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Article of the Month |
Permanent customers
by Tom Shay
There is a special sale starting today; just before the holiday season.
The only product being sold is customers; your existing and potential customers. The price for each customer is quite affordable.
This offer is made to you and every owner and manager reading this article. All you have to do is follow these step by step instructions.
Just in time for the holiday season; permanent customers.
Click on Article of the Month to read this article. |
Book of the Month |
The power of habit
by Charles Duhigg
Here is another book that was suggested by an individual who shared the title after a presentation I gave.
In a one word summary of the book, I would say, 'habit'.
All of us have habits; good and bad. I get to have a lot of insight to the habits of small business owners as they call or write to ask questions about their business.
The aspect about the individual that shows itself the most is their work habits. Most noticeably, their remarks about what they are going to do and what they actually do.
I see these as habits that are reflective on how they operate their business. If this idea is 'hitting close to home' with you, then you may find this book to be enlightening.
Click on Book Referral to see the complete list of small business books we have found that can be helpful to your business.
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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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Small Business Saturday
Kudos to American Express on what has become a very successful event; Small Business Saturday.
Personally, I think they created the event as a way of convincing small businesses to accept the American Express card. I don't need to be convinced. We learned the hard way why we should accept the American Express card.
I hear the business owners who tell me their customers do not ask if they accept the American Express card. My contention is that the new customers you can get by accepting the card are just walking by on their way to another business.
Small Business Saturday is November 29. Every business needs to be a part of this event. Here are the details.
Small Business Saturday
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When I heard the story about this event on the radio last November, I made a point to take notes so that I could share it with you to today.
This special event was created by businesses in the northeast part of the United States. As compared to CyberMonday which notes the Monday after Thanksgiving in the USA as being the busiest online day, this is Cider Monday.
Small businesses are offering customers apple cider as they show in these independents on the Monday after Thanksgiving. It is easy to copy and can easily be added to what is going on in your business and your community.
Here are the details of last year's event. It will be Monday, December 1. I hope those of you who are traditional retailers will promote and enjoy this 'snub' of CyberMonday with your own version of CiderMonday.
Cider Monday
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As a result of addressing the National Chimney Sweep Guild this spring, I was contacted by Erik Knear who created the Santa Signal.
It would take more space than we have available to tell you all about it. Let me instead, provide you with a link so you can read about this new item you may want to sell in your store.
Santa Signal
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We had a great audience as our guest, Dr. Frank Wood, for the October e-ret@iler conversation. We will continue this in November as our guest will be Becky McCray.
Becky created Small Biz Survival. She is a wealth of knowledge about small business and small towns. You will want to join us on Thursday, November 13. at 8pm eastern.
If you missed any of the previous e-ret@iler conversations, you can download them for free, or listen to them online, by following this link.
E-retailer conversations
| Internet Tip of The Month |
What it takes to make a profit
Ever have an employee that breaks something in your business? Perhaps an employee that loses something?
The comment most people want to make is along the lines of, 'Do you know how much that costs?', or 'Do you know how much sales or revenue we have to produce to pay for what you have just done?'
Their answer, spoken or unspoken, is, 'No boss, because you don't explain what it takes to make a profit'.
And with that answer, we have created this tool so that you can explain the costs of your business to your employees. We are sure it will help to open a few eyes.
What it takes to make a profit
| The Incentive Idea of the Month |
Before giving a carrot, measure
Our current format for the e-ret@iler newsletter includes an incentive idea of the month. With each newsletter, we include an idea of how to create and use incentives.
Another concern is how are you measuring the results before you provide the incentive. When you create an incentive program, there has to be measurements. Without measurements, you have no idea of the incentive plan working or if the incentives are appropriate for the situation.
You should measure several items
1. What you want to change
2. A measurement for the change
3. What it is worth to you when the change is achieved
4. How much you will give, in the form of an incentive, for the change to occur
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