The Key to Success in Business

One of the most asked questions faces involves some sort of secret to business – a key or shortcut to the whole thing. The truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a 100% foolproof formula for succeeding in business.

There is, however, a slow and steady process to get your business where you want it to. This process is something that can be tiring, grueling and downright disheartening at times – especially during the early phases when you make the most mistakes that can derail your business even before it has a chance to really develop. This is why we use the Tour de France and other bike marathons as a metaphor for helping businesses get off to a flying start.

That is unless you have a clear purpose for your business in mind.

People get into business settings with their sights on one thing and one thing alone: profit. This can be enough to motivate you to start thinking about starting up a business, but with only this motive there will not be enough once the aches and hardships start kicking in. You need to have a reason to keep on kicking, to roll with the punches and keep grinding away on your business. This purpose can be as simple as feeding your family and paying the bills or as grandiose as creating jobs for your community or setting your name down in history.

This is of course not as simple as it sounds, but it is something that our business coaching group never fails to teach to our clients.

Are you charging what you are worth?

One of the most baffling questions that entrepreneurs encounter while venturing into a new business is about how much they should charge for their products and services. While it is true that rates lower than the market value can quickly attract eyeballs and boost the business help, it is equally true that going too cheap on prices can make your business look low-end. The line between “affordable” and “cheap” is evidently too thin.

In the corporate world, rates define brand values. Customers choose to buy your product after considering what it is worth. Therefore, it is essential that your rates be at par with the quality of your product or service.

How do you know whether you are charging what you are worth? Here are four tips to consider:

• Evaluate yourself: If you are proficient at getting some work done without much effort, it may seem impossible to believe that someone would really pay you good sums for that work. This is simply because you haven’t realized your value yet. To charge what you are worth, you must first know what you are worth. Ask your clients for feedback, have a look at your past successes and you will soon know that your product/service is worth much more than what you think.

• Watch your competitors: Compare your prices with those of firms that equal yours in experience and expertise. If your prices are much lower than the market value, chances are that customers will think your product/service is less valuable than the others.

• Focus on development: With the zeal for development your product’s value grows. Customers will gladly pay more for high quality products and services.

• Seek reliable business help: Resolve your pricing dilemmas by approaching a trustworthy business advice firm.

Likes (and Dislikes): The Double-Edged Nature of Social Networking

One of the core tenets of business success training is to reach out to your customers and learn what they want. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook make this task so much easier thanks to their ability to instantly relay feedback and opinions.

They can also make it very easy to make a dumb mistake that will then become insanely difficult to deal with once the negative feedback starts snowballing out of control.

You have to understand that social networks are marketing and customer care all rolled into one neat package. Many business owners tend to view Facebook, Twitter and Google+ solely as extensions of their marketing campaign. They don’t really reach out to their follower base as all they do is inundate their profiles with marketing and self-promoting paraphernalia. They tend to mishandle irate customers that leave negative feedback and start discussions that destroy brand images instead of build them up.

This is why it is absolutely necessary that you invest time, effort and even some manpower to manage the profiles on these social networks. Here are two simple, down-to-earth tips from our small business consulting experts to get you started:

● Post something valuable and relevant. You want your followers to keep checking your social network profiles, so link them to stuff they can appreciate like informative articles or news pieces related to your products or services.

● Direct people to your customer care hotlines. Don’t get into a word-war with people on your Facebook or Twitter profile. Post a link to customer support instead. It tells them that you’re concerned enough to respond to problems without having to publicize the affair.

Sounds simple, right? Well, the devil is in the details but at least you know where to start when it comes to social networks! For More Info Visit Our Website: Rich Allen’s Tour De Profit.