Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 190
 |
| Thought for the week: "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." Douglas Adams |
|
In this week's issue:
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 and location 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. |
The facts about good salesmanship
Being effective at selling isn't just a matter of putting a product under a prospect's nose and hoping they'll automatically open up their wallet or purse and buy it.
Well, of course, there is an element of doing that as well, but more importantly than just getting your product in front of them, you also need to be conveying to your prospect some facts that will compel them to buy from you.
Another way of looking at this is by thinking of your product in terms of the real reasons why someone would desire to buy it.
An example of this would be where you run a business that makes and sells home-baked cheesecakes.
What are you really trying to sell when you stick the cake in the front window of your shop or on your market stall?
Obviously, a cheesecake, you might think. After all, if someone wants to buy a cheesecake, they'll just look for and buy a cheesecake, won't they?
Of course that's true, but it's vital that you appreciate some key points about the reasons why your customers might have a desire to buy your cakes, which will provide you with the clues to help you sell more of them.
Here are some examples of what we mean by this:
By understanding these real reasons why someone would be interested in buying your products, you will dramatically improve your ability to sell more of them when you convey and emphasise the facts that your prospects and customers really want to hear.
If you're poor at selling, you'll just be selling cheesecakes.
However, if you've learned the art of salesmanship, you'll have worked out how to take and stress a number of key facts which will create an impression in your customers' minds that this is the ultimate cheesecake they have been looking for.
A good salesperson creates impressions and emphasises value that a customer will desire and will be compelled to buy. In fact, by highlighting this value, you may also find that your customers are prepared to pay more to experience it.
Good salesmanship doesn't involve being pushy or simply selling at the lowest possible price, like many inexperienced new business owners believe.
It's about presentation of the facts that your customers really want to hear, which will make it difficult for them to resist buying your product.
 |
For hundreds of practical tips and techniques to help you find new customers and increase sales on a shoestring budget, check out the UK Small Business Marketing Bible. |
Training to become an eBay trader
How to trade successfully on eBay is now the subject of a number of college and university courses, in recognition of the growing number of people who make their living from the online auction site.
-
The eBay University, run by eBay itself, has a range of courses covering basic areas such as how the PayPal system works, listing items for sale, and what you should do after a successful auction. You can download some modules and study them online, and there are also advanced options for people looking to make a high volume of sales from the site.
-
eBay also arranges occasional online workshops, in which its employees and power sellers answer questions on various themes. The UK eBay community site offers sessions with no set timetable, but the US version holds them almost every day.
For basic advice about everyday issues, it's worth consulting the eBay discussion forums as a starting point. The official eBay help centre is also a useful resource.
You can also check out our practical guide to starting up as an eBay trader for more tips and advice.
Free downloads
The following list indicates the top ten most popular freeware and shareware downloads, as taken from the Download.com service over the past ten years:
1) ICQ (the first instant messaging service)
2) Winamp (the free audio player)
3) Napster (the controversial music file-sharing site)
4) FireFox (the web browser created by the Mozilla Foundation)
5) WinZip (the program that assists the download of large files)
6) iTunes (the music download service)
7) Ad-aware (the anti-spyware scanner and remover)
8) Skype (the Internet telephone service)
9) RealPlayer (the audio and video media player)
10) Acrobat Reader (the PDF viewing program created by Adobe)
Read more about each program's position on the chart on the CNET IT news site.
Each
week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business
ideas in the UK.
Here
is this week's idea:
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 the word 'obsequious' means?
a) aggressive or hostile
b) stubborn or pigheaded
c) overly eager to praise or obey
d) inappropriate or unsuitable
Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
The following topical business issues have been reported in the media over the past seven days. Did your radar pick them up?
1) Which major new business regulation has finally been given an implementation date?
a) The Work and Families Act
b) The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations
c) The WEEE Directive
d) The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations
2) Which Internet phenomenon have businesses been urged to get on board with or risk missing out on huge commercial opportunities?
a) Corporate blogging
b) Web 2.0
c) Podcasting
d) The Plain English campaign
3) What's been blamed for the spending slump that has been affecting high street retailers so far this winter?
a) The mild weather
b) The recent rise in interest rates to 5%
c) High parking charges in city centres
d) The number of people buying Christmas gifts online
Answers at the end of the Bulletin.
You can build a community website through Wikipedia
Edit-it-yourself giant Wikipedia is helping people build their own community websites. The founder of the online encyclopaedia, which allows users to write and edit the content, is launching free tools via Wikia.com - the commercial counterpart of Wikipedia. Reuters reported that the software is open-source and that hosting will be provided free of charge, with the publisher of the site entitled to keep advertising revenue.
Vista susceptible to malware threats
IT security company Sophos has reported that three of the most active viruses, worms and Trojans currently loose in cyberspace can run on Microsoft's newly launched Vista operating system. The malicious programs are able to bypass Vista's defence systems when accessed via a third-party web-based e-mail client. This could be a potentially serious issue if your business uses a web-based e-mail service like Hotmail, or if you allow staff to check personal e-mail at work.
One-stop search engine submission shop
Add Me! is a search engine listings resource where users can benefit from free submission to a number of leading search engines. The site also includes tips, tools and articles relating to search engine optimisation.
Check your Google ranking daily
Check Rankings is a free keyword position tracking tool that automatically tracks your ranking on Google (and several other search engines) for up to ten keywords every day. Results are presented in a handy graphical chart so that you can easily monitor trends over time - a useful trick if you're currently implementing changes that might impact on your ranking, such as optimising your site for the search engines. Users need to register to use the service.
This title, new for January 2007, focuses on eight specific practical skills that are integral to effective management of people and leadership of a team. The skills include managing the workplace environment; selecting (and deselecting) the right people; leading and inspiring your management team; and setting goals and priorities. Check out:
Just one word answer
The answer is c).
Obsequious means overly eager to praise or obey.
When dealing with customer complaints, it is important to be polite to the customer without being obsequious. |
How's your business radar answers
1) The answer is c) - the Government has announced that the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive will come into force from 1 July 2007.
2) The answer is b) - research analyst Gartner has urged enterprises to maximise the opportunities presented by Web 2.0, identifying seven key business benefits.
3) The answer is a) - mild weather throughout November and so far in December has been blamed for depressed sales of clothing and shoes in the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) monthly Retail Sales Monitor. |
Visit www.enterprisequest.com to access all back issues of the EnterQuest bulletin. If you have any feedback or suggestions for us to make this service more relevant please e-mail your comments to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
If you wish to discontinue your subscription to EnterQuest please click on the 'SafeUnsubscribe' link at the bottom of the bulletin.
Remember that we guarantee never to sell or give your e-mail address to anyone else.
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. |
