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Article of the Month |
Making the extra effort
by
Tom Shay
The article to share with you this month comes from several personal experiences. The observation deals with the number of businesses that fail to see it is the customer that causes the money to flow into a business.
It amazes me the number of businesses that allow a customer to call or walk in, ask for an item, and then give the customer an easy 'no', causing the customer to promptly turn around, walk out, and look for another business.
Customers are in short supply and high demand. If you have gotten someone to walk in the business, there should be more than a quick 'yes' or 'no' with the customer.
We have too many sales people that fail to see the opportunity with each customer that walks in our business. Take a look at this month's article for some ideas of what we could do to take advantage of each opportunity that walks through our door.
Click on Article of the Month to read this article. |
Book of the Month |
Killing Giants
by Stephen Denny
Perhaps the lead title of the book does not jump out at you. However, the subtitle, "10 strategies to topple the goliath in your industry", does a lot to get my attention.
Even though I believe there are only four strategies possible, and what the author is calling a strategy is truly a tactic, I get the point the author is making.
More importantly is how I came to find this book. James Keirstead of Arctic Spas made the suggestion. As I consider James to be a very intelligent person, I listen to the book suggestions he gives. As I write this, I am not through with the book, but am confident this is going to be a great read.
Let me suggest you add this book to your fall reading list. It looks like a good one!
Click on Book Referral to visit this page on our site.
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Contact Us |
Profits Plus
P.O. Box 128
Dardanelle, AR
72834 USA
(727) 823-7205 Voice
(727) 898-3179 Fax
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'Tis the season to be...
If you missed being with us for the August e-ret@iler conversation conference call, the focus of the discussion was the upcoming Christmas holiday selling season. To anyone selling a product or service, it is a lot like that popular Christmas song, 'It's the most wonderful time of the year'.
At least it can be if it starts with the right attitude from the owner of the business. Here in September, you should already be planning how to decorate your business to reflect the season. If the customer sees Christmas decorations and Christmas gift ideas when they see your business, they then are going to think of your business as a Christmas gift store.
The same goes for how you display merchandise and post signs about the services you offer. A small suggestion about your products and services being great Christmas gifts, places that thought in the customer's mind.
If your staff wears name tags, a simple addition to the tag that says this staff person is a 'Christmas elf' or a 'special gift advisor', creates an opening for a conversation between that customer and your salesperson.
All of us would like our business to have a great conclusion for 2011. The last 120 days of the year can make that a reality for your business, if you see your business as a Christmas headquarters.
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Our September e-ret@iler conversations conference call has a tentative schedule. Currently we are looking at Thursday, September 29 at 8pm eastern.
The topic has been selected; it is the technique of doing something special for your customers. We call it power promoting. It is the idea of taking some of your advertising dollars and shift them away from the traditional media. These dollars will then be used to do something special, and fun for your existing customers.
Let me invite you to send in an idea of something you have done that is a bit unusual and created some excitement for your customers and your business. Your ideas will be added to what we share during the e-ret@iler conversations conference call for September.
Let me also invite you to follow this link which will take you to the page where the previous conference calls have been recorded, cataloged, and are available for you to download for free.
E-ret@iler conversations
| Internet Tip of The Month |
Acid ratio calculator
Last month's newsletter discussed the current ratio calculator. We said it was an opportunity to see into the next twelve months of your business. The current ratio calculator shows whether your business will be able to pay the bills for the coming year.
The current ratio adds the inventory, cash, and easily converted to cash items (such as savings accounts or certificates of deposit) and compares this total to all of the current liabilities. These are the bills you anticipate paying in the next twelve months.
The current ratio becomes the acid ratio with one minor change. Eliminate the inventory from the list of assets; then compare the remaining current assets to the current liabilities.
As with the current ratio, the two numbers of the acid ratio are compared to each other. If the answer is 2:1, the expectation is that you have twice as much money as necessary to cover the anticipated bills. If the ratio is reversed, 1:2, there is an expectation that your business is going to have a problem in the coming year.
Follow this link to read more about this ratio as well as to be able to use our free financial ratios calculators to learn more about your business.
Acid ratio calculator
| The Power Promoting Idea of the Month |
Creating your own awards
During the month of August, as I was traveling and visiting with businesses, I saw this power promoting idea in action. The idea is to create and give awards to your customers. The best I have seen have been those which involve the products you sell.
A garden center gave an award to the best lawn. For the customer entering the picture, the customer was to include the lawn fertilizer purchased at the garden center. A hardware store gave an award for the best home improvement, and the entry photo was to include materials and tools purchased at the local hardware store.
A sewing machine store gave a prize for the best item, clothing, quilt, etc., that was made using products from their store.
As customers enter their photos, they are posted about the store holding the contest. Other customers come to the store to see their photo entry as well as photos that other customers had sent in as entries.
Prizes should be a gift card to your business.
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