The Host / Beneficiary Relationship

In todays business Tip from 1Call.biz - The Host/Beneficiary Relationship.

If you’re running a start-up business, one of the fastest ways to get the money coming in is a method that involves creating “host-beneficiary” relationships, with established businesses that cater to a target audience similar to yours.  For this to work well, there must be a win/win arrangement that works to the advantage of both organisations.

The main benefit of this type of arrangement is that the start up (the beneficiary) can quickly reach a large number of highly qualified prospects, with the endorsement of the established host business.  The host is willing to participate because it’s a way to reward loyal customers without incurring any significant cost.  The new business gains new customers, while the older, more established business gains goodwill.

Be Your Own Customer

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz - Be Your Own Customer

In order to improve your marketing, it’s essential that you experience what the customer experiences.  So step to the other side of the fence and become your own customer.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

If you have a website that sells products, then try to buy those products.  What was your experience like?  Was it easy?  Or was the process too long winded?  Was the next step always clear?  Did you even complete the process?

THEN WHAT?

Get some good friends to do the same.  The reason you’re using friends is that you already know your own products or website.  What you want is people who don’t already know how to buy from you, don’t know where to find the order form, don’t know the details of what’s included in the price, etc…  So use people you know to try things out, and then ask them to be candid (or even brutal, if you can stand it) with their feedback.

Sell, Cross-Sell, Up-Sell and Bump

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz - Sell, Up-Sell, Cross-Sell and Bump.

You already have the sale; you have a committed customer who wants to buy something from you. Now there’s one thing you can add to your marketing mix that will dramatically increase your profits.

What you’re going to do is offer your existing customers more of what they already want. You’re going to offer additional items that complement the core product or service you’ve already sold. This has two benefits: your customer walks out more satisfied and you increase the value of the transaction.

Writing Blogs

In Today’s business tip newsletter from 1Call.biz - Writing blogs

One way to create a lot of attention for your product, whatever it is, is to write a blog.  If you use a site such as Ecademy to host it, you’ll find it quickly rises up the Google rankings, creating attraction and profile for you and whatever your selling.

One of the big mistakes bloggers make, however, is being long-winded.  Avoid this at all costs!

In a way, there’s nothing new about blogs.  Using clear English, and keeping your sentences and paragraphs to a manageable length, is simply good practice.  On the Internet, when you’re expecting your audience members to read things on screen, it just becomes that much more important.

If you want to see a good example of what we’re talking about, re-read any of our Business Tips.  You’ll find short sentences and short paragraphs, and it’s not a coincidence.  We use that style because it works!

Why not Check out the 1 Call Bookshop, where you will find loads of great books – http://httv.biz/1callbookstore/

Have a good week in business, and good luck with your first/next blog!

All the best,
Patrick Moore and Mark Shaw
1Call.biz - taking you from a good idea to an established business

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10 Classic mistakes that Sink Businesess.

Creating an eBook….

In Today’s business tip newsletter from 1 Call.biz - Creating an eBook

eBooks are quite simply one of the best online business ideas that exist today.  You can create an eBook for nothing more than a small amount of your time, and then (if it’s any good) sell it for close to 100% profit!

So, you’re all ready to start writing your new eBook.  But what’s it going to be about?  Well, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a simple process you can follow, which will ensure that you’re spending your time in producing an eBook that will actually sell.  And here’s the process:

The First Class Option

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz, – The First Class Option

If you look around at other Companies, you’ll start to see that some of them offer a “First Class” option, i.e. a premium version of their product or service.  Why?  Because there are always people who are willing to pay more to get a faster, better, more luxurious service.  A good example of this is the airline business.  There are always people that will pay extra to avoid the queues, sit in a wider seat with more leg-room, and leave the plane more quickly at the destination.

If you go to a top amusement park like Alton Towers, you’ll have the chance to buy a premium pass.  This costs considerably more than the standard pass, but allows you to access the rides without queuing.

Sell Whats Already Selling

In today’s Business Tips newsletter from 1Call.biz, we look at one of the most important questions any business has to deal with: the question of what to sell. In many ways, it’s such an obvious question that it tends to go unexamined; yet a poor choice of product can hurt or destroy the most determined efforts to create a successful business.

The truth is that, in most cases, inventing something really new takes a lot of money and a lot of time. Worse still, the odds against success are very high. We would always suggest that you go where the money is already being found, rather than trying to create a new market. In other words, sell something that is already selling.

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT WHAT’S ALREADY SELLING?

There are several ways of doing this. One is to buy the magazines associated with your idea. If, for example, your idea is based around cooking, then buy several top cooking magazines and look at the classified adverts. Do this process for several months, and see which adverts keep appearing. These will probably point to some successful businesses to examine.