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Small Business Information |
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Are You Making These Mistakes In Your Business?
You've probably heard the statistic that 95% of small businesses fail in the first five years. That's not a very encouraging number! Although being part of the 5% that succeed is not easy, it's definitely possible. What it takes is a lot of common sense, some marketing and sales skills and the ability to learn from the mistakes of others. To get you started on the road to success, here are three of the biggest mistakes small businesses make and some tips to help you avoid them: Mistake #1: Having a Poorly Defined Sales Process The key to making money with any business is to stay focused on how you can "sell", "sell more" and "sell more often". Unfortunately most businesses don't consider all of the ways they can make money from customers and end up losing potential revenues. There are three ways you can make money from your site: 1. Get More New Customers - This is the sales activity that most small businesses spend 90% of their efforts on. Although it's an important element of your sales process, it's only one of three ways you can make money. Don't neglect the other two because you're focused on only attracting new customers. 2. Make More Money From Each Transaction - Upselling is the process of increasing the value of a customer's order. Offering additional products and services at the point of purchase is an effective way to increase the value of the transaction. 3. Sell More Often To Existing Customers - Existing customers are the least expensive customers to sell to. Why? Because they've already purchased from you once so they trust you, you already know what they're interested in and you know how to reach them. Use these facts to your advantage by following up with existing customers on a regular basis and offering them more products and services. This process is known as backend sales and is one of the most overlooked revenue sources by small businesses. A well-defined sales process will include all three of these. If you're missing any of them you need to rethink your strategy from the beginning. Start with your first contact with a customer and walk through step-by-step how you'll take them from never having heard of you to being a lifelong customer. Mistake #2: Not Learning What Makes a Website Sell If you've been online longer than five minutes you know that the "build it and they will come" mentality doesn't work. If you want your business to succeed you need to learn how to make a website that sells. Some of the best things you can do are:
Mistake #3: Not Treating it Like a Business Too many small business owners fall into bad habits early on and end up treating their business more like a hobby than a business. Here are a few things you can do to treat your business like a business:
Are you making any of these mistakes in your business? If so now is the time to make some changes! About The Author This article is an excerpt from the Special Report by Jennifer Tripp, "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Small Businesses Make - And How You Can Be Smarter!" To get your copy of the entire report visit http://www.mysmallbizcoach.com/sevenmistakes.htm
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