When yo got started in business you probably didn’t figure on how much it would cost to get started, I guess no one really knows until they have done it. and for so many people in business they find they just don’e have enough to really cover their marketing costs to get a decent response.
There […]

Lets say you have done things right and you have a good service or product to sell, and yet people are not buying… What next? Well consider these three interlinked points and see if you can do something with this.
Firstly people start off as suspects, they move to prospect next, then when they buy […]

Are you burning business bridges and denying yourself possible valuable opportunities down the road? Is it possible that those who matter to you least today, will have value to you tomorrow? It’s worth thinking about.

I received an e-mail from a supplier yesterday. They sent me a proof to approve and fax back to them.
First thing I noticed was that my Purchase Order (PO) number was wrong. The next thing I DIDN’T notice, was the fax number to which the supplier wanted me to fax the approval back. […]

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Welcome to the February 27, 2008 edition of Carnival of Australia.
 Thanks to all the contributors, some great stuff there, enjoy your reading! 
Elias presents The day we said “sorry”! posted at Ramblings of an Australian teacher, saying, “I hope I can still squeeze in the current carnival.” - Yes and No Elias! I […]

I was sitting in the eye doctor’s chair. Only moments earlier I had been traumatized by that stupid glaucoma test where they shoot a puff of air in your eye. Well, they try anyway, because with me it’s more like testing the resistance of the surface of my eyelid. On the upside, apparently, my reflexes […]

On a recent holiday we caught up with a family friend, retired well and truly from business and now taking a well earned lifestyle break from as he put it “All that stuff”.
He got chatting about his fathers business, it turned out he had a couple of retail stores that were really big and his […]

Recently I’ve had a few people ask me about Publicity and if they should do it themselves. I find that I answer both yes and no, depending on the person. Many people talk about how publicity is ‘free’,  except when you pay over $1000 for a company to do it for you.
So, how do we […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Covering overheads easily…
Overheads are often the thing that break the camels back, so make it easy for the camel and take the pressure off, in this case keeping the turnover and cash flow up so […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Creating easily saleable products and services
You want people to buy, not to um and err then walk away, so it should be easy for them to select what they want and then make the purchase […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Creating a strong brand
You want your customers and prospects to recognise your business easily and remember it. This is where a strong brand comes in. Just as having a clear sense of what you […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Is it readily understood?
If your business produces widgets for the trucking industry it’s important for the target market (trucking companies in this case), to readily understand what it is you are providing. If you are […]

I’m on the phone with a salesman from one of my suppliers. He asks me, “So, do you sell to any medical practices?”
“Yeah I do”, I replied. “I have some dentists and a periodontist.”
“Great!” he exclaimed. “You’ll be interested in our new stethoscope covers!”
Really, I think to myself. Let’s see, when was the last time […]

I called my stockbroker a couple weeks a go. I had a question. I wasn’t sure who to ask for because it’s been about a year or so since I actually talked to anyone there. Anyway, I finally get “my guy” on the phone. What a phoney!
This guy doesn’t know me from a fence post […]

Recently I’ve been helping a few people brand new into business with no advertising or marketing budget whatsoever.
One of my main methods that I tell everyone to do is to develop some strategic alliances. “what is that?” is the general response that I am receiving!!
A strategic alliance is where you develop a win-win situation with […]

“Daddy”, my 11 year old daughter excitedly exclaimed. “All I have to do is sell seven Holiday wreaths and I earn enough money to go on the school trip to the amusement park at the end of the year!”
As I reviewed the info packet with an advertising professional’s eye, I casually asked, “What do […]

I have been doing some work near a newish shopping centre, it was completely revamped in the past few years. It has a supermarket and some other shops to act as a draw cards and so far so good.
I went there for lunch on two occasions, an Asian food shop is near one of the […]

Back in September of 2006 I posted an article here warning business people to only guarantee that over which they have control. I advocated only guaranteeing such things as, “Your Money Back” or “Replacement”. I specifically warned against guaranteeing a customer’s satisfaction because you have no idea what will satisfy a customer.
Better than 9 […]

In the service stakes there are those that connect with the people they need to serve and those that quite frankly wish the customers would go away. There are of course levels within that and as always I would like you to focus for a moment on the top end.
People that serve in those lofty […]

Whether you are in business by yourself, or employ a couple of people, every business will benefit from low cost marketing. The following are some strategies you can use to expose your business.
1) Article writing. This will not only ensure you become an expert in your chosen field, it gives you great exposure for your business. […]

Advertising can be viewed as extremely risky for small businesses that don’t have a massive budget each month. It doesn’t have to be that way- as long as you test and measure all of your advertising. Follow the below steps to ensure you don’t waste your precious cash flow on advertising that doesn’t work.
1) First, ensure […]

Most of you will have heard of the term win win, meaning a positive outcome for both parties, I thought about it as I was pondering some marketing options for a business.
My thought went like this, what if a marketing Co (lets say a newspaper selling advertising) were to only offer win win advertising so […]

So often people delve into advertising their business, without much thought to the process. This not only a huge waste or precious $$, but it leaves your business vulnerable to cashflow problems. Taking the time to research exactly who your most profitable customer is, will ensure you receive a higher return on your advertising investment. […]

Printed on the sign were these words, “We have your plumbing needs.”
No they don’t. You see, they can’t have my needs. Only I can have my needs.
If I need a sink-stopper thingy, I seek out someone who has a sink-stopper thingy. I don’t need someone who has my sink-stopper thingy needs. Because if […]

Everyone was screaming. Chaos ruled. Then, from nowhere she appeared. With surgical precision, she dismantled her pen, quickly cut a slit into the man’s neck and inserted the pen barrel. As color returned to the man’s face our hero wipes her brow and everyone cheers for joy.
Isn’t TV Great? You may never use your […]

There are customers and there are CUSTOMERS! it can be very useful to know who you are deailing with so you can figure out the best way of working with them so they are influenced to purchase and deal with your organisation.
there are personality profiles, psyche profiles and marketing type profiles here is one we […]

We see so many home based businesses these days, running small ebay stores then graduating to having there own online store. A lot of home based business have blogs like this one as well.
We see a lot of them in the FBT forum and places like The Messy Desk
I noticed something interesting though. I noticed […]

Experiences are everything, if you have any sort of business that sells to people then the experience the customer has is vital to your operation.
In a franchise the franchisor would then have a greater duty of care to ensure the prospective franchisee has customer service skills, is customer aware, is able to communicate effectively and […]

Dear Seller,
I only have a few minutes, but I understand you’re interested in what you can do to capture my attention and entice me to want to set up a meeting with you.
Let me say this loud and clear right now - you have no idea what my day is like. You may think you […]

The guys in the sales dept of your business just love to use testimonials from happy customers, the ones that willingly tell how good the company and product was. In some cultures its hard to ask for a testimonial (or as I like to call them a Yestimonials!) The one thing that stands out to […]

Tired of handing out pens and other junk at trade shows that don’t give you any return on your investment? Consider the benefit of a 4″ x 6″ postcard.
A postcard is a great trade show handout …. IF, it is backed by an effective idea. Many describe a great postcard handout as little more […]

Today you are doing what SPECIFICALLY…
- to make your business more profitable?
- to cause the staff to LOVE you?
- to cause the customers to LOVE you and your team?
- to cause your suppliers to jump through hoops to give you great deals (and LOVE you)?
- to ensure your workplace is the best place […]

Your business card is often the first impression a potential client has with your company. The business card design and message will ultimately determine whether it gets thrown in the trash or filed for contact later.
Stop for a second, find your wallet and pull out your business card – take a good look at it, […]

Every man and his dog seems to be creating web pages, so the question for those serious about things “webological” would be to say “how do I make an offering that can set my business apart fromt he rest?” Well thanks for asking… Here is an outline to get the ball rolling. sure […]

Have you heard of the 30 Day Challenge yet?
Judging by how slow the servers have been for the last 24 hours I guess a lot of you have!
The 30 Day Challenge is a great concept by Ed Dale (and a couple of other guys whose names escape me right this second). The guys are offering […]

Remember when you were a kid? Lunch time held a certain magic. What did mom pack? The anticipation … the apprehension … the delight — and sometimes the disappointment at finding your stupid apple had crushed your snack cake.
If you’ve been using the same approach with your customers and clients for very long … […]

I almost laughed out loud. A clerk tried to explain the features and benefits of a hair dyer to a woman who had a small child with her. The clerk’s sales attempt was interrupted every 20 seconds with, “Mommy, look at this!”, followed by mommy’s horrified look as she foresaw three possible outcomes: 1) […]

I have fielded a few enquiries over the past few months on how to market products and services and have noted there are a number of organisations that have started a business but had no ideas about the sales side, what tactics, strategies and or methods they will use to get people to spend $$ […]

When was the last time you updated your business forms? This issue came to light recently as I sat in a doctor’s office filling out forms. While I wasn’t there because of a pain in my rear, I was quickly developing one.
For starters, there was barely enough room to write my first name, let […]

Trade shows and expos are the bane of many business peoples life that has to contend with them, from the organising, the results required, to staffing the stall, then the logistics, the giveaways, the data base and so on. And what if you get asked to do a talk? Ohh it can all get too […]

Not wanting to over-simplify the whole ‘running a business thing’, but I’ve developed a list (based on my own experiences, and that of my clients and other business owners), which covers some of the things we need to know for different stages of building a business:
Start-up phase:

Start a business because you want to, don’t […]

I feel we have a fairly unique product here at Free Business Tips.
One of the reasons the blog and the rest of the site is unique is because, well, to be honest we had no idea what a blog ’should be’ and what it ’should do’ and what they features ’should have’.
This means that we […]

I was checking out our Technorati rank today and saw that Adam Brucker; Founder and Managing Director of Criterion Advisors, a training and consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado has named our site in his list of 143 Of The Best Business Links On The Web.
I thought that was fanatasic (of course) and headed over […]

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t argue that pop queen Madonna and domestic doyenne Martha Stewart are two master marketers.  One is a calculated maverick who’s stayed at what has to be the world’s toughest and most fickle business for nearly a quarter century.  The other turned an at-home catering business into a multimedia […]

I racked a fresh shell of 00 Buck into the chamber of my 12-gauge shotgun and drew the weapon to my shoulder. As I took careful aim at the dead tree branch about 30 feet above and 10 feet down range of me, my friend asked, “What are you doing?”
“Creative problem-solving,” I answered.
The smooth squeeze […]