The Difference Between Good Leaders and Great Leaders

Some leaders are good, and then there are the ones that are truly great. What is that one thing that puts a great leader so far above a good one?

You can see good leaders a mile off. They do all the right things when it comes to leadership. They have an impressive array of skills like great communication, they work to a strategy, they encourage their team to excel, and they make smart decisions. A good leader is someone that can inspire and excite their team in the good times and the bad.

But then there are those leaders that are just plain great. There is just something about them that sets them apart and makes you want to follow them.

Just what is their secret – what makes a great leader great?

Great leaders are great because they surround themselves with great people.

What Stops Good Leaders From Being Great?

Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. The leader seems to be doing all the right things, but something isn’t right. There seems to be a piece of the puzzle missing as the ship is charting off course somehow.

It all comes down to the crew that is helping man the ship. If the captain is on course, but the crew are clueless, then your boat is going to sink.

The thing that can cause this is throwing someone into a leadership role. With the role you are handed a position and a ready-made team. You don’t get the opportunity to pick the people you are going to be working with and more often than not, that team is in disarray or crisis.

No matter how good the leader is, if the team doesn’t gel, they will never achieve greatness.

What Helps Great Leaders Be Great?

A great leader has the option to select their team members. That doesn’t necessarily mean cherry picking the best and brightest on the market. But it does mean picking a compatible team that compliments each other and will work well together.

They show respect to their team, so earn respect in return. Their great communication and inclusive work environment allow everyone to perform to the best of their abilities. The whole team succeeds as one.

What Can You Do To Become a Great Leader

If you are offered the opportunity to take up a leadership role, you need to assess if it really is the role for you. It is going to put you in a position to be great? Or maybe you are already in a managerial position and you want to take your leadership from good to great.

The way you can do this is by asking yourself the following questions…

  • Have I had the opportunity to pick my team?
  • Does my team have talent and great skills?
  • Is there something I can do to help them be better?
  • Does my team have the potential to achieve greatness?
  • Do I need to make some changes to work with like-minded people?
  • Am I part of the problem?

This little exercise in self-assessment will help you take stock of your current position, or the position you are considering taking on. The resulting answers will help you to decide if the particular leadership role is for you, or if it is time to seek something different.

Remember, the best leader in the world cannot do everything by themselves. Without a great team behind you, it is hard to achieve the things that you want to achieve. Good leaders do the best with what they have, great leaders mould what they have into what they need to succeed.

 

Support For Small Businesses: When To Use An Accountant

For most small business owners there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to complete all the tasks that you need to. And with so many competing demands on your time, it’s important to know when to enlist help to get you through the various stages during the growth of your business. While it’s likely that you will have already engaged an accountant to help with filing your tax returns, did you realise that an accountant can also provide important support and expertise at other stages? In this article we share some situations where an accountant’s knowledge could make all the difference.

Writing a business plan

This is an important first step for most small businesses, especially as it’s often used to support applications for a business loan or overdraft. Involve an accountant at this early stage and you will get the benefit of their insight and advice right from the outset. What’s more, they will be able to use accounting software to add financial projections, charts and graphs. Your business plan will, therefore, be more realistic and professional and as a result is more likely to succeed.

Helping with finances

Small business accounting is a complex and time-consuming task so if you find that you are spending many hours each month on keeping the accounts up to date, it may be a good idea to engage an accountant. You see, your time is probably better spent on drumming up new business rather than getting bogged down in financial detail. Engaging an accountant to manage the books will free you up to get on with other business-critical tasks. And you don’t need to hire one on a full-time basis or on a retainer – a couple of hours work here and there can make an accountant a cost-effective option.

Buying or selling a business

Consulting an accountant at the buying and selling stage is a must. If you’re looking to buy an existing business, then an accountant needs to examine the company accounts to make sure there is nothing amiss. Having that assurance that the accounts are in order and the business is profitable will give you greater confidence when making a decision to purchase.

And when it comes to selling a business, then an accountant will put your company’s financial records in order and can produce statements of account to show to prospective buyers. In addition, they can help you structure your financial affairs to maximise any tax efficiencies. For example, a lump sum can be less tax efficient than monthly payment over a number of years.

And so for small businesses, accountants offer much more than just filing tax returns. In fact, their knowledge and expertise can help you at every stage of your company’s development, helping you and your business to succeed.

10 Tips for B2B Marketing Success in a Digital Economy

The online world is so noisy. With so many players and so much information available, it can be difficult for a small service based business to be seen and heard. Gone are the days of calling a business to find out more information from them. These days people fully take their search online to find out all they need to know about a business. To keep up with the big players, you need to have a commanding online presence. So here are our top tips for being found in the business-to-business (B2B) space.

1: Your Website

This is your own piece of internet real estate. Make sure it is up to scratch and gives the right impression when potential clients land there. It needs to be professional, easy to follow and consistent with your brand. Share your story, connect people directly to your company, and give them a reason to work with you.

2: Let Your Content Speak For You

Customers are far more likely to respond to great content than they are to your products and services at first. Make sure there is plenty of great information for them to find on your site in the form of blog posts, videos and infographics. Tell the story about what your business can do for them in several different mediums.

3: Social Media and SEO

Recent research has shown that getting social on social media can help your SEO rankings. An active profile can only do good things for your business. Inactive profiles can be damaging though, so it is best to pick one or two platforms to focus on and do them well.

4: Always Be Listening

It is vital to listen to your customers for their feedback, but it can be equally important to look at what your competitors are saying. Watch what the major players in your industry say and do online. Pay close attention to the tactics they use to engage their audience. Following their blog can be a great way of doing this.

5: Boost Your Online Visibility

Social media is the number one way to boost your online visibility. To be the most valuable make sure that you share useful and targeted information designed specifically for your audience.

6: Paid Advertising

When you advertise in the local paper you have no idea how many people saw your ad, and if those that did were even in your target market. For a very minimal investment you can get your business in front of the right kind of people with targeted paid advertising like Google Ads or Facebook Ads.

7: Upcycle Your Content

We are very quick to write and then forget past content. Instead of constantly coming up with new material, try recycling some of your old content in a new and exciting way – upcycling. For example, you can take a blog post and recap it in a video, create an infographic of its content, republish it on LinkedIn, or pull out some main points to use in social media.

8: Social Selling

Don’t go for the hard sell, with social media your selling efforts should be more subtle. Your aim should be to provide great content and try to move them through your sales funnel. Gather your leads from your social media accounts.

9: Build a Commitment

There is no point providing great content if you aren’t asking for a commitment from your readers. Make it easy for them to share your social content, get them to sign up for your mailing list, or access your blog posts. Have your social links easily visible on your website to encourage them to like or follow you.

10: Online Engagement

The ultimate goal is to get a one-to-one conversation going with your potential clients. Use your social platforms to generate conversations with your future brand ambassadors, new customers and long standing clients.

While the web is big and noisy, it actually levels the playing field. Great content can come from anyone. If you know your stuff, your content can stand up to the content of the big players. Focus on being seen and heard, and your content will speak for itself.

3 Things Every Business Needs To Be Successful

The backbone of any business is hard work and dedication. But to really be a success there are three factors that every business needs to have under control – content, visibility and technology.

Content

They say that content is king. And they are right.

Without great content, you will struggle to let people know what your business is about. What you offer, what you stand for, and what problems you can solve for them.

In this digital world there is a lot of competition and a lot of noise. The way to stand out amongst all the noise is to provide your readers with excellent content. It is too easy for consumers to block the content they don’t want to see – they can fast forward commercial breaks, customise their social media feeds, use ad-free subscriber radio, and install ad-blockers to browse websites without advertisements.

To make sure your business does not get fast-forwarded, you have to create content that your target audience wants to see. Instead of rattling off a sales pitch, provide your readers with valuable information. You won’t get ignored, and you will begin to build a relationship of trust and credibility with past, existing and potential clients.

You can’t just release any old content. It needs to be of value for your ideal clients and in a format that they will consume. You can do video, blog articles, short courses, vlogs, live video, e-books, checklists, challenges… the list goes on and on. But there is no point releasing it if it is not going to service your ideal customer. Solve their problems and position yourself as an authority in your field, you will guarantee sales without the sleazy sales pitch.

Visibility

If no one knows about your business, then how can they use it? Once you are armed with your great content, you need to get it in front of the right people.

How you do this will depend on where your audience hangs out. It might be paid online advertising like Google Adwords or Facebook Ads, or it might be a television spot, a podcast, email marketing, direct sales, even a billboard on the side of the road. Choose the methods that are most appropriate for your business.

You may already know where you can reach your audience, but if you don’t yet know, you need to find out. Knowledge is power. By knowing how you can get in front of the right people, you can make your advertising more targeted and more effective. Using a targeted campaign will save you lots of advertising dollars and ensure that you are getting quality sales leads in return.

Technology

There is a wealth of technology available these days, so make it work for your business. Don’t fall into the trap of shiny object syndrome by getting every new advancement that becomes available. Spend your technology budget wisely by choosing things that are going to make a difference in your business.

Automation, record management, accounting software, cloud storage and collective communication tools are all sound investments as they can streamline your processes and save you precious time.

One of the most important technologies to invest in is a tracking and reporting tool like Google Analytics. By using this tool you can gauge the effectiveness of your marketing and find out all sorts of things about your audience. Location, demographics, the most popular content on your website, the time of day your users engage with your content, and what interests them. This is all valuable information that you can use to improve your business marketing and offerings.

So there you have it, the top three things that your business needs to be successful. Create great content that your audience want to read, get it in front of them and impress their socks off, then track how that content is performing. Three key steps to business success.

Tips and Tricks To Sell More at a Farmers Market

Selling your wares at a local Farmer’s Market is the backbone of any small farm’s marketing efforts. But before you throw everything in the truck and head down, have you thought about your marketing plan? How to maximise your sales, promote your offerings, and to get the best return possible? Here are some top tips to make the most of your Farmer’s Market selling opportunities…

Have a Point of Difference

There are many common items at a Farmer’s Market. The things that are easy to grow, and don’t take much effort to keep. But almost every stall will have those kinds of products. What you want to do is stand out and have a point of difference at your stall. The thing that makes people come to the market just to buy it from you.

Try to think outside the box. What do you have that people really want, but have difficulty finding. Bonus points if the item is difficult to source from a supermarket or vegetable shop. Whether it be heirloom tomatoes, plump avocados, a certain herb, or an amazing home-made chutney. Whatever it is, make sure that it sets you apart from the stalls around you.

Information Plus

People love information when they are shopping. Things that help them make a decision on their purchase are always helpful.

Clearly marked pricing and product labels are a must. But take it one step further and give people information on your products. Put together a sign with frequently asked questions, have a little flyer that you can hand out with more information about your wares. Tell your farm’s story, the names of your laying hens, the history of your farm, why you chose to grow certain things.

Information will help you to stand out in a crowded marketplace, and make it easier for customers to buy from you. Use buzz-words like organic, fresh, free-range, specialty, heirloom, or rare to catch attention and answer questions. Photos of your farm are always helpful, as are business cards with all of your information. And make sure you list your website if you have one.

Ideas and Recipes

Create recipes for the products that you sell. People will be able to visualise it on the table in their own homes and will want to recreate that meal if it looks good enough!

Give them information on how the products can be used and stored. They may buy more if they know that it freezes well, or that they can make amazing dishes for their friends and family. You can also show them how to dry herbs effectively, or how to make them into a paste or pesto so that they keep for longer.

Offer Free Samples

What is more enticing than a beautiful plate of samples? It will draw people to your stall and help start a conversation when they try your product. If they can try before they buy, then they are more likely to purchase.

Bring Your Best

People buy with their eyes first. They are not going to be tempted by bruised fruit, or squashed tomatoes. Make sure you have your best produce on display.

Make It Look Good

People are attracted to colour and volume. If you have gorgeous baskets piled full of amazing products then your customers will be impressed. If it looks a bit sparse and boring then they might walk right on past.

Think about how your stall can be friendly and inviting. You must also make yourself seem friendly and inviting. You will turn people away if you seem disinterested or if you have your nose stuck in a book or your phone.

Be Business Smart

There is no point making the effort to go to market if it is not worth your while. That means that you need to be turning a good profit. Make sure you know the costs involved with producing each item. Then, add a healthy margin on top and that should be your sell price. Charge what your products are worth. Sometimes cheap pricing can drive customers away because they might think the deal is too good to be true – that there must be something wrong with your goods.

Also keep records of what is popular, what sells well, and what doesn’t. It will help you to have enough of the popular products, and limit wastage for the less popular ones.

Make sure all your signage and pricing is clear so that the buying process is smooth for your customers.

Now you are ready to go. To market with you… and happy selling!

The Top 5 Entrepreneur Traits Investors Look For

So what are the key personality traits that top entrepreneurs possess? That is the golden question. Is there a magic formula that allows you to set up, scale and run a successful business? It seems many of the entrepreneurs that investors are willing to back have similar personality traits. The fantastic thing is, that if you don’t possess these traits, then you can work to hone many of them.

It seems that possessing these traits will give investors confidence in your abilities. It may even mean that you are predisposed for success – if you can pull it all together into a viable business plan of course.

Want to know the top 5 traits? Let’s explore…

1: Tenacity

This trait is probably the most critical for entrepreneurial success. The saying that something is not worth having if you don’t have to work hard for it is so true. Determination, and the ability to pick yourself up after falling down is vital for business success.

Starting a business is easy enough, but keeping it going and turning it into a success is not so easy. The journey is littered with twists and turns, as well as highs and lows. Pushing through all of the hard parts and coming out the other side is a skill that is well respected by investors.

2: Passion

Going through the motions because you have to will not result in success. Being so passionate about your project that you wouldn’t dream of quitting is what will see success. Great businesses solve a problem for their customers. But they can also solve a problem for the business owner, often a problem that is rooted in their personal life. Solving the problem in the business world, will correct the personal problem also.

The dedication to solving a problem that affects you personally is so strong. People are very passionate about it. That passion will convince investors that you are in it for the long haul.

3: Confidence, with a side of humility

Yes, it does sound like a contradiction. But pure confidence can come off as arrogance, and that is a very off-putting trait in the business world (well, in any world). To succeed, you need to have confidence in your own abilities to pursue innovation with conviction.

Yet, you need to possess the ability to listen, the ability to admit when you are wrong, and the ability to change the way you do things – all of this comes with humility. While they might seem like opposites, confidence and humility need to go hand in hand for business success.

4: Practical Thinking and Communication

Being able to connect a straight line between a problem and its solution shows that you really know your stuff. You can effectively problem solve and communicate the actions to be taken. Having the expertise to solve the problem is one thing, but if you can’t clearly present the solution then investors may doubt your ability to follow through.

Understanding the whole process, and being able to communicate it is an impressive and respected skill.

5: Curiosity

No, it didn’t just kill the cat, it grew your business. Being curious brings innovation. Innovation brings change for the better. Proactively solving problems before they become an issue shows a full understanding of your business and its place in your industry. Of course being reactive and responsive is important too, but less necessary if you explore your curiosities and ‘what ifs’.

Do you possess any of these skills? The great thing is that if you are lacking in any of these areas, you now know what to work on in order to be bankable for an investor!

8 Top Tips To Stop Fights About Money With Your Spouse

Money. Five little letters that can cause so much trouble. In fact, it is one of the things that couples fight about more than anything else. Disagreements over what joint funds should be spent on can even lead to divorce in extreme circumstances.

Unless the world drastically changes, money will always be a part of your life. So, learning how to communicate about money is vital for a strong and lasting relationship. It is a topic that you cannot avoid, so here are some tips on how to have successful money-focused conversations.

1: Check Your Emotions

Money is tied to feelings of safety and security. So if you find yourself getting emotional it is important to work out why. You won’t be able to have a constructive conversation if your emotions are getting the better of you.

Have several conversations about your financial history and your future financial goals. Then you both know where the other one stands. It will make it easier to tackle day to day money issues that crop up.

2: Joint But Separate

Have a joint account for all your combined expenses, and each put the same amount of money into it. Then you can each have a separate account for your ‘spending money’. You each have your own little kitty to spend on what you want, without compromising the day to day funds and savings money.

3: Budget Jointly

Doing the budgeting together will give you a clear indication of where the funds are going. You will each have an honest view of your financial position.

4: Allocate Recreation Funds

Fun is at the root of every good relationship. Having a dedicated fund for recreation gives you the opportunity to keep the spark alive. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of money. There should be no excuse to skip date night.

5: Know Your Spending Habits

Are you both spenders, are you both savers, or is one of you a spender and one a saver? What do you both love to spend money on, does the other one see it as a waste of money or a good investment? Figure out your spending habits and the motivations behind them. Then you can work out a harmonious way to handle each spending habit.

6: Have Goals

Set some goals for your money, these goals should be realistic and attainable. There is no point saying you want to save for a house deposit if you also want overseas holidays every year. Set a major goal and then break it down into short term goals that work towards the end goal. Share responsibility for making these goals a reality.

7: Realise Money Does Not Buy Happiness

We need money to cover our basic expenditure and bills. Beyond that, extra money is not a necessity. Some of the poorest people in the world are rich in love and happiness. Likewise, some of the richest people are ridiculously unhappy. Money should not be your main motivator. It should not make you happy or sad, these feelings should come from other areas in your life.

8: Talk About the Moolah

Regularly discuss the state of your finances so that you are both on the same page. Talk about the status of your accounts, any upcoming expenses and how you are working towards your goals. These discussions have a twofold purpose, transparency and holding each other accountable.

Hopefully these tips will keep the fight out of any talks on money. If you find that you need some help with your finances, then definitely consider speaking with a budget advisor or the relationship manager at your bank. Get the finances sorted so all you need to worry about is what you are going to do for your next date night!

10 Easy Ways To Lower Your Power Bill

Do you dread seeing the envelope in your mailbox with the power company logo, or the email that pops into your inbox with your bill? Your instant thought is – how high is it going to be this month! What if we told you there were 10 easy ways to lower the cost of your power bill. Read on if you are interested…

1: Ditch Standby Lights

Standby lights actually use a considerable amount of power. So instead of leaving those little red lights flashing, turn the appliance off completely. Likewise, ditch the computer screen savers. The screen is the part of the computer that uses the most power. If you aren’t using the machine, put it in hibernate, or turn it off completely.

2: Embrace Timers

Over a third of your power costs go into heating your home. Leaving the heating on to maintain the temperature when you aren’t home is like pouring money down the drain. Instead of leaving the heater on all day so that it is warm when you get home, embrace timers and thermostats.

The timer will switch the heating on at a certain time of the day and the thermostat will bring it to your desired temperature and maintain it. Cost effective heating at its best.

3: Up Your Cooling Temperature

Fridges and freezers have in-built temperature settings. They allow your fridge to get to the brink of freezing, and your freezer to go sub-zero. Having your appliances at the coldest settings is unnecessary and costing you a bomb. Set both your fridge and freezer at temperatures that allow them function as they should, without the power wastage!

4: Turn Off The Lights

Like anything, your lights use power when they are turned on. Each one only uses a little bit of power, but if you combine all the little bits, it can result in a lot. So when you leave a room, turn off the light to conserve power.

5: Insulate

Having adequate insulation in your home will reduce your need for as much heating. Ensure your walls, floor and roof are well insulated to prevent unnecessary heat from escaping. You may also want to consider double glazing your windows as this protects a massive amount of heat in your home.

6: Go Natural

Use fresh air and sunshine to dry your clothes instead of a clothes dryer. Dryers take a huge amount of power to run, so only use them if you need something dried urgently. Otherwise, find the time to hang your clothes out on the washing line instead.

7: Get Energy Efficient

Standard lightbulbs are ridiculously inefficient with their power usage. Switch to energy efficient versions, or LEDs for longer lasting, cheaper lighting.

8: Avoid Peak Teams

Power companies charge a premium rate for the most popular time of day, typically between 5 and 7pm. That is because they know it is the time people get home from work, turn on their heaters, cook their dinner and bathe their kids. Try to avoid these peak power times and do your washing or vacuuming outside of these hours.

9: Redo Your Roof

Most roofs are made from dark materials designed to absorb the heat and distribute it through the house. During the winter time you can barely feel the difference, but in summer it can make your house scorching. You then turn on your air-conditioning to negate the heat. Instead, try changing your roof tiles to a lighter colour, or simply repaint it.

10: Look At Your Electricity Provider

When was the last time you reviewed your power rates? If it hasn’t been for a while, then you might want to do some research on what else is out there. Could you get a better rate, a prompt payment discount, or a rebate with another company?

10 Tools To Increase Your Office Productivity

Startup Stock Photos

There are only so many hours in the day, and we want to make sure that we get the most out of those hours. Especially when there is work to deliver and deadlines to meet. So how can you get more time in the day? You can get more productive! And how can you get more productive? You use the available tools to streamline your processes and prevent you from having to double handle tasks.

Want to know more? Then have a read of our favourite 10 productivity tools.

1: Xero [https://www.xero.com/nz/]

This powerhouse accounting system does it all. With automatic bank feeds you can reconcile your accounts in minutes. Do you do work for the same clients every month? Then set up a recurring invoice to automatically send to them. Load all your receipts and bills with the click of a button. Calculate your Tax and GST in minutes. Give your accountant access to your Xero subscription so that they can see all of your daily transactions. A super time saver in the accounting department.

2: Insightly [https://www.insightly.com]

Looking to manage all of your client records in one place? Then Insightly is the CRM for you. With integrations to Gmail and Xero, you can do all your emailing, invoicing, and client management from one place. You can also manage your to do list, the progress of enquiries and link all your team members also.

3: Google Keep [https://www.google.com/keep/]

If you are on the go and you need to write something down, then jot it into Google Keep. It is perfect for keeping notes in one central place. Never lose little pieces of paper again, and never lose those genius ideas that you have in line at the coffee shop either!

4: Feedly [https://feedly.com/i/welcome]

For all the content you could ever want! Customise your feed so that you can follow the blogs that really interest you. Love digital marketing, finance, or food? You can follow them all here. Set up lists so that you can instantly have reading material in front of you, no more wasting time hunting for the right blog. If you create content for your business, then you can get fantastic inspiration here without trawling site after site.

5: BuzzSumo [https://app.buzzsumo.com/research/most-shared]

Hunting for a topic to blog on? Check BuzzSumo for what is hot in your industry right now, then write your own take on it. Save hours of pondering what to write about. BuzzSumo tells you exactly what people want to read, so write about that!

6: Freedom [https://freedom.to/]

Do you find yourself constantly getting distracted by social media or online shopping when you are meant to be working? Freedom is an app that can block these things for a designated time period across all of your devices. Focus on your work, not your notifications to up your productivity massively.

7: Daily Water [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daily-water-free-water-reminder-and-counter/id466387763?mt=8]

Do you find yourself getting absorbed in what you are doing, forgetting to take a break to stretch or get a drink? This app will remind you to do it at regular intervals. When you are stuck into a task it can seem counter-productive to take a break. But a short break will energise you and you will be even more focused when you return.

8: Stitcher [http://www.stitcher.com/]

Are you wanting to upskill yourself, but can’t find the time? Maybe you want some motivation, or to learn about a certain topic? Then you need podcasts in your life. Stitcher is the way to listen to a massive range of fascinating podcasts. You can save your favourites, or try something new. The best part is, you can listen on the go to maximise your commute to work, or your lunch break.

9: Jell [https://jell.com/]

Need to communicate with your team, but don’t want to waste 30mins on a briefing meeting? Then use Jell. It allows you to communicate information on where projects are at, what everyone’s tasks are, and how you are tracking – all in one place. It also integrates with Slack for speedy communication.

10: Headspace [https://www.headspace.com/]

Begin your day in a mindful way. Meditation allows you to stay focused on tasks for longer and do less task switching during the day. Headspace is an app that provides you with 10 minutes guided meditations designed to help you gear up for the day.

Generate Word of Mouth as a Small Business

Word of mouth and referrals are the most powerful kind of advertising for your business. When someone gives your business the seal of approval and begins to tell their friends, their colleagues, their family, their neighbour’s cousin… then that lead becomes worth its weight in gold. Think about it, if someone you trust tells you that a shop is great, or a service is wonderful, then you are going to take their word for it and use those businesses when you need them.

Unfortunately, you need to do a bit of work before you start getting referrals flowing in. So, here are our tips on how to generate word of mouth as a small business.

Go Above and Beyond

If you exceed your customer’s expectations, then they are going to rave about you. Under-promise and over-deliver, that is the key. Word of mouth is triggered when customers receive something they didn’t expect, so it goes beyond simply good service.

We don’t mean giving gifts and discounts, but an overall fantastic experience for the customer. So friendly service, excellent communication, VIP treatment and delivering quality in your product

The WOW Factor

Have a point of difference about your business that makes your customers go wow! Make sure that your business has an edge and a way to distinguish yourself from others in your industry. Pick something suitable for your profession and run with it – handwritten notes, impromptu follow up calls to answer queries, bonus information, upgrading a package… whatever works for your industry. You want your clients to say wow, because wow-ed clients leave great reviews and tell their friends.

Make Reviews Easy

If you make it too hard for your customers then they won’t do it. But if there is an easy way for them to post their feedback, and they have been wow-ed, then they will sing your praises. Have a link at the bottom of your email signature, provide a button on your website, or post about it on your social media. Any feedback is good feedback, even if some is negative. It gives you an opportunity to improve and fix things you might not have known were broken.

Set Referral Goals

These goals can’t be vague, they need to be practical and measureable. So: ‘I want 5 new customers through referrals this month’. It has an amount and a timeframe that you can measure and track, so it is practical and achievable. By setting these goals, you will push yourself to always work at a standard that generates referrals.

Utilise PR

Public Relations is a great way to get your business name out there and in front of people. Keep good relationships with local journalists, newspapers, radio stations and online influencers in your niche. Keep them up to date on your business happenings and future plans. You may even choose to do something that creates a media frenzy, like a charity event, a pop-up shop, or a collaborative giveaway with complementary businesses.

As a small business it can be hard to gain traction against the big players, but that is why word of mouth is your secret weapon! By generating regular referrals, you won’t need to spend big on advertising. Referrals also come to you with a great picture of your business in their minds, half of the selling is already done for you!

« First...10...2021222324