October 15, 2008

Getting Credit for Your Small Business... The Pointless Art of
Complaining... Getting Customers to Your Web Site... Tap Into
Your Customer's Desire to Save... and More.

**Getting Credit for Your Small Business
By Adrian Newman, co-founder of the WLI

Even with the government stepping in with a massive handout to banks, it is going to get harder to find financing for your small business.

In fact, the risky nature of small business means that finding a lender to help you get started could be the biggest hurdle facing you over the next several months.

There is good news though. While you may not be able to control the markets, there is one thing you have the ability to monitor and track as well as influence. That is your credit score.

For many, the way that your credit score is calculated is a confusing mass of numbers and other variables. Knowing exactly how your score is calculated isn't completely necessary, but knowing the factors you can control certainly is.

According to "The New York Times," roughly 35% of your FICO credit score is based on paying your bills on time. This includes all of your credit card bills, utilities, phone service, mortgage and even doctor's bills. All it takes is a late-payment report from any one of these and your score is going to take a hit.

Another thing is consider is just how much of your current available credit limit is being used. While you may think that credit card companies are happy that you carry a balance and continue to rack up interest charges, once your balance becomes too high, you get into a higher-risk situation.

"The New York Times" provides this example: if you have a credit card with a $5,000 limit and spend $4,000 a month on it and pay that balance off, your credit score would actually be better if you split your debt between two credit cards putting $2,000 a month on each. This way you're keeping your usage of available credit below 50% and helping boost your credit score.

Knowing that you can control your credit score can help you control the amount of credit available to you and your small business. Monitoring your credit score is an almost essential step you must take now to help you manage the possible credit crisis.

Complaining about things is just pointless. If you listen carefully to people's complaints, they even begin to sound a bit silly — immature at best.

Try this: Write down a few complaints you have on a piece of paper. It may be a frustration you have with a co-worker, something that happened the last time you took your car in for repairs — anything at all. Now, put the list of complaints into an envelope and seal it. Don't open it up for a couple of days or a week. Read the list and see how insignificant those complaints have become.

Did your complaining about it make any difference? Or was there something more constructive you could have done to manage the problem? Was there some tactful way you could have told your colleague at work that his pen-tapping was irritating you? Could you have made a change in a customer-service policy by responding to the mechanic in a different way? Change is in your hands. You just need to have the self-esteem to go from being a complainer who internalizes things to having the confidence and the diplomacy to handle issues more constructively.

Here's something else you can try. The next time someone criticizes you, don't push back. Go with the force instead and see what the result is. If your neighbor angrily reminds you that you haven't returned his gardening tool in over six months, tell him he is absolutely correct and apologize for your negligence.

Forget about how he approached you. The part that matters is that you have accepted responsibility and triggered an event that sets a course for positive action. Listening to constructive criticism and processing it well is another process in the journey to good self-esteem. Don't listen to the negativity of the presentation. Take the underlying facts and use them to your advantage to learn all you can about yourself. What you will notice is that the next time your neighbor has a similar objection, he will approach you with less anger.

How we communicate is pivotal to transforming negative energy into positive. The words we speak have a huge impact on how we are perceived. Strong words for feelings, such as "hate," "despise" and "disgust" only prove to demonstrate where our emotions and self-esteem are. People who swear constantly are clearly not in the frame of mind to be successful, because they cannot express themselves. There are millions of words in the English language, and they choose profanity to mask their emotions. They fail to articulate their feelings and shut people out.

I want you to pay close attention to the words you speak from here on in. Do you use words like "no," "can't," "won't," "have to," "might," or "maybe?" While they are common enough expressions, they are the trademark of an unsure, less-than-confident person. Place certainty into your vocabulary. Think before you speak and put together expressive sentences that truly reflect the way you feel.

Practice it in your everyday conversation and switch yourself every time you are going to say something negative. Rather than saying, "I don't want to go to that movie; I hate Jack Nicholson," say, "I would enjoy a movie, but Jack Nicholson is not my favorite actor." You'll be surprised at how different your conversations are when you believe in yourself and put forth your ideas and opinions in a positive manner.

** Getting Customers to Your Web Site
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

Taking your business online could mean a new influx of excited customers who would never have found your brick-and-mortar store. Possibly because you're tucked away on a side street or possibly because they live on the other side of your town, state or even the country.

However, unlike the street your business may be on with only a dozen or so other stores, online you're up against millions of millions of other web sites.

The launch of your business' web site not only means you have to create something that helps prospective customers make a purchase at your business, but also that you need to make sure your site gets noticed.

The first step you should take in setting up your web site is to identify the keywords that possible customers will be searching for online. Take for example the search engine Google. When you enter in a search term for "pizza recipes," not only do you get web sites with recipes, but you'll also find the web sites of pizza parlors. This is because Google has deemed these businesses as having a high relevancy to the phrase "pizza recipes."

That means that your web site should include keywords not only concerning what you actually sell, but also about the problems your product or service can help your customers solve.

A way of adding more keywords to your site is to update it regularly. Create a section where you can post news items about your business. Talk about happy customers, new innovations and possible sales or promotions you may be having. Not only is this great for getting customers to your site, but you'll also increase the chances of your site appearing sooner on search engine queries. The best part of continually updating your web site is that is can be done relatively cheap, or free, if you do it yourself.

You next step is to advertise. Unlike keyword tactics, advertising typically will cost you money. So you want to be smart about where you advertise and make sure you track your response. This could mean setting up specific web sites for each advertisement and tracking how many visits they get.

When looking for advertising options, search where you believe your customers are also looking. Consider news sites, local information sites and even local weather sites. There are really no limits on where you could advertise, but it's best to research who is viewing these sites and make sure they fit closely to your hopeful customer.

Attracting new customers to your web site may seem like a huge undertaking. However, by simply updating your site and placing a few strategic advertisements, you could see more and more customers finding you online.

Regardless of the state of the economy, the following things will never change: people will always have to eat, they will always need money and they will always need things to spend money on. So, the fact that the economy is in a slowdown doesn't change the fundamental truth that a market always exists. The issue, however, is not whether or not the money will be spent, but rather how you will convince others to spend money on your business.

This may require you to go back to the drawing board when it comes to your marketing strategy so you can better adjust to the changing climate in which many of your customers may exist.

Some of the things you can do are to offer savings, promote your business as an essential service, or constantly remind existing customers via mail, e-mail and the telephone that you are still ready and willing to serve them just as effectively as you always have.

Now, if people are looking to save, you've got to find creative ways to tap into this desire. For instance, consider producing coupons to be mailed or to appear in coupon books, online or in other publications. After all, if people are looking to save you've got to figure they're keeping their eyes peeled for coupons. With money in short supply and plenty of economic and financial insecurity ahead, people are looking to save, and coupons are the classic, tried-and-true method of savings in our society. In fact, I recently read an article on CNN.com that explained the resurgence of coupons.

Next, you can attempt to promote your business to existing customers as an essential service. Although this may require you to cut prices or alter your marketing campaign, if you can convince customers that they need your business to provide certain goods or services, they should continue to spend money on you.

Finally, it's times like these when you need to take initiative in dialogue with existing customers. Phone calls, e-mails and mail are all effective methods of reminding customers that you're ready for business. News about new products, sales or customer appreciation days are all forms of advertising that keep your business current and relevant. In times like this, it's best to focus your efforts on the people who you've already established a business relationship with.

Instead of getting down about this economy, try looking for ways to adjust your business and marketing strategies to best suit the evolving needs of your business and your customers.