Sometimes we forget that we can’t be ‘all things to all men’. And sometimes it is better to concentrate on our strengths and limit our apparent weaknesses by asking for help when we need it.
And it doesn’t matter if the help we ask for is expert knowledge to achieve what we’re aiming at or encouragement and belief from our family and friends to reach the goals we’ve set for ourselves.
Many businesses fail because the owner cannot be the expert in everything that is needed to make a business successful. Their passion is usually the service or product they are supplying; that’s where their inherent knowledge lies. But sometimes a business fails because the owner does not know:
- how to create and implement a business strategy
- how to market their business
- how to get sales
- how to control their finances properly
- how to handle customer support effectively
- how to build a website and get it seen by their prospective customers
And a host of other related issues that crop up in business.
And the person that tries to handle all these on their own is creating a huge millstone for themselves.
Getting The Help Needed
The person who asks for help in the area they do not have experience in is showing wisdom. In the early days of a business the funding probably isn’t there to opt for outsourcing.
That’s where networking – talking to like-minded people, offering help and asking for help comes in. And networking can be online and offline.
Offline frequently takes the form of business clubs or groups, chambers of commerce, business support groups – different ones in different countries – and master groups.
Online help is available through forums, discussion boards and blogs, like this one. And sharing those resources can be your gesture of help.
Will you help others?
So – I’d like to ask your help for those people who read this blog.
Which are the most useful online websites you’ve found? And why?
Share your experiences of where you’ve found helpful people who’ve answered your questions and given freely of their expertise – or maybe forums where you already contribute your expertise to help others. In fact if you have a business related blog that I haven’t already discovered, now is the time to let me and everyone else know.
Click the comments link below and tell us all about the support you’ve found, or given, on the net. And, if I believe it is a valuable resource for my other readers, your comment will be approved and will show on this blog.
Thank you in advance for participating and sharing.
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
Giving great service is recognised by most businesses as a must. But what is great service? I think this experience related by my friend, Nigel Risner, is a good example. . .
“Last night I went to one of my favourite restaurants of all time, it has just reopened after many years.
What they have done so remarkably well, is to do exactly what they had done to make them one of the busiest establishments in the past.
Great service.
Great service; great menu and staff who actually want to SERVE.
They also have added some nice little touches, (kosher section) a booking service that lets you know they know you are coming. Valet parking, and many others.
Why am I writing about this with such passion? Because when times get tough, get the basics right.
Will I be returning? yes! Will I spend a lot of money? yes! Will I tell my friends No (only kidding.)
The Chicago Rib Shack is back and in my opinion EVEN BETTER.
I have also been asked to work with a very famous retail store. If I can get them to understand the messages from above I promise I can turn them around.
They had and have a great customer base, they had a great theme, but somewhere have lost their way.
Great service, great people, great choice.
I promise you if you follow that mantra business will come back
Remember the definition of a great organisation:
A product that doesn’t come back and a customer who does
Nigel Risner
So how does your business stack up? Are your customers raving fans, like Nigel is of this restaurant?
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
Wow! You guys (& gals) rock! Your support is overwhelming, I’m really impressed and very grateful. And I’ve had an interesting thought…
Before I tell you what it is, let me bring you up to date with some feedback. I’ve just checked the stats on the www.WriteLettersWinSales.co.uk site to see how my goal to gift my book to 800 business people is going.
Well we’ve had an impressive follow-through with 426 views of the page so far and I haven’t even sent out my offline mailshot or done the press releases yet! They don’t go out until the beginning of next week, cause I thought I’d give you a head start first 
.
Not everyone who visited has opted for the full book download – but we are getting there 
And that’s what got me thinking… and I had a brainwave
Here’s My Idea
Apart from giving you your free copy of the book I’d like to acknowledge the support you are showing me.
So I decided I’d offer a gift to the person who has the highest number of friends accepting the invitation to download the book. And don’t worry – my system has already recorded the number of people you’ve invited and how many have collected their gift, so you won’t lose out if you’ve already been pretty active with this memorial project.
You can send your invitation to more friends at Invite More
What To Give?
I haven’t fully decided what to give – but I’ve got 12 days before the free ebook offer closes so that gives me plenty of time to come up with something really valuable; it may be self-study products (including new ones currently in the development pipeline) or it may be a personal copywriting review with me, which helps to hone your writing skills or – if I’m feeling really generous - I might even offer to write some copy to use in your current sales campaign.
Tell you what – you choose! What would be the most useful and valuable extra gift from your point of view? Click the comments link below and tell me what you’d like to receive and specifically why and how that would help you. If I get a tie between a few people on June 18th I’ll use the comments posted here as a tie-breaker.
Thanks again for your support and good luck if you decide to participate further.
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
In my last post I asked if you would help me to deliver a gift to business people in commemoration of my Father. Well it is ready to go. And, of course, you’re invited to accept this gift as well.
The gift is a PDF version of my popular (rated 5* on amazon.co.uk) book ‘I Want To Buy Your Product… Have You Sent Me A Lettter Yet?. It describes, in easy to follow steps, exactly how to write effective sales letters and adverts.
I’m attempting to reach out to at least 800 business people as a tribute to my Dad, who would have been 80 this month. And that’s why I’m asking you to visit www.WriteLettersWinSales.co.uk so you can help spread the word and invite your business friends to get their copy and, of course, get your own copy too.
If you don’t want to invite anyone you can still get a useful gift on the website to use in your own business.
Gift Offer Finishes on 18th June
My Father’s birthday would have been 18th June so that’s when this free gift expires, at midnight (BST).
Why not pop over to www.WriteLettersWinSales.co.uk now rather than risk not remembering until after the 18th, when it is too late.
Thanks again for your support with this. I’ll let you know how many we reach between us.
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
Will you help me to reach 800 action-orientated business people with a special gift? I’m just finishing up the web pages and plan to release it within the next day or two. For some businesses this gift can literally turn them around – helping them to generate more revenue than ever before. In fact it ties in strongly with my previous post ‘Ostrich or Hawk‘.
Let me explain. You’ve probably noticed the book graphic in the panel on the right of this page – you may even have the book, in which case I’d like to say ‘Thank You’ for investing in it.
The direct marketing concepts revealed in this book find additional business using sales letters and adverts. It describes the fundamentals of how to make your sales letter more successful, or as Dr Joe Vitale said…
“Outstanding! It shows you an easy way to transform mediocre letters to explosive letters – the kind that get noticed, get read, get sales!”
Unfortunately there are hundreds, No! thousands, of business people who do not understand these powerful principles; who do not use these ethically persuasive techniques and who, consequently, do not get the sales they richly deserve. And, with your help, I’d like to reach out to them with. . .
A Gift To Celebrate
If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I lost my Father earlier this year. Dad, who was a gentle and sensitive man, would have been 80 this June. Obviously I can’t celebrate with him, but I know that celebrating his life by helping others (as he always strived to do) is a fitting tribute for him.
But I want to help people in a way that I’m uniquely positioned to do, so
Your Mission – should you choose to accept it..
…is to help me gift a PDF version of this book to 800 businesses (including yours) by June 18th (his birthday); that’s just 10 people for each year of his life.
Will you help me reach this goal by accepting this gift and inviting business people you know to download it completely free of charge and with no obligation?
As I said, the website, describing the book and what it can do for those lucky enough to get a copy, is just going through the final testing stages. It will be ready shortly. Look out for a post entitled Copywriting: A Celebration Gift. And in the meantime check your contact list for the people you believe would appreciate and use this valuable gift.
Thanks
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
In my 36+ years in business (oops! I think I’ve just given my age away! ) I’ve gone through a fair few recessions. And time and time again I’ve seen businesses make a big mistake that, in some cases, has been the beginning of their demise.
You see, when the economy is good business people actively engage in marketing; pro-actively look for new business. They are hawk-like, ready to use all their skills and resources to flush out prospects who want their products or services.
Then the economy dips, maybe a recession hits and suddenly some of these companies turn into an ostrich! They bury their head in the sand, stop marketing; stop spending on the one activity that could help beat recession and generate the sales they desperately need.
Why?
Whenever I’ve asked that question I’m invariably told “Because we aren’t getting enough revenue and we haven’t got the money to spend!”
It’s a catch-22 situation, isn’t it? If you stop or reduce your marketing you’re less likely to find new or additional business, which in turn means your revenues slump and there’s less money for your promotions.
But is this a wise decision? History might say otherwise. If you look at businesses that continued their marketing and advertising, in spite of a recession, they not only survived they often prospered. Prospered because their competitors, who didn’t have the courage to invest in their business marketing had gone to the wall, leaving more of the market ripe for picking.
How To Give Yourself Confidence In Your Marketing
It’s a scary time.
How can you be sure your marketing is a good investment?
Is it worthwhile?
How can you be confident about what you’re doing?
There’s only one way that makes any sense to me. . . and that’s by knowing what your customer is truly worth to you in terms of the overall gross profit they generate for you. Not just on the first sale, but on all the purchases they are likely to place with you. And knowing your direct acquisition costs; how much you spent on your marketing to get that customer in the first place.
Then – and only then – can you calculate how good an investment your continued marketing is.
In fact, I think if you carry out the exercise I’ve described above, you’ll discover a stronger, more active marketing strategy could pay dividends.
So why not be a hawk and spread your marketing wings and flush out all that business that’s waiting for you?
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
This is a brief, and I do mean brief, message.
If you’ve checked out the videos, web reporting and other material the StomperNet guys are pushing out then you have already got some great material.
But if you want more of their good stuff then you need to act quickly and check out what they are offering at StomperNet before they close the doors again.
(Throughout the SMARTS program I ‘attended’ the membership for StomperNet itself was closed, so I’m confident their claim they will close for a period of time is genuine and not just a marketing ploy).
Have a good weekend,
~ Carol Bentley
Add to: | del.cio.us | digg
Wedding planner: The recommendations you discussed here are really useful. It abso...
Samantha: That is kind of hard of a bargain when monetizing online. That wa...
Lynkez: Dear customer, to effect reliability and a sustainable flow we he...
Nancyshanice: handling your customers well is something very nice, because you ...
Carol Bentley: Hi Brian, (sorry for the delay in replying, your comment got bloc...
Brian Moseley: When I open your RSS feed it puts up a whole lot of strange chara...