There is no doubt that the key to business success is to have loyal, satisfied customers who brag about their business to others. Not only are they repeat purchasers, but also they become walking billboards for the company. What's the best form of advertising there is? Word-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth is the only method of promotion that is of the consumer, by the consumer, and for the consumer. Best of all, it's one of the lowest-cost forms of promotion there is.

People ask other people all the time for a referral. If they trust the person making the recommendation, they often act upon the referral. And some lucky business gets one more customer without having to spend a nickel on advertising or promotion. Keeping in touch with satisfied customers and encouraging them to talk up your business costs relatively little. Here are some word-of-mouth marketing tips that can help you build a network of referral sources:

1. Get your customers involved. Encourage your customers to become involved in the process of making or delivering your product or service. This personal experience creates a sense of camaraderie and positive feelings that lead them to talk about your business to their friends.
2. If your business receives referrals from another business, reciprocate. Refer business to the referrer. Or at the very least, offer the referrer a discount price. If your business can't offer a discount, there may be other ways to reciprocate. Consider a small gift or gift certificate.
3. Tell stories because stories illustrate a specific idea or selling point. They are an effective vehicle for spreading reputations because they communicate on an emotional level. If you have a company newsletter or brochure, include a story or two about your company that readers can pass along.
4. Educate your customers. By educating your customers, you can boost your reputation and customer loyalty. Pick a topic relevant to your best customers and make yourself the source of credible, current information about that topic.
5. Finally fix problems fast. Nothing grates more than the slow resolution of a problem. Speedy response is vital to prevent negative word-of-mouth from spreading. Negative feelings about a product or service may linger for years. Research shows that for every bad experience, we tell four friends. While for every good experience, we tell, on average, just two and a half. When faced with a complaint, the response of your employees should be, "How can I send this person away happy?"

The best form of advertising is word-of-mouth. And certainly the best way to get positive word-of-mouth is by providing a quality product or service that meets the needs of your customers. But there are ways to encourage your happy customers to spread the good word.

How many times have you been turned off when you called a company and their telephone procedures and skills came out of the dark ages? A telephone call is usually the first interaction with a customer and as the old saying goes, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Bad telephone procedures will annoy your existing clients and send your prospects to your nearest competitor. Here’s how to improve your telephone client care procedures.

Speaking clearly is so obvious and yet so often ignored. How many times have you called a company and not even understood the first sentence that came across the telephone line? That’s because people answer the phone with a memorized, patented line, often the name of their department within the company.

So speak slowly, loudly and distinctly. Put the phone receiver to your mouth before you begin speaking, not as soon as you pick up. This prevents your voice from fading in to the ear of the caller. If you’re providing information that the caller is probably writing down, such as the extension of another person who can help her out, slow down even further to allow her time to mentally receive the information and transfer it to her pencil.

Make sure you identify yourself and your organization. If you deal with the outside world through an incoming phone call, always make sure the first words out of your mouth are, "Hello, this is Jane Williams from the Client Care Department" or a similar phrase. Tell the customer who you are with both your first and last name.

Get the caller’s information since you may not be able to address the caller’s problem on the spot. That will give you the information to transfer the call to someone who can deal with it or be able to call the customer back with the correct After you give the customer or prospect information about you, give him or her an opportunity to tell their story.

If you do have to transfer the call, check to see if the end party is in the office. Politely place the caller on hold and locate the person who can help out. Tell them who the caller is and what they want so the person can be prepared and sound intelligent. This prevents the awkward and frustrating moment when the caller has to repeat all his information to someone else. If the right person isn’t available, you can take a detailed message for her and kindly tell the caller that she will get back to him.

Take responsibility for the problem and make sure it gets resolved. Take the bull by the horns and promise to get back to him with an answer-and then really do it! If you have to forward the caller to someone else, ensure that that person can help out.

Even though websites and email are becoming rapidly integrated into modern business today, plenty of customers and prospects will call your company to obtain information and resolve disputes. The person who picks up the phone will set the tone of your company in the mind of that caller. Make sure that you’re sending the right message.

If you have a home business do you often find yourself working for 14 to 16 hours and stopping only for a coffee break or two? That can lead to feelings of isolation and make coping difficult. How familiar your concerns are! When the office is only footsteps away, it's tempting to slip in to get "one little thing" out of the way before breakfast, and to return after dinner to complete a job. The result? You never seem to get out of the office. And that is bad for you and your family.

Frequently the problem develops because self-employed people have to handle all the jobs that would be delegated or shared in the corporate world. Unless you are unusual, you are your company's typist, file clerk, marketing department, and salesperson. In short, whatever needs to be done, you do.

Still, most self-employed can reduce the time they spend in their home office, if they really want to. The first step is to recognize the problem and start looking for solutions to it.

Here are a few suggestions to make more time to enjoy all the good things in life you're working so hard to achieve:

1. Keep a log of your activities for a week or two. Record the time it takes to complete each thing you do, and then evaluate the log. You might use the calendar program that is part of Microsoft Outlook or check out Live.com for a free calendar program. Did you waste time on "busy work" such as self-imposed chores you could have skipped? Were all your phone calls necessary? Are you interrupting yourself by investigating one new business idea after another, without completing projects already scheduled? Eliminate such time-wasting activities, and you'll shorten your workday.
2. Get some help by hiring a full- or part-time assistant, if possible. This will reduce your workload, and force you to maintain a more business-like appearance. High school students and college students, stay-at-home parents who want to work while their children are in school, and retirees often are interested in part time work, either to gain job skills or keep busy.
3. Force yourself to take a break by scheduling free time for yourself during the day. Make sure you stick to the schedule by making appointments to meet others for lunch, tennis, golf, or any enjoyable activity. While you may resent the interruption to your day initially, eventually you'll find you accomplish more when you take a break than you do when you work nonstop from morning till night.
4. Join a networking group so you get to meet other people who are in the same boat that you are. It will give you a break, a chance to exchange information and many times an opportunity to pick up new clients.

If you follow some or all of the above tips you’ll be amazed at what a difference it will make to your life.

One of the traits of a successful business owner is the ability to manage their time. If you are going to be an effective time manager you have to learn to stay away from allocating time solely on the basis of those who demand it. Instead, you have to allocate that precious resource on the basis of those who actually deserve it.

This is not a negative approach. It merely means that you have constraints on the amount of time you have to spend and so, one of the most powerful words in your time management vocabulary is the word, "no." Almost everyone you encounter will think they have a better idea about how you should be spending your time. If there is a void in your time management life, someone, or many for that matter, will jump in to fill that spot. The problem is that they do not have the full understanding of where you are taking your life and if you keep saying "yes," they will continue to take up your time, possibly keeping you from accomplishing what you really want to do.

"No" is sometimes difficult to say because we think that we need to say "yes" most of the time. However, there are many times when that’s the wrong answer and you have to define that line. Saying “no” can let you allocate your time to more valuable uses.

However, saying “no” can have some negative impacts. Here’s some ways to use the “no” word without turning people off. Use the ones that work for you.

Here they are:

"I'm sorry. That's not a priority for me right now."

"I can't help you on this now, but I can get to it next week. Is that all right?"

"I have made a lot of commitments to others, so it would be unfair to them and you if I took on anything more at this point."

"I have a lot on my plate now so I don't know when I can get to it. However let me put you in touch with someone who can help you now."

"I don't know how soon I can help you on this, but I will get back to you as soon as I am free to help you."

"Sure I can help you with your request as long as we both agree and understand that the item I agreed to do for you yesterday is going to have to wait."

"I've got good news and bad news. The good news is I sure can do that for you. The bad news is I'm so overloaded that I won’t get to it for at least two weeks."

"Before I do this for you, let me show you a few things so that you might be able to do it yourself."

"No."

"I would like to help you out on this but you must understand I don't have the resources available to do the right job for you."

"Now that's the type of thing I would love to help you on if only I had the time."

"Just like you, I get overloaded sometimes and have to tell some very special people, "no". This is one of those times."

You’ll be surprised at how most people will take such a response from you. Try the ones that you feel comfortable with and by the way don’t forget to smile when you’re using them.

Selling is the key to survival and profits in any business. Regardless of whether you sell products or services you have to sell. The selling cycle can be long or short, but a key component of every sale is the close. Your prospect fits your target market like a glove. He or she absolutely needs your product. They have the money and say they want to buy but, somehow, you can't get them to sign on the dotted line. In this article we’ll look at some effective ways to get that signature on the contract.

There could be many reasons why they haven’t signed. Perhaps they’re not comfortable with you or your company yet. Perhaps they have plans to buy elsewhere and are just gathering information. This is a particularly insidious situation as they’re really only looking for free information. Perhaps they just need time and will become a good customer eventually. No matter what the real reason is, you need to know what it is. Either it will be worth your while to spend some more time with this prospect or it's time to cut your losses and spend your time more profitably. That sounds like a tough attitude but it’s really the only way to go. Time is your most precious asset and you want to allocate it to your winners and not your losers.

The first step is to try to nail down the reasons why the customer isn't buying and to address these. Addressing them doesn't mean that you're going to overcome every objection but it does mean listening carefully and trying to find a solution. If the product is too expensive, perhaps you can lower the price if the customer doesn't take one of the expensive options. If your delivery is too long, perhaps you can use air-freight. Perhaps a different and cheaper model will meet the customer needs. In the service business, see if timing is critical. If it isn’t, you could look at scheduling the engagement at a time when you are not as busy and offer a discount. On the other hand, if the customer or client has a potential supplier which can deliver the same quality more quickly at a lower price, move on. Some sales are just not going to go to you.

One long standing way to accelerate the close is to make the customer aware of factors which are favorable now but may not be later. You really can’t get away anymore with the old come on - “we've got a special deal for you if you sign up right now but tomorrow the price will be higher...". However, there are often factors like price increases, exchange rates, financing, over-supply or new product launches which influence price and the customer should certainly be made aware of these.

In the end, you're going to win some and lose some. Your challenge is to find out which is which and to win those you are going to win quickly and not to waste time on those you are going to lose.

Every business sets out to make a profit but many small business owners don’t know how to measure the profitability of their businesses. Here are some guidelines to help you figure out if you’re actually making money.

1) Have you determined your total revenues for the accounting period? In order to answer this question, consider the following questions:

• What is the amount of gross revenue from sales of your goods or services? (Gross Sales)
• What is the amount of goods returned by your customers and credited? (Returns and Rejects)
• What is the amount of discounts given to your customer and employees? (Discounts)
• What is the amount of net sales from goods and services? (Net Sales = Gross Sales - (Returns and Rejects + Discounts).
• What is the amount of income from other sources such as interest on bank deposits, dividends from securities, rent on property leased to others? (Non-operating Income)
• What is the amount of total revenue? (Total Revenue = Net Sales + Non-operating Income).

2) Do you know what your total expenses are? Expenses are the cost of the goods sold and the services used in the process of selling goods or services. Some common expenses for all businesses are:

• cost of goods sold (Cost of Goods Sold = Beginning Inventory + Purchases - Ending Inventory);
• wages and salaries (Don't forget to include your own - at the actual rate you'd have to pay someone else to do your job);
• rent;
• utilities (electricity, gas, telephone, water, etc.);
• delivery expenses;
• insurance;
• advertising and promotional costs;
• maintenance and upkeep;
• depreciation;
• taxes and licenses;
• interest;
• bad debts;
• professional assistance (accountant, lawyers, etc.).

There are many other types of expenses, but the point is that every expense must be recorded and deducted from your revenues before you know what your profit is. Understanding your expenses is the first step toward controlling them and increasing your profit.

Making a profit is only the first step; making enough profit to survive and grow is really what business is all about.

• Have you compared your profit with your profit goals?
• Are your goals are too high or too low?
• Have you compared your present profits with the profits made in the last one to three years?
• Have you compared your profits with profits made by similar firms in your line?

Have you analyzed the direction your profits have been taking? To do this you need to do a trend analysis. To do this you plot the numbers for several years. If the results are laid out in columns side by side, you can then evaluate your performance, see the direction it's taking, and make initial forecasts of where it will go.

Does your firm sell more than one major product line or provide several distinct services? If it does, a separate profit and ratio analysis of each should be made:

• to show the relative contribution by each product line or service;
• to show the relative burden of expenses by each product or service;
• to show which items are most profitable, which are less so, and which are losing money; and
• to show which are slow and fast moving.

The profit and ratio analyses of each major item help you find out the strong and weak areas of your operations. They can help you make profit-increasing decisions to drop a product line or services or to place particular emphasis behind one or another.

When you review the financial statements of many companies, they look great. Revenue is positive and growing; expenses are under control; and the company appears to be profitable. So why do some of these companies fail? Usually it’s because they get caught in a cash crunch. Their cash flow doesn’t generate the cash required to sustain their growth and profitability.

Cash flow is simply the cash that flows into the business from various sources, minus the cash that flows out. To have a positive cash flow the balance in your bank account must be positive.

This is a basic concept, but having higher revenue than expenditures is just one of three requirements for a healthy cash flow. There are two other key components to managing cash effectively. The first is that you need to have enough liquid assets to meet your financial obligations. Second your cash supply needs to be timely; that is you receive the required cash before you need to make your required payments. It is the failure to deal with these two key requirements that causes many businesses to run out of cash and go out of business.

These two weaknesses occur more often than you might think. An example is a company that makes large purchases through current cash flow instead of matching the purchase with long-term funding, such as bank loan. It can also happen if a large creditor does not pay on time.

So how can a business avoid this type of cash crunch? There are several alternatives such as cutting costs, increasing inventory turnover, accelerating cash inflow and delaying cash outflows.

Cutting costs can be done in most companies and can have a very positive effect if the cost reduction is done carefully. However the downside to this tactic is that this short-term solution may restrict the growth of the company. Business growth is usually achieved by spending on marketing, R & D, technology, and staff and this requires an up-front cash investment that creates payback later. If the cost cutting has an adverse effect on profitability, other options should be considered.

Increasing turnover can accelerate business growth and improve cash flow. Examples include increasing the number of customers; or increasing the number of times those customers come back; or increasing the average value of each sale. This helps build revenue and generate more cash flow into the business.

However the third option which involves accelerating cash inflow can have the biggest impact on cash flow. There are many ways to speed up the inflow of cash. Examples include requiring payments upfront or offering early payment incentives.

The cash flow output side should be closely monitored. This involves justifying expenditures and seeking the best possible deals. Payment due dates should also be closely monitored to avoid unnecessary interest charges.

In summary, managing cash flow requires the close monitoring of cash and some simple forecasting. If you follow the above principles, your business can maintain a positive cash position, enjoy growth and most important, be profitable.

The aches and pains you get after hours of working at your computer may be more hazardous than you think. Whether toiling away during a shift at the office or just surfing the Web, if you're not prepared you could slowly be doing damage to your body. Ergonomics has become a computer buzzword, and for good reason. Reports of Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) have escalated over the years, as computers became a fixture in workplaces and homes everywhere. These injuries can create in problems in the neck, back, chest, shoulders, arms and hands.

But if you use a computer for eight hours a day you aren't necessarily destined to sustain an injury. Taking proper precautions can prevent pain and suffering down the road.

Your chair should give you good lower back support and be adjustable enough to permit you to keep both feet planted on the ground. This reduces pressure on the underside of your thighs and allows good blood circulation in your legs. Chair adjustments should also allow you to type with your upper arms hanging straight down from your shoulders and with your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle. A good chair isn't cheap, but considering the hours you're going to spend in it; it's worth investing in one that's comfortable and adjustable to meet your needs.

Your eyes will be one of the first things to feel strain after time in front of the computer. If they become irritated, get up and take a break for a few minutes. To help reduce irritation, keep the screen clean and adjust brightness and contrast as warranted. Set your monitor up at least two feet away and adjust it so that it is slightly below eye level. If the monitor cannot be positioned to avoid glare, you may want to purchase an anti-glare filter.

Finally, your hands and wrists are perhaps at the highest risk of fatigue and injury. Carpal tunnel syndrome is not specifically tied to computer use but is being diagnosed among computer users at an alarming rate.

When hands and wrists are subjected to repetitive strain, swelling may result that impinges on the median nerve, which runs through the bony carpal tunnel in the wrist. Early warning signs can be tingling or numbness, even hours after computer use, and they can lead to severe and debilitating pain. CST can sometimes require surgery.

Again, the key to avoiding such problems is keeping your body properly aligned. An adjustable chair can help keep your arms at a 90-degree angle in relation to your keyboard. But your wrists also need to be straight to reduce the possibility of injury. An adjustable computer desk or a desk with an adjustable keyboard and mouse tray can help, as can wrist rests for your keyboard and mouse. Wrist rests may take some getting used to as unnecessary stress is put on your wrists when you have to bend them to type or to use your mouse

Even if you are perfectly set up when you sit down at your computer, allow yourself breaks. It is repetitive actions and static positioning that cause strain or injury. Take a break at least once an hour, even if it's just to grab a beverage. Don't stay frozen in the same position or routine all day.