The Hottest and Most Brilliant Business Tips for YOU – Perfect Productivity Can Be Yours – and More
Our research ninjas at Credit Suite smuggled out ten amazing business tips for you! Be fierce and score in business with the best tips around the web. You can use them today and see fast results. You can take that to the bank – these are foolproof! Perfect productivity is within your reach!
Stop making stupid decisions and start powering up your business. Demolish your business nightmares and start celebrating as your business fulfills its promise.
And these brilliant business tips are all here for free! So settle in and scoop up these tantalizing goodies before your competition does!
#10. Love the ‘Gram
Our first jaw-dropping tip is all about marketing your business on Instagram. Noobpreneur tells us it’s better to talk to your customers than just blast them with sales messages. And we agree with that! Consider, if you will, why you follow a company on Instagram or any other social media platform.
It’s probably for something like – coupons, contests, information/training, or job openings. Most of us aren’t following, say, Coca-Cola, because we feel like watching or reading or listening to an ad. We see enough of those, day in, day out.
So stand out by showcasing something different.
#9. Multiply the Value of Every Customer
The next awesome tip is about selling more to existing customers. G2 has the details. Some of these should be fairly familiar. For example, the idea of upselling or offering cross-selling is nothing new. Upselling can be if you offer an extra something or other when the customer is ready to check out. This is something you base on what they have in their shopping cart.
Cross-selling is bundling – we’re used to seeing it with cable TV. Your customer is buying shoes, so they might also need socks. You get the idea.
But our favorite tip was seemingly counterintuitive.
Downselling.
Say what?
Offer Less to Keep the Prospect Interested
What an interesting concept. When customers abandon their shopping carts, over half the time it’s due to price. So why not offer them lower-priced items in your cart abandonment emails? Or coupon codes or discounts or the like – any of these can work.
Once you’ve proven yourself and your company to your customers, they might be inclined to buy that more expensive item anyway.
If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Perfect productivity can be yours.
#8. An Awesome Business Plan is But a Week Away
Our following life-changing tip concerns writing a killer business plan in just about no time. Succeed As Your Own Boss says you’re looking for quality, and not quantity.
We really loved the first two tips. One was to look at problems as business opportunities. And the other was an old chestnut – know your customers.
A Fer-Instance
Let’s say the problem you’ve identified in the world is how easy it is for umbrellas to turn inside out in high winds. We all know what happens – people toss out the old brolly and buy a replacement. No biggie, yes?
Well, what happens if we suggest a different outcome? Our reinforced umbrella is probably going to cost more, at least to start. And it may be heavier than your garden variety umbrella. So who are our customers? People with some money and some upper arm strength. Hence our customers might not be the elderly or people with disabilities. At least, not yet.
Once you understand both these things, you start to have a clue about the framework of your business plan.
Of course, this example is simplistic. But there’s no reason you can’t do something similar when figuring out your own business plan.
Oh, and business plans can be changed. So don’t sweat it if oh my goodness your business is expanding and the plan no longer fits.
Just change the plan.
#7. Deals – Faster Than the Speed Of Business
For our next sensational tip, we looked at streamlining your deal flow. Mail Shake lays it all out for us. We were so pleased that the first task is research! After all, how can you understand your prospect if you don’t take even the minimal amount of time to get to know what motivates them? What do they want? And what will turn them right off?
True Story
So this probably doesn’t apply to most people, but what the hey. Your intrepid blog writer does not have children – and none planned. Hence, this is a minority position.
As a result, when talking to a sales person, being told something or other is good for my utterly mythological children is quite the turn off. Now, I don’t expect most sales people to have any idea about this nugget of information about me. Rather, what I expect is for sales to take into consideration that it’s possible they would encounter a member of my type of minority.
Or consider vegans buying a barbecue grill to cook fruit and vegetables (try corn on the cob and pineapple – they’re particularly awesome). And then the sales person goes through a whole spiel all about, you guessed it, cooking steaks on the grill.
You can imagine how well something like that is going to go over, eh?
Outreach, Engagement, and Closing
So these are the three other parts of a streamlined deal flow. The article has wonderful suggestions on how to stand out in these three areas. We recommend reading the article for the details.
#6. Tick Tock
This tip is so neat, and it works! Proof Hub notes that you don’t have to make time management mistakes.
So quit procrastinating!
It’s not so simple. Totally understood.
The article gives some ideas as to why we may be procrastinating. And their #9 is a doozy – you didn’t do the hardest thing first.
This makes a great deal of sense to us. But … we have a caveat to this.
Way Back When…
You know the old saying, “you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince?” That was your intrepid blog writer and jobs, at times. So I’ve been on a ton of job interviews. One question which came up more than once was, what do you do when you’ve got 3 hours’ worth of work but only 2 hours in which to do it in?
Tackling the hardest thing first is admirable, and it may even be rewarding. But it’s not necessarily the best way to get started – at least not in that particular scenario. In that instance, the first thing to do is anything which can make it easy or even possible for you to hand off some of that work to a fellow team member.
Because two people working for an hour and a half is about the same as one person working three hours. And then the work gets done. Pro tip – pointing out that this is a scenario which should be rare will never get you the job. Even though it’s true!
Back to Procrastinating
We also liked the fourth tip, which points out that not making an effort to get past procrastination is a problem. Well, yeah.
So do what it takes, if it means setting up a nanny-style app to keep you off the internet or setting an alarm or whatever. And remember: whenever you’re done with whatever it was you were procrastinating over; you’re going to feel an incredible sense of relief.
So get cracking! No, not after another game of solitaire.
#5. Perfect Productivity Isn’t Just Some Pipe Dream
Grab this mind-blowing tip while it’s hot!
Perfect productivity. It’s the Holy Grail, isn’t it? Resume.io tells us there are a few things we can stop doing the moment we get to work. One which we really liked – two actually – was to turn off your browser for the first half hour or so. And don’t open email then, either.
So, what should you be doing instead? The article also says to not go into a meeting first thing, either. And you shouldn’t be multitasking.
So, er, what are you supposed to be doing? Concentrating on … something.
Writers Unite for Perfect Productivity!
This works rather well for us writerly types. Turning off the world for a while so the work can get down is awesome. And being able to hear yourself think is key.
Of course if you need to check the internet to get your writing done, then you’re kind of out of luck. Like your intrepid blog writer. So we feel that’s a bit impractical. Still, it can help to at least restrict where you go or you can go. Hence you may need to get creative and block Facebook on a temporary basis, at least until you’ve done your first thing-type work.
Quelle horreur!
Heh, you’ll get over it.
Pro Tip for Perfect Productivity!
Sometimes utter silence can be as distracting as a beehive of an office. So here’s what your intrepid blog writer does – I listen to music. More specifically, 80s music. Now, this is where working from home comes in mighty handy. Coworkers aren’t subject to my need to sing along with Morrissey. The neighbors, however, are not so lucky.
Uh, sorry ‘bout that.
So it might work for you to sometimes turn on music. It’s usually best if it’s something you already know, so you’re not carefully listening to see if you like it. Some people report instrumentals are better, and classical can be great. You do you, whatever works best for your own personal perfect productivity.
If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Perfect productivity can be yours.
#4. Promo and Then Promo Again
Check out this spectacular tip, all about unconventionally promoting your company blog. Freelancers Union says there are methods your competition probably hasn’t heard of.
Our favorite was Quora spaces. We had never heard of them – and we’ve been on Quora! So the concept behind the spaces is to allow people to categorize themselves. Want to just talk to company founders? You can.
Another tip we liked was creating teaser content. So rather than just promoting a post after it’s gone live, why not hype it beforehand?
But one thing we’ve observed wasn’t mentioned – if you tease too much, and you don’t really produce well enough to live up to the hype, people are going to stop falling prey to your teasing. So make sure you don’t overdo it.
#3. Harness the Power of the Google Snippet
It’s not your imagination: this winning tip can help you get more prospects from Google search snippets. Conversion XL has the lowdown. First off, before continuing – read the entire article! Yes, it’s that terrific.
But our favorite tip was something perhaps a bit unexpected. It’s using your meta description and other parts of your blog posts strategically. See, the meta description is the part you see in Google under the URL (note: you may see something else – this tip covers both). Now, you will most likely add your keyword phrase anyway. But why not add synonyms? Of course, you want to be writing this for a person. Don’t stuff keywords! Or even their synonyms.
Just … don’t.
But you can use strategic similar words without appearing obnoxious and overly salesy. Hence if your blog post is on over the road trucking, then you can maybe add related words like trucker, highway, or driving.
An Example
Looking for an over the road trucking company? Our truckers love driving down the open highway and they want to drive your cargo.
Okay, so it looks kind of lame. But it fits the criteria well. So, why do you want to do this?
Easy – when your prospects ask a question on Google, the matching words will show up in your Google snippet, in bold.
Where can I find an over the road trucking company? What’s a good company to get my cargo down the highway? Do I need professional truckers to handle my cargo?
These inquiries could all potentially bring your content to the top of search results. And even better, the matching words will pop.
#2. Spy on Your Competition’s Top Landing Pages
Our second to last unbeatable tip can give you a new perspective on gaining insights from your competition’s top landing pages. SEM Rush tells us that there are any number of insights you can glean from checking these pages. These pages, by definition, are what a prospect or customer gets to when they click from somewhere else.
Now keep in mind, this article is essentially a demonstration of how the SEM Rush product works. But the insights are still of some value. So try it yourself. But how?
Do a Little Detective Work
Have you ever shopped at your competition’s store? Whether online or in person, it’s a way to get an idea of the lay of the land. What do they offer? And what catches customers’ eyes?
You would probably disguise yourself if you were going in person – or you would hire someone to do the deed. You’re looking, although you might buy something to see how they do with checking people out. Heck, you could even try returning something and seeing how that goes.
There’s no reason whatsoever why you can’t do something similar online. You can also do this with search. If you are a residential real estate agent working in (for example) Philadelphia, then a search for Philadelphia real estate agent gets you where, exactly? What happens when you click through? And what happens if you use a variant of this search, like Philadelphia realtor or Main Line real estate agent?
Which page comes up? What are you served? And what does it seem is supposed to happen? Do you get information, or fill a shopping cart?
While doing this manually can’t get you metrics, and it’s slow, it can still get you some insights. Try it!
#1. You Can Imagine How Great it is to Understand How and When to Use Persuasive Words
We saved the best for last. For our favorite remarkable tip, we focused on the best persuasive words and phrases. Sales Hacker says there are words which spur sales, and others which close wallets.
And one of the most important things you can do is something so many of us do so little of – listen. We strongly encourage you to read the entire article, as it is that good. Oh, and check out how much we implemented in the title for this tip…
So which one of our brilliant business tips was your favorite? And which one will you be implementing now?
If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Perfect productivity can be yours.
The post Achieve Perfect Productivity and More! –10 Brilliant Business Tips of the Week appeared first on Credit Suite.
