rule of thumb

Like this article? PLEASE +1 it!

rule of thumb Tagged Articles

Lesson #4: Make Your Customers Happy
“In my view, each of my 21 million customers is a real person,” says Vernon “I always keep a clear image of her.” Vernon’s success has come about as a result of her core principal of trying to make her customers happy.

The 80-19-1 Rule

I expect that many of you are familiar with the Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule.) If you aren’t, the simple definition is that for many phenomena 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes. Or – more practically – 80% of your company’s revenue comes from 20% of your customers, or 80% of your problems come from 20% of your customers, or 80% of your employee problems come from 20% of your employees. While it’s overused, it’s a good rule of thumb.

The Top Ten Lies of Corporate Partners
In a manner of speaking, I’m running out of lies to tell. So far I’ve taken care of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, engineers, and marketers. The target of this posting is “corporate partners.” (You might find a previous posting, "The Art of Partnering" interesting.)

The Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs
I get pitched dozens of times every year, and every pitch contains at least three or four of these lies. I provide them not because I believe I can increase the level of honesty of entrepreneurs as much as to help entrepreneurs come up with new lies. At least new lies indicate a modicum of creativity!

The Art of Projections in a Dotcom 2.0 World

The world is running amok with entrepreneurs pitching every sort of Web 2.0, social networking, user-generated-content startup. It’s the attack of the bull-shiitake startup projections, so I’m losing my hearing; there’s a ringing in my head, and I get dizzy every once in a while. Before the world implodes (again), here is a top-tenish list of ways to create realistic projections in this Dotcom 2.0 world.

7 Surefire Signs of a *Virtual Violation and 5 Ways to Avoid It
Not everything is always what it seems. By having the right information and knowing what to look for you can avoid being a victim of unethical practices online.

Internet Marketing Ideas And Strategies For Your Online Business
Here you will find a few ideas you can follow that are proven strategies for Internet marketing success.

TRADE SHOW FOLLOW-UP: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
Trade shows are great for meeting new prospects and lead generation. But the real value is in the follow-up. But how much is too much? Here are four tips to keep in mind when trying to turn all those business cards into cash.

First Impressions

It is though that a “first impression” is created in three seconds. That is… one… two… three… impression created! In that tiny amount of time your appearance, body language, mannerisms and how you are dressed are all pieced together to form that impression. After that “first impression,” it can take hundreds of hours for the three second first impression to be changed. With odds like these, it’s important that that first impression is a good one.

Mastering Marketing Strategies

The key to any successful business is to establish a successful and well maintained database of clients (Repeat, Referring & Raving Fans!) Creating this database generally comes from Lead Generation through different Marketing Strategies. Establishing some key points to follow whilst preparing for your marketing campaign can mean the success or failure of any business. So follow the leaders in the industry, learn from them and come up with your very own creative angle to seperate yourself from the competition!

7 Tips for Designing a Home Page that Builds Value and Maximizes Conversion Goals
On average, you have roughly seven seconds to get your message across before the end user abandons your website for one of your competitors' sites.

How to add more twitter followers
The question of how to add more twitter followers is constantly being seen in the internet these days. With so many possible solutions, I’ve decided to list out some of the manual methods of achieving a higher number of followers within a short period of time.

Remedy #1 for product launches/start ups: "Get Real"
Make sure there is a real & recognized need for your product. This requires thorough, unbiased market research that involves 8 basic steps, ranging from: A) "How important is your offering to prospects?" to H) "How can you best accumulate and interpret opinions?

Protect your Company by Properly Documenting Employee Discipline
The days of firing employees at will are long gone. Today’s HR mangers need to comply with a strict disciplinary routine to enforce compliance with their own policies. If enforcing compliance in not possible occasionally, your documented effort to improve behavior and performance is your only defense against wrongful discharge suits.

Free To Post Business Opportunities: How to Market Your Business Like the Big Dogs Absolutely Free

Using these methods makes it free to post business opportunities allowing you to spread your word even further, to a wider audience, all for free. This list is far from exhaustive, but it will definitely give you a solid start in giving your free to post business opportunities, regardless of which ones you're with, an even better and brighter spotlight (a higher listing on Google) than people who pay for the positioning that you'll be getting for free.

Human Resources; How much is enough? A Controversial Perspective
If your HR staff is not providing key reports and developing programs and strategies that either reduce your costs or increase revenue in some way, then you don’t need them at all. I mean that. But assuming you have, or will hire, a Human Resources professional that does or will make recommendations that contribute to the bottom line, the answer is “it depends”.

4 Tips for Job Seekers Who Are Being Interviewed
Interviewing for a job can be a nerve racking experience. The pressure of convincing an employer you are the right person for the position is sometimes overwhelming, especially in a tough economic climate like this one. But even when the competition is staunch, there are ways to WOW your potential new boss.

3 Tips For Creating Productive Teams At Work

Team work is essential for effective business. No employee, not matter how talented they are, works in a bubble. The problem with teams, however, is that they are made up of individuals who sometimes have competing ideas and personalities. These differences, in one sense, can be valuable (i.e. during brainstorming or creative sessions), but they can also lead to conflict. So how can managers put together effective, productive teams and skip all the drama?

Get More Visitors in 48hrs Without Spending a Dime
If you have a website and are looking for FREE ways to drive more unique traffic to your website, I will show you in 5 steps how you increase your website's traffic within 48hrs. I've tried it and it really works.

Transform Technical Jargon into Reader-Friendly Marketing Materials
Turn 50-cent words into 5-cent words. Go through your writing and find every word with three or more syllables. Then try to replace it with one or two shorter words. Of course, sometimes technical jargon needs to be in there. But you can always explain the techie bits using less technical lingo and shorter words.

Real Estate Marketing Strategies: 7 Steps to Make It Easier for You to Be Resilient
Have you ever had trouble keeping it professional and not taking things personally? This article gives you some great tips on how to maintain your resilience.

A Documentation Strategy Unleashed
Every business must have a documentation system that is manageable. With a three part system in place, it would be difficult to go wrong.

Seven Items To Consider When Interviewing Potential Staff Members

Do you put a lot of effort into interviewing candidates for a position yet end up with those you hire leaving the organization within a few months or year? In the nonprofit field, most organizations have limited budgets, often resulting in lower salaries and a high turnover in staff members. If you want to attract qualified individuals whose primary focus is on people and human service oriented work versus a higher salary, I have found there are certain steps supervisors should take when interviewing potential candidates. The following article identifies my top seven items to consider during the interview process, to ensure you identify the most qualified applicants.

3 Keys To Succeed Working From Home
Learn the 3 keys to make you a successful entrepreneur and become one of the top income earners while working from home.

Canadian Merchant Accounts â€“ 8 Questions You Need to Ask!
Learn 8 essential questions you will want to ask before find a Canadian Payment Processor.

Home Based Business: Dream of Business Success Online

Home based business online is the dream of success for thousands of people world wide. Being able to work from home and make money solves many problems for people. Family life is more easily managed if you work from home. The number of people who search on Google for work at home related information increases every day. Wherever their is great business opportunity there is also the potential for con artists and scammers to separate you from your hard earned money. Using common sense and good judgment is essential when you are looking at becoming involved with any business opportunity. When you hear something that sounds too good to be true you should exercise due diligence in researching the claims. The Internet is a medium that allows average people to be able to compete in a global market with their home based business online.

Startups: Top 10 Funding Sources
Even in today’s stressed economy, there are multiple ways to keep your startup alive and moving forward. I find that many startup founders fixate on one or two, often at the expense of their business. Following is a prioritized larger list of sources, with some “rules of thumb” which may save you a lot of time and energy:

Beware! Work From Home Business Scams To Look Out For
Con-men count on the fact that there's a sucker born every minute. So, if you want to be smart and be able to see through the scams, take a look at some of the most common small business scams and how to best avoid them.

Questions and Answers About Starting An Internet Business
Many people do not ever get around to starting an internet business because they are afraid of everything that is involved. Contrary to popular belief it is not that hard to start an internet home business of your own. In this article let's take a look at a few of the most common questions and answers you might have about starting an internet business.

Software Patents: Time for a Change

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. I don’t have much conviction that it really does stop competitors, but I do know the rule of thumb that every patent will add $1M to your startup valuation for investors, or for M&A exits (merger and acquisition). Yet the software patent process is a mess. I say this with conviction even after I survived the process, and have a software patent pending.

10 Effective Copywriting Tips for SEO
10 ways to make your pages more digestable for readers, and for the search engines.

How much information should you give away for free?
I’ve always been one for giving information away for free. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it and other people say that it’s a great thing to do. I’ve tried both. Generally though, I find that giving something away for free does help my business.

TOP 10 WAYS TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Ten terrific strategies for treating yourself with more kindness.

Does Franchise Growth Indicate a Successful Franchise?
This article discusses the importance of franchise system growth in your due diligence. It discusses the give and takes of growth and provides way to interpret the information you gather.

Where Should Salespeople Spend TheirTime?
A reader asked how much time should be spent on each base path in Baseline Selling. That certainly differs by industry, salesperson and prospect but I can provide you with a few guidelines.

Q&A: What does excellent trade show signage look like?
Your exhibit and trade show booth graphic elements must powerfully reflect who you are and draw visitors to your booth in the midst of a loud, crowded exhibit hall filled with distractions and competitors.

Can I Claim These Expenses In My Business?

There have been a few questions recently about certain types of expenditure and whether or not they are tax deductible so I thought I would put them publicly here in case anyone else was also wondering. As a rule of thumb, an expense has to be something directly incurred in the running of your business. You need to be able to prove that you spent the money wholly, exclusively and necessarily in connection with the business.

What Sort Of Business Uses A Bookkeeping Bureau?
There are many possible answers to this question, from ignorance of bookkeeping to the proprietor focusing exclusively on the business growth leaving no time for other activities. However, this article will focus on the size of business - as a rule of thumb. Most of our bookkeeping clients seem to fall into a certain size bracket.

Valuing Goodwill: A Pig-in-a-Poke?
This article discusses what goodwill is, how it is valued and gives an example of how it is applied in a certain case.

The Give and Take of Rejection
Why is it that one tiny word, "No", can evoke so much fear into the hearts and minds of so many? Part of everyday life as a leader/manager requires you to handle rejection day in and day out. How well do you cope? What can you do to more effectively handle rejection?

Getting The Word Out About Your Business With Press Releases
One of the best ways that you can promote and get word out about your business is to start writing some press releases. They can provide a type of promotion that is hard to find anywhere else, and they are proven to not only help get the word out, but they bring in traffic and also can enhance your rankings within the search engines as well.

Other Discriminatory Practices Covered Under EEO Laws
Title 7 also prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also practices that have the effect of discriminating against individuals because of their race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.

Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business
Time management is an important tool for small business owners - organizing your time and understanding its value to your small business is a great way to become more focused and successful.

How to Say It Quickly and Still Make Your Point
You've prepared for a meeting and when you get there, the time for your presentation has been cut in half. Or even more. How can still make your point and reach your goal, while appearing unperturbed and in control?

Perceived Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
Pricing is an important aspect of every business because price is used to create financial projections, establish a break even point, and calculate profit and loss. It's also important to establish a good price point from the beginning because it is much easier to lower prices than to raise them.

Free Website Promotion for the Beginning Entrepreneur
The Internet provides the level playing field of which the small business owner dreams, and that goes for offline as well as online businesses. Free advertising opportunities abound in the virtual world, you just need to know where to find them.

6 Things To Look Out For When Starting A Work From Home Franchise
Working from home isn't all fun and games, it's called work for a reason. To help make your transition to a home based business as smooth as possible, take a look at these 6 things to look out for when starting a work from home franchise.

5 Ways to Create Effective Website Content

In order to retain the attention of prospects and clients visiting your small business website, the content you present needs to be organized, easy to read and search engine compatible. Writing for the web is different - online reading is not the same as reading from print. Web users, particularly those performing website searches, have limited attention spans - they tend to scan pages for specific information rather than reading every single word of content.

How to Hire an Optimization SEO Company
Here are some things to look for when hiring, or evaluating your SEO provider.

Selling Your Products Online
E-commerce is gaining pace! While offline retail sales are staggering and will continue to do so in near term, online retail sales will show a hefty 19 percent consecutive year over year growth! Next year two third of all North American households will buy some kind of products and services online. This article covers the main points you need to consider if you want to sell your products online.

How to Effectively Delegate
Effective delegation will leverage your time and your efforts. It will work to develop your team and make them more valuable, more productive and more loyal. If you want to boost your production, spend more of your time on efforts that produce and less time on tasks that are administrative.

Finding The Right MLM Company For You
Not all of the Multi-level Marketing companies are the same. There are thousands of MLM companies just on the Internet alone to pick through. How do you know if an MLM company is the right one for you?

Rule 18 Let Your Customers Point the Way to Profit
This is Rule #18 in a series of articles on "21 ways to Increase the Power and Profit of Your Advertising Without Spending an Extra Cent," by Brad Sugars.

Most Common Franchising Mistakes
Franchising can be a wonderful, fulfilling experience – but it can also be a depressing, disenchanting experience. Unfortunately, there are a number of franchisees that, much to their discouragement, are faced with the harsh realities of franchising. Why? Take a look at the following mistakes many entrepreneurs attempting to become franchisees make.

How Much Can You Make in Franchising?
Franchisors often don't give straight answers to franchisees asking the question “How Much Can You Make in Franchising?” due to the numerous legalities involved.

Be Sure Youre Charging Enough Money
Entrepreneurs love to get new clients for their business. You work hard developing your skills and marketing yourself and the payoff comes when someone says, yes, they want to hire you. Then comes the negotiation regarding fees.....

Solving ‘Too Many Clients – Not Enough Profit'
Steve Leach teaches us how 20% of clients provide 80% of your profits and how to solve the challenge.

The "Never Play Favorites" Myth

Many year's ago, while training at a branch of Dean Whitter (now Morgan Stanley), I learned an important management truth. The branch manager at this office was mandated by corporate to spend a minimum of 60 percent of his time working with and supporting the stock brokers who had been given offices (based on their top performance) surrounding the "bull pen," where the vast majority of the brokers had cubicles. Those staff members in the cubicles were allocated 40 percent of the manager's time.

How to crystalize business growth options through Strategic Planning

What is it? Why do strategic planning? When is the right time for strategic planning? Strategic Planning is a tool to formulate high level business strategy. It sets the table to allow preparation of detailed business plans. Strategic planning is undertaken to define the precise mission of the organization, prioritize opportunities and help manage growth. It is also a very useful tool in satisfying succession planning needs. Most strategic planning is undertaken to establish base guidelines for a business plan. It also provides the benefit of helping maximize resource utilization and prioritize growth options.

How to deal with bargain hunters and price shoppers

Do you believe that the better your product or service, the more it will sell, and soon the world will beat a path to your door? Do you ever feel like pulling your hair out trying to convince people that your stuff is superior quality? Do you ever get so frustrated because no matter how you try to explain, some people are so thick headed, the only difference they can see is the price? If you answer “yes”, you have a marketing problem. And advertising is not going to be your magic solution. In fact, it will only make your problem worse, and that’s exactly why so many ads don’t work.

A profitable market
A profitable market has to be a hungry market. In other words, there must be sufficient demand for the product in place.

Why Mass Link Submissions are Dangerous to Your SEO Efforts
Those mass directory submission offers are tempting. But they could be leading you down a dangerous path. Learn how mass directory submissions can actually hurt your SEO. And what you should do instead to keep building long term business success online.

Obedience to the Unenforceable
There is the rule of law and the rule of free choice. In between is the rule of self. If we are not careful to manage the rule of self in the interest of customers, employees, and others, we may find that someone somewhere will legislate the rule for us.

Garber on Business: Advertisers, Know Your Market
There's a radio ad on the air these days and every time I hear it, I burst out laughing. And it isn't meant to be funny, either. An essential rule-of-thumb for advertisers trying to win over stingy consumers like me, is "Know Your Market."

Closing with Passion
When you get the opportunity to close, always remember to close with the benefits that the customer has stated. The golden rule is three benefits, this does not mean that you always need three, one is enough if it's powerful enough, the rule of thumb is three, then in most cases you will always make the sale.

Printing Gets Personal with VIPs
At a time when doing more with less is the rule of thumb in business marketing, direct marketing strategies are making a comeback. How? …by getting personal with VIPs using VIP technology, otherwise known as Variable Information Printing.

Successful Entrepreneurs Have No Drinking Problem
Experts vary on how much water you need in a day. If you are a small person, you might need less... if you're overweight, you need more. But a good rule-of-thumb is 64 ounces, or about two liters, every day.

Media 101 for political novices: Leave the witchcraft out of It
This election season is rife with opportunities to learn about what NOT to do when crafting a public message. One of the most basic rules is to avoid endorsing negative images the public already has. It's a good rule of thumb for anyone in the media spotlight.

Telemarketing Services for Unconventional and Commodity Products or Services
. A good rule of thumb, if you have to say “but”, for example, “I offer merchant services, but we are unique in…..” Once your prospect registered merchant services, you have been cataloged with that commodity.

Telemarketing Companies Are Not Working, When to Stop?
There is really no formula or rule of thumb to follow in determining if enough is enough with telemarketing companies. Hence, this is not an easy question. There are number factors that we need to consider in order to derive the best decision.

rule of thumb Tagged Articles

Other rule of thumb Related Articles