Out and about helping YOU succeed

How many contacts do you have?

I don’t mean the phone list on your mobile I mean in your business. Do you even know how many you have and more importantly do you realise how valuable they are?

I am always amazed when I work with businesses that they are unaware of the value each of those contacts can bring to the business.

Firstly those contacts already know you whether they are customers or suppliers. They are also contacts which you have invested time and effort getting through all your sales efforts and activities.

Secondly what I find time and time again is that these contacts are not being used to promote or to grow the business. So many businesses still work with manual or hard copy paperwork and do not use the contact information in any way.

Your customer list is valuable;

• you can use that list to promote or inform your customers of your new products and services.
• you can just keep in touch with them to remind them of your services
• you can ask them for feedback to allow you to improve your services
• you can ask them for testimonials or referrals to others who may need your services
• you can thank them for their business

This is not an exhaustive list but just some of the ways you can interact with your contact base in a constructive way. How you communicate is up to you using email, direct mail, brochures or calls whatever you do its better than nothing at all.

There are many ways and services you can use and lots of people who can help if you are one of the people not using this valuable asset you have.

Let us know how you are using your contacts and if you are not why not?

Carol Buchan

Call Yorkshire Business Services on 01943-607851 and visit our website and learn more at www.yorkshirebusinessservices.com for more news of what is happening in your own Yorkshire business community.

I am inspired by the businesses I work with and feel privileged when I have the opportunity to help them collaborate.

The old adage of "one plus one = five" certainly applies when businesses have the foresight and vision to see the opportunity of collaborating.

What do I mean - well one companies problem of waste and the waste costing them up to 6 figures per year directly to dispose of surprisingly enough is the sort of thing another partner needs as raw material for their plant. The trick is how do you connect them together.

When we get clients asking for help it is excellent when connecting them together provides a solution that is certainly much greater than either would have expected.

In this case the bottom line problem of one actually solves a problem of another and what is more gives them the opportunity to increase profitability and generate revenue.

Its not easy - like anything it needs work, vision, certainly needs help from a third party not only to identify the opportunity but to help make the thing work.

If you have not considered it before you should - who should you be connecting with?

Carol

I had the great pleasure to go along and hear Tim Campbell of apprentice fame, speak at an event in Harrogate last Thursday evening.

He is an excellent speaker and and went through his experiences and challenges and also some of the lessons learnt through the Mentors - such as Alan Sugar have shared with him and that he has experienced.

Out of this excellent session one of the messages Tim spoke about rang out loud and clear.

Are you in a business or do you just have a hobby? A business makes money and a hobby just gives you money to live on.

How many of us run our businesses as a hobby? Its not wrong or right but it is important we know what we are doing and act accordingly. If we are in it to make money and run a business then we must have a plan and clear deliverables on the way.

Which is it that you have? When you are thinking about starting up in business or working for yourself are you clear where you want to go?

If you are not sure or you cannot answer this then how do you expect to get there!

Look closely at yourself and your proposition and ask yourself these questions and be honest!

Labels: business, planning, Profit, success