Brett McFall is an Australian marketing expert who has a particular skill for using a simple 10 minute process to help turn businesses around.
In this video you’ll see Brett demonstrate this process – one he performs all around the world, getting the end result he’s looking for every single time … without fail.
It truly is amazing to watch as the process evolves.
Last year I came across a HTML editor that’s really easy to use either for creating web pages from scratch or editing existing HTML pages, such as website templates.
I’ve been ‘playing’ with PageBreeze for a while and have been quite impressed by how easy it is to use. You can create and edit pages in the HTML or ‘normal’ (WYSIWYG) view, preview how it will look when published to the internet, easily add page title, description and keyword details and publish with FTP.
It also has a form editor which makes it easy to create forms if necessary.
Best of all … there’s a free version or a more advanced ‘cheap as chips’ version.
The basic Pagebreeze software is free for personal, not-for-profit and educational use. Or the more advanced version for business (or ‘for-profit’) use is only a one-off payment $29.95.
Sometimes you are not the most cost-effective choice for handling certain aspects of your business.
Sometimes success in small business relies on recognizing where you could use some help and investing in the things that really make a difference to your productivity and profitability.
Sometimes, small business outsourcing is just a better idea.
Plain and simple.
Should You Outsource – Business and Personal Factors
Outsourcing certain business tasks is often the best strategy for small business management, both personally and professionally.
In every business’ life, there comes a time when, for one reason or another, it is in your best interest to bring in some outside help. The motivation can often start as personal in nature, but in truth the impact of successful outsourcing cannot be entirely separated from either side of life; the result of successful outsourcing should benefit you in your personal and business life.
The motivation behind outsourcing can very basically be broken down into one of two factors – time or skill.
Outsourcing for time management; when there is just not enough time in the day or the week to complete the essential functions that your business demands – and in truth, relies on – then you need to look at where you can benefit from some outside help to get the job done.
Outsourcing for skill and expertise; if you can’t do it well, you shouldn’t really be doing it. Someone who can do it better can. Spend your time where you can give the most value to your business, and rely on the skill and expertise of others to add value to other aspects.
Personally, if either a lack of time or lack of skill causes you stress and strain, thereby spilling over and affecting your personal life, it is time to get some help. Being dedicated to your business is not the same as letting it rule your life. Remember why you became a small business owner to begin with and look at outsourcing as a way to maintain a balance between your personal and business life.
Good Help Is Hard To Find – Or Is It?
They say good help is hard to find. This old adage keeps many small business people from outsourcing and improving their business and personal lives. However, if you know what to look for, you can find good help in short time, and start enjoying the benefits right away.
Here are a few tips to help you find good outsourced service-people:
be clear on the scope of a job or project and what you need
evaluate outsourced employees as you would any other – interview, read resumes or evaluate samples, and ask questions (NB: while many business professionals won’t have a resume as such, you should sticll be able to ask for and see some relevant samples, a portfolio and/or references or testimonials)
look for specific skills or experience relevant to the job
do not choose based on cost/payment alone (sometimes you get what you pay for…)
draft a written contract that clearly defines roles and responsibilities
agree to a small project first to trial this outsourcing relationship, before committing to any long-term contracts or major projects
look for freelancers who are part of a recognised professional body for their industry and/or for freelancers in general. While this won’t guarantee that you’ll get the best person for the job right away, however many of these organisations have certain standards they require from members.
If you are outsourcing a project, also consider your needs after completion so that you can get the ongoing support you need. Work to build a relationship with good freelancers so that you can readily come back again for subsequent projects and issues. In this case, also consider correlating pay to milestones throughout the project as an incentive to see the project through to completion.
Whether it is a virtual assistant you need to relieve the burden of record-keeping tasks and communications, a programmer, designer or writer for marketing campaigns, there are plenty of great agents out there waiting to fill your need. When business and pleasure begin to suffer, use these tips to ease your burden and increase productivity, all the while making your small business thrive.
Do you ever submit a support ticket, anticipating the quick reply to some issue that you’ve tried in vain to solve yourself … only to be disappointed with the reply? Perhaps they didn’t fully answer your questions or they replied with more questions?
I’ve encountered some pretty dodgy support desks, but I must admit, 99.5% of the support tickets I’ve submitted have been answered promptly, friendly and – most importantly – they’ve solved the issue.
But there are a few key pointers in HOW YOU ACTUALLY ASK FOR HELP that will assist in you getting a useful reply:
Be as clear as possible and give all the necessary information, including relevant URLs or site names. For example, “I can’t get the HTML to work right!”, or “Keep getting error messages with my website” don’t give enough information. Although you know exactly what website or task you’re referring to, the support staff reading your message may not know. The only way they can help you is to find out precisely what the problem is.
If you receive a specific error message or number, include this in your support request.
When you have multiple questions, begin each question on a new line, or even leave an extra space between lines. When you have several questions one after another, all in the one paragraph, it can be difficult for the support team member to read and questions can be easily missed.
Keeping points 1, 2 and 3 in mind, don’t ramble. Keep your request as concise as possible while giving the necessary and relevant facts. Quite often, dot points or bullet points are fine, so long as all the information is there.
If you need to register your email address in order for the support ticket response to be sent to you, please check that you’ve entered the correct email address. Then double-check it! It’s incredibly frustrating when someone asks for help and you give it, but then the email notification that their ticket has been answered bounces back.
Although you may be frustrated by something that’s not working the way you think it should, support staff are there to help you … not bear the brunt of your frustrations. Try to remain calm and work with the support team to resolve the issues at hand.
Before submitting your support ticket, check that you’ve followed instructions correctly – sometimes we try to do things quickly and mis-read the instructions. (Or think it’s so simple we don’t need to read them). It’s also possible to miss the fact that there even are instructions available. Often you’ll find sites will have tutorials or ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ pages available. Remember to check for these first as you may find the answers here quicker than waiting for a support ticket response – particularly if you are looking for solutions outside of business hours.
An additional tip … remember that support desks are staffed by people, not robots. Politeness and ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’, while not essential, are usually smiled upon. It’s also nice to be able to address the reply to a specific person, so please remember to sign off with your name.
It’s one of the most basic, yet most elusive questions asked in all types of businesses. Of course you want to make money, but you also want to set prices at a reasonable rate so that you will not lose business.
So how do you strike that balance? How do you calculate pricing for products and services offered through your business? How do you determine a rate that is right for all involved?
Business First:
The first thing to remember when setting prices for goods and services is that you are in business to turn a profit – not just to be a nice guy or girl, but to make money. If you do not set your prices at a rate that allows for profitability after expenses, you do not have a profitable, sustainable, business, and success in small business will always be unachievable.
If you’ve set the bar too low, you’ll be out of business within months.
Clients And Customers Second:
Naturally you cannot completely ignore your clientele and customer base when setting your prices. Whomever your target audience is, your prices must reflect a cost that can be supported by that market segment. However, if you do your research and give value for the money, you should have arrived at a cost sustainable by your group.
Tips For Setting The Pricing Bar:
Let’s take a look at the actual process of setting prices for products and services. Use these tips and market factors to help you arrive at a competitive pricing structure.
First, research the competition. Get a clear view on the prices they are charging, and where your offerings can fit in along the spectrum. Use averages as a basis, and adjust up and down according to additional or lesser value (based on factors such as those following).
Decide how to charge. Are you looking for an hourly rate or a project-based rate? Is it a unit or wholesale price you are offering? Evaluate your product, experience or skills. In service-based industries, generally speaking, an increase in experience equates to a higher fee for service.
Account for all variables. If there is something your product offers that another doesn’t, you could increase the price to reflect the value. If there are additional costs involved for shipping, marketing and so on, add those in too. For service-based businesses, consider all the small variables that might impact pricing. If you offer additional services, compensate for them. If clients expect add-ons, build a fee structure that allows you to recoup revenue.
Allow for overheads. Determine how much of your business’ overheads must be supported by individual sales. Build that fractional amount into your pricing.
Build in profit. After carefully evaluating the competition and all expenses, set a base price and then build a profit-margin into it. Determine how much profit you will be satisfied with and set your price accordingly.
Justification Through Value:
The one factor to always keep at the forefront of pricing is value. To be clear here, this is not about justifying your price. Your price will be justified if you have set prices fairly, based on the true value of your goods or services. Focus on the value you deliver, set a reasonable, sustainable fee, and be confident that you have served the greater good of all involved.
A product’s features are not the same as their benefits. It is important to understand this so that you can effectively and accurately market your products. It’s a fine line, but one that, once drawn, will help you gain a better perspective on your marketing and product description efforts and methods.
What Is A Product Feature?
A product feature is an actual, physical property or function of the product. It is something about the product or inherent in the design that is beneficial, but is not, in and of itself, the benefit.
I know this may sound confusing so let’s look at some examples:
A feature of a product might be something like the fabric that it is made from. For example, your children’s clothing line might be made from durable denim or other fabric; or perhaps a sun-protectant SPF fabric. That is the actual material that it is made from – the feature of the product, the characteristic material that makes the product durable, protectant or otherwise good in some way; a cut above the rest so to speak.
Think of product features as product characteristics or specifications. A feature is something you can find listed in a description, plan or design.
What Is A Product Benefit?
A product’s benefit results from the feature. It is what is ‘in it’ for the customer. In fact, the product benefit answers that most crucial of questions consumers have – “What’s In It For Me?”
In other words, that durability lends a benefit to the consumer in that the clothing will last longer, therefore they will need to replace the clothing less often and will save money and time in the long run. The benefit of the SPF factor is that it will prevent children from getting sun burnt or reduce the risk of skin cancer later in life.
Think of a benefit as why a product is good. A benefit is something you would list in sales or marketing material, the reason why your customer should buy, not what they are buying.
What’s More Important To The Consumer?
Customers will sometimes look to see what the features of a product are for the sake of comparison, but by and large they care about one thing – that “What’s In It For Me?” Customers are most interested in the benefits because that is what is helpful and of most importance to them.
It is important to offer key features in a product description where it can be accessed, but it is most important to let customers know how that feature helps them. Don’t rely on customers to understand features alone. Tell them the benefit of what buying your product or service will bring. Explain to them why your product or service is superior and beneficial, and give them the benefits – the reasons that they need to buy your product and features.
I’ve just returned from London where I was fortunate enough to be invited to Andrew Reynolds’ Entrepreneurs Bootcamp.
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Why?
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