Take a good look at all your marketing materials… What is the conversation you hear? Are you discussing all of your expertise? Do you discuss your people, your resources, perhaps the size of your facilities etc? While all of these topics are good for discussion, don’t you think it’s best left for another time? Shouldn’t your initial contact with prospective new business focus the conversation in another more important direction? Businesses are searching for solutions to challenges they face. The fact of the matter is your message should be all about them – not you. All the “you stuff” can…

If you want to save time, money, and energy while building up your small business to its ultimate potential, you should absolutely consider using cloud applications. The following are some free user-friendly and effective programs to get you started in exploring the wonderful, cost-effective world of “cloud”. Freshbooks Freshbooks’ tagline is “painless billing” — and with their user count currently at over 2 million (and write-ups in Tech Crunch, USA Today, and the New York Times) they must be right. Use Freshbooks to manage invoicing/expenses and time sheets for up to 3 clients, as well as send and receive an…

First off let me say that a logo is not a brand but the face of the brand. To understand what a brand is you could switch it with the word reputation. Every business has a brand whether they want one or not. In branding perception is reality. For instance: if you were to go into your closest city and asked consumers what they thought of the daily paper, what ever they said would essentially be that paper’s brand. If it was negative then the daily’s management would have to determine if they were going to fix it and change…

I have been in business for the past 12 years and it started when I was 17 in high school. I have always been told that consistent follow up and persistence is key with a new prospect. This seems to work well for customers that sign up quickly. However, it does not appear to be the case if they may only be interested in the near future, such as in a few months or years later. I am in the merchant account industry, a very competitive business where merchant loyalty is nonexistent. Some merchants will switch providers without a second…

Fraud is big business and something every ecommerce merchant must deal with on a daily basis. There are lots of tools and tips you can use to help your business fight against fraud and I have outlined a few of them below. Before I go into what you can do to prevent fraud, you need to know some of the warning signs of a fraudulent transaction. The items listed below are not intended to be conclusive, but situations where you should scrutinize more than normal. Possible Warning Signs of a Fraudulent Transaction 1. Orders larger than your average 2. Orders…

The old saw of selling is “I’ll let you set the price if you let me set the terms.” What it means is that the Devil is in the details and if you are selling a business that you have lovingly built with your sweat and sacrifice (and that you now want to get the maximum value from) then you had better be prepared to get to know your buyer very well and be prepared to spend some quality time with your lawyers and accountants. Understanding what it is that your potential buyer really wants and what it is worth…

How many times have you heard this one – “I’m going to be the next Google!” ? Who was Google going to be when they started out? It’s as though the road to internet success is so easy to accomplish with a build it and they will come mentality. When I ask how they hope to achieve this with no foreseeable budget in place, I get another gem – “I’m going to make a cheap video and have it go viral.” Wow! I had no idea it was this easy. Why aren’t we all Google? The internet is a fantastic…

Some would believe that the logo is the brand, hence there is no difference. But the fact of the matter is the logo is merely the face of the brand and the brand is essentially a company’s reputation – it’s perception in the marketplace. Creating a brand by definition is somewhat misleading as every company has a brand whether they want one or not. What they can do to some extent is develop and guide their brand. To do this they must first understand where their brand sits at this point in time. Knowing this allows the company to determine…

Starting a new company? Hey this is a great opportunity to develop your brand from the ground up. At this stage you are in the enviable position of not having any negative baggage to deal with. What ever brand values you bring to the table are the basis for the future of your brand. You can develop your brand image to reflect these values and you can also position your company to come out ready for the fight. One downside is lack of experience. Customers don’t necessarily enjoy being the guinea pig. I believe that if your positioning strategy is…

Negative press, positive press. Motivational books, lectures and conferences. Coaches, consultants and mentors. There just isn’t any shortages of resources to push you forward. Many of my colleagues and peers absolutely believe in the law of the universe. Each of them have a vision board. Parts of all this are the basis for the book – The Secret. Attitude can make you or break you. It puts you in a position to move forward or fall back. I have experienced it and I’m sure many of you have also bore witness to what happens when you bury yourself in the…