on April 4, 2009
Last Thursday's Wall Street Journal reports that many companies are starting to exchange per hour fee models for flat fee arrangements. This is certainly nothing new. When I worked in the General Counsel's Office for a Fortune 500 company 10 years ago, we insisted that service providers like publicists and attorneys work with us to create mutually beneficial flat fee arrangements.
The benefit to us was substantial savings and the ability to plan our department goals and budget without worrying about a surprise invoice at the end of the month. The benefit for our service providers was that they could be more efficient and focused with the services they provided. Unless they wanted to spend dozens of extra hours putting dozens of extra people to work on a project, they would work smarter to get it right the first time since they were not able to bill us for "do-overs."
If you provide a service, or even sell a product, over and over again to the same people, you might consider a similar flat fee arrangement. It's a simple matter in principle of agreeing to exchange what you have to offer in certain recurring amounts for a flat sum paid in advance or over a period of time at regular intervals. These types of arrangements provide a consistent and predictable revenue stream for you, and your customer saves time and money knowing exactly what he's getting each month. Flat fees for products and services are good way to do business in cases where trust has already been established and the goals of both you and your customer are clear and definable
by Donna Johnson on December 8, 2008
Mark Tewart Shares His Massive Bank Account (MBA) Secrets
Today, Indie Business Radio aired live for the first time simultaneously via audio stream, video stream and live chat. My guest, Mark Tewart, author of How to Be a Sales Superstar: Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing It, answered viewer questions immediately in the chat and viewers had fun meeting and interacting with each other. I’m so excited to elevate my shows to another level and make them more fun and useful for you. I wish I could say you could enjoy the entire show video, audio and chat at the end of this post, but I can’t because I forgot to push the video record button today. Thankfully, Kevin the Editor was capturing all of the audio so you’ll be able to enjoy the audio of the show in a few days. Meanwhile, here’s an overview.
Mark says that a traditional MBA (Master’s Degree in Business Administration) is great, but what Indies really want is the kind of MBA you can’t get in college — a Massive Bank Account. Mark shared some of his best tips on the show. Here are three of them.
Continue Reading…
Michael is a management consultant and speaker with more than twenty years in the professional services industry. He is the founder and a principle of MindShare Consulting, LLC, which helps professional services organizations design winning sales and marketing approaches.
