Annie Kile

People tend not to buy from your small business unless they believe it is in their own best interest to do. The central question a customer asks when making a buying decision usually boils down to “Why should I buy from you?” While the specifics may vary, unless your prospect provides an answer that takes some form of “I want to buy from your business because I have trust and confidence in your small business” they aren’t likely to buy from you.

Credibility is key to the success ...

In today’s market a small business owner had better make it their business to improve their sales skills. No, we’re not talking about smarmy sales “tricks” or attempting to “manipulate” people into buying from. Those type to sales tactics lack integrity – which means they also communicate to your potential buyer that you – and your business lack integrity as well.

Many small business owners started their businesses during Boom Times and, up until now, thought that all those experts ...

About 60% of all referrals to your business will result in a sale.
It costs less (5 to 10 times less) to retain a customer than find a new one.
Both of these statements are true. While the statistics may vary, you will close more sales on prospects that have been referred to you than those who are not referred, and it definitely is less expensive and therefore more profitable to retain existing customers. So it only makes good business sense to make garnering referrals and ...

One of the biggest mistakes a small business owner can make is lowering their prices during slow times. It may seem logical that lowering your price will bring more value to your customers or clients and therefore motivate more people to buy from you (as well as get current customers to buy more often) – but this can easily backfire in ways you may not have considered.

But before we move on to how inappropriate discounting can diminish your bottom line we need to dispel a myth held ...

If you’re going to get people to do business with you there are two things your customer must feel:

Belief
Trust
Before anyone is going to be willing to open their wallet, swipe their card, or sign a check they need to have a strong belief in your small business. They need to believe that your business can meet their needs and help them solve their problems. They need to feel they can trust that the primary driver of your business is serving their best interests – not ...