10 Sales Blunders No Entrepreneur Should Ever Make |  |
- 10 Sales Blunders No Entrepreneur Should Ever Make
- Google Plus Introduces Embedded Posts
- How Does WorkZone Stack Up? A Review
- Walmart Offers Smartphone Trade-In Program
- 10 Tips for Preventing Online Credit Card Fraud
- Learning from the Best: Social Marketing Habits of 6 Power Users
| 10 Sales Blunders No Entrepreneur Should Ever Make Posted: 12 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT
To be an entrepreneur you must make sales. Your business cannot survive without them. Most businesses flounder not because of a bad idea or because of a lack of sustainable demand for products and services. Instead, they fail because of a lack of proper marketing and sales efforts. Marketing is a multichannel endeavor while sales has just one purpose: to bring in more client and customers. The ability to sell isn't taught in school and it doesn’t come with most college degrees. No wonder entrepreneurs struggle to keep the revenue coming in. Sales Blunders You Should Never Make1. Start Without a PlanSelling should be a planned and organized effort. You can't take chances with success. The trick is to work backwards. A 5-year revenue goal breaks down into an annual revenue goal, which then breaks down to a monthly goal, a weekly goal, and eventually a daily target. Let's say you plan to bring in $100,000 in revenue in 5 years. It works out as follows:
The point is that by calculating the revenue you need by day week, month and year will help you plan realistic sales goals to deliver what you need. 2. Lack the Proper ToolsIf you are in business, you have to sell. Make sure you have the right tools to help you accomplish this. You'll need customer relationship management tools to handle your ongoing interactions with customers, clients and prospects. This will help you keep track of sales, leads and when a followup is needed. And you'll need technology that lets you access information on the run and check on data about your clients at a glance. It’s also almost mandatory these days to have a website allowing people to learn quickly and easily what you do and how you can help them. Having said that, the most important tools you can take with you is your presence of mind, wit, and a sense of humor. 3. Talk Instead of ListeningThe first rule in sales is to listen to your customers. Say hello. Sit across the table. Ask questions. Sit back and listen. In time, you'll get the opportunity to suggest, talk, recommend, and explain. Until then, try to listen to what your clients have to say. Ask them what troubles them? What keeps them up at night? What are their biggest problems? How much does solving those problems mean to them and their businesses? Sales isn’t always about making a pitch. Sometimes all you have to do is to listen and then ask. 4. Waste Time on the DetailsWhen you get the opportunity to talk, explain, recommend, suggest or show off your expertise, don't make the usual mistake of launching into gory details of how your solutions work. For instance, when helping to create a digital marketing plan, don't bother explaining how AdWords works, how social media works, and how link-building, or blogging outreach programs work. Clients aren’t paying for explanations. They are paying for solutions. So don’t give them details they don’t want or need. Tell them how you can solve their problems. It’s the only answer the really care about. 5. Take No for an AnswerCountless sales opportunities are lost when entrepreneurs simply take no for an answer. But what prospects are really saying is that they don’t understand how a new solution can help them. They lack the experience to see the value you offer. In the digital marketing example above, a potential client might say:
At this point many entrepreneurs might give up. What’s the point, they ask themselves. They’re not interested. But instead, why not answer their objections? For instance, as a response to the statements above, you might say:
Never back off. Never allow clients to push you away with unreasonable responses. 6. Belittle CompetitorsNever, ever bad mouth the competition. It reeks of insecurity, and it tells the client that you aren't sure of yourself, your products and your business. Instead, when asked about the competition, you might politely say something like:
7. Ignore the "One Call, Three Referrals" RuleYour sales meeting with a potential client might end in a variety of ways. First, of course, you might make the sale. But, if not, the meeting may result in an opportunity to meet again in the future. It might also end with an opportunity to collect some possible referrals if the potential client says emphatically they aren’t interested in your service. As an entrepreneur and leader of your business, it is your responsibility that on of these three outcomes occurs. So be sure to ask for one of the three before you leave a sales meeting. 8. Forget to Follow UpStatistically, only one out ten potential clients will buy from you after the first meeting or conversation. For the rest you will need to do followups. Forgetting to do followups with these people is leaving money on the table. Be sure to schedule meetings with these potential clients to speak again about your product or service. Again, thinking statistically, if you met 10 clients every single business day for twenty days out of the month, you'd be talking with with 200 potential clients. Assuming only 10% of these clients buy from you, that leaves a list of 180 clients each month or 2,160 clients a year representing a huge additional sales potential. 9. Refuse to Do Right By a ProspectThere are times a prospect wants products or services you don’t offer. Other times your price is simply too high to fit a potential client’s budget. You see the client still has a problem, but you can’t profit from solving it. Some would say it’s time to walk away. But wait. Aren’t there companies that gave you referrals even after they told you they couldn’t use your services? How do you feel about these companies today? So why not bring in a competitor who can solve the prospects problems? You won’t be losing an opportunity. You will be making a friend. 10. Say Yes to a Deal You’ll Live to RegretThere are times when a client wants something unethical, requests that you do some work for free, asks for inappropriate personal and professional favors or tries to talk you down in price beyond what you can afford. Don’t say yes just to make a sale. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Which of these blunders have you been guilty of? Mistake Photo via Shutterstock The post 10 Sales Blunders No Entrepreneur Should Ever Make appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Google Plus Introduces Embedded Posts Posted: 12 Sep 2013 01:30 PM PDT Google Plus added an embedded post feature this week, following the lead of social media rivals Twitter and, more recently Facebook. For social media marketers and networkers embedded posts can be a way of extending the shelf-life of the typical social media post. For bloggers and website publishers, it is a way to share your social media content directly on your site. It also offers a way to curate content from various sources on a single page or in a post. How to Embed a Google Plus PostDirections for using the new embed feature can be found on the official Google Developers blog. To embed a post, find the downward pointing arrow icon in the upper right hand corner of the post you want to share. Select “embed” on the pull down menu and a dialog box should open with the embed code inside. Copy the code and place it into the HTML of your site where you would like the post or posts to appear. For the adventurous, the Google Developers blog offers some more advanced approaches for embedding a Google Plus post on a website and gives some examples. How the Google Plus Embed Posts Feature ComparesLike Twitter, Google seems to have designed its social media embed feature primarily as a way to draw website visitors back to the Google Plus page. By contrast, the Facebook embed feature seems focused on projecting posts beyond Facebook’s main site onto other publishing platforms including blogs. As with the Facebook feature, Google Plus allows videos to play within the embedded post on a publisher’s website. You can also follow, comment on, and “+1″ an embedded post. But clicking on an image will take the visitor back to Google Plus. And, most importantly, as with Twitter, there seems to be no way for visitors to share the embedded post on their websites without returning to Google Plus for the embed code. By contrast, Facebook allows visitors to grab the code directly from the embedded post, something that may ultimately make Facebook’s embedded posts much more shareable. Time will tell. Do you see value in embedding posts from your or someone else’s Google Plus account on your blog or website? The post Google Plus Introduces Embedded Posts appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| How Does WorkZone Stack Up? A Review Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT
Basecamp is often at the top of lists when it comes to a web-based, collaborative project management tool. I've always loved its simplicity and the fact that little to zero training in the actual software is necessary in order to get things moving. At the same time, I've found that they often err on the side of oversimplifying, and there are a few features I'd really like to have in my toolkit. That said, I wasn't looking to adopt a complex tool like MS Project either. I recently heard about WorkZone, which is supposed to offer a bit more flexibility, and I thought I'd give it a try. To cut right to the spoiler alert, I was impressed. While the learning curve is a bit steeper than Basecamp's for administrators, the additional features are worth it. Better still, admins get the ability to shut off features they don't want to use, keeping the learning curve as short as possible for team members. WorkZone: The BasicsThe WorkZone interface is simple for everyday use by your team members. The top menu is free of clutter and intuitive to understand:
Admins will be spending a bit of time in "Setup," but most team members will be doing most of their work from the "Project Tracker" tab. They will land on that page as soon as they log in, and it's delightfully simple to look at. In the top left, they see this:
As you can see, they can easily switch views to see a list of tasks everybody's working on, see it as a Gantt chart, see a list of products, or look at any recent activity that the team has been up to. The Task list takes center stage, and it's pretty self-explanatory, as this screenshot shows:
You can easily see who is responsible for what, and when projects and their tasks are due. The status column lets you know if something has fallen behind. The red comment balloons in the PROJECT/TASK column pictured above, let you know that there are new comments to look at. To see the comments, all you have to do is click on the task to open them up and see them:
This interface makes it clear when new comments are in the system, and makes it simple to add comments to tasks, projects, and documents whenever it makes sense. Users receive email updates when comments are added to ensure that the messages don't get missed. You'll also see a blue "email" button on almost every screen that you can use to keep in touch. If you set it up as an admin, the users will also get automatic email alerts about upcoming tasks and more. (We'll get to that in a minute). Some might complain that this interface is a bit stripped down, but I actually like it that way. It removes the clutter of social networks and focusses on the two most important things: who is talking and what they are talking about. This screen also directs users straight to any documents they need, and project or task information. Once they've completed a task, all they need to do is return to the Task List, click the box in the status column, and mark it as complete: What I really love about all of this is how simple the interface is. It would take little or no training to teach your team to use this interface. The other key section for your team is the "reports" tab. If I had one complaint with WorkZone, it would be that the sidebar looks a bit more intimidating than it actually is. These reports give you all the same information that you can find in the Task List, but make it easy to sift through the information to find something specific. This reports area is one of the features that some other platforms out there could really use, but that they have neglected for fear of cluttering their interface. I personally think it's worth the trade-off. The most useful feature here is the "To-do list" which your team members can use to see what they have ahead of them. This is the same information they're getting from the task list, but meant specifically for them. If you enable it, they can also use it to see what other team members are working on. Reports like these are what make WorkZone especially helpful when you're dealing with a large number of people and projects, where it starts to get difficult to determine who is doing what and when. And if you’re wondering about price, it starts at $200 per month. Benefits of This Project Management ToolSo, in the big picture of things, what is WorkZone useful for? All in all, I would say WorkZone is most suitable for entrepreneurs and managers who want something relatively simple, but who are looking for a few more capabilities than other collaborative platforms that have stripped down their interfaces. For example:
Putting it all together, I wouldn't necessarily make the controversial claim that WorkZone is better than Basecamp — but I would say that it's a better choice for entrepreneurs and managers who are dealing with something fairly complicated, but who still want a simple, collaborative interface in their project management tool. The post How Does WorkZone Stack Up? A Review appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Walmart Offers Smartphone Trade-In Program Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:00 AM PDT
There’s now another new program to turn your working smartphones into credit towards purchase of newer models. If you have used iPhones, Samsung phones or one of more than a hundred other qualifying smartphones hanging around the office, it may be time to collect them. Less than two weeks after Apple announced expansion of its electronics recycling program to include trade-in of smartphones at its retail stores, mega retailer Walmart has followed suit. How the Walmart Trade-In Program WorksWalmart says its new smartphone trade-in program set to begin Sept. 21 – the day after the recently announced iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s go on sale – will be limited to its U.S. locations. But that still includes more than 3,600 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. The retailer is trying to position itself as the most cost effective location to purchase and upgrade mobile devices. In an official announcement introducing the program, Steve Bratspies, executive vice president of general merchandise for Walmart U.S. explains:
Walmart will offer between $50 and $300 worth of store credit toward purchase of a new smartphone with a two year contract from carriers AT&T, Verizon Wireless or Sprint. The company says it will also offer credit for smartphones available with prepaid plans like StraightTalk. To participate, take used smartphones to an associate in the electronics department at a local Walmart or Sam’s Club for evaluation. Walmart also provides credit for trade-in of used tablets, laptops and other devices through its online “gadgets to giftcards” program. Best Buy offers a similar online trade-in option for lightly used electronics devices. Image: Walmart The post Walmart Offers Smartphone Trade-In Program appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 10 Tips for Preventing Online Credit Card Fraud Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:00 AM PDT Sponsored Post
Merchants and retailers are often on the front lines of managing payment card fraud. Online businesses face a unique challenge because all purchases are made as a "card not present" transaction. But there are red flags to look out for and security measures to put in place that will help minimize losses from online credit card fraud. Steve Chou, co-founder of Bumblebee Linens, has had years of experience dealing with online credit card transactions in his e-commerce business. We reached out to him to share some of his "insider" tips and expertise, along with additional pointers. Below are 10 tips to prevent online credit card fraud: 1. Be wary of expedited shipping when billing and shipping addresses differ. When the "bill to" and "ship to" addresses are different and the customer is asking for expedited shipping, there’s a high possibility for fraud, Chou explains. Also, when the "ship to" address is not the same as the billing address for the card, you are at greater risk of it being a fraudulent transaction. Different billing and shipping addresses are not always a sure sign of fraud (for example, honest customers may order items as gifts). But for all large orders that fit this profile, always call to try to match the phone number as well. 2. Make sure IP location and credit card address match up. Chou recommends watching out for IP addresses from overseas that don’t match the address on the credit card used in a payment. You can manually research an IP address at a site like IP-Lookup.net. One way to cut down on the number of these kinds of transactions is to restrict all IP addresses that originate from countries where you don’t offer shipping. Simply program your site to prevent such visitors from checking out in the first place. Some e-commerce software platforms provide settings for you to block IP addresses, without requiring custom programming. 3. Watch out for suspicious email accounts. Some email addresses can be a dead giveaway tipping you off you’ve received a fraudulent order, says Chou. Always check the email address used when placing that order. Does it read something like bgh3423679@yahoo.com? If so, it’s a red flag. 4. Do some research on that suspect address. One way to detect a possible fraudulent credit card transaction is to research the billing address or shipping address being used for the order. Fortunately, there are tools that can make it easier to do this. Chou suggests using Google maps or Zillow to try to assess whether the address is legitimate. You can use a service such as ZabaSearch to make sure the person actually lives at the address in question or use address verification services offered by payment brands. 5. Keep a log of credit card numbers. Chou suggests keeping a log of whenever a customer tries to enter in a credit card number. If the number of times is five or higher, it’s likely to be fraud. Most credit card processors will allow you to review the batch transactions for the day. Scammers will attempt many transactions using multiple credit card numbers. Be sure to flag these. 6. Consider using a fraud profiling service. Though it may not be necessary for every online store, a fraud profiling service such as MaxMind is another option, says Chou. These services cross reference IP addresses, names, previous purchases and more. Studying per-purchase behaviors allows these companies to give you a more informed assessment around each transaction, and to identify high risk transactions. Some e-commerce platforms such as Volusion offer add-on fraud profiling services that work with their software. 7. Restrict the number of declined transactions. Chou explains when scammers try to make fraudulent transactions, sometimes this is done via a malicious software script where many credit card numbers are tried in succession. Since you may incur a fee for each declined transaction — even if it doesn't go through — the solution is to restrict the number of times a user can incorrectly enter in credit card numbers. Ban them once they exceed that number of attempted transactions. 8. Always require the Security Code. This security code is typically a three-digit number printed on the back of the card (in the case of American Express, four digits on the card front). It is not stored in the magnetic strip or embossed on the card, so it can't be as easily retrieved by thieves unless the card is in hand. This code goes by different names depending on the credit card brand: Visa calls it a CVV2, MasterCard calls it a CVC2, and American Express calls it the CID. 9. Ship your orders using tracking numbers and require signatures. A tracking number helps prove a package was delivered, of course. While this may not protect your business in the case of outright criminals, it may help if you get into a dispute with a legitimate customer who says they never received the package, but you are sure it arrived. For expensive items, always require a signature upon delivery. 10. Strengthen your website security measures. Beyond the individual credit card transaction, pay attention to the security of your entire website and e-commerce processes. Cyber attacks on small businesses are increasing, mostly because small business websites are perceived as softer targets than larger corporations. Make sure your systems and services are PCI-compliant (i.e., meeting the payment card industry's security standards for e-commerce transactions) at every step of the way. Visa and MasterCard maintain lists of certified PCI-compliant providers: Visa certified PCI-compliant providers; MasterCard certified PCI-compliant providers. The major e-commerce software platforms or shopping cart providers will have information on their websites about being PCI compliant. In addition, Visa has an animated business guide to data security that I recommend you watch. MasterCard also offers online fraud prevention training for merchants. Some e-commerce sites use a "trust mark" security service that scans daily to search for malware and vulnerabilities. Examples are Truste, Verisgn or McAfee Secure. These services help you avoid and/or catch problems quickly — in addition to increasing consumer trust. Your e-commerce software platform — especially a hosted e-commerce service — may integrate advanced security measures and handle it all for you as part of their service. Don't assume — be sure to check. No matter what software you use, always update to the latest version as it becomes available. Updates could include security patches vital to avoiding a breach of your site. One vulnerability on your server — even if it's not in your e-commerce software but in a different software program on the same server — could open a backdoor for cybercriminals to get into all your customer data and steal credit card numbers and other sensitive information. And that could cause you much greater losses and headaches than a fraudulent credit card transaction. For more information on avoiding fraud at your business and online credit card fraud, you can check out Community Merchants USA's resources online. Credit Fraud Photo via Shutterstock The post 10 Tips for Preventing Online Credit Card Fraud appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Learning from the Best: Social Marketing Habits of 6 Power Users Posted: 12 Sep 2013 02:00 AM PDT Millions of followers on Twitter, and a similar number of fans on Facebook don't just happen by accident. They are the result of doing something right. If you want to learn how to do social media marketing correctly, start by watching the leaders, the power users, if you will. Checkout their techniques and learn from the best. Social Media Power Users Marketing Habits1. Gary Vaynerchuck
Vaynerchuck is a passionate speaker, businessman, and a committed social media enthusiast. That should have been enough for us to learn from him but it doesn't end there. The man who took his family business from $3 million to $60 million in seven short years loves social media and he quips:
Speaking to Dorie Clark of Forbes.com, he explains why he re-launched his blog at VaynerMedia, his social media consulting company:
He also believes that:
Vaynerchuck’s social media strategy is all about passion. He'd stay up late into the night, "bleeding his eyes out" to produce content that delivers value. He reaches out to everyone. He is everywhere. For him, social media is all about showering extreme gratitude on the community at large. 2. Sir Richard Branson
[Image: Twitter] You'd think that the self-styled, self-made billionaire and Founder of Virgin Group wouldn't bother with social media, but he does. In fact, he is a celebrity entrepreneur who still makes time for social media in spite of having to manage more than 300 companies spread out over 30 countries with diverse business interests. Branson believes that for a brand like Virgin, social media is a natural fit. He knows, and now believes, that social media changes the way his brands engage and interact with customers. For Branson, social media is a great way to interact directly with customers, pick up feedback, and have dialogues which would have been impossible otherwise. Each of his companies also uses social media, Virgin Airlines to improve the experience of their guests, for instance. Most importantly, Branson leads by example by being authentic. He stresses that you can't force your way into the social media community. 3. Liz Strauss
Would you get on social media when you are struck down by anything remotely life threatening? Cancer threatens Strauss, but she is now reclaiming her life. On her social media channels she exudes an intense energy and positive approach to life, even when battling a life threatening disease. Strauss is the Founder of SOBCon, a high-profile business summit. She is also a social Web strategist and a prolific blogger. She is the seventh highest-ranking woman listed by Dun & Bradstreet while also being one of the most influential people on Twitter, according to The Wall Street Journal. Her success, in life and on social media, comes from the fact that she's genuine. Her influence comes from the fact that she puts her heart in everything she does. She rocks because she brings value to others. Can you do that? 4. Chris Brogan
For Chris Brogan, CEO and President of Human Business Works, a long-time social media influencer, and author, "Social Media is not a Vocation." It's all about purpose, tools, and a method. When asked in an interview for Blog Herald, Brogan reveals his secrets for success on social media. He managed to grow a community thanks to the hard work involved in shining the spotlight on others, promoting others' work, and including others as a part of the story. He also believes in choosing channels, mediums, and conduits that you find most comfortable. Just keep pushing. 5. Jeff Barrett
Barret runs Status Creative, a PR agency with a digital focus and a social engagement business. He is also a well-known social media influencer. Barret was recognized as one of the most influential Ad Execs on Twitter. He also contributes to Mashable and The Washington Times. Barret believes in trends. He runs a weekly chat on Twitter which goes by the hashtag #BareItAll on topics around PR, technology and current events. Here's what he has to say about social media:
He also believes that "social media is not a billboard, it's a conversation." Hence, he tweets back. He responds. He stays active, and ahead of the game. 6. Paul Barron
What do restaurants have to do with social media? Ask, Paul Barron and you'll know. He started a "social revolution" in the restaurant industry and the $500 billion dollar market can't get enough of him. For Barron, Founder of Fastcasual.com, the DigitalCoCo and author of Chipotle Effect, social media is an idea generator. It’s a trend mapping tool, and a strategic compass for a vast variety of information. He attributes his own success as a serial entrepreneur who started six successful media and technology companies to his effective use of social media. Paul gives to and receives from social media. He is a Top Restaurant Trendsetter on 2012, and one of the Forbes' Top 15 Social Power Influencers of 2012. Who are your favorite influencers on social media and what did you learn from them? The post Learning from the Best: Social Marketing Habits of 6 Power Users appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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[Image: Liz Strauss]
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