Business Consultancy

Inzvestor has been working with PVC Printing (http://pvcprinting.co.uk) to re-evaluate their business and implement some new marketing initiatives.

Inspired to assist after sampling some of the fantastic pvc business cards that Pete provides we felt compelled to tell everyone we know about this fabulous product.

PVC Printing produces bespoke name badges, credit card sized and perfect for use as trade-shows where a much inferior cardboard type product is produced. Our badges created a good first impression when visiting new suppliers and potential clients.

Do your business a favour and view the samples on the website and contact Pete for competitive rates for one-of-a-kind designs.

We have been working with PVC Printing to develop their online presence and have recently introduced them to the art of blogging. 3 days in and already 3 posts under their belt the blog is starting to take shape.

The PVC Printing Blog can be found here. Visit regularly for tips and hints about how best to use this advertising medium.

Each January I run through the business overheads and look to save money where possible.

After much analysis I decided that my current web hosts were more than adequate so there was no reason to change - BUT, by moving 2 domains to a new hosting plan I could save over £100 per year in hosting fees !

Most businesses have more than 1 domain if they are on the ball and want to protect their name, so they link them all under an umbrella hosting agreement, enticed by the free offers of transferring existing domains and receiving a discount for having multiple domains hosted.

However, not all hosts offer flexibility of including 1 or 2 domains more than they advertise (Tip # 1 - get to know your host !)

Once you have reached your limit it may be better to buy separate hosting rather than adding more domains on (ie another block of 5 domains).

Check out your hosting agreement today and see if you can save money by transferring too. Oh, and make sure you ask for all of the benefits a new customer might get as well - after all you are funding their marketing scheme…

What ever happened to the Ears to Mouth Ratio of 2:1 ? or has that concept been consigned to history?

bStartup 2006 was all about the hardsell, from the time you stepped foot in the door until the time you left there was no shortage of hawkers, leaflet pimps, and minimum wage salespeople trying to give away as many brochures or business cards as possible, or touting for business in a fashion akin to timeshare salespeople.

Qualifying clients’ wants and needs is an integral part of any marketing campaign, and this is even more important at a tradeshow or event such as bStartup. Marketing literature is not cheap to produce, and many thousands of pounds were wasted (not to mention the vast number of trees needed to produce this waste-product).

There was a surprisingly poor level of customer data capture, and not many stands had a visible mailing list that could be joined (and if they did the offer wasn’t forthcoming)

I gave out a lower number of business cards than anticipated, possibly in defence (see above) and the knowledge that I would be relentlessly pursued/spammed to part with my money on a product or service that would be of no use to me.

There were some interesting pitches at ‘The Midas Touch’ area, where a Dragons Den style show was taking place. There were some really constructive comments being given about the pitches and business concepts. A theme that was repeated time after time was that of scaleability. Some entrepreneurs had clearly done their homework using figures in a defined geographic area, and hadn’t considered the issue of cloning their concept.

I met some great people whom I have been corresponding with over the past few months/years, and got to know them a little better.
I was pleased to meet Andy Barr - PR Guru (10 Yetis) and Duane Jackson - online accounts infopreneur (Kashflow - click the advert below), who were kept busy demonstrating Kashflow to smallbusinesspeople.

The speednetworking was an interesting concept, meeting approx 30 people in an hour. This isn’t entirely productive as again, the contacts are unqualified.

Unless we exhibit at bStartup I think this will be the last one I visit as a consumer.

In the past week I’ve received all sorts of freebies from local businesses and suppliers, as a welcome to new premises and rewards for business given in the past 12 months.

Some businesses donate items seasonally (ie Easter Eggs at Easter, Christmas Hampers at Christmas Time) whereas others are more sporadic, giving at the time of sales calls (a tray of muffins here and there)

All suppliers are remembered during the week and even into the next, but can you state who gave you what a month or two down the track?

The key to getting your product remembered long-term is in the branding + the delivery. You can’t have one without the other.

I can recall which suppliers have taken me to the theatre, the rugby, the cricket and even overseas for weeks at a time, going back many years, and this is influenced partly by the branding, partly by the value* and partly by the delivery.

The actual product being given is secondary to the branding and delivery itself.

ie, you could give mothballs as gifts, but if you branded them and delivered them in a memorable fashion you are extremely likely to be remembered for years to come. Whereas, you might give out Creme Eggs at Easter, but pass them to your point of contact to distribute amongst his/her colleagues, with no branding at all, and the long-term effect is lost.

Before you embark on your next campaign or sales call, consider the long-term effects, and take a few minutes more to define your branding and delivery strategy.

*value refers to monetary and emotionally

Do you have a branding + delivery story that you wish to share? where one or more elements could have been tweaked to create a better overall and longlasting impression?

Please visit the This Is Your Business forum and contribute

About Inzvestor.com:
Inzvestor.com is a Business Consultancy, specialising in advising small and emerging businesses.
To discuss how we can help you plan your next sales campaign centered around a ‘branding and delivery’ strategy please visit Inzvestor.com

Most entrepreneurs using forums and websites such as TIYB rely on other members to become their main client base. Whilst this is great in theory, alliances must also be forged offline too.

Creating a strong local presence helps in many ways.

Over the next few days I’d like to discuss ways we can build strong offline presences effectively and at minimal cost.

#1 - PR
PR can be an extremly cost effective option, but most companies don’t have a defined story to tell by themselves. They certainly have marketing/advertising fodder, but very little in the way of real PR.

However, banding together, local businesses may create newsworthy circumstances, from which PR can be derived.

Tip #1: Don’t be afraid to charge for your services
Tip #2: Set out reasonable expectations
Tip #3: Set out the timeframe
Tip #4: Deliver
Tip #5: Feedback and referrals

At which point in time should a business start ‘charging for their services’?
The answer is this ~ from the start

Don’t be afraid to charge for your services
Not only will you benefit, but you will be able to provide more resources than if you offer a free service.
You’re effectively selling your time, and unless you’re a charity - time is precious
What are you worth per hour? and is this a fair representation for the work to be undertaken?
I’ll discuss setting hourly rates (or set-project rates) in a future blog

Set out reasonable expectations
When there is no tangible product, often the benefits are not seen by the client for some time.
Put in writing what you will offer, what is chargeable, what is free, and what outside resources the client will need to procure, so that there is no confusion and no reason to contest the invoice that you send.

Set out the timeframe
When can the client reasonably expect to receive your services?
Sales targets are often achieved over a specific timeframe. Bear this in mind when indicating ROI *.

Deliver
Self explanatory, and may lead to future work and referrals

Feedback and referrals
This step is often overlooked but is one of the most vital and binds all the others together
Often you can gain information to help make your customers experience a better one next time round
Referrals, a free form of advertising, can bring an added income stream to your businesses, and helps increase your goodwill, an asset in the eyes of the financial world.

ROI = Return on Investment
i.e how much you will make vs the outlay

What is a Mentor?
A mentor is someone with more entrepreneurial / business experience than you who acts as an advisor on business and sometimes personal matters over a period of time.

How to choose a Mentor:
The first question you need to ask yourself is this.

Why would a mentor want to work with ‘me’?

This question is more fundamental than actually choosing a mentor.
There are plenty of people willing to be mentors, but they usually pick and choose their students (aka mentees). Good mentors may be in demand and already have several mentees. Make your proposition stand out from the rest, using enthusiasm and initiative.

Mentors come in many shapes and sizes and all have different and unique attributes.

Examine your exisiting network - friends, former employers, sports coaches, online networkers. From this group, whom do you admire / respect? Have you already been assisted in some way and wish to develop a formal relationalship with?

Choose a mentor from an industry that is complementary to yours.
Identify niche skills that you wish to develop and ask your mentor if they can help with those.

Ensure your mentor has no ulterior motive (ie a product they simply wish to sell you, and not provide any business support to you, the mentee)
Qualify that your mentor is not after financial compensation for their services. Mentors are often rewarded in many other ways - in particular, their teaching skills are improving. their strategies are evolving, or they may wish to use you as a case study for improving their own consultancy.

Top Tips:

• You can have more than one mentor
• Don’t agree to work with a mentor (or share any personal details) without meeting them first
• Check for any possible conflicts of interest
• Establish rapport with them - identify their wider interests
• Don’t be too ambitious - Richard Branson is unlikely to take you under his wing personally
• Thank your mentors frequently - not financially, but a bottle of wine/Scotch doesn’t go astray from time to time, particularly if you have been helped to win a large contract or helped through a challenging period.

Teamwork (aka collaboration) is a vital ingredient in well performing businesses.

Nathan Briggs sums up collaboration well in his Business Blog.

Teamwork is about leveraging your time.

Effective use of OPT (*1) and OPM (*2) are two techniques that can help increase your chances of success in business, but are skills that cannot just be learned in a matter of hours. They take time to develop and refine

*1 OPT = Other Peoples Time
*2 OPM = Other Peoples Money

We’ll be discussing the merits of OPT and OPM and how to apply leveraging to your business model in future blogs.

Should you wish to discuss and implement these strategies in a shorter timeframe please use the contact form to request an appraisal of your business model.

Choosing a business Mentor may be one of the smartest business decisions you can make.

Not only does this give you a sounding board, it can add value to your business, and help you to further avoid the pitfalls of trading.
A Mentor will challenge you and help to keep you motivated. They will see your business from an entirely different perspective than you (as 99% of the time they do not have a stake/financial interest in your business.

How do you choose a Mentor?
I’ll cover that in a future blog, but for the meantime have a think about how a Mentor could add value to your business.
Make a list of all those whom you admire in business and we’ll review this in a few days time.