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Posted: April 24th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Small Business Tips & Tools | Tags: follow up in sales, follow up with customers | 1 Comment »
Why is follow-up so important?
Sales don’t happen on their own, learn to follow-up with your customers, leads and prospects effectively, to never ever drop the ball with a promising contact.
You’re a business owner or a sales person involved in industry with a long sales process. It starts with initial contact, proceeds with a lead and hopefully converts into sale. Every your customer brings considerable value and you are all into building trustful relationships with your clients. You do great job looking for prospects and generating leads.
Still, if you don’t follow up after making the initial contact, your leads just get lost, 70% of unconverted leads are the result of never being followed up. Also, if you don’t follow up with your existing customers, you loose the chance to make an up-sale to them. Current customers are more loyal and much more likely to convert into sale. Well, if your existing or previous customers are not loyal, it’s crucial to follow up and reveal the reason they are not fully satisfied with the product.
So why don’t salespeople follow up? It seems so obvious to follow up with a lead or customer until you are completely sure whether he/she wants to do business with your or not. Sometimes salespeople don’t want to seem too pushy or they are simply too busy to remember to follow up. But the main reason is that the salespeople have no defined process to manage follow ups. So it’s time to get one!
Follow-up method in 4 simple steps
Here is a method developed by OnePage to make it work and effectively follow up with customers:
1) Once you contacted your lead or customer, think, what is the very next action you have to take to push this relationship forward. For example, after you sent Michael your media kit, you decide you’ll call him the next Tuesday to ask what he thinks.
2) After you took your decision, save a reminder in a system you trust.
3) Check your reminder system regularly. If you don’t regularly check your list you start to lose your confidence in the method. Once your follow-up actions are organized into a trusted system that works, you’ll develop a great feeling of order and control.
4) Keep he history of your follow-ups for easier reference.
OnePage CRM tool to make follow-up a part of your daily routine
OnePage developed a tool that mimics the follow up method described above, and helps apply it into your daily sales process. So how does it work?
1) You have a lead (a prospect or a customer). Save the basic information you got about it (name of the contact person, company name, source you got this lead from) into OnePage CRM
2) Decide on the next action you need to take to bring this lead forward, write and save your decision in the Next Action field associated with this lead. OnePage system encourages you to fill in this field for every contact you have. This ensures you’ve got a plan to bring every single contact forward, and you won’t stop until you have a result.
3) You regularly check your next actions list in OnePage. OnePage sorts your contacts according to their next action and creates a dynamic list which prioritizes your time. One look at our main screen and you know what actions you need to take now, today and tomorrow. That helps you focus on follow-up transforming overwhelm into an organized system.
It is that simple once you’ve got a predefined follow up process. Apply OnePage method using your own tools or give OnePage CRM a try proceeding with a free trial account. Always follow up with your customers to keep them happy and your sales targets achieved.
Posted: May 16th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Small Business Tips & Tools | Tags: protect corporate data, secure corporate information | No Comments »
There is a new strategy in the business world. It’s called BYOD – or Bring Your Own Device. Companies are now allowing employees to bring their personal laptops, smartphones and other mobile devices to be used in the workplace.
This way, workers get to use their own gadgets and gear. Devices they are already extremely familiar with, and this makes work productivity so much more cost-effective.
Or, does it?
Using one’s own personal devices for certain tasks at work, such as for asset management could be advantageous in regards to cutting costs. On the other hand, corporations are seeing data theft through the use of employee-owned mobile devices. So, increased security here, is definitely needed. Increased security means increased costs.
In an article by our partner blogger, Ashley Furness, entitled “Strategies to Secure Your Enterprise in the New World of BYOD”, Ms. Furness offers strategies companies can utilize in protecting themselves against the risks of bringing personal pc and mobile devices for work related tasks.
Did you know that 31 percent of corporate employees will at some time or other, connect to their company’s network via a public Wi-Fi connection? Public, as in unencrypted. As in downright dangerous where your company is concerned.
Or, how about the employee who visits their favorite coffee hangout, and takes the time to answer some work-related emails. Then they get up for a refill, leave their phone behind and it gets stolen right out from under them. What’s the best thing to do next, or what should you have done in the case of mobile theft?
There is help out there for ensuring that your company policies are being complied with by your employees, especially when they use mobile devices.
IT teams have a variety of ways to install remote wiping and locking tools and implement mobile device management (MDM) systems to ensure your corporate data isn’t being put at risk. Companies such as Cisco Systems and Golden Frog offer upfront solutions.
Lastly, corporate employees need to be educated about the dangers of malware creation as well as exposure to viruses and spammers. Threats like these are always lurking in the background and can be devastating to corporations if no action is taken.
If you’ve never heard of Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite or Threat Metrix, then find out why it’s in your best interest to know how their solutions could be the answers to your company’s liabilities.
To read the full version all about BYOD, just go to the original Strategies to Secure Your Enterprise in the New World of BYOD post where Ashley Furness’s strategies will put you and your company on the right path where BYOD policies and risks are concerned.
Posted: May 4th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Small Business Tips & Tools | Tags: google docs backup, using google docs | No Comments »
One of the challenges in any company is focusing the efforts of a team of people on an important task. Collaboration on any project is key. The use of Google Docs helps organize many efforts. By offering a central place to store and share information and documents, staff can easily find the information they need to perform their roles.
Google Docs is an environment where information can be organized and controlled. It is a central repository of data for projects, short and long-term. A typical concern for any project or business is where to store its valuable data yet have it available for review whenever needed. Making important information available to the right people at the right time is critical to any project’s success.
The typical model used by companies is to purchase expensive client-based tools that need to be maintained on local servers while creating repositories for managing the data. Google Docs offers the tools needed by any business to create and manage various types of documents. Documents can be created within Google or offline elsewhere and uploaded later.
Complimenting this process by using a SaaS (Software as a Service) application to
backup Google Apps as needed creates a complete environment in which a team can manage a project successfully.
Google accounts can be created by any business for their projects. Within these Google Docs accounts, folders can be created to help organize the data. As people are given access to the work area, they can be given various rights to the folders. People can control their personal folders, have full access to project collaboration areas, and have restricted access to review-only areas.
A key business benefit to using Google Docs is that people can access their work anywhere they can get onto a network. Access is through any of the major browsers in use on a PC or Mac. This utilizes the concept of the virtual office where team members are not restricted to a central location. Project and company information is centralized but team members can be located all over the world.
Team meetings take on a new dimension with the collaborative creation of presentations in Google Docs that can be shared with the entire project team. Many types of files can be uploaded to the workspace so that reports, spreadsheets, audio and video can easily be part of any meeting.
Google provides a backup-protected work environment, but the prudent company will insure the safety of its information by performing regular procedures to
backup Google Apps, Gmail (email) and documents. This is a small step to take to make sure that accidental data loss or corruption doesn’t impact the project momentum.
Companies currently using local data repositories for their projects can migrate to Google Docs and begin gaining the benefits of a collaborative work environment. Targeted project teams can start using Google Docs as the company determines how best to do an enterprise-wide transition. It is easy for a project to start using Google Docs and become part of the evaluation process providing input to the larger company effort.
Google Docs is a simple way to increase employee productivity. By reducing the effort required to establish a project or company repository and work area, the energy and attention of the team can be focused on their project goals.
Posted: May 4th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Choosing a CRM, Considering OnePage CRM | Tags: crm reviews, crm testimonials, small business crm reviews | No Comments »
I was recently checking our support emails and found some feedback by small business owners and sales people about our CRM. Many users say that OnePage is the dream CRM for their small business, it changed their life and attitude. That made me so happy, I decided to post some of them to our blog. I hope these reviews will help those considering OnePage CRM!
Non-profit company:
“I can wrestle the beast that is SalesForce, but from the moment I saw your offering I knew that my life would never be the same. It is gorgeous. Incredible! Inspiring! SalesForce, even Zoho, feel like cement shoes now.”
Oxygenation systems producer:
“I’m impressed with your system and have loaded data into it. I used Salesforce for a year at another firm and it was far too complicated and burdensome. Also tested quite a few systems on the market but they all seem to replicate Salesforce thought process.”
Online Publishing and Copywriting Services:
“Old system was based on an Excel spreadsheet of leads with notes in one column on actions, and various colour coding and so on to try to fragment it. But it was inconsistent, not systematic, messy, awkward to handle, cumbersome to access, uninspiring, soul destroying even. We were ready for something better but weren’t actively searching for fear of the cost involved.
With OnePage the whole system became motivating and pleasurable. I like opening OnePageCRM and seeing what’s made its way back onto the radar as a lead, prospect or customer with more potential for us.”
Business Coaching Services:
“I just got into ‘one page CRM’ and I think it may be the answer to World Peace….I am a reluctant business developer (ie seller!). I used to force myself into a weekly discipline of reviewing an excel spreadsheet and outlook contact base and indeed tried all sorts of other tactics and indeed CRM systems to integrate business development into my weekly routine. I know through bitter experience that if I don’t develop my business all the time at some point in the future there will be a gap in my pipeline.
‘One Page CRM’ has changed my attitude and approach. It’s easy to access, it’s engaging and it drives your interest in selling and business development.”
These reviews give us so much inspiration to make OnePage CRM better! Thank you!
Posted: May 1st, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: OnePage CRM Updates | Tags: OnePage CRM new pricing | No Comments »
Lower Prices - More Features!
We’ve just made OnePage a lot more flexible…
- New Pricing Plans to suit your business - choose Solo, Growing (3 users) or Team (10 users)
- Discounts to suit your pocket - up to 17% off for quarterly and yearly billing
- Flexible payment options - use Debit cards, American Express, Paypal etc.
- And now you get invoiced in your own currency!
Price plans are as low as €12.50 for Solo, and $8/user/month for the Team version when purchased quarterly.
Check them out here New Flexible Pricing Plans!
And in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve added a bunch of new features too…
Multi-user Mobile version beta gCal & iCal integration Spanking new interface
Like what we’re doing? Sign up for a free trial or upgrade your current OnePage account
Questions? Contact us at support@onepagecrm.com
Posted: May 1st, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Small Business Tips & Tools | Tags: Brick and mortar, Business, Customer service, E-commerce, Online | 2 Comments »
Let’s face it: The world has gone electronic and so have many traditional, brick and mortar businesses. You want to stay competitive, so you’re searching for new methods of taking your business to the next level. What do you do? Jump on the bandwagon and join the world of e-commerce! Accepting credit cards online is easy when you have the right people helping you out. The hard part is knowing that you’re joining the e-commerce industry for the right reasons. If keeping up with the ever-changing World Wide Web isn’t enough of a reason for you to take your business online, then these four reasons will certainly change your mind.
1. Grow your customer base and increase your profits by selling internationally. When you opened the doors of your brick and mortar store for the first time, you welcomed customers from your community. When you open the doors of an e-commerce store, you’ll welcome customers from all over the world. The Internet is a global phenomenon that lets you reach people all over the world with your online business. This means growing your customer base and increasing your profits by selling to people in other countries.
2. Get tax benefits by processing your payments offshore. If you open a merchant account in an offshore country, that country’s laws protect your money. Some offshore countries will charge you a small tax on your business’s income, but most don’t make you pay taxes at all. Another great benefit of offshore merchant accounts is that offshore banks have fewer trading restrictions on the items you sell. This isn’t to say you can sell illegal goods, but offshore banks often work with high risk industries, such as online casinos, licensed pharmacies, and travel agencies.
3. Better opportunities for your customer service department. You already provide great customer service, but it’s limited to in-store, email, and telephone support. Taking your business online will give you the opportunity to reach more customers who need your help and provide better customer service—and fast! From live chat services to social media, your options are abundant. Integrating a live chat program into your website will allow your visitors to ask you questions and get immediate responses. Using social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, as customer service tools will also help market your company. Social networking will also help make people aware that you take the quality of your business seriously.
4. What you’re selling is unique, and you want to let the world in on it. There are countless numbers of stores selling the same boring items. But you, you’re different. You sell unique, custom-made handbags, or jewelry, or mugs, or wall art. What you sell in your brick and mortar store are special and no one can find them anywhere else in the world—until you transform your store into an online success. When you sell unique items, it’s usually because you have a passion for them. Take your already-successful brick and mortar business online, and, if you market yourself the right way, watch your business as it really takes flight.
If you own an online business that began as a traditional brick and mortar, why did you decide to take your business online? What tips can you share with your fellow entrepreneurs about transitioning to an e-commerce business? What things would you have done differently?
Author Bio:
Meghan Faye Wolff is the senior copywriter and marketing specialist for Instabill Corporation. Instabill provides international and offshore payment processing solutions to e-commerce and MOTO merchants worldwide. Meghan writes about social media marketing, tips for start-up businesses, and e-commerce and payments industry news on the Instabill blog.
Posted: April 25th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Small Business Tips & Tools | Tags: qr codes and advertising, qr codes for marketing | No Comments »
QR Code is an image that consists of black dots arranged in a square pattern on a white background, just like the one on the left. QR code stores a URL that can be read and open quickly by a smart phone application. For example, if you wanted to give your customers a link to your subscription page on your print
leaflet and you just put your URL there (say, www.SomeWebsite.com/SubscribePromo), people would have to type your address in their browser manually. If you use a QR code, your customers just scan it with their smart phone and the URL you encoded into your QR code opens in their mobile browser.
Can QR codes be used for marketing? Yes they can, but it is important to understand that putting QR codes is just like putting a URL on something, whether or not its useful depends on the place you put it and the destination.
- The primary role of QR Codes for marketing is to connect the offline(print) world to the online world. QR codes are now splashed around everywhere. Sometimes it gets ridiculous, when some companies put it on TV commercials, because by the time you get out your phone, open the QR app and aim it at the TV the ad would be over. Use QR code in print magazines, leaflets, billboards and other places it’s appropriate to put your link, but make sure it’s easy for people to scan it.
- Before you QR your URL, make sure the landing page looks good on mobile browser. Many marketeers are throwing on a QR code on their print media because it’s the latest and greatest, and very often it leads to a non-mobile friendly website. People will leave it within seconds.
- Remember people have no idea what URL is encoded in your QR image, so let them know! Nothing’s worse than slapping QR codes everywhere and not letting people know what to expect if they actually scan the code and get to your URL. Put a message next to your QR code and make it specific: “Sign up for the contest”, “Get the coupon” are good calls-to-action. “Visit us online” and “For more information” are not very compelling, but they are still better than nothing.
QR codes are like a vehicle and are just as useful as any other vehicle. So whether QR codes will be good for your marketing or not, depends on you. If you know what you want to accomplish with a QR code, you make it clear for your audience and you link it to the right page, it can be very effective.
>>Read next Article Getting Things Done Method & Business Software to Stay Organized
Posted: April 17th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Small Business Tips & Tools | Tags: business guest post, guest post, submit guest post | No Comments »
We accept business guest posts to our OnePage Sales Blog and we submit counter guest post articles with our links to be posted on your blog or website!
About our blog
We are an online B2B company focusing on small business. Our product is Online CRM Software. In our blog we post our company and industry updates along with any useful business information our customers (Small Business Owners, Sales Professionals) might find interesting, it includes: increase sales tips & tricks, business development tools & strategies, etc.
How we work
You submit a unique article (or an article idea) at least 500 words long with no more than 3 links inside the article. We post it to our blog and submit a unique counter article with up to 3 of our links to be posted on your blog or website.
Your benefits of submiting a guest post to our blog:
- We keep your links, and they are do-follow
- Our readers are highly educated professionals
- We promote our blog posts via our Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook profiles
- Our blog posts are SEO-friendly (for example we are ranked #1 for the keyword GTD business software with this blog post)
- We submit a counter blog post for your website, that helps you keep your site updated, and brings value to your customers
Our requirements:
Your Article requirements:
- The article you submit must be unique & unpublished anywhere else. Please do not post it after we publish it.
- The article must be at least 500 words long
- The article can have not more than 3 links
- The article must relate to our niche (Business development tips, Increase sales techniques)
- The article must be educative, not pitchy
Your Website or Blog requirements:
We require you to post our counter guest post article with our links to your blog or website. Don’t worry, we provide unique educative articles, that will bring value to your blog.
- You need to have a blog or website and agree to publish our article there after we publish your article to our blog
- The links in our article posted on your website should be do-follow
- Your blog or website should be relevant to business audience and look professional
Submit Your Guest Post:
Ready to submit your business guest post?
Send a letter with subject as Guest Post to support@onepagecrm.com
Include your article or article idea in your letter
Give a link to your website or blog post where you are going to post our counter article. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can!
Posted: April 17th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Choosing a CRM, CRM | Tags: hosted vs on premise crm, online or on premise crm | 1 Comment »
When choosing a CRM it’s important to understand the difference between Online and On-Premise CRM solutions.
Online CRM is hosted on your CRM provider’s server and doesn’t require installation on your office or home computer. The customer pays a subscription fee and connects to CRM remotely through their web browser, using a login and password. Synonyms for Online CRM are Hosted CRM, Cloud CRM, Web-based CRM, SaaS CRM. Hosted CRM examples are OnePage CRM, Salesforce, Sugar CRM.
On-Premise CRM is hosted on your office server, it’s necessary to install and configure it. Such CRM is accessed via Local Area Network of a company, that means it doesn’t require an Internet connection. On-Premise CRM is also called On-site CRM. Here are some examples: Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix.
So what advantages or disadvantages do both Online and On-Premise CRM solutions have?
- Price.
On-Premise solutions are usually expensive. The expenses include the cost of software, hardware, installation and administration. Depending on complexity, these CRMs will cost from several thousands to tens of thousands dollars. This can be unacceptable for many small business companies, but might not be a problem for large corporations. Online CRM systems can be as low as a few dollars per month, but keep in mind the payment is usually on-going, you pay as long as you use the system. At the same time you can always stop using your current Online CRM and easily switch from one solution to another.
- Time.
Another thing to consider is time of implementation. On-site CRM systems usually require essential amount of work on servers and networking equipment, it takes more time to install and actually start using. Online CRM systems are free from technical maintenance issues, there is no need in any additional hardware or significant IT team intervention, but it does require stable and fast Internet connection.
- Data Security.
Although it may seem that on-premise CRMs are more advantageous in terms of data security, it is not the case. Online CRMs provide the same level of privacy as on-site CRMs, since hosted CRM network is accessed through a secure internet connection. Yet, it is actually safer to store your data in an online CRM, since in-house solutions are not always properly monitored and are often attacked by worms or viruses.
- Customization.
One of the reasons companies choose on-premise CRM is the ability to custom-tailor their solution, so that it met their specific needs and unique, complex operations. With a good on-site CRM you can alter the interface and develop your custom features. Most hosted CRM solutions use the same copy of their software for all their customers, but while not customizable, they are configurable. That usually perfectly caters to the small and medium sized business industry because SMEs don’t normally have the unique needs large businesses do have.
- Resources.
To manage a CRM solution on-site a company needs to dispose of hardware and IT resources. It shouldn’t be a problem if a corporation already owns servers and has an IT department. It might be unacceptable for SME enterprises to hire new staff for the sake of implementing and maintaining a CRM system.
- Accessibility.
An On-premise CRM doesn’t depend on Internet connection and is always available. With Online CRM, if your Internet connection is weak it could be difficult to access your account. At the same time it’s complicated to access an on-Premise CRM remotely, while it’s easy to work with a hosted CRM from literally anywhere with an Internet connection available.
For small businesses, Hosted CRM solutions is the most popular option, they are cheap, convenient and fast to implement. Large corporations usually make their choice in favor of control and the customizable features On-site CRM applications can offer.
Posted: April 17th, 2012 | Author: Inga | Filed under: Sales Tips | Tags: good sales manager, good sales person, sales executive qualities | No Comments »
There are certain qualities that make a good sales person and help them succeed.
1. The ability to keep organized.
Every good sales person should have an established “sales process”, that includes: how you find prospects, how you qualify them, what you do in the room when meeting your customers.
2. Enthusiastic attitude. It is absolutely crucial to believe in a product you’re trying to sell. Show positive body expression that reflects enthusiasm, be positive when discussing product’s advantages, behave in a self-confident manner. A robotic, tiresome and bored sales representative is the most effective killer in making effective sales. The best sales people are self motivated , they don’t wait around for someone to motivate them.
3. The Gift of Building Relationships. Customers feel safe when they trust the person they are dealing with. A good sales person is serving customers rather than selling them.
4. The ability to listen. A good salesperson listens to customer expectations and provides a sense of anticipation and awareness, to build a truly trusted relationship .
5. Continuous learning. A good sales person is constantly looking for ways to expand their network and develop his/her craft, embrace technology and find new ways to generate leads.
The good news is that everyone can become a successful sales person, if got a positive attitude!
So why don’t salespeople follow up? It seems so obvious to follow up with a lead or customer until you are completely sure whether he/she wants to do business with your or not. Sometimes salespeople don’t want to seem too pushy or they are simply too busy to remember to follow up. But the main reason is that the salespeople have no defined process to manage follow ups. So it’s time to get one!
