Business Accounter

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Considering Office Equipment Leasing For Your Business

Office equipment leasing, renting office furniture, or buying outright -- it can all be confusing as you try to establish your business or update your office.Many business owners wonder if they should purchase furniture outright or go with office furniture leasing.If you are faced with this decision, look at these three options carefully.

Short Term Equipment Rental


Short term rental is often the perfect solution, especially when you only need office furniture or equipment for a short period of time.

You don't have to search and hunt for something that you know will only be around for a specific amount of time and you don't have to worry about repair costs since you don't actually own the equipment.

On the other hand, it may not be best to make use of short term rentals if you plan to use the office equipment for a long period of time.Short term rental is usually only cost efficient when used for a short time.If you do decide to rent office furniture or equipment from a short term rental company, work with a reliable company.Ask for references and check them out.

Buying Used Equipment


If you are on a limited budget, the purchase of used furniture or equipment may be a great option for your company.

Used equipment will require a lower initial cash outlay.If a loan is required for the purchase, you can pay off the balance quicker, freeing up cash for other business expenses.

Office furniture leasing is also available for used items in addition to new items, offering even more cost savings.An office equipment leasing company does not limit their inventory to only new items.If you shop carefully, you may be able to find items that are 'like new' and hardly used at a significant savings.

Always look beyond price alone.You need to be careful that you're not trading down, especially when it comes to electronics and computers.If you purchase an outdated computer, it may not be able to handle the software you need to run your company.The staff will become frustrated and the loss of productivity may not be worth the few dollars saved.If you buy used office furniture not in good condition, it may detract from the professional appearance of your company.

Office Equipment Leasing New Items


Working with new equipment and furniture as well as the office furniture leasing options used to purchase them can benefit a company in many ways.

Many electronics, computers, and communications systems used today can be expensive and at the same time depreciate quickly.The finance options offered through various office equipment leasing companies may eliminate some of the depreciation loss, keeping your office running smoothly.

To give the appearance of looking successful, many businesses will opt for new equipment and furniture.However, this can be an expensive choice when budget constraints come into play.Office furniture leasing options may allow a company to have the latest equipment, making them more affordable than they imagined.

They may even be able to upgrade in either the quality or number of items they can afford.Office furniture leasing companies offer seasonal payments, shorter payment terms, interest only payments, or payments that will grow as your business grows.Flexibility is the key and with the right office furniture leasing company, you will have the options that allow you to have the equipment you need while still keeping your cash flow in check.

Purchasing used items, renting, or buying new with office equipment leasing programs can be a huge benefit to many companies.Just be sure to work with a reliable company.If they don't offer a program that meets your specific needs, don't be afraid to ask.Many companies will design an office furniture leasing program just for you.


About the Author

Christine O'Kelly is an author for the office furniture leasing specialists at Landmark Financial Corporation, Inc.

They work directly with clients to provide office equipment leasing and financing for other commercial needs with the highest level of customer service possible.

Relaited Links:

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Business Insurance Agents are Master Communicators

Successful business insurance agents are excellent communicators.They know that asking the right questions, demonstrating sincere interest in the answers, and continuing to probe until they clearly understand what their prospect feels is important - is something they do arguably better than anyone else.

They may or may not be curious by nature, but they are not nosy.They ask their questions respectfully in order to get their prospects to open up.To tell them their honest concerns.

Why do successful business insurance agents ask so many questions and why do they get honest answers more often than not?Especially when the questions are not specifically about the prospects insurance policies?

Business owners are naturally secretive, cynical and have a built in BS detector that can pick out hype and hard sell across a crowded room.Why do these people, folks who don't tell their accountants the whole story, never actually tell their lawyer everything, and often keep everybody else in the dark - open up to their business insurance agents?

Successful business insurance agents know that this secretive business owner will answer any legitimate question they ask, if they are respectful, genuinely interested, and if they ask it at their very first meeting.The last point is critical.If they show interest, these lonely hard driven business owners will spill their guts to them the first time they meet.Later on the business owner has their defense mechanisms back up.

Business insurance agents understand this.They are masters at breaking the ice with honest questions that demonstrate their interest.They have seen how this approach results in an atmosphere of mutual respect, a relationship quickly develops around this shared information - often information they have never shared with another living soul.

Their objective is to involve the business owner in the discussion, learn what makes them tick, what keeps them awake at night - without being pushy, without the appearance of aggressiveness.Is it any wonder that successful business insurance agents are closer to their clients than virtually any other member of the business owner's advisory team?

Successful business insurance agents don't act like technicians.Instead they are looking for the why, the who, the when, and the where of the challenges and concerns the business owner has.Then they will work hand in glove with the business owner to determine the how.How things need to be done in order to insure the outcomes the business owner wants.

Business insurance agents never begin a discussion with 2 + 2 questions, or ask the business owner to drag out their Buy/Sell Agreement, ancient tax returns, corporate disability income policies, errors & omissions and liability coverages, or their life insurance.

Successful business insurance agents know that 2+2 will always equal four.There will be lots of time to track down all the details, if they successfully win the battle for their prospect's trust.

And they never ask questions that have no "yes" or "no" as possible answers.They are there to draw out the feelings of the business owner, what's important to the business and the business owner's family.They ask questions no one else has the courage to ask, because other advisors are often afraid to put the business owner on the spot.What if they get mad?What if they tell them it's none of their business?

On the other hand, what if the insurance agent does not ask the hard questions or they ask them in an offhanded way and don't stick with it until they get the real answer?What if they blow off this need to get honest feedback from the business owner and something bad happens?

Successful business insurance agents know that when something bad happens, they are the only people on earth who bring cash to the crisis.No one else can do that.In the end, what matters most - the agent's momentary embarrassment for asking a hard question, the business owner's uneasiness for being asked a question that is hard for them to answer, or the feelings of gratitude when the business insurance agent shows up with the check that puts out whatever fires have descended on the business and the business owner's family?

Here is a question asked probably thousands of times every day by successful business insurance agents.

"If you had died last night and your spouse went to see your business insurance agent this morning, what three questions would they ask them?How would your agent have to answer them?What would you like for them to be able to say - how would you like your agent to answer them?"


Successful business insurance agents ask questions like this so that the business owner has to think before answering them.

They ask questions no one can answer for them, getting the business owner involved not only in defining the problem, it also making them a party to the solution.

Successful business insurance agents let the business owner articulate the problem because the solution, whatever it is, belongs to the business owner, not them.The business owner has to live with their solution or without it, as they choose.


About the Author

Business insurance agents are the only people who bring cash to a crisis to replace the assets lost.

If you want to be even more successful in the future than you are today, visit business insurance agents and add your comments to the ongoing discussion.Contribute to the conversation based on your experiences.We learn the best from each other.

Relaited Links:

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Small Business Tips For Terrific Testimonials And How To Get Them

Testimonials are a critical part of effective copy to help build credibility and to reduce objections to purchase.But many of my clients have been asking lately how do we go about getting terrific testimonials?

Here are my top 5 pre-requisites before getting great testimonials.

1.Do great work.This should go without saying, but unless you do exceptional work you will not get people commenting about your exceptional quality or service.

2.Do what you say you will when you say you will do it.If you promise something, you need to deliver it either before or on time.It does no one any favours to promise much in order to get business and then under-deliver.

3.Be open and honest in your dealings with people.Give people your honest advice even if that means you do yourself out of an immediate client.They will remember the honesty and tell their friends.

4.Be consistent.Don't be brilliant one day and so-so the next.Keep your standards consistently high and you will get great results.That means if you promise you will deliver a newsletter weekly, quarterly or monthly, then stick to that schedule.Don't only send information out when you are trying to sell something.

5.Be friendly and warm.If you do great work but have the personality and warmth of a vanilla ice-cream you will not be memorable.Be friendly and warm with all of your clients.Discover the great things about each person you work with as this makes a huge difference in how you approach them.Focus on what you can do for them and not what they can do for you.

Before you go out and hunt down some testimonials here are a few rules to remember.

Ask!People mean well and may think great things about you, but unless you ask them they generally will not tell you what they are thinking.You need to ask for feedback.

Get consent.NEVER use someone's words without their recorded consent.

In their own words.This is a hard and fast rule.Never never never write a testimonial on behalf of someone else and get them to sign it.For starters it is not in their language style so it stands out a mile.If someone asks you to write it, these are great candidates to talk with them on the phone about what they like about your service.By talking with them and then jotting down their answers you can get around their writers block.

Don't make them up.It is illegal and will get you into very hot water with companies such as the ACCC.

Keep it current.The best testimonials come immediately after purchase, or within a short space of time after purchase.Don't leave your testimonial gathering too late after the event.

Specific is better than general.Mrs Mary Smith of Littletownship in North Stradbroke is much more powerful than MS, Brisbane.

Film is the most powerful.All testimonials are great but film is more powerful than recordings, which are more powerful than words.

Now, assuming you have the pre-requisites and the rules down pat, here are my top ways to actually get testimonials.

Systematize the process.Build in asking for testimonials as part of your process for purchasing.Send a follow-up email through your auto-responder program 7 days after purchase asking for feedback on the product or service.

Client satisfaction doubles as testimonial gathering.Finding out what your customers like and dislike about your product or service through a client satisfaction survey serves two purposes.You get early warning of things that need to be improved with your business as well as potentially some great testimonials you can use in your marketing.

Make it easy for them.Contact your best customers and ask them to "jot down a few words" about what they liked about your business.This could be in an e-mail or on a postcard.

You need to be clear that you only want them to "jot" rather than "write a testimonial".Jotting is much less confronting for people than writing a testimonial and you are more likely to get a favourable response.

Call them.Telephones are not dead in the age of email.You can call your top customers to ask them for feedback on your services both good and bad.As they are talking, jot down what they say.Action the things they mention that need to be improved (and tell them when you have actioned them).

If you get someone raving about you on the phone say "wow - thank you!I am so glad you loved our service.Would you mind if I used some of the things you just said in a testimonial for our business?" Email them the words they used and ensure you get written consent before using the words.

Use a tick sheet or scale.People often are more willing to fill in a tick-a-box survey, or circle their satisfaction with your service on a scale.This allows for some great statistical compilation data "98% of all our customers say we give great to exceptional service".

So now you have some great ways to get terrific testimonials.Use them everywhere in your copy, your website, your brochures, your flyers and all marketing.

Remember - words have power!


About the Author

Ingrid Cliff is a freelance writer and the Chief Word Wizard of Heart Harmony - a writing services studio that helps put your business into words.

For a free copy of the "7 Secrets of Compelling Copy Powerful Words" visit her website http://www.heartharmony.com.au "> www.heartharmony.com.au .

Relaited Links:

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, January 11, 2009

How To Pitch To Investors

Companies preparing to meet with investors can improve their odds of raising capital by creating a compelling story and pitching that story to investors.The goal of the pitch is not what you might think.The goal is to peak the investor's interest to learn more.

Focus on the most important points on your business model for the time you have such as the problem, the solution, market size, customers, sales cycle, barriers to entry, IP protection, competition, partners, joint ventures, management, advisory board, financials, uses of funds, and the offer.Take your time to make sure you are clear and understandable to the investors.

Entrepreneurs messaging should articulate their unique value proposition about their target market on how the investor will get a "pay raise" by choosing to invest.The message should be tailored to the investment audience.

-Investors that are in the "business of investing" look for reasons not to invest so they can narrow down the deals they will examine if the company has:


-Incomplete financials and/or business plan


-Complex or confusing message on business model or investment opportunity


-Structure of the offering, relative to a high valuation, unclear exit or return to the investor


-Inexperience or incomplete management team and/or attitude of the management


-A specific industry focus or niche marketplace


Companies often have third parties review their business model documents like the business plan, financials, and offering to:


Identify and examine your market opportunity, your company's role in that market, your competitive and market analysis


- Evaluate your proof of concept and validation of your product or service


- Verify your business has clear business objectives and milestones for financial, sales, customer database, internal organization, and employees


- Identify your business strategies for growth, infrastructure, and development for financial accounting and human resources


- Check for any fatal flaws in your plan that would keep an investor from investing


- Appraise that your concepts are in clear and concise terms that an investor will understand


- Determine if your revenue and financial model makes sense for your business model


- Assess your plan from the investor's point of view, the ability to attract capital at the best value, and meet the expectations of professional investors and lenders.

Companies need a reality check when raising capital.It costs time and money to raise money.

Entrepreneurs must plan accordingly.You can spend a lot of time identifying, scheduling, meeting with each investor and following up and following through.This involves potentially hundreds of meetings and getting a lot of .It is very difficult to raise a lot of money, in a timely manner, and run and manage a fast growing early stage company.

Often entrepreneurs hire an investment banking firm, broker dealer, or professional services firm in that business to help them manage the investment raise process, which costs money.The seed round should be done on your own; with investors you know or have direct access to, without paying any fees.

Once you are beyond their seed round, you need to adopt strategies that will put you in front of hundreds of investors over a reasonable amount of time.This includes participating in business plan competitions, investor forums, and as many opportunities as possible to "pitch" to investors.

There are fees associated with putting these events on and therefore a cost should be anticipated and budgeted for in raising millions of dollars.Entrepreneurs should only pay to present to a group of investors after they have raised a seed round and need access to a new larger pool of potential investors that are savvy about high growth opportunities.

Whether you are seeking $100,000 or $1,000,000, a structured offering should be based on solid inputs from the business model to establish the value of the stock and how much investors will get for their investment.

Documents must be signed and entrepreneurs must establish a legal protocol for collecting the money.That protocol can include a Private Placement Memorandum (PPM), Subscription or Stockholder agreements.These documents explain the opportunity, the risks, and have an investor questionnaire to validate the investor has enough wealth to make the investment.


About the Author

"Where Qualified Investors and Capital Connect with Innovative Companies".

Network of Business Angels Investors (http://nbai.net), and NBAI Private Equity Investor Forums."How to Pitch to Investors" free webinars at http://findinvestorcapital.com and more info at www.launchfn.com


Relaited Links:

Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Using Funded Sponsoring to Promote and Expand Your Business

The failure rate of most MLM businesses is quite high, not because their products are inferior but because owners do not know enough to succeed. They either dont have enough knowledge in marketing or that whatever knowledge they have turns out to be inaccurate. This is critical in an industry that has 14 million distributors in the U.S. alone.

Another factor that contributes to failure is the inevitable saturation point that all MLM businesses reach. After exhausting its warm market family, friends, acquaintances, an MLM business will be faced with the challenge of how to build and continue to expand their distribution teams. The normal approaches would be in the form of cold calling or of putting out costly advertisements just to get their messages across.

At this point, most MLM business owners just plain give up or let their distributorship dry up and die a natural death, not a good prospect for anyone who wishes to join an MLM business.

Funded Sponsoring

Enter the funded sponsoring system, which is essentially a smaller-scale model of a more successful MLM company. This system includes all the necessary steps and information that newbie MLM owners need in order to create their own successful business by using the more established MLMs company as a guide. Imagine learning to draw by tracing on paper. Everything is laid out for you; all you have to do is follow the lines.

Whatever makes funded sponsoring manners efficient

In make a request for a funded sponsoring algorithm to book, it must submit to detailed and certainly duplicated interest program that allow an MLM owner to age the cause of a network advertisement business of his own possibility. Variegated getting on techniques, a funded sponsoring system makes use of multiple streams of income that go through been pre-selected and found out to textbook.

An advantage of the funded sponsoring algorithm is that the MLM owner no longer requires to buy leads or advertise their merchandises by the use of exorbitant sales promotion, which often involves fees similar to freebies and promotions anyway. For a wider publicize is produced nearby to him, he can advertise his make to added shoppers without attaining trapped in an ate up advertise.

Clientele included in the funded sponsoring procedure are hitherto pre-passed so the briefing in the problem previously exists. The MLM owner can afterward keep away from inducing bid and sales pitches to vaguely concerned shoppers and slow down stimulating a acquisition that is ordinarily disappeared to randomness.

There is a improved arbitrariness of concluding a acquisition plus the prospective leads constructed using the funded sponsoring algorithm given that these chances are already eyeing the problem on their own. And, for the affair can put up for sale itself, it becomes still additional tempting to employees who are hitherto reflection of linking.

When an MLM owner has paid for the procedure, there is small or no need to assign more currency on advertising and campaign. Peculiar conventional marketing means, a funded sponsoring set of rules or franchise is handy for a exceptionally low cost. A handful are even issued for without charge.

What to foresee

For the included affair agenda is previously discovered to textbook, it is a great deal of lighter to go after and enforce. An MLM owner considering the set of rules should in addition be advantageous sufficient to pick variant proceeds inventing programs to craft multiple returns streams. This way, the business owner is not saddled by effortlessly one or two ways of making capital riches.

The proceeds that is earned from these income streams is at that time re-invested in further carefully-arranged on the internet publicizing so information in the MLM affair remains current. A similar drive swears the problem owner of progressed spotlight over prolonged periods.

The bureau should still offer practice that is easy adequate to be examined by workers who skill little or no previous drills and affair in problem. Exercises ordinarily consists of audio tapes and piece of writing information and the system itself should accommodates without charge leads and web pages and helpful affiliate programs.

An MLM affair owner by means of the algorithm can furthermore steer clear of resource-hungry device of expanding his problem, in addition to building contact and likelihood who may or may not be excel. The affair owner will merely get in meet also those who have proved adequate mind in the affair to truly enroll themselves in it. He can after that productively take away the set of rules of engaging, mentoring and campaign without sacrificing the viability of his problem.

Cherish inducing a wise person

Whatsoever a funded sponsoring agenda does is that it eliminates the need for interest owners to brand mistakes and steer clear of every step that causes most failures in MLM businesses. Era and currency are fixed on extra useful capital that throw in more in language of generate investment.


Concerning the Architect

Daegan Smith Is And Consultant Browse cyberspace Marketer
"Wanna Lean The Hush hush To Creating 85,147,717
Per Month When Shortly And Delicately EXPLODING
Your Network Marketing firm by 7,141
Employees Without Still Procuring Or Calling a
Single Stinking Conduct" Unengaged CD Explains All:http://www.easymlmprofits.com

Relaited Links:

Labels: , , , ,