Blog entries tagged 'business tips'

The Cost of Marketing

60% of the 282 people I've met are eager to explore the possibilities of how e-mail marketing can give their business a boost. Unfortunately, 80% of this group thinks that it's all at the push of a button. Till today, only 20% of my clients actively engage their audiences in e-mail marketing on a regular basis. The others are still waiting for the miracle.

Marketing is extremely broad. The first investment you have to make is time. Here are some of the thing [...]

How not to waste money on your CRM*

Dasha

Our SBS CRM is very simple and basic and it mainly caters to very small business owners, sole proprietors or even agents. It is also very affordable. Yet it is money not well spent if our CRM is not used properly and that applies to any CRM out there.

The more clients use our CRM system the more I can see what kind of problems they are facing and it all comes down to the same thing - it doesn't produce what is expected if the users are not fully and properly using the tool (unle [...]

Saying 'No'

Can you imagine if you said ‘yes’ to everything? You’d be overloaded with requests and assignments that you didn’t want to begin with. There is nothing more painful that taking on work that will compromise the quality of your work, your market value and deadlines.

Most of us fear that through saying ‘no’, we may offend, hurt or feel rejected by others. However, by putting your foot down and drawing the line, you are telling people that your time is pre [...]

Outsource Your Accounting

Why? Because accounting is a useful tool for decision-making in the business world.

However, do you know understand the difference between Accounting & Bookkeeping?

Accounting is a four stage process of recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting financial statements as shown below:

[...]

The Art of Negotiation

willieyeo

Power is the ability to convince people to accept your ideas. Negotiation is a form of convincing. Power is ability. Ability is the result of practice and application. Think about these things carefully and let them sink in.

After you have, remember this one: If you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow. Sound tough? That's right--that's how negotiating to win can be.

But as an art, there are nuances and finely honed techniques and rules to be aware of. Here [...]

Kiss Cold Calling Goodbye!

No doubt that there are no guarantees in life, but you can always cover your bases and go with systems that have a higher result rate. Why not cast a wider net and invest in relationships?

Why would a prospect whom a friend referred to you, come to you instead of just picking someone randomly from the Yellow Pages? Because it is a personal recommendation and someone they know has endorsed you. It is a word-of-mouth referral.

I think we can all agree that word-of-mouth is the m [...]

3 Tips To Build Word Of Mouth (with Email)

Why Word Of Mouth?

Whatever your industry, referrals offer you the best source for sales and branding growth. The best thing about referrals is you only need just 'one' person speaking good on your behalf to start a chain reaction of publicity. The credibility of the persons speaking on your behalf add weight to your reputation.

In the context of the web, word of mouth marketing is sometimes referred to as 'viral-marketing'. Gett [...]

Do You Need Accounting Software for Your Business?

If you decide that computerizing the process then you need to decide whether to buy an accounting software package, for example MYOB or UBS, OR whether a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel, will suit your needs better.

As a general rule if you are a cash business that just needs to record income and expenditure then you are better off using a spreadsheet.

So, should you choose an accounting software package? Yes, if:

You have customers to whom you extend credit and you buy goods [...]

Use Your Voice!

Kris

In fact, most research shows that the audience pays more attention to your voice tones and body language than to the actual words you say.

Today, I will just focus on our Voice. Our Voice is such a wonderful tool!

Did you know that the tone of your voice, its pitch, speed and clarity all contribute to making a good impression? It’s so true. When we begin to speak, many times, listeners become interested in us just because it’s obvious that we are enthusiast [...]

Be Visible: How To Use Google Ads To Profit Your Business

1) Do you know your target customer's habits?
Think about it, which of these activities are your customer's engaged in on a typical day?

Searching, surfing, researching onlineSMSEmailReading Hardcopy NewspaperReading Online NewsReading MagazinesWatching TV

Consumer Behaviour 101
Surveys shows that consumers nowadays spend as much time online as on TV. In fact, the typical Singaporean teenager, does 5 things at the same time. Watch TV, surf, sms, chat, listen to M [...]

Should You Register for GST?

In deciding whether to voluntarily register for GST, companies should weigh the compliance costs of being a GST registered trader versus the costs of absorbing the GST. The following are some factors, which may assist companies in deciding whether they should register for GST:-

1) Keeping Proper Records
Companies are required to maintain business records, including tax invoices, receipts, credit notes and import permits for at least 7 years.

2) Filing of GST Returns
GST re [...]

How A Kindergarten Teacher Would Do It!

Student: Email is what my daddy uses to tell mummy he loves her when he goes on his business trips.

Very good! Email is a cost effective way to keep a personal connection between two persons or two businesses. Email is the preferred method of communication between any two parties because you can actually sit down and think about how you can reply to achieve a good effect.

Okay now who can tell me what Marketing means?

Student: My mummy goes to the store to d [...]

Social Media Is A Great Platform

Kudos to the co-organizers 'The Digital Movement ' for making available the chat screen, where participants could simultaneously contribute comments, ask questions and even plan the after event beer session.

To sum up the event and give you good idea what knowledge we benefitted from it, here are some things for you to investigate and hopefully apply. In any case, if any of this sounds alien to you, talk to either myself , Vicki , Ariel , Dean or Dasha to see how we can help you [...]

How to Start a Business with No Money

azman

I usually share my story of how I started with no money back in 2001 during the economic downturn.

So this is my story…

Firstly, I never thought of starting a business during my working life. Had a few friends who approached me to start business together but I was never interested. I was an engineer employed by a company and I was working on several projects. I was happy with my life, work etc.

Then one morning in mid-September 1997, while I was on the way [...]

Let's Get Organized

Filing by category or month – one of the methods of filing receipts is by category/vendor or bills by suppliers. However, it is time consuming and a lot of files are needed.

Another most popular filing method is to file the receipts in a monthly folder, separate it by the month and then file the receipts in order by date.

With [...]

D.T.D.D.P and the Art of Staying Young!

Here's a classic example; When I was still studying in Ngee Ann Polytechnic (before I decided to drop out and become a drummer), I put up at a boarding facility and had a room mate named 'James' (not his real name).

Whenever James took ice out of the ice tray, he wouldn't fill the tray back with water. It would take anyone less than minute to do that, but I found myself screaming at James almost every other day about putting in the extra effort. You see where I'm comin [...]

Great Source of Networking Articles

Dasha

There is a great source of networking and other business articles published at ezine. Go and enjoy reading and learning.

http://ezinearticles.com/?cat=Business:Networking

10 Golden Lessons from Steve Jobs

Here's a selection of some of the most insanely great things Steve Jobs said: http://ririanproject.com/2007/04/20/10-golden-lessons-from-steve-jobs

Professionalism through Body Language

Here are a few tips on how you can come across as an attractive and confident professional.

DO:

Stand tall, even if you’re the shortest person in the room. Keeping your shoulders pushed back will lend you an air of confidence

Move/walk like you know where you are going

Make sure your palms are dry before shaking someone's hand. Sweaty palms indicate nervousness

Shake hands firmly with one hand: not too tight or too limp. You don’ [...]

Evolution Of Business (For Everybody)

Let's get into perspective by starting with symptoms associated with being too 'comfortable';

Critism is hard to swallow
You seem so sure that you're doing the right thing that a little bit of critism hurts. When served, you go into thoughts of how to prove people they are wrong about you, instead of considering these critisms.

No critism at all
You're so happy, so proud, so in people's face about how you're right tha [...]