Archive for September, 2009

A 90 minute BNI meeting in 4 minutes.

Curious to see the real thing in action? Come join us at our weekly breakfast meeting!

When: Friday morning at 7:30am
Venue: Pastamania @ CPF Building, 79 Robinson Road #01-07
Meeting Cost: S$10

Please contact our visitor hosts, Catherine 9680-4288 or Alice 9101-6759 to let us know you’ll be coming.

It’s always in the details, the little things, those human moments.

Think about sales transactions where you feel like the salesperson is treating you like a quota. About customer service moments when you know the person doesn’t care, doesn’t want to help, and is wasting your time and theirs.

And now, think about the opposite: those moments when someone earns your respect from the simplest of moments, what I call a “touchpoint of loyalty”.

Offline, these come easily. But how do we create simple touchpoints of loyalty online?

• Comment on other people’s blogs as often as you can.

• Reply to people or help them spread the word on Twitter and/or Facebook.

• Write posts filled with admiration for people you enjoy online, and send links to their work.

• Connect people with like-minded people before they ask.

• Wish people a happy birthday, or luck with their test, or other related-to-them encouragement.

• Share job opportunities. You never know who’s looking for more when you’re drowning in too much.

• Invite people to coffee. Just 20 minutes might really change someone’s day, week, month.

• Write recommendations to those whose work you can vouch for. Do it before they ask.

• Send 10 emails a day to people you’re in danger of falling out of touch with, and make them simple and request-free.

Read the complete article at
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/simple-touchpoints-of-loyalty/

What small business owner would not want to produce more sales and generate more revenue? What sales person would not want to close more deals and receive bigger commissions?

Technology has the ability to help you find new customers and retain existing ones more effectively.

• Online Advertising
Prior to the internet, small business have never had the ability to market and sell their services to such a large audience on such small budgets. Businesses can choose between extremely targeted and controlled campaigns or more traditional forms of advertising in the form of website banner ads that are relevant to your business or services.

• E-Newsletters
An e-newsletter is an easy, cost-effective way to stay in front of your existing and potential customers and regularly communicate information about your business, services, products, updates, and events.

• Blogs
A little bit of website, newsletter, radio, and journal all in one. For the most part, blogs are free and you can update them as frequently or infrequently as you like. The key is to make friends in the blogging world and try to attract individuals to read your posts.

• CRM
It is extremely difficult to manage professional business contacts if you are sifting through mounds of business cards, dog-eared pages in your pocket calendar, and scribbles on napkins. CRM software provides continuity, organization, and a clear road map for daily activities.

• Webinars
Webinars allow you to conduct sales presentations anywhere. By combining the multimedia power of audio and video, the webcast enables streaming voice and images to broadcast a sales and marketing message. 

• Websites
You would be surprised how many companies still don’t have a website. The website does not have to be flashy or overly complicated, but it does need to be compelling, concise, and effectively communicate what it is your company does and how you can be contacted.

• Mobile Devices and Wireless Communications
If you are a business organization or sales representative that invests much of your time outside of the office, you need the best wireless communications tools and service plans available.

Taken from
http://www.imakenews.com/everon/e_article000617390.cfm?x=b11,0,w

Ask yourself this two questions

• Where are the best places to find referrals?

• How many of you ask your best clients for referrals?

The best way is to:

• Tell your existing customers you are always looking for referrals, for yourself and for your chapter.

• Take your name card holder to your meetings with some of your best clients. Let them see it and tell them what is it and what is it for.

• As part of your presentation, let them know you belong to BNI. This will only add credibility to your business

• When you ask for referrals, you value add in the eyes of your client – you demonstrate that you are well connected.