On May 2nd David Lilly from Ireland Motor cars will be sharing the nicest rides that have recently cruised onto their lot!

I’ve been a web designer and internet marketer since 1998.  It is one of those careers that is always changing and you have to keep up with the newest technologies. Since my focus is on getting small businesses started on the internet, I look for the most inexpensive means that I can offer, but still allow them to grow.  Through the years, I’ve come by some tips that I’d like to pass onto you.  If you are thinking of setting up a web site for your business, these might prove to be very helpful to you.

To read more about saving money and preparing your web site, read on:

http://myfivebest.com/money-saving-tips-for-building-a-business-web-site/

This article was originally published by the author, James Fowler, on www.myfivebest.com.

REFERRAL-BASED BUSINESS

One of the hardest ways to make a sale is through a cold call. It is estimated that only one percent of cold calls actually work. The reason? You have to catch someone at the exact time they are ready to make a purchase. Cold calls take up a lot of time with very little payoff. A proven method of making a sale is through an introduction or a referral. In fact you can increase your chances of a sale up to 90% of the time with these methods. This is where a networking group has its strength. They become an additional sales force for you. You, in turn, return the favor by suggesting them to people that might need their services. For instance, you might come across someone in your day-to-day business dealings who is in need of a plumber. There is a plumber in your group, so you would hand off their card to this person. They will call the plumber because you are someone they know and respect and you suggested the plumber to them.

INCREASING EXPOSURE FOR YOUR BUSINESS

It is sometimes hard for people to find your business. It isn’t because of a lack of advertising, or you aren’t getting the right word of mouth. It is because you aren’t exposing yourself to the right types of people who can get you the clientele that you need. This is where the networking group really shines. Each week you have the opportunity to stand up, tell the people in the group and their guests about your business. In some groups, like the one I belong to, there is a second round where you can talk about any promotions you have going on for the week or what you are looking for. This is usually the time when people pass out leads that they have for you to follow up upon. That’s really amazing! They hand out information to people who may be interested in YOUR business!

BUSINESS LISTINGS

Most of the Networking Referral groups also have a web site that lets you explain what your business is about. Some even have brochures or booklets with this information, as well. Having your web site listed on another web site can sometimes be difficult to do, but with a networking group, it comes par for the course. Why is this important you may be asking? Because it is another link leading people to your web site. This is part of what is known as search engine optimization (SEO). An easy way to understand why more links are important is to think of your web site as a needle in a haystack known as the World Wide Web. That’s a lot of straw! So what is a way of being found in that haystack? Put out more needles (i.e. links to your web site) for people to find. Listings like these are a way of going about doing this.

TEAMING UP WITH POWER PARTNERS

Another benefit of belonging to a networking organization is becoming a power partner. I have talked about these in the past with a concept called N.E.E.R.s (Naturally Existing Economic Relationships). It is a way for people who have similar, but not exact businesses, to push business towards the other. In our group, I am a web guy. I have partnered up with a technology firm that kills computer viruses and creates hardware configurations for business. It’s a good match. There are many options here. A mortgage broker can team up with a real estate company, a sign maker can align themselves with a printing company, and so on and so on. It doesn’t even have to be two businesspeople. More could be added and the more that you have, the more business you will acquire.

PERFECTING YOUR SALES PITCH

I don’t know how many business people I have spoken with that can’t tell you what they do or what they are looking for. They stumble and bumble their way through their introduction to you and ruin that important first impression. Either that, or they give you a completely canned and obviously-memorized, sing-song tagline that is hard to be taken seriously. The sales pitch – or the “30 second elevator speech” – is often the only chance you get when you meet a new customer. It is called the elevator speech because it is supposed to be a clear, concise summary of what you are trying to accomplish in your business. The origin of the term is not known, but is believed to be American in origin, since elevators are called “lifts” in other English-speaking countries. Where can you perfect your elevator speech? In a Networking Referral group! You give one or two of them in every meeting and of course, with practice comes perfection…

WORK WHERE YOU DECIDE

If you make the decision to work from home, you gain the ability to decide on your work environment. You can work from your kitchen table if that makes you happy. I sometimes find myself moving around the house during the day. Sometimes I am in my office, while other times I have the computer on the back patio watching my dog play in the yard. If you want to wear a suit and tie, that’s fine, but no one is going to be upset if you are in sandals in shorts. You decide what makes for the more creative surroundings and where you can effectively do more business. You eliminate the rules of the office.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

Do you like getting up at the crack of dawn be at work? Of course you don’t. None of us do. What we like is the steady paycheck. However, imagine for a moment if you could work a flexible schedule on your time. Would that be worth it to you? I know that it was for me! It doesn’t work for all industries, but if you can swing it, you’ll enjoy the ability to go shopping in the middle of the afternoon or get in a quick nine holes of golf when you decide to be free. To me, this is why I chose the freedom of owning my own business.

LESS DOWNTIME AT HOME

Believe it or not, I get more work done at home than I did at the office. Why? Well, there are less distractions in my home than in the office work space. You would think the opposite to be true, but it isn’t. At work, you have people coming into your work area, there are breaks that occur at inopportune times, the phones ring, the boss stops by to talk to you about a new idea, etc… That just doesn’t happen in your home business. You can stay focused on the task at hand with very little discipline.

GO GREEN. WORK FROM HOME.

How much gasoline do you think you go through in a year? How many miles do you put on your car? All of that fuel is burned off into the atmosphere causing pollution. It’s a necessary evil, but what if you could change that? Last year, I put less than 7000 miles on my car. I don’t know for certain, but by cutting back on travel time by more than 50% I know I saved a lot. Additionally, I save on paper and ink, too, because everything I do doesn’t have to be printed out ten times for my colleagues.

YOU DECIDE YOUR DESTINY

Wouldn’t you like to decide the next project you are going to work on? What if you could determine the look and feel that your company promotes to the world? You can’t do this in the corporate world because someone else always has the final say. They know where you are going and when you are going to stop. Owning your own business puts you in command. Note: It is important that you still work at a home business. If you don’t, you’ll be put back into the working world where you started. The hard work will pay off!

It is a great way for you to quickly get news and information about your business to others in the networking group!

INSTRUCTIONS:

You must have a Twitter account to participate in this.

When you write a Tweet, you just need to add the appropriate hashtag of a specified post.  This is:

#tiger

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Group with a Power Partner and help each other get more customers!

Educate people in your community about your business!

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