RESOURCE CENTRE

Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 11 January 2006

In this week's issue:

• More facts about successful selling
• Fine-tuning your pitching and presentation skills
• Burning questions about the new fire safety rules
• How to register a .eu domain name
• The British Chambers of Commerce website reviewed

Small business answers

If you have any questions about your business idea or target market, or need help tracking down a grant, subsidy or business support in your local area, then send an e-mail with your query to the EnterQuest information team and we'll do our best to help.

Send your question to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.

To access over 800 factsheets, guides and small business reports, go to www.scavenger.net.

Weekly stir

More facts about successful selling

The problem with the majority of small business owners who are desperate to make more sales, and the biggest selling mistake they tend to make, is that they just love to talk about themselves.

"Me, me, me, me, me. My business, my business name, my product." It's too easy to say and that's why so many small business owners fall into this trap.

But it's the last thing that people who might be interested in buying your product or service want to hear.

Your prospects don't care about you. They don't care about your awards, the name of your business, how much you sell or how good you think you are. They are only concerned about how you and the service you offer can benefit them. So you need to ditch all of the 'me' and 'my' sales copy and talk, and concentrate 100% on selling the benefits you can offer to your prospects.

Ultimately, what people want generally boils down to two things: to gain pleasure, or to avoid pain.

If you're trying to write sales copy for an advert, letter, brochure or website, tell people how your offering will help them either gain pleasure or avoid pain by expressing it in the form of the benefits they will receive. You must not confuse this with listing the features of your product or service. People are not as interested in product or service features as they are in what those features can do for them personally. Check out our guide to writing effective sales letters for more tips and advice on writing sales copy.

To help you do this, make a list of each of the features of your product or service and then determine the benefits - the potential for gain or for avoiding pain – that your prospects will receive from each feature. Some studies have even shown that people respond better to messages that talk in terms of avoiding loss (pain) than they do to those that promise gain.

A good example of selling benefits more effectively than features can be illustrated in any business that is involved in offering food or drink. Businesses supplying this type of product or service should think of their prospects in terms of satisfying their hunger, quenching their thirst, providing an unforgettable taste, or offering a fantastic value meal, rather than just a boring list of 'products' that are available.

Consumers are also naturally sceptical about claims made in adverts, marketing messages and sales pitches. With all the scams, rip-offs and misleading adverts people are exposed to these days, who knows what to believe any more?

To beat this scepticism you must work hard to make your ad or sales message believable and risk free. The good news is that this is actually quite easy to do with a couple of proven and extremely effective marketing tactics.

• Firstly, you should use testimonials from satisfied customers. Testimonials from real people are very powerful. Consumers don't like to be guinea pigs. But if they've seen that someone else has really received the promised benefits, you'll have instant credibility. And including pictures of your endorsers, if you can get them, can double the effectiveness of your testimonials.

• The second tactic is to offer a cast-iron guarantee. You should aim to provide as strong a guarantee as it's possible for you to do. If you can't provide a strong guarantee for your product or service, perhaps you shouldn't be selling it in the first place.

Unfortunately, too many small business owners fear that their customers will take them up on their guarantees and they'll end up taking a big hit on refunds. But can we ask you this: when was the last time you took somebody up on their guarantee? It's a proven fact that guarantees are seldom exercised. So use a powerful guarantee – because if you're confident about the quality of the service you offer, you'll have nothing to fear.

Each of the tactics we've described here will help you generate interest, believability, credibility and trust in your ability to provide a decent, benefit-oriented product or service. And this will reduce the risks your prospects naturally feel when they are contemplating buying from you. But above all, be truthful and honest, and you won't go wrong.

The UK Small Business Marketing Bible has more practical information about offering a rock-solid guarantee in Chapter 11, and is jam-packed with hundreds more cheap, easy to implement ideas and techniques for promoting your business.

Marketing tip

Fine-tuning your pitching and presentation skills

Being able to deliver a presentation with confidence is a vital skill for all small business owners. You'll need to use these skills when you're delivering sales pitches to potential new clients, negotiating with suppliers and partners, and even when managing and training your staff.

Doing a presentation can be daunting, however, so a good starting point is to break down the key issues into manageable points. These include:

• Get your ideas across effectively - speaking slowly and clearly.
• Overcoming nerves and speaking confidently.
• Body language - not fidgeting or projecting a nervous image.
• Structure and format - using PowerPoint and making sure your presentation flows.
• Not using slang words or swearing.

The following resources provide practical guidance and tips on giving effective presentations.

• The Presentation Business offers a wide range of practical advice, articles and tips on all aspects of giving presentations, from writing them to delivering them.

• The Impact Factory manages a library of tips, articles, training courses, books and e-coaching services on effective presentation (and management) skills.

• Harvard Business School offers an in-depth summary of how to improve your posture and body language when talking to other people.

• The Speech Tips site has a free, three-step, easy to follow guide to delivering any type of formal speech, looking at planning, structure and flow, and delivery. It also has links to sample speeches that can be bought online.

• Presentation Helper has a range of tools for effective presentations, including templates, quotations, articles, advice on timing and tutorials on using PowerPoint.

Legal tip

Burning questions about the new fire safety rules

Last September, we reported that the rules on fire prevention were going to be amended in England and Wales in April of this year. Last week, the Government published the details of how the changes are going to work in practice.

Here's a basic summary of what you need to know, and some links to where you can find out more information:

• After 1 April, a fire safety certificate will no longer be required for business premises.

• Instead, a 'responsible person' will have to carry out a fire safety risk assessment.

• If your business has five or more employees, the assessment's findings will need to be written down and recorded.

• A 'responsible person' is defined as either the owner of the premises or the employer, or both.

• The Government will be publishing 11 separate guides for businesses such as shops, hotels and workshops. We'll be listing these in EnterQuest as soon as they're published.

The law introducing these changes is called the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and you can find out more at the Cabinet Office website.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has also published information explaining the changes to the law and what they mean in practical terms.

If your business works with hazardous materials or equipment, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website offers useful guidance on fire safety.

And the UK Red Tape Buster has hundreds of factsheets, scenarios and frequently asked questions for every small business legal situation.

IT tip

How to register a .eu domain name

Last month, a new domain name suffix was launched for European businesses and organisations – the .eu suffix.

If you already have a domain name suffix such as .com or .co.uk, you might be interested in registering your domain for this new European suffix. But be prepared to be disappointed: competition for the most popular names is hot, and there's no guarantee you will be successful.

There are two reasons why investing in a .eu domain name might be useful:

• To indicate you are doing business in Europe, or have ambitions to do so.
• To prevent other businesses from using the domain and thus having a similar URL to your existing one.

The European Union (EU) has a lot of information about the new domain names at its Europa website and you can find out about the registration process at the official EurID website.

You can check whether somebody else has already applied for your chosen name at the EurID's whois site.

You can also make your application via one of the dozens of registrars. Here's a list of registrars that have been approved by EurID. It's well worth shopping around for the best deals.

Finally, you can check out our step-by-step guide to the process of choosing and registering a domain name for a practical overview of the stages involved.

New business idea

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

Here is this week's idea:

• Door Supervisor

Just one word

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 what 'plenary' means?

a) completely or fully attended by all members
b) a formal response to a legal claim or appeal
c) an official document that proves exemption from a law
d) a request to extend the terms of a loan or financial agreement

Answer at the end of the Bulletin.

Website review

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC - www.chamberonline.co.uk)

Billing itself as "the national voice for local business", this organisation represents small firms to the Government and provides a range of business services and information. So how user-friendly and accessible is its website?

• Navigation and presentation - an effective homepage divides into four the main areas of activity covered by the BCC, using icons to highlight these areas. Press releases are listed, keeping the site looking fresh, and useful tools - such as a search function to find your local Chamber - are included.

• Accessibility - no accessibility options are mentioned on the homepage, and a search of the site revealed nothing in this area. The site's text is quite small, so some options to adjust this, as well as help for users of other browsers or speakers of foreign languages, would be a dramatic improvement.

• Content and usefulness - the reports and publications on the site look at topics such as how European red tape affects businesses, how entrepreneurial the UK really is, and the problem of business crime, all of which are important small business issues. The site's export zone is also well populated with practical research resources like country profiles and training information - but some more practical guidance on general business issues would be good.

• Relevance - the Chamber's own press releases focus on its activities in terms of lobbying the Government on key business issues. The site is frequently updated with news, but again, a practical, tips-driven approach would be even more useful.

A mixed bag of resources for small businesses, with some useful tools and information on a fairly well designed site that is sadly lacking in accessibility options.

Our rating - 11/20

Did you know?

Microsoft patch released amid confusion

Controversy has arisen over Microsoft's ability to secure its Windows operating system, following news of a vulnerability in its Internet Explorer browser. Microsoft makes its patches available according to a monthly schedule, and the latest update, which was released yesterday (Tuesday 10 January), has left users vulnerable to a threat that experts had been aware of since 27 December.

Could corner shops be obsolete by 2015?

A gloomy future awaits the traditional corner shop, according to predictions from a parliamentary committee. It reckons that independent convenience stores won't be around in a decade, and also thinks the pressure from the big four supermarket chains will prove so great that by 2015, wholesalers such as Booker that specialise in supplying smaller retailers are likely to have disappeared too. The predictions are contained in a report leaked to the Times, which is due to be published later this month.

Worth a visit

Calculate your pension in a tick

The Pensions Calculator tool is specifically designed to help self-employed people work out how much of their income they might need to save to make adequate provision for their retirement. It helps you decide how much you would need to live on in retirement based on inflation and other issues, and the calculator then works out how much pension you'd get based on a number of regular contributions options.

Map your worldwide web visitors

gVisit is a handy tool for business owners keen to know where in the world the visitors to their website come from. You enter your website into the tool and receive a free URL that lets you see where your visitors originate from using Google Maps.

Hit parade of 2005's entrepreneurs

Management Today has announced its ranking of Britain's top 100 entrepreneurs, and financial services businessmen such as Simon Nixon of Moneysupermarket.com dominate the upper reaches of the chart. Entrepreneurs involved in technology businesses also feature among the wealthiest or most successful, with Peter Lammer of Sophos antivirus software at 19 and Ben White of Message Labs at 9. The youngest entrepreneur in the rankings is aged 27, and the wealthiest - James Ratcliffe of Ineos Group - is worth well over a billion pounds.

Worth a read

Written by a renowned life coach, this book aims to uncover some of the characteristics and traits shared by successful businesspeople and effective leaders. These traits are clearly set out into rules, while practical suggestions and examples help the reader to relate these to their own business, career or aspirations. An inspiring read. Check out:

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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.