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Good communication skills are absolutely critical if you are trying to sell your business. It is central to almost everything you do. There are lots of kinds of communication but let’s just look at general principles and then you can apply them to whichever form you are using (speaking, listening, memos, sales letters, leaflets).
In a survey of recruiters that was published out not so long ago communication skills were given as the most important factor in selecting managers. The University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, said that communication including written and spoken presentations, are the main factors contributing to success in business. When developing a business, working time consists of issuing and receiving information, and instructions. The potential for these to be misinterpreted is huge. The same act or word can be interpreted by 3 different people in 3 different ways. Also, studies show that miscommunication in business can mean lower productivity, higher turnover and greater tension and anxiety. If individuals don’t feel their thoughts and comments are getting heard, they won’t voice them. Misunderstanding can easily turn discussions into conflict and unnecessary anxiety leading to even worse communication. Building a business insists that you to communicate with and influence others, whether they are your prospects, clients, or you employees.
In communicating is critical when: talking to prospects and customers and making sure they understand the benefits of doing business with you as well as just the features of your skills and talents; convincing your customers of why they should buy more from you; gaining support, and motivating your staff, engaging imaginations, creating partnerships. Being good at communicating and influencing others will make your job easier!
Get more articles here
Being aware of good communication means you learn…
How communication is crucial for influencing others
How communication is a critical part of interpersonal skills
How consultancy is 70% listening and 30 % asking questions
How communication powerful for developing partnerships
How confident communication benefits all
How to get the understanding you want
How communication skills that mark out an achiever
How to have impact and influence on other people
How to get noticed - positively rather than be instantly forgettable
How to build rapport quickly and easily
How to get a talker to tell you what you need to know
How to find out what other people really want
How listening techniques really work
How to get cooperation, rather than confrontation
Get more articles here
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
How to cut through writers' block
Here is a tip for whenever you are trying to write out your products or services, preparing a report or writing an article. Whenever the English author Rudyard Kipling waged had a problem with ”writer’s block” he used what he called his six honest men. Their names are: here
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Do ebooks really sell?
The idea of an e-book or e-guide is that it is short and quick to both access and read. Unlike a full 200 page book it does not encourage too much thinking and reflecting but action. This is precisely the reason given by hundreds of customers who buy ebooks.
Essentially, what most of them said was that if they wanted to sit down for a couple of weeks reading and reflecting on consultancy then they would buy a full 200 ++ page book and wait a week or so for it to be delivered or until they have time to go to the bookshop.
My ‘How to Start a Consultancy’ E-Guide at was originally a 310 page book? When I asked for feedback from those who bought it they said it was too long and they would pay more for something short and easy to read that they could get immediately. So I shortened it for them to around 70 pages, but I kept the price the same. This gives all the essential information while saving time reading, thinking and reflecting. I took out all the footnotes and nearly all the references. Then I added action steps, so they could go through the book in a couple of days and take action on it.
So are you a reader/reflector or a real action taker?
This is a tip for when you write your own ebook or eguide that you can sell online to your customers (if you haven’t done so already!) Make your information short and easy to read and ask people to tell you why they liked it or didn’t want it – it will really help your business to grow.
Essentially, what most of them said was that if they wanted to sit down for a couple of weeks reading and reflecting on consultancy then they would buy a full 200 ++ page book and wait a week or so for it to be delivered or until they have time to go to the bookshop.
My ‘How to Start a Consultancy’ E-Guide at was originally a 310 page book? When I asked for feedback from those who bought it they said it was too long and they would pay more for something short and easy to read that they could get immediately. So I shortened it for them to around 70 pages, but I kept the price the same. This gives all the essential information while saving time reading, thinking and reflecting. I took out all the footnotes and nearly all the references. Then I added action steps, so they could go through the book in a couple of days and take action on it.
So are you a reader/reflector or a real action taker?
This is a tip for when you write your own ebook or eguide that you can sell online to your customers (if you haven’t done so already!) Make your information short and easy to read and ask people to tell you why they liked it or didn’t want it – it will really help your business to grow.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Marketing – how long does it take to work?
It always takes time for a prospect to become a customer. And it also takes time for a first-time customer to become a repeat customer.
Remember that your prospects are just like you except that they may be buying from one of your competitors. But that competitor probably doesn’t know the value of follow-up. This means that many customers feel ignored after the initial purchase.
Your present customers are also your best prospects and future customers. They already do business with a company like yours and may feel disenchanted because they’ve been left alone after making their purchase. That’s why great marketers find their best prospects and then start a relationship building process.
Most businesses only contact their prospects once or twice (max), and if the prospect don’t show an interest, they move on to other prospects. Don’t make this mistake. Great marketers continue the relationship in simple quiet ways. Eventually, those potential customers feel so cared for, so important, so attended to, that they switch over and begin to patronize the provider who never stops the relationship.
So how long does it take? Well, it could take years, or it could happen in a month, even a week or less. But it probably won’t happen so quickly and it may never happen at all if you ignore them after contacting them just once.
Great marketers don’t lose prospects or future customers because they know about the very gradual process of getting them. When talking to prospects, they talk about their prospects needs and concerns – since this is what is most on the mind of prospects. When great marketers talk about the problems that are facing prospects, this gets them even more attention.
When they discuss issues and provide solutions to them they continue to do this from the prospects’ point of view. Prospects are customers who have not yet bloomed and flowered – they will in their own time. Feed them as you would a beautiful plant. Provide time, information, knowledge, and attention. Walk in their shoes so you can understand what they are trying to achieve.
People patronize a business for lots of reasons. Often it’s quality of the offering, or the service, sometimes the price. But did you know that for fewer than 20 percent, price is the number one criterion? Work on your quality of service and value of your content rather that just price – that way you will have customer well into the future. Also don’t assume that your prospects are very interested in the question "Who are you? or What is your product or service? The biggest question in your prospect’s mind is "Why should I care about you or your business?"
Your clients want to hear a story about them. they want to see themselves and a happy ending to their problem in the mirror of your salescopy "Tell me a story about me” is what they are saying. If you can do this then you show you understand them and the problem they are trying to solve.
Prospects want you to change their lives (and their story) in a way that is appealing to them. Your marketing is a blend of art, science, relationships and patience that does precisely this. But not immediately. It takes time. Be patient!
For lots of other articles like this go to www.startaconsultancy.com
Remember that your prospects are just like you except that they may be buying from one of your competitors. But that competitor probably doesn’t know the value of follow-up. This means that many customers feel ignored after the initial purchase.
Your present customers are also your best prospects and future customers. They already do business with a company like yours and may feel disenchanted because they’ve been left alone after making their purchase. That’s why great marketers find their best prospects and then start a relationship building process.
Most businesses only contact their prospects once or twice (max), and if the prospect don’t show an interest, they move on to other prospects. Don’t make this mistake. Great marketers continue the relationship in simple quiet ways. Eventually, those potential customers feel so cared for, so important, so attended to, that they switch over and begin to patronize the provider who never stops the relationship.
So how long does it take? Well, it could take years, or it could happen in a month, even a week or less. But it probably won’t happen so quickly and it may never happen at all if you ignore them after contacting them just once.
Great marketers don’t lose prospects or future customers because they know about the very gradual process of getting them. When talking to prospects, they talk about their prospects needs and concerns – since this is what is most on the mind of prospects. When great marketers talk about the problems that are facing prospects, this gets them even more attention.
When they discuss issues and provide solutions to them they continue to do this from the prospects’ point of view. Prospects are customers who have not yet bloomed and flowered – they will in their own time. Feed them as you would a beautiful plant. Provide time, information, knowledge, and attention. Walk in their shoes so you can understand what they are trying to achieve.
People patronize a business for lots of reasons. Often it’s quality of the offering, or the service, sometimes the price. But did you know that for fewer than 20 percent, price is the number one criterion? Work on your quality of service and value of your content rather that just price – that way you will have customer well into the future. Also don’t assume that your prospects are very interested in the question "Who are you? or What is your product or service? The biggest question in your prospect’s mind is "Why should I care about you or your business?"
Your clients want to hear a story about them. they want to see themselves and a happy ending to their problem in the mirror of your salescopy "Tell me a story about me” is what they are saying. If you can do this then you show you understand them and the problem they are trying to solve.
Prospects want you to change their lives (and their story) in a way that is appealing to them. Your marketing is a blend of art, science, relationships and patience that does precisely this. But not immediately. It takes time. Be patient!
For lots of other articles like this go to www.startaconsultancy.com
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
How to do a teleseminar
Look out for the teleseminars starting in January 09 on Essential Profit Rules and Build Your Knowledge Business. I am enjoying planning them and putting them all together. There is going to be a ton of information in these so watch out ...
Monday, December 15, 2008
Article marketing
Did you know that when somebody comes to your website, you only have a very short period of time to impress them . It is estimated that when a person comes to your website you have around 30 seconds to persuade them to do something with the information you provide. Some studies say this is only 7 seconds.
Now if you think of all the work that goes into the development of a website, that’s a lot of work for just 30 seconds (or even 7 seconds) of attention.
Try writing articles. One reason why article marketing is a powerful marketing technique is that when someone reads the article you have produced, you have their attention for much longer than you do for a webpage - about 3-5 minutes. With an article that takes around 5 minutes to read, you can have about 10 times the amount of time to impress than you would normally have with a website. Get the rest of the article here: www.startaconsultancy.com
Now if you think of all the work that goes into the development of a website, that’s a lot of work for just 30 seconds (or even 7 seconds) of attention.
Try writing articles. One reason why article marketing is a powerful marketing technique is that when someone reads the article you have produced, you have their attention for much longer than you do for a webpage - about 3-5 minutes. With an article that takes around 5 minutes to read, you can have about 10 times the amount of time to impress than you would normally have with a website. Get the rest of the article here: www.startaconsultancy.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thinking outside the books: for academics, teachers and researchers
If you’ve never considered selling your knowledge online - now is the time. Or if you have tried and failed why not try again? We all know that lecturers and researchers desire and are under pressure to appeal to wider audiences and bring in extra money either for their university, college or for their own personal incomes. This desire and pressure will probably increase in the context of the current economic difficulties that lie ahead and as we contemplate job and financial security.In such times, it is my view that the ability to market and sell information and knowledge (academic and other kinds) is going to become increasingly important for academics and knowledge specialists. But the opportunities for them to do this, to improve their professional profiles and personal incomes, are better than they have ever been.
As a former academic, but now running my own businesses I am very familiar with the difficulties of developing a knowledge specialist/consultancy type profile alongside, or instead of, a pure academic one. But the good news is that there is now so much more that academics can do to achieve this – especially online. Individual knowledge professionals in almost any subject can now access a potential global ‘market’ for their ideas, research, knowledge and skills. My invitation and challenge, is that academics and other knowledge professionals (not to mention educational institutions themselves) should to be looking more at these opportunities and using them more effectively. There are lots of reasons why:
get the rest of this article here...
www.startaconsultancy.com
As a former academic, but now running my own businesses I am very familiar with the difficulties of developing a knowledge specialist/consultancy type profile alongside, or instead of, a pure academic one. But the good news is that there is now so much more that academics can do to achieve this – especially online. Individual knowledge professionals in almost any subject can now access a potential global ‘market’ for their ideas, research, knowledge and skills. My invitation and challenge, is that academics and other knowledge professionals (not to mention educational institutions themselves) should to be looking more at these opportunities and using them more effectively. There are lots of reasons why:
get the rest of this article here...
www.startaconsultancy.com
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