small business

You must begin determining the customer's Price Tolerance Ratio, early in the prospecting and sales process or you will waste time chasing customers you ultimately do not want...

Every customer has a price range where they are willing to make a decision without any further thinking. I refer to this as the Price Tolerance Ratio – also known as the PTR.

A businessman who was rushed off his feet said, "Strategic planning? No time for that." How true - he was overwhelmed and the reason that he was so busy is precisely that he had chosen not to undertake a strategic planning process. It is like the chicken and the egg - business owners are too busy to consider any planning yet without planning they will stay overwhelmed. To be clear; busy is not the same as successful or profitable.

The first impressions are in.  The overwhelming consensus is that Google+, the new social network and Facebook competitor is gaining traction and has the potential to be relevant in social networking on the web.  In fact, these last few weeks have seen many updates and innovations from Google which are for the most part being well received. 

Some of the Recent Innovations Since the Launch

Your ability to be professional and appreciative in listening to what the customer shares with you will help ensure you have a good relationship going forward with that person.

My mom always used to tell me how we learn more in life from our failures than we do from our successes, yet for too many of us in sales this concept doesn't seem to sink in.

One of the most important social media decisions that needs to be made is who will be the voice that represents the company and brand.

A big part of online promotion is creating content that can be shared.  This includes email newsletters, article submissions, press release distribution, and blog post writing.  Social media is a great place to share this high quality content once it has been created.  Social media is important for numerous reasons.  It helps to build a brand and improves SEO.  Businesses are realizing that it’s not just a fad and that it’s time to get involved, if they haven’t already.  One of the most important decisions that needs to be made is who will be the social media voice that represents the company and brand.

It’s the little things in business that can mean the difference between success and failure, especially at the small business level. A prime example is customer service. What were once simple courtesies — offering a credit card processing option for all purchases and following up with customers to make sure they’re satisfied with their purchase — are now basic consumer expectations.

Everyone wants to be at the top. Similar to many new website owners that believed owning a website meant business would subsequently be automatic, the majority of executives and business owners purchasing SEO believe that being at the top means their business will flourish, have thousands of visitors and hundreds of new orders. They rely heavily on the inaccurate data provided by third party SEO tools, Google Adwords Keyword Research and Keyword Tracker.

It is important to learn how to increase focus when working online since there are many distractions to contend with that decrease your work productivity! In order to have a profitable business on the internet your work efficiency must remain at a high level since in most cases you are working alone! Therefore any way in which you can better focus your efforts will contribute to the increase in work productivity you want and need!

Today's lending environment poses many challenges especially to small business loans owner. Just a few short years ago, many small business owners were flush with cash and revenues seemed to be steadily increasing. As a result of good cash flows, many business owners neglected their banking relationships and selected to self finance capital acquisitions in lieu of debt.