Why It Pays To Be Honest In Sales By Matthew Coppola

blogger

To many business people, the belief is that honesty pays, but not enough. To survive in the cut throat world of business and sales, many feel that they need to lie or bend the truth to get anywhere in business.

But is that the case? Does being deceitful, dishonest and untruthful in sales and business really the answer to gaining success? In this article I am not just referring to small amounts of dishonesty or bending the truth, I am talking about all types and degrees of dishonesty no matter how big or small they are.

There is no such thing as a white lie. A lie is a lie.

Any type of dishonesty is created by greed for dishonest gain. Greed leads many business owners and sales people to lie. But you may justify by reasoning that “its business” and “business is business”. Many sales people even put the responsibility back on to the customer, saying that its the customers end decision and “let the buyer beware”.

But, can a theif justify his robbery by saying “let the victims beware”? Of course not! Same with in sales. If a salesperson is dishonest and makes a sale, they are just as bad as that theif. Both the thief and the salesperson have been dishonest.

The theif is dishonest by taking someones possessions without their permission and not telling them. The salesperson is dishonest because they sold the customer a product and not told them the truth about the product. The salesperson sold the product knowing all too well that if the customer knew the truth, they would not have bought the product in the first place.

Yes, honesty in business and sales may require greater time and hard work, but the satisfaction and joy from honesty and truthfullness far outweigh that from dishonesty!

But is this view realistic? Can salespeople who need to meet weekly targets follow it? Well yes they can! To illustrate, lets use an example of an employment placement coach whose job it is to place all types of people into employment, even those who are not the most preferred people to employ.

When you are advocating a candidate for a job, you may find it pays to be honest and upfront with the employer in the beginning. If you hide the negative points about a job seeker and just focus on whats good about them, the employer will be trying to evaluate them and the reasons as to why they are unemployed.

Not only that, but if they actually get the job and their negative side is seen by the employer, it will not only affect the security of their employment but also affect the employers view of you and any other candidate you recommend to the employer in the future.

Web Conferencing Can Make A Huge Impact

blogger

If your company isn’t hasn’t caught the web conferencing wave, then it doesn’t know what it’s missingwhich just may be everything!

Web conferencing makes it possible for people from all over the world to meet in cyberspace at the click of a mouse. This is truly incredible technology that is changing the way all types of businesses are doing business. From small businesses to mega corporations, web conferencing ensures that no on need ever miss out on a meeting again.

Which automatically increases productivity among employees! The sales people out in the field are in the know about what’s happening back at the office because they can visit the office from thousands of miles away. And having everyone know what’s going on is vital to communications among employees to ensure business is conducted at its best. When only a few people have much needed information and they’re unavailable, then a whole company suffers as people scramble to find the answers they need.

But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to all that web conferencing makes possible. Web conferencing can be used for meetings, yes, but it needn’t be limited to just meetings.

Web conferencing is a great way to train employees in new processes a company is using or for making presentations to them on changes in a company’s protocol. This type of web conferencing is often referred to as webcasts or webcasting. Basically, this means the conferences or presentations can be recorded to play and be available for others to download and view whenever they like or need to do so.

Just think of the possibilities that has for any company! They can train their employees no matter where they are, they can conduct meetings that no one can duck out of because they just happen to be fourteen states away, and they can have a library of needed materials that allows their employees to be taught certain procedures.

But what about outside the company? Does web conferencing make a difference then?

The answer is YES! You better believe it does. A company can have focus groups that will provide them with much needed target audience research on a particular product, as well as on the development of new products. Companies are no longer limited to hiring outside consultants to hold focus groups for them all over the world. They can do it themselves, right from their mortar and brick home office at the corner of First and Main Streets.

The benefits outside the company don’t stop there either. New product launches can be done using web conferencing, as can press briefings and shareholder meetings. And it’s no longer necessary for a company to fly ten of their best people into a city to hold a sales presentation or make a new business pitch.

They can dress up in their finest, spruce up the old conference or boardroom so it’s at its finest, and conduct any kind of presentation for anyone, anywhere in the world! Then when it’s over, everyone can slip into their everyday clothes and head back to their cubicles or offices.

The impact web conferencing can have due to this increased ease and decreased transportation and lost productivity time on a company’s bottom line makes web conferencing equipment well worth the investment. It will pay for itself in no time flat when a group is able to win just one new business pitch without having any transportation and lodging to pay for!

This means that a company can put those resources to good use elsewhere. Maybe to buy more web conferencing equipment and software for all their offices, not just headquarters.

Because one thing is certain, if your company isn’t using web conferencing to do business, it will be soon. Web conferencing is just too good for a company’s bottom line for it to be ignored for longeven by people who don’t much care for the old World Wide Web. Web conferencing, when done well, makes believers out of all involved. Once hooked, people never look back!

Generate More Sales For Your Business Fast!

blogger

Increasing sales is how many companies stay in business. But in order to do so, you and your team probably have to spend more hours at the office than you would like. This means fewer days off for vacation, and less free time to spend with friends and family. But there are ways to increase sales without having to work eighty hours a week. The key is to focus your advertising on groups that are sure to be interested in your products. Once you have found these groups, your sales will increase. This means fewer cold calls and less time spent trying to draw interest in your company.

Creating a web site your first step. With a web site, you can make sales during the time when your office is closed. Many people shop online these days and use the Internet to get information about goods and services. If you include your phone number or email address, you will not have to make as many cold calls as you used to. People who want to make an appointment to see you can do so online. If you are selling products, customers will be able to order what they want and have their order shipped to their homes.

The second step is to advertise your web site to niche groups. These are groups of people who will be very interested in visiting your web site. You can find these groups through open forums, blogs, other web sites, and by writing press releases, articles, and paying for ads. Rather than advertise anywhere, choose specific web sites to post ads. Include back links so you will be found by search engines. This will increase your web ranking.

The third step is to advertise in traditional ways including newspapers, magazines, billboards, and direct mail. If you have created an email opt-in list on your site, you can use the addresses to start an email direct mail campaign. Create a newsletter, send discounts, or send new product descriptions. This will attract repeat sales and also help you attract new business.

If you follow all of these tips and begin relying more on the Internet, you have to spend less time marketing your business. Take advantage of everything the Internet has to offer in terms of free and paid advertising. Once you start building brand name recognition, you will be able to reach more people and increase your customer base. Those eighty hour work weeks will begin to cease and your staff will feel much better about their work situation. Decreasing the time spent marketing your business will allow you to spend more time developing products, writing content, and making more connections in the business world.

Visit the Planting Grass website to learn about tips on grass care.

How Much Do Senior Portraits Cost

blogger

If theres one question nearly everyone asks this is it. How much do senior portraits cost? The trite, sarcastic answer would be, If you really like pictures and youre going to miss your son or daughter like crazy when they go off to college, senior portrait are cheap. If you never take pictures yourself and you for-see your child living in your basement until theyre 35; senior portraits are outrageous. Truly, a great deal does depend on your point of view.

Most studios will charge a session fee. Some have just one flat fee and others, like our studio, have three different sessions that differ basically by length of time. The session fee covers kind of the photographers time to take the pictures and process the images for you to view. Quite honestly our session fees dont come close to covering the time it takes to photograph a senior, process the images, do some initial retouching and prepare the first view images for the client to see.

Many studios view the session fee more as a guarantee youll show up. Dont get me wrong, I know YOU wouldnt blow someone off but think about it; if theres no up-front session fee to guarantee your spot in the studios calendar, if you had nothing invested and the day of your session came and it was beautiful and sunny and all your friends were going to Valley Fair where would you want to be? Riding the Wild Thing or stuck in a dark studio listening to a 52 year old guy with a beer gut tell bad jokes? If theres money on the line Mom and Dad are going to be sure you show up – with bells on.

Studios session fees in southern Minnesota range from a low of probably fifty bucks to a high of $300 or more. Our studio charges $100, $150 and $200 for respectively, a one hour, an hour and a half and a two hour session. But hardly anyone pays full price for the session.

Studios often run session sales early in the year to start the business flowing. At d. holmes meir studios we have our big 12 hour sale in May and if you book your session for sometime in June youll save 75% on the session fee. In July you save 50% and August nets you a 25% savings. Youll probably find similar sales at most other studios in the area.

With respect to the portraits themselves it will vary a great deal on the number of friends and relatives youll want to gift with your images. At some studios youll spend less than $300 while at others youll invest $1000 or more. Its important to remember that like anything, all portraits and all photographers are not created equal. If youre not a fan of surprises you will want to do research and ask lots of questions as to what is and isnt included in a studios portrait pricing.

Chances are most studios will offer both package as well as a-la-carte pricing options. Packages are almost always cheaper often so much so you may be better off from a money standpoint – to buy more pictures in a package than you really need. No one likes waste but better to waste a little paper than a lot of money.

The most important question you need to ask are whether or not the final images will be retouched and to see examples of retouched images. Many people in this day and age just assume all photographers retouch their portraits nothing could be further from the truth. So look closely at the sample images on a photographers website which one would assume is their best work. If the skin tones are icky, if there are obvious blemishes and imperfections is it reasonable to assume your portraits would be any different?

Steps To Choosing A Point Of Sale System For Your Restaurant

blogger

If your restaurant is growing, then investing in a restaurant point of sale system should be your next move. Having this restaurant computer software will allow your restaurant to become more effective and efficient. The question is how do you choose the right restaurant point of sale system? What do you need to do to ensure your money is spent properly?

The first step to choosing a restaurant computer software is to look at its usability. Does the software have everything you need to manage the restaurant? If so, how easy is it for your staff to use? Usually, systems that use a touch screen monitor are the easiest to use. Try looking at different point of sale systems in order to figure out which ones will make it easy to run your restaurant.

The second step is to think about the hardware that you would need. For most businesses getting started, they will likely need receipt printers, computers, cash drawers and will want to accept credit cards. It is a good idea to go with an all inclusive system to get set up with everything you need. These restaurant point of sale systems can be cheaper than adding on extras down the line.

The third step is to think about a system that integrates multiple channels such as phone, mobile, and the Internet. This can allow for things such as employees being able to track reservations online, tracking orders from mobile devices, and more. Youll get a more accurate way to fulfill orders and track revenue.

The fourth step is to take a look at what kind of support you are getting. Is the restaurant computer software that youre going to use constantly being upgraded? Can you expect strong tech support from the company? Is it going to cost a lot of money to maintain your system? These are all things that you need to think about before making a purchase.

The fifth and final step is to compare different restaurant point of sale systems based on price. List all the features you would need and do some comparison shopping with different companies to make the best decision. You may be able to get great deals if you need multiple terminals for your restaurant.

So thats a quick 5 step guide to choosing the POS system for your restaurant. Make sure that you spend some time doing research on software and systems before you make a decision. You want to make sure that you are satisfied with how the system runs before you make an investment.