Business and Finance

As business people we are always on the “hunt” for new prospects or customers. We tend to become so focused on this path that we have blinders on to everything else.

When someone comes up to us at a networking event we can become so focused on making sure that they know what we do that we forget everything else.

I have had 20 minute conversations with people and had them walk away and I don’t even know their name. This is because they are so focused on telling me what they do and how they can help me and what kind of referrals they are looking for that I am pretty sure they forget to tell me the most simple thing… their name.

Here is another common thing that happens…

I am at a networking event and someone comes up to me. They say hello and tell em their name. I tell them my name and then before another sentence is said they launch into their pitch.

They tell me how they have been in business for over a year and they quickly ask if I have a website. I barely say yes when they move on. They go on to tell me all about how they can help me “optimize” my website and get me to the first page of Google. They can get me in all the online “yellow pages” sites and have customers banging down my door to do business with me and coming to my shop and buying my products and services and my phones will be ringing off the hook. All for ONLY $____ a month.

I generally listen politely because I always find this pitch amusing. (Sadly I have heard it a ton of times ).

After a few minutes they tend to run out of pitch. So I politely ask them a couple of questions, for my own curiosity. Things like “What sites will you add me to?” And “Do YOU do the work?”.

They, seeing a possible sale, rush to assure me that I will be on dozens of sites and that they don’t actually do the work “they have people” that do.

They then ask “So do you want to set up a meeting and get started?”

This is where I have to break their hearts. Mind you we are now about 10-20 minutes into this exchange. And now they are going to discover they have completely wasted their time, and mine to be honest, but they seem so desperate I don’t have the heart to stop them.

I explain to them that I don’t have a store front. I explain to them that I don’t particularly care if my phone rings since I am an internet based business. I explain to them that I am already on the first page in Google, in fact I can tell them I am #1-20 on Google depending on how you search. I explain to them that I know how to get on everyone of the sites they “get me on” for free. And then the last one…

I explain to them what I do in my business and how it, in this example, kind of matches what they do. This is usually when they politely thank me, sometimes not so politely, and wander off in search of their next victim.

I say victim kind of tongue in cheek, but sometimes unfortunately this is how these people make you feel.

If they had taken 2 minutes to ask a couple of questions about me, my business, my business model, etc. They would have saved themselves and me a ton of time. They would have saved themselves the heartache and frustration of doing their entire pitch only to discover that it was in vain.

Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, there are various other factors influencing the purchases of consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological. The explanation of these factors is given below.

1. Social Factors

Social factors also impact the buying behavior of consumers. The important social factors are: reference groups, family, role and status.

• Reference Groups

Reference groups have potential in forming a person attitude or behavior. The impact of reference groups varies across products and brands. For example if the product is visible such as dress, shoes, car etc then the influence of reference groups will be high. Reference groups also include opinion leader (a person who influences other because of his special skill, knowledge or other characteristics). View full article »

Ever wonder why many people are opting for digital printing than traditional printing? Well, modern technology has allowed many people to start their own business even with a minimal capital. Because of these, many businesses are taking advantage of what modern printing techniques can offer. Just the same, small businesses are not the only ones who can take advantage of this opportunity but also those big businesses. Instead of having their small print projects done with their regular print shops for quite a big cost, they can save a considerable amount of money from having them printed the modern way. Additionally, modern technology printing allows you to periodically update your promotional materials, hence reducing the risk of printing large quantities of materials with expiring information.

The 21st century boasts of technological advancements, making all printing needs much easier to avail. This is indeed the digital age. Without a doubt, digital printing has helped a lot in a much easier short run printing process. It is now possible to print five hundred or just fifty copies of catalogs or brochures in full color when you need them. View full article »

Make sure your current computer consulting clients, friends, and family know what types of companies you work with, the types of things you do, and how much you would appreciate referrals from them.

A lot of times, by asking the right kind of open-ended questions, you can be very pleasantly surprised when your computer consulting contacts start discussing something that evolves into a $10,000 or $15,000 services opportunity because they all of a sudden had a lightening bolt moment.

What You May Hear

“We have this woman in Accounting who is typing the same thing in three times over and over and over again.  I wonder if there’s some way that you could set up links or do something in Access that that would eliminate that?” or “We have this crazy process where we’re still using this DOS-based 19.2 modem but we’ve heard there’s a web-based way to do this.  Can you look into it and help us implement it?” This is a golden opportunity to get more computer consulting business.

Open Ended Questions are Best

Get your customers talking. Instead of asking, “Are we doing a good job?” Which gives you a “yes” or “no” answer, you can ask questions that give you more opportunities to serve your customers. Ask them questions like:
“How are we doing?”"What else can we help you with?”"What do you like about how we’re helping?”"What do you like about how we’re servicing the account?”"What do you think we can improve on?”

Now take this information and suggest new ways of working together to benefit both of you.