How and when to charge more money for your freelance, consulting or client work without risking lost business From hourly rates to project fees, deciding what to charge for your client work is often a difficult task for small businesses, freelancers or contract employees. Often you start off at a set rate based on the...
How to make sales prospecting calls work for your business with successful cold call techniques There are those who claim that the age of social media has rendered cold calling dead; “Not true,” says Smart.com. Countless industries, like insurance, still benefits from savvy cold calling techniques. Cold calling is not dead – it’s merely evolving...
Templates and tips to create an annual marketing plan to keep your marketing and budget on track throughout the year Each year businesses have a chance to “start fresh” with their annual marketing plans and budget. Its a chance to look back at what you accomplished with your marketing the previous year and build on...
Why managing your company’s brand and reputation is important for customer loyalty and future business referrals It is natural to think about paid advertising, building an online social presence, and finding the traction your new business needs in order to grow. Unfortunately, managing the reputation of your business may not feel like a priority until...
How retail businesses are using social media to promote Black Friday deals Last year, Black Friday attracted 247 million shoppers who spent nearly $60 billion dollars, according to the National Retail Federation. The numbers could be even higher this year and, to ensure that they have an ample share of the Black Friday booty, many...
Ideas on how to tap into technology tools to build brand recognition and get more exposure for your business Many businesses are afraid of all the improvements being made with technology, but the truth is that they increase your exposure. Your customers are busy using new technologies and utilizing the web for everything they can....
How to add staff to support your growing small business – from choosing part-time vs full-time, staff training and providing benefits There are more than 22 million small businesses in the U.S. without any employees on the payroll, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many start off as a single owner business without any staff....
Create a customized annual marketing plan template that works for YOUR business to help you plan specific marketing tactics and track budget allocations Many marketing plans lack the flexibility to capture specific tactics for your business... you end up spending hours editing and changing the template layout to meet your specific planning needs. With the...
SEO watchers have seen the rise of Google Authorship playing a part in the content marketing puzzle aligned with search results According to Google Webmaster Central, Authorship is Google’s program to build a substantial connection between the person’s Google+ profile and a person’s content on the web. A user’s Google+ account can be extremely important...
How to use relevant objects, handouts or displays to make your presentation topic and delivery more effective The more creative ways you can deliver a message during a presentation, the more people with whom you can connect and engage. The creative use of props will help spread your message and have it resonate with your...