ideasthatworkco-blog

[ideasthatworkco-blog]

It’s good to talk

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Are you sitting behind your desk staring at a computer screen and waiting for emails to announce their arrival with that distinctive “ding”?

Annoying isn’t it? Not half as annoying as not getting the business that you were expecting to automatically plop onto your laptop.

Just think how much better it would be to sit and have a coffee face to face with a real, living person; interacting with them, having a conversation that you don’t need to read, or worse still, misinterpret!

Have you considered rationing the use of your email to 15 minutes in every hour? It shouldn’t be too difficult and it’s amazing what you could achieve in that other 45 minutes. I’m not saying it will be easy, I remember giving up smoking, I couldn’t think what to do with my hands. I recommend that your turn your sound off on the computer so you’re not tempted to take a sneaky peak.

OK, there may be a particular email that is urgent and imminent, move you 15 minutes on to be able to receive that special one, but don’t cheat!

It’s fantastic to talk with people, you never know what you have in common and more importantly, you never know what extra business may come out of the conversation.

Go on, give it a try, you may just enjoy life even more!

The post It’s good to talk appeared first on Ideas That Work.

[ideasthatworkco-blog]

Are you a supplier or a partner?

We all like to think we are completely invaluable to our clients and that they think that we, and sliced bread have an awful lot in common.

If you are in the Service sector, it’s the service providers who identify exactly what their client needs, wants and deserves that will make them stand out from the list of simple suppliers and become a true partner.

Like a marriage, real partnership is a two-way process and, as with so much in business today, can’t be taken for granted.

The client needs to trust you and you in turn need to make sure there is mutual respect and understanding.

The partnership demands that there is a common goal and continual investment in the relationship. Above all, the supplying partner in the relationship needs to offer solutions, not problems.

Honesty and transparency is vital along with mutual, regular and robust feedback.

So, it’s not so easy to become a true partner; but if you are, the rewards are fantastic. It’s easy to say you are, but try asking your client if they feel that the relationship is a partnership and you should get an answer – hopefully, the one you want to hear.

The post Are you a supplier or a partner? appeared first on Ideas That Work.

[ideasthatworkco-blog]

Have business cards had their day?

Definitely not!

Do you go networking? If so, you must give out a good quality, well designed business card that reflects who you are and what you do. And, how to get in touch with you!

You could always get a cheap online business card as long as you don’t care what people think about you. A flimsy, badly designed card is worse than no card at all, so, think carefully before you consider the financial benefits of ordering online – at the end of the day you will find that there are no benefits.

A really good business card says a lot about you and when you have left your meeting with a prospective client or supplier, after you have given them your card, it’s all they have left of you to remember who you are, what you do and where you are.

Many people have a store of collected business cards in their drawer and they may refer to them in weeks or months’ time; so how can you make sure they remember who you are? By making sure it’s distinctive, memorable and informative. Use both sides of the card – you’re paying for the card, so you may as well make the most of it and give as much information as you feel necessary without cluttering the name, address and contact details part of the card.

And, while we’re talking about a collection of business cards, they’re not doing you a lot of good in your drawer. They should be entered onto your database so you can contact them to send offers and newsletters etc. But don’t forget the current Data Protection laws and the imminent GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) that are coming into force in May this year. You cannot just assume you have the permission of the business owner and must collect the relevant permissions to send out your e-communications.

So, make the most of your business card and it will gain you business.

The post Have business cards had their day? appeared first on Ideas That Work.