Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 317

Thought for the week: "The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit." Moliere

• Tips for getting more visitors to your business
• Keyword density checker
• Six behaviours of winners in a downturn
• Stay on the right side of business law
• Data protection guidance for small businesses
• Win an IT security audit worth over £500

Tips for getting more visitors to your business

Telephones are both a blessing and a bind. They're great for initial enquiries, follow-ups and further information. But sometimes customers like to know that there are premises they can visit if they need to.

Some just like to be able to put faces and names to voices, to reassure themselves that the person they're dealing with is real. And for businesses, offering face-to-face discussions can lend a personal touch to dealings.

As a business, you can get hundreds of calls and not have one visitor come to your premises to seal a deal or take up an offer. So how do you get more visitors to your premises? Here are some tips.

• Don't unnecessarily give out your prices over the phone. This takes away the number one reason for your prospects to come and see you.

• Ask them to come in, either morning or evening, to discuss things with you in person.

• Make specific appointments and particularly time slots. This will make you appear busy and will make your caller feel as though they have to get some of your time.

• Make them an offer to come in. This works well if you have a promotional offer or giveaway lined up.

• Highlight your USP and let the customer know that they won't find that benefit anywhere - they should discuss it with you in person so you can show them what they're getting.

Although there are no reliable industry averages for the amount of people that you can get to come into your shop, office or workshop from a phone call, if you convert 50% you're doing pretty well.

The UK Small Business Marketing Bible contains hundreds more tips and tactics for boosting your sales using proven marketing strategies that work no matter what product or service you sell.

EnterQuest readers can also get their hands on a free copy of our sister publication, BETTER business magazine. Simply send us your name and address to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com, putting 'EQ magazine offer' in the subject box.

Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK and elsewhere around the world.

• Burger joint has local, seasonal menu. US-based Burgerville's bid to be sustainable has seen it switch to using local, seasonal produce in its menus.

• Secretive restaurant. Charlie's Burgers is a US restaurant with an air of mystery: No-one knows who Charlie is and it has nothing to do with burgers. Diners have to be invited to go and are sent instructions on how to get there. The food, by all accounts, is pretty top-notch.

Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.

Do you know the meaning of the word 'paragon'?

a) a model of excellence or possessing good qualities
b) a framework or guidelines
c) a campaigner or protester
d) a contradiction or inconsistency

Answer at the end of the Bulletin.

The following topical business issues have been recently reported in the media. Did your radar pick them up?

1) The Government has extended which of the following schemes as of 9 June to enable small firms to back-date any claims they make?

a) trade credit insurance top-up scheme
b) the car scrappage scheme
c) the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
d) the Capital for Enterprise Fund

2) What type of organisations could be forced to change their business models, following intervention by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)?

a) banks
b) building societies
c) insurance firms
d) credit unions

3) Discussions in Whitehall are under way to revive a financial institution set up at the end of the Second World War, to help small firms get back on their feet. What was the name of the institution?

a) Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation
b) Economic Development Institution
c) Business and Traders' Commercial Society
d) Trade and Industry Funding Corporation

Answers at the end of the Bulletin.

Keyword density checker

This tool enables you to check the keyword density of a webpage. It can check up to 20 keywords at a time and is handy as a search engine optimisation (SEO) tool. Simply type in the URL of the site or page you want to analyse, then type up to 20 keywords and press 'Check density'.

Six behaviours of winners in a downturn

This online video from the Cranfield School of Management identifies the six behaviours that successful owner-managers possess and use to their advantage in a downturn. Top behaviours include being distinctive, being in control and being confident.

Stay on the right side of business law

Stay Legal is a website that provides online business owners in England and Wales with tips and information on operating within the law. It includes information on terms and conditions, privacy policies and cancellations and returns.

Data protection guidance for businesses

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a Privacy Impact Assessment Handbook to help businesses and organisations of all sizes get to grips with privacy impact assessments and how they can help control data leaks and risks.

Win an IT security audit worth over £500

Most people are aware of the threat from viruses and other malware resulting from internet usage, and the risks to the security of our electronic data.

IT solutions firm axon-IT has teamed up with EnterQuest to offer one reader the chance to win a remote online security audit package worth £550.

Your computer system and its data are at threat if you do not take steps to protect them. Would you leave the front door to your house open or unlocked whilst you were out for the day? Of course not, but this simple analogy holds true to computers and systems that are at risk if you 'leave the door wide open'.

Axon-IT is accredited as a Microsoft Gold Partner with a specialisation in security, covering all aspects of IT risk. For your chance to win the security audit, simply answer the following question:

Q: After which World War was the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation set up?

a) First World War
b) Second World War

Email your answer, together with your name, address and daytime phone number, using 'axon-IT competition' as the subject line, to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.

All entries must be received by 30 June. Full competition rules are available on request.

This book gives readers a candid overview of the process of starting up as an entrepreneur and investor. It's based on the successes of Peter Hargreaves, who set up his financial service business in his spare room with just one telephone and some borrowed office equipment. Check out:

In For a Penny: A Business Adventure, by Peter Hargreaves

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Good luck

The EnterQuest Team

This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate.