Today, I did a little reading up on BusinessWeek.com :: Awesome! I found a few articles pretty enlightening or, at the least, noteworthy.
The first was, "Land A Business Loan Despite Bad Credit" by Kevin Klein - basically gives advice on how you can better your chances for getting loans in economic hard times, amidst your bad personal credit. Maintaining authentic relationships and building repor of trust and the value of your company with clients, family, friends, and lenders seems to be the key. Business loans are hard to come by right now even for those with good credit - but when you have people on your side that truly believe in the value of you and your business, any thing's possible.
Secondly, "A New Pricing Plan to Lure "Dormant" Customers" by Radi Mohammed (based on his book entitled: 1% Windfall: How Successful Companies Use Price to Profit and Grow - HarperBusiness, March 2010). Can you believe that if Sears would raise their prices by 1%, their profits would raise by 155%? That's insane. Well, this article just highlights the value of the prices that we set for our clients - knowing what the worries of our clients are, in regard to pricing, can really open the door for new customers. Clients prefer different forms of payment plans and pricing, so it's best to give them options and be aware of what other people are doing. --BTW, did you know that Kmart has layaway? And now they have layaway online? -- The article ends saying, "What pricing plans will activate your dormant customers?" -- Good question!
Apparently, Neuroscientists are now finding that people remember things better when their clumped into groups of three or four. Companies and individuals are benefiting from the idea of using three in their campaigns - The article, "Limit Presentations to Three Themes" by Carmine Gallo, really makes me think about what ways I might be able to incorporate the number three (which is my favorite number, btw) into my business. It makes reference to Disney using this, and also the CEO of EBay, Meg Whitman, as she runs for Governor of California. Sounds pretty accurate though- I'd rather hear a common theme of "1,2,3" when someone's selling something to me then "womp, womp, womp" for 3 hours.. or even 15 minutes. It can make for a pretty useful tool for, at the least, organizing your thoughts before selling your argument, product, or service- break it down first.
My favorite one for today - which I considered just keeping to myself - is "A Bidding Strategy for a Small Consulting Firm" by Karen E Klein. Sometimes people underestimate how difficult it is just to set your prices. A lot of the work that I do with my clients starts with an analysis and/or consultation - and these things can be hard to price at times. This article gave some good advice on when to know you're aiming too low or too high - and apparently, us females usually aim too low. Some points I beamed in on were: confirm competitors rates, network with others in your industry, ask clients what they've paid in the past, look at competitors websites and brochures, provide good references, let clients meet with you and your staff, highlight testimonials in your marketing materials, and emphasize your expertise. Jenny Sutton, a partner at The RFP Company and author of Extract Value from Consultant has some great advice in this article. Along with a lot of the notes I've already mentioned she says, "Once you get to the point where you're inundated with work and unable to handle new jobs, that's a signal that you should raise prices."
An excellent read, all around today on BusinessWeek.com
