Wednesday, December 22  

Christmas Gifts

The gift of giving

Howdy. I've given and received a few gifts this Christmas - swapping gifts with suppliers and clients.

Google sent me a very cool Radio/Light.

I dropped in on a client (Ross) yesterday and gave him my best wishes and a pen for Christmas..........he then bought his gift out for us - a big hamper full of Christmas goodies. Felt a little guilty I'd only given him a pen!

Mark Harbottle, the CEO of SitePoint.com (who publish and sell my kit), sent me a lovely bottle of wine.

I sent a major client of ours a bottle of Cristal champagne.

We sent lots of cards to other clients.

What's the right gift for a client?

What's the right gift for a client? That's easy. Whatever you fell comfortable giving and something that fits. And by fit I mean in terms of being something of interest to the person.

* Mark knows I love wine, so he sent wine.
* I know our client loves champagne, so we sent him champagne.
* Ross needed a new pen with our details on it....so that's what he got!

Hidden meanings

Gift giving can be fraught with all sorts of complex hidden meanings and messages. But it can also be just a simple "Thanks for supporting our business" gesture.

Don't make it into something difficult, when it doesn't have to be. Don't stress over what you'll get your client. Get what you think they'd like and appreciate and move on.

Cheers and happy, happy Christmas to you and yours.

I'm heading off on a 2 week break tomorrow. We've had a fantastic year with some spectacular growth and I'll be sharing exactly how we did that next year. Stay tuned for more in 2005!

Brendon

Tuesday, December 21  

Taking advantage of the market

Quick and smart thinking

Hello. Hope you are well and healthy leading up to Christmas.

We've been busier than ever and I've been a bit slack in doing the blog. I'll write this blog, one tomorrow and then send out a newsletter and then I'll be taking a break until January 6 next year.

A couple of local businesses have shut down around us here in Palm Beach, Australia and other businesses have been quick to take advantage.

Fish & Chip Takeaway Shuts Down

1. The local Fish & Chip takeaway shop (that was doing a thriving business) was squeezed out of the local shopping centre. The Cafe business next door to the takeway started selling takeaway Fish & Chips the next day.

People still come down to get Fish & Chips from the old place, see it's not there, see the sign for Fish & Chips at the Cafe (the sign is where the old takeaway used to be) and buy their Fish & Chips there.

Smart and quick thinking by the Cafe owner that has probably boosted his income by 50%.

2. The local computer store, that provided Internet and Email access for customers, closed down. 3 days later the business next door - a Japanese restaurant/cafe - had installed a computer for Internet and Email access for customers.

Jason, the Japanese cafe owner, has a sign on the abandoned computer store offices saying "Internet and Email access now available at Genki cafe next door."

2 great examples

2 great examples of being smart and quick in taking advantage of the market. The Fish & Chips sales was a good fit for the shopping centre cafe and the Internet access was a great fit for the Japanese cafe.

* What could be a good fit for your business?
* What additional services could you offer?

Cheers

Brendon

Tuesday, December 14  

Don't be tight with your money - know when to spend

Don't be tight with your money - know when to spend

Hello. Hope you are well.

Probably one of the biggest lessons I've learned over my years in business is that you have to pick the right people to do business with.

Let's say you really know what you are doing when it comes to developing web sites. You are simply brilliant. And as such you charge a fair and decent price.

Your competitor isn't very good. He knows that and knows he doesn't provide great value. He also struggles to get any job, so he prices his quote as long as possible.

Him or you. It's a big decision.

The prospect has to pick him or you. Him or you. That's it.

And right here is the decision that can make or break a business. If the prospect picks correctly he can get a site that performs brilliantly and really sends his business up a notch. If he doesn't, then he'll waste his money and dismiss a web site as a complete waste of money.

Pick the right person to do business with

Picking the right people to do business with is, in my opinion, one of the most critical elements of being successful.

In the article that follows, I'll show you how a prospect of ours cost himself a lot of money because he was too tight to pay for quality.

Click here for more...

Cheers

Brendon


Have a successful business and your kids can be roped into helping by putting together boxes for product sales. Thanks Jack and Harry!

Saturday, December 11  

Trusting the customer

Trusting the customer

Howdy. Here's an interesting situation I'm in at the moment.

We have a couple of web shops - on Thursday I corrupted the data file of one of them that's inside the Order Manager that we use to manage the orders..

The data file is in Access 97 (it's on our oldest computer). i've had the file repair but sent back as Access 2000 - which the Order Manager software doesn't like.

So I need the Access 97 file repair and provided back to me in Access 97. Then my Order Manager software should start working again.

After a bit of searching I've found a bit of software that seems to
do the job. I've downloaded the trial version and it gives me the data back. All I need to do now is save the file and give it a try.

But I can only save the file if I buy

But I can only save the file if I buy - and only then can I see if the repaired file works with the Order Manager software.

The software is $300 US. I'd happily pay that in an instant if this is going to work.

But what if it doesn't? I'd have spent $300 US for nothing (keeping in mind that I have the data file repaired in Access 2000 and can manually import the data into the Order Manager software).

Obviously the software company doesn't know me from a bar of soap. So they'll be reluctant to let me buy the software, use it and, if it doesn't do the job, give me a refund.

I'm reluctant to buy just in case it doesn't repair the file into the exact same format it was before.

What would you do?

What would you do? here's what I'd do.

It's a tricky one. But what I would do is say to the customer is "Okay, give it a go. It if doesn't do the job immediately unistall our software."

Because if it does work, you've made a sale and have a great testimonial for your product. You'll also have a customer telling others how great you are.

If it doesn't work, the client uninstalls.

The only issue is what if the customer doesn't uninstall or tells you the repair didn't work when in fact it did? Then some sneaky little thief has gotten your software for free.

It is a real tough one and after reading the above, I don't know what I would do on reflection. I guess there are a few unscrupulous people out there who might take advantage. But then again business is about taking a risk to make a profit.

Have a good weekend.

Brendon

Tuesday, December 7  

Making the most of the end of year

Making the most of the end of year

Howdy. Hope you are well.

Is this blog I'll show you 3 simple ways to increase your sales as we head into the festive season.

Being the end of year brings some pretty powerful influences into play:

* People are going on holidays
* People are buying Christmas gifts
* People feel particularly generous

Here's what to do to boost sales

1. Have an End-Of-Year sale

People expect it. They're also primed and ready to buy. So make them an offer.

2. Develop a festive season product

IF you're a web designer, it might be an e-card that clients can email to their clients. If you run a gym, it might be a special "New Year's Resolution get Fit membership"

3. Make contact

Not exactly a direct sales technique, but keep in contact with your clients and let them know how important they are to your business (because they are). Sales will go up. No question.

Cheers

Brendon

Sunday, December 5  

Why you mustn't think like everyone else in business.

This is an easy one.

You mustn't think like everyone else in business because most people fail in business. Something like 90% of business fail within 5 years.

That's an excellent reason not to think like everyone else.

Another great reason is because thinking differently will cause you to act differently. And acting differently will make you stand out from the crowd.

And when you're different you'll make your own little niche. And having a market niche makes your business more specialised, more focused and more likely to succeed.

Cheers

Brendon