Online Business Education is a Winner

I don’t think there can be too many small business owners who would say no to having their business being given the once over by a business guru with a wealth of practical experience and the time to devote to picking the operation apart and then making suggestions of ways of making it work better!

The problem is, who would this guru be and how much time would a busy business owner have to put aside to educate this guru in the nuances of the business.

The reality of course is that it’s not going to happen! But that doesn’t make that nagging feeling that most business owners have go away – the feeling that if you could just make a few informed changes, then the business might take off, or this or that problem would become more manageable.

This is where online business courses come into their own. A well researched and presented online business course such as The Small Business Toolbox has many benefits for the busy but committed business owner.

Firstly of course, the business owner doesn’t have to brief anyone about the ins and outs of his business. All the knowledge that is required is right there between his or her ears – all the owner has to do is take that knowledge and apply it as directed by the online business course.

Secondly, the business owner doesn’t have to attend class at a specific place at a specific time. He or she can sit down at the computer and log on to the course anytime they want to.

Thirdly, – no keeping up with the Jones’s here, or waiting for them! With an online business course, you work at your own pace – fast or slow, it’s up to you.

And most importantly, when the course is put together by people who have been there and done that in the world of small business, then you know that you are getting a practical, tried and tested business education that you can immediately apply in your business.

It’s no wonder that online business education is seen as the best way that busy business owners can take their businesses to the next level. Try it for yourself – visit www.thesmallbusinesstoolbox.com

Sponsorship as a Marketing Tool

In small business today South Africa still presents itself as a land of opportunity for those with the energy and vision to overcome the challenges.

We have a dynamic and growing middle income market to tap into, we have wide open spaces and a climate that lends itself to many and varied businesses and we have the FIFA World cup. We can top this list with a president who clearly supports entrepreneurship as seen by his commitment to massive job creation.

South Africans are also becoming, along with the rest of the world, increasingly aware of the future of this country. As small business owners there is more interest than ever before in mission statements, business charters and especially looking at social responsibility programmes that enable us to give back to the communities within which we operate.

Social media has opened this arena to the small business owner at a fast and cost-effective rate. Successful marketing of your business through sponsorship programmes is no longer limited to the arena of corporate giants!

Now South Africa also boasts a wealth of opportunity for creative sponsorship. We have orphans, HIV/Aids, poverty and all the green issues to be tended to. Suddenly you can be bold in your sponsorship, choosing the beneficiary of your social responsibility efforts with clear focus and you can not only involve your staff in a hands on capacity you can also be vocal about it, both within your business and in the media serving your target market.

You can spend a lot or you can spend a little. It’s not about how much you spend, but about how much impact what you spend has on the organization concerned.

Why not encourage communities or other businesses in your area, to join your venture and then you’ll be able to watch the effect you have as it ripples through your community. You can make such a difference in the lives of others while improving your own bottom-line by aligning social responsibility with an effective multi-pronged marketing campaign. Win-Win. Way to go!

Take your marketing team to the next level and be sure you are armed with the right tools to reach your target in this exciting landscape by adding TheSmallBusinessMarketingToolbox.com to your Board of Directors!

To find out more about a Practical Step-by-step Marketing Programme for small businesses visit us today.

Eric Parker will be here in 2010

The Small Business Toolbox is pleased to announce that we will be working closely with FrontRunner Publishing and Eric Parker to bring you the ability to purchase electronic copies of Eric’s famous “Be A Winner” series of business pocket books.

With titles like How to Buy a Small Business; How to Raise Finance for Your Business and how to Make Your Business Fail-Safe, amongst 14 others, we’re sure you’ll find advice and tips to solve just about every business challenge imaginable.

Basil and Eric were impressed with The Small Business Toolbox and are keen to get the payment gateway live as soon as possible so our development team is hard at work to ensure you have access to these incredible tools early in 2010.

Hopefully that’ll enable you to capitalize on all the opportunities surrounding the 2010 World Cup and make next year the year you, and your business, thrive!

Watch this space and, in the meantime, remember now is the time to revisit your Business Strategy for next year so why not do The Small Business Strategy Toolbox programme so you’ve got your business action plan ready to go when the new year starts!

Sales Letters – Part One

Writing Sales Letters that Work

Developing effective sales letters, whether they’re going to be sent through the post or by email are one of the most effective and inexpensive ways you can get your message out there.

One of the benefits is that you can tailor it so that the recipient feels that it’s been personally written and that you have taken the time and trouble to talk directly to them.

In order to get your creativity fired up why not try some of these tried and tested methods for developing sales letters that really work.

Tell a story that connects with your customers

By drafting copy that your target market can instantly connect with you will not only be able to share with them some of the benefits of dealing with you but also illustrate to them that you understand the challenges and frustrations they’re facing.

Example: ‘”When I started my own small business the biggest problem I faced was how to market effectively on a shoestring. I was scared to try things that could turn into expensive mistakes and was paralysed to the point where I did nothing. You see I’m not a natural marketer but I’m really good at cutting hair! Then I purchased The Small Business Marketing Toolbox and I suddenly understood that there was a lot I could do that didn’t cost anything at all. Now I have the peace of mind of knowing I can focus on my real job and find and keep customers at the same time!”

Copy written in story-line format has the greatest appeal. By sharing a short story that connects with the reader’s situation, you are empathizing with them and they feel an automatic sense of alignment to you and your product. Don’t be scared to use long copy where you draw out your story for added effect. People WILL read long copy… IF they find it really interesting.

Do we really know what makes our business tick?

This for me is one of the key questions which we need to answer – what really drives our business? Lest we forget, business is based on people. It is all about relationships and one-on-one conversation – how do we as supplier best understand, interpret and meet the needs of you, our “consumer” now and in the future. Yet a great deal of what I saw and what I am seeing increasingly in the marketplace is a constant and ever increasing supply of software products to automate the customer interface.

I can remember Marketing 1.01 and the expression that customers are individuals and will express themselves as such in their buying behaviour as long as they have the money and the choice to be able to do so. I have long been convinced in the school of hard knocks and by observation of successful businesses over many years that those businesses which cultivate and maintain rich and meaningful dialogue with their customers are the ones which have prospered in the long run. And yet we are confronted with a plethora of “Customer relationship” software solutions purporting to automate a large portion of the customer relationship interface.

I am sure that there is a role for these and that, utilised effectively, they can help to reduce costs and increase effectiveness. The key is not to be seduced into thinking that they can in any shape, way or form, take the place of real customer intimacy – the type of relationships that take time to build but which become the foundation stones of enduringly successful businesses.

And we cannot even begin to think about the implementation of the CRM software systems which may automate much or even parts of the customer interface UNLESS we understand very clearly what makes our business tick. We need to be sure of what connects our brand DNA  to our customers. We need to stand back and think once again that customers are individuals, are unique and each holds a unique relationship with our business. Threaten that, and you threaten the core of your brand. Lose sight of it in the excitement and mystique of fancy new software and you run the real risk of undermining the real core of your business’ existence – the special nature of the personal relationships which you have with your key customers – and that is step one on the slippery slope to oblivion!

So by all means look for software that will ENABLE – that will give you savings, better and faster information and a broader base of communication. But never ever lose sight of the fact that your customers see their relationship with you as an intensely personal and individual one – between living organisms not databases