by Angela Taffs | Jan 29, 2015 | Running a Business, Sales and Marketing
Three times just lately, I have made contact with someone through social media and expressed an interest in what they do. Each time they have message me and promised to send me some information. And each time, they have failed to deliver! Are they aware this is a classic way of losing clients?
Now, perhaps they are getting so many messages they don’t need my business and aren’t interested in me. But if that is the case, then just tell me in the first place. Bad news travels far faster than good and if anyone ever asks me about any of these businesses, I will not hesitate to tell others not to bother with them.
And quite frankly, it is just bad manners.
It could, of course, be a case that they have simply forgotten. But if that is the case, it is even worse for their business as they are missing out on potential income and are losing clients who could go on to be quite profitable for them. If you are busy and cannot deal with enquiries immediately, ensure you have a system set up to remind you to send out information that you have promised to. If you have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system such as , then great. Enter details into there and allocate yourself a task. At the simplest end, have a paper diary and make a note in there.
At the top of most customer’s lists, by far, when dealing with a company is that they keep their word. So if you promise something and then fail to deliver you will not only be losing clients, you will also lose your business reputation.
Regardless of how this mismanagement of your potential clients affects your business, think how it affects them. There is a saying that it is not what you say to someone, but it is how you make them feel. By promising something and then never getting in contact again, you may make the person feel undervalued and worthless. There is a real danger that some of these people may be having a tough time in their personal life and this ‘small’ omission on your part, could add to their feelings of worthlessness. I am writing this because I have seen this happen, and until I did, I didn’t realise the impact that we, as small business owners can have on other people’s lives. A simple thing that we don’t think really matters, can have a huge impact on the person at the other end.
I am not saying that you have to responsibility for other people’s personal issues, but I am saying stop and think when making promises you are not going to keep. Next time someone asks you for something, think twice before blindly saying you will send something on or do something. Be realistic. Tell them if you are too busy. Tell them if you don’t think you can supply what they want, when they want, or even if you don’t think they are the right client for you.
Being honest could stop you losing clients and save both your business reputation and hurt feelings for your lost client.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 28, 2015 | Business IT, Running a Business
Today I flagged up to a company that I had recommended quite a few people to them and a couple of these had sent emails to make bookings but had received no response. I was informed by the business owner that he did not have time to check his emails as he had an overflowing inbox and people should phone if they want to get in contact.
To say I was dumbfounded is to put it politely. I gently tried to point out how many opportunities he may be missing out on but the response was that his phone number was on his website, Facebook page and business cards so people should use that.
So my next question was why on earth bother putting on contact details of an email address if you have no intention of checking it.
I was hoping to be able to tell you that this is a rare occurrence with small businesses but unfortunately it is not. All too often I come across small businesses with an overflowing inbox that is having a detrimental effect on their business. I know of another business advisor who had been sent a number of clients to speak to. When I asked them why they had not been in contact, they again told me they had too many emails to trawl through so just picked out the most important looking ones.
Please do not let your emails get out of control and fall into this dangerous trap. You never know that an absolute golden nugget may be sat amongst them, hidden from view, and that you let slip by. Don’t bury your head in the sand and think people will make the effort to contact you in another format after a couple of failed attempts. There is plenty of competition out there folks and if your competitor can be bothered to check their emails, then quite frankly, they deserve the business.
The business owner in question took the attitude that if someone was serious about doing business with him, then they would use alternative avenues and make more effort to get in contact with him. My attitude is that if you are serious about building your business and gaining a good reputation, you will make the most of every opportunity to engage with potential clients and make it as easy as possible for them to get in contact with you. And if you give out an email address as a form of contact, people will expect a response if they send you a message.
If you don’t want an overflowing inbox and want to know how to get your emails under control and keep them that way so you don’t ever miss a potential client, drop me a comment below and I will send you an article on ‘How to keep your email inbox under control.’
by Angela Taffs | Jan 22, 2015 | Personal and Lifestyle, Running a Business
Do you struggle with keeping business and private lives separate?
Today I had a message from someone who wished for me to act as their mentor on a one to one basis. We were liaising via email and everything was going well until they sent me a request to befriend them on Facebook.
I have a Facebook business page and of course, also a personal profile. After they asked why I had not accepted them, I explained that I kept my business and private accounts separate but we could continue to communicate via email, LinkedIn messaging, telephone or Skype. Whilst I have nothing to hide on my personal page, I see no reason to let a business client have access to my private life and that of my friends and family.
After I refused to accept them as personal friend, the atmosphere turned. The individual insisted that if I wanted their business, a condition was that I had to accept them as a personal friend. Now, as this point I became suspicious of their intentions as there is no need whatsoever for anyone to need to be a friend of mine on Facebook in order to do business with me, and they could not explain their need to me.
After I had pointed this out in a very polite manner, and a few emails later, I decided to decline to work with them as, I tried to explain to them, when I work with clients, it is important to be able to communicate effectively with each other and have a mutual trust and respect which I now felt was lacking between us. I suspect this person had not ever been refused a service before as I was suddenly on the end of a vitriolic attack and warnings of how much money I would lose by refusing to work with them.
This reaction only made me more certain that my decision to keep my business and personal life separate was the correct one.
There can, at times, be a fine line between not wanting to offend a client but also needing to keep them somewhat at arm’s length and getting the balance right can be difficult, particularly in a service industry where personal communication is ongoing. I admit, I do have a few past clients who I now consider to be friends but this has come about over a period of time and mutual interests.
If keeping business and private lives separate is important to you also, then to overcome potential situations in the future, when you are dealing with clients, I think it is important to establish some boundaries at the outset and let clients know which channels are acceptable for contact and during which times of day.
If you do receive a personal Facebook friend request, a polite message explaining that you use Facebook to keep in touch with close friends and family, but would be happy to connect via LinkedIn or other method should suffice. If you are unfortunate to receive a response such as the one I had, then it is only evidence that this person is most certainly not your ideal client and one you will not want to be doing business with.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 8, 2015 | Running a Business
How often do you go on your social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter just to keep scrolling through so much ‘noise’ that you really don’t want to read? Do you find yourself getting irritated and spending too much time looking for something of interest to read? If yes then read on.
It may be time for a social media declutter!
You have probably heard about decluttering your home but how about decluttering your social media?
What is a social media declutter?
Basically, social media decluttering is getting rid of anything that you don’t love or find useful and is taking up valuable space in your news feed. It can be a little time-consuming to start with but once done you will have better focus and spend less time filtering through all the irrelevant content that you no longer wish to see. As a lovely lady in The Success Club put it, it really is no different than decluttering the house before Christmas or spring cleaning the wardrobe ready for summer. You just remove what no longer serves you.
How to do it.
Work through one social media channel at a time and do the following where relevant:
- Go through groups you have joined and delete any that are no longer relevant or don’t offer you any value.
- Go back through your news feed on your business pages and get rid of any items you may have posted that may no longer be relevant to the way your business is now progressing.
- Go through your connections on LinkedIn and Twitter and delete any people that are constantly posting things you are not interested in. I also get rid of Twitter accounts I am following that no longer hold an interest for you.
- If you run any groups where you have members who are constantly negative and are bringing the wrong feeling to the group, delete them. If you want to be truly professional, message them to politely let them know that you don’t feel they are a right fit for the group any more and they would be better finding another group that is better able to help them. Then hit delete.
- Finally, go through your personal page on Facebook and really think how your numerous ‘friends’ make you feel. If there are people there that drain you and you feel your energy level drop just by seeing their name, get rid of them. You don’t have room for these people in your life when you need every ounce of energy to continue to build your business. There are always people that make you feel bad about yourself so remove them from your life. You will feel so much better for it. If however, you really don’t feel up to deleting them, you can just unfollow them so they don’t show up in your feed.
So now you have completed your social media declutter, you should have gotten rid of all the rubbish that takes up your news feed and causes unnecessary distraction and frustration. More time to focus on achieving that next level of success.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 8, 2015 | Personal and Lifestyle, Running a Business
Do you have an accountability buddy?
I was reading an article this week and came across this quote:
“The low points in a startup are so low that few could bear them alone”
~ Paul Graham
And how true this is.
Within the article, it stated no one can succeed in business by going it alone. It stressed how important it is to get support from other entrepreneurs who are at the same stage as you and can understand what you are going through and from those with more experience who have been there before you and come through the other side. By connecting with others, you no longer feel alone and you no longer have to face obstacles on your own. You realise that others are having exactly the same problems as you and you can share ideas together to help you get over your hurdles. So if you feel that you are struggling with your business, reach out to others for help. Share your struggles, your goals and your successes. Pair up with an accountability buddy and use each other to plan and review your progress each week.
As part of my Small Business Kit, there is a secret Facebook group to give women the support they need but may not be able to find immediately to hand. It is somewhere individuals can come in confidence and share their thoughts and feelings about their business that they may not necessarily want to air in public. And they must just find their accountability buddy in there. If you haven’t already, seriously think about joining.
I really don’t want you to suffer in silence.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 6, 2015 | Running a Business, Sales and Marketing
Top reasons why small businesses fail to grow in their first year and what you can do to make sure you’re not one of them.
Small businesses fail for a wide variety of reasons with some being wholly unavoidable such as personal circumstances dictating a change of direction. However, some reasons are more common than others. Have a read of these common reasons and do your best to make sure you avoid them.
Common reasons small businesses fail
Below are some of the most common reasons that small businesses fail. Make sure you take action to avoid these pitfalls.
Lack of planning
If you want to run a successful business, you really need to do some planning. You need to find out what the start-up costs will be, where you will get the money from to run the business, what resources you need, how to plan your time and many other things. So before going any further, go complete a simple business plan. This will help you think about those areas of business that you may not have otherwise thought of.
Not understanding the market
Part of a business plan as mentioned above is carrying out market research. So many small business owners plough ahead with their latest idea without getting up to date research about what is happening in the marketplace. Go and read up on the latest industry news, find out about the competition but more importantly, all about your target market and what they want.
Poor marketing
Marketing should be planned, aimed at a specific audience, portray the right message and be measured. If you miss any of these points out you are lessening your chances of it being successful. You know all about what you are selling and why, but unless telepathy is your strong point, your perfect client’s won’t. Find out where they are and create a clear, easy to understand message as to what you are offering and why they should buy from you under their noses.
Running out of money
Do you know how much money you need to bring in each month so that you can cover the bills, taxes, insurances and all other expenses to keep your business alive? If you don’t, I suggest you go find out now. And then check how you estimated income and expenses compare to the reality on at least a monthly basis. Failing to keep up to date with the finances and running out of cash is a killer for any business. As they say, cash is king! Treat it as such. Get to grips with the basics of cash flow, profit and loss and break-even points so understand the financial health of your business and can put plans in place to deal with any problems.
Not complying with legal issues
Find out what legal implications there are within your business so that you don’t fall foul of the law and end up in hot water. This includes:
- Health and safety
- Local trading licences
- Encroaching on other businesses names, trademarks or intellectual property rights
- Informing the relevant people or authorities
- Planning permission
- Business rates
- Hazardous substances compliance
- Fire Safety
- Health and Hygiene certification
- Data protection
Do your research and find out what applies to your business.
Lack of insurance
Every small business will need insurance of one kind or another so don’t ignore this and then end up with either a claim against you that you have to settle personally or without a vehicle or stock and no funds to replace. Typical Insurances to consider in a small business are:
- Public liability
- Professional indemnity
- Product liability
- Employers liability
- Motor insurance
- Buildings and content
- Business equipment
Staffing problems
If you are going to employ staff in your small business you need to take on the role of manager, leader and effective communicator. Once you have found the right staff, you need to make sure you look after them and give them the best chance of helping you turn your business into a success. Get yourself up to speed with employment law to ensure you comply with current legislation but also make sure you provide the right training and support so that your staff can do their jobs effectively.
Ignoring advice
It is rare to find a small business owner who knows everything and can do everything on their own. Taking advice from someone with experience and professional knowledge can help give your business the best chance of success, so don’t ignore it. Find someone to turn to for advice when you need it, whether within a networking group or a personal mentor. They will have been there and done it before you and will help you avoid those all too common pitfalls and mistakes.
Emotional burnout
Emotional burnout tends to happen when that critical work/life balance is lost. The long hours of all work and no play end up taking their toll. Be aware of how you are feeling and give yourself a break every now and again. Take time to sit back and reflect and don’t neglect time with friends and family. Running a business can be stressful, but ultimately it should give you joy so don’t lose sight of that. If you would like more in-depth information on the reasons small businesses fail and how to avoid these mistakes, become a member of The Small Business Kit today.
