TIPS TO START SMALL BUSINESS

These are  some general tips to keep in mind as you design/operate your small business:

1. Take the time out to explore and understand whether or not you are compatible with running our own business.
2.Get your personal finances in order. Before you jump into the entrepreneurship world, get your own money matters squared away.

3. Pick your niche. Many small business owners succeed in businesses that are hardly unique or innovative. Take stock of your skills, interests, and employment history to select the business that is best suited for you.

4. Benefit from your business plan. The exercise of creating a business plan is what pays the dividends. Answer the tough questions now before the meter starts running.

5. Acquire the proper background. In the early months and years of your business, you will have to acquire many skills. Gain the background you need to oversee all facets of your business well, but determine what tasks you should outsource or hire employees.

6. Remember that nothing happens until a sale is made – How many good products go nowhere because they do not reach the shelves? Sales drive your business. You will need a good marketing plan to sell your product or service.

7. No matter how busy you are, spend at least 25% of your time with customers. You cannot make the proper business decision without understanding their viewpoint.

8. Solve your customers’ problems. The best way to satisfy your customers is not by selling them products but by giving solutions to their problems. There is a big difference.

9.Quality takes minutes to lose but years to regain. Quality is not a destination, it is a never ending journey.

10. Put profitability first, rewards seconds. In small businesses, profitability must come first. Find out how to measure your cash flow and understand key financial ratios.
11. Hire supporters. If you intend to create a growing business, your number one duty is to assemble a great team of employees.

12. Vendors are partners too! Treat your vendors like customers and watch your partnership grow.

13. Make use of benefits. Understand how to provide insurance and other benefits for your employees and cut your tax bill at the same time.

14. Ignore regulatory issues at your peril. Federal, state, and local governments require licenses, registrations, and permits. Obey them or face losing your business.

15. Know the tax laws. Invest in understanding tax issues that affect your small business.

16. Develop a passion for learning. As your business grows, you need to change and grow along with it. One common denominator can be found in all successful business owners and that is a passion for learning.

N.Raghu

SELL TO SUCEED

Let's face it: the greatest accomplishment for a member of the sales community is closing a deal with a skeptic. Many who are proficient at this art agree that it is far more gratifying to convince someone who initially felt your product was not necessary. Let us examine the fundamental techniques used by those who succeed in persuading the worst of cynics.

1. Know your product/service
Know it inside and out, backwards and forwards. You should know its strengths, weaknesses, and any proprietary features. Also understand the factors that influence its supply and demand. All of these will strengthen your presentation and help the skeptic make a more informed purchasing decision.  You will definitely be asked questions, so be prepared to demonstrate all aspects of your product/service in response.

2. Know your prospect
Along with knowing your product comes knowing your prospect. Strive to know all you can about your potential clients. Make sure you deal with the decision maker. You should know their purchasing habits, what motivation determines their choice, and how long a buying decision takes. You must understand how your product fits into their overall purchasing strategy. When you know the buying habits of your prospect, you can use it to develop a longer-term sales plan—that means repeat business. Put yourself in the most favorable position to get a "yes" by focusing on what most concerns your prospect.

3. Believe in your own words
You will never be effective selling something you do not believe in. Your lack of enthusiasm will be  obvious as you attempt to convince your potential buyer. When you emanate passion and confidence, you break down the wall of doubt the cynic has built.  If you are lucky enough to sell a product you do not believe in, you still lose because you risk killing referral business and losing the trust of your customer.

4. Be transparent
Too often, we give strong pitches with lots of hype and little information. Be prepared to give as much information as needed to convince the potential buyer to make a purchase. Transparency builds trust. Things people do not understand will always be greeted with "no." The more information available when making a purchasing decision, the more likely they are to say "yes." Another benefit of being transparent is,the more  you divulge , the more likely you are to generate interest in your product/service.

5. Compare and differentiate yourself from your competitors
Know the nature of your business. Is it commodity based, where the low price bidder wins? Is the strength of your brand a factor? Is there something unique about your offer? You must understand your competitors and their advantages and disadvantages. If possible, demonstrate the differences that make your product/service unique or superior.
6. Sell the relationship, not the product
 The best salespeople not only close deals, they foster relationships. Relationships are more valuable to both you and the prospect than a one-time transaction. For the salesperson, relationships bring repeat business , increased referrals because you gain access to the prospect's network base. For the skeptic, relationships help build trust.,which let them know they will not be abandoned after the transaction is finished. Ultimately, they are buying a relationship with you and your firm, not the product/service, so approach selling that way.

7. Focus on benefits offered and value delivered
Self-interest is the skeptic's primary concern, so focus on how your product/service solves their problem, fulfills their need, or satisfies their desire. If your prospect is solely bottom-line focused, your presentation should be centered on how your product or service will make or save them money. If your product satisfies a desire, focus on how it fills an emotional void. Emotional selling differs from bottom-line selling because it focuses on feelings rather than costs. Remember to focus on the benefits that concers the potential buyer,otherwise he will lose interest and you lose the sale.

8. Isolate their objection
 One of your fundamental goals as a salesperson is to help people make informed decisions.  A series of well-placed questions will allow you to isolate any objections. You should brainstorm every possible reason, that a skeptic will rely on, not to buy from you and formulate an effective solution or rebuttal for each. Any other question should be crafted in a way that allows for only one reasonable answer, and that answer should compel your prospect to agree with you.

9. Don't seem desperate!
Your emotional state will be apparent, never appear as though you "need" a sale. Everyone avoids a hard-pressed individual.  Understand there is always a bigger sale out there, so you need not be pressed for this one. Your confidence will put the cynic at ease and make them more likely to buy from you.


N.Raghu

LONGTERM INVESTMENT IN SHARES- FOLLOW YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT.

How to invest in shares on longterm basis(refer to my previous article)
Since it is your money that your are going to invest and the fruits of the investment is for your later life as well as for your family members, so take double care in judging the shares that you select to invest. Dont go by the trend of the market. Market trends ore only for short term, in which vested intrested persons will surely have a hand in the unusual and unrelated movement of price and quantity of shares. It could be a reder aquiring that particular share or someone having a insider information might be doing the damage. It is your money, so avoid such kind of shares from your perview to invest. Also never attempt to invest all your cash reserves in one particular share, though you have selected it after making a detailed study of that share, since your judgement will be based on the future performance of the share. future is not that easy to predict. So invest only about 30persent of your cash reserves in shares, 40 persent in immoveable assets or bullion and the remaining in other debt instruments. Also dony jump into the wagon to buy a perticular share at any price(refer my previous article)

When you want to buy a particular share and by chance your are short of money to buy, let it go, and drop your idea, since the cycle pf up and down will come and you can take your chance at the next oppurtunity. NEVER borrow to make investment in shares, wharever the merit of the share.

Also keep track of the price to earning ratio of all your shares and that of the index. When the index price to earning ratio crosses 20 be watchfull and when above 23 encash your investments. History waens us of the trouble whenever the index's price to earning ratio is above 23.

Almost majority of investors go by trend ie when the market is in a bull run they want to jump in and benefit, which will put you in trouble. No speculator has made honourable money from the market. Stoch market histroy has lot of instances of people who had indulged so and had badly reminded about the perils of such activity. People always invariably hesitate to buy the shares whem the market is going down, ignoring even the fact that it is available at the BUYABLE PRICE arrived by them(refer mu previous article). Why is this? Permit me to say that it is sheer greed. Always set your target BUY price and SELL price and bo by that, in all circumstances.
When you are not having a target BUY price and SELL price for your share, your are misguided by the downward trend of the market and you always miss the oppurtunity to buy at your BUY price and sell at your SELL price.Human nature is that people wait and want the market to go down furthur, when it is downtrend and go up furthur, when it is uptrend. but the market will not have its journey ONE WAY only, it has to and will always turn around to continue its jorney the other way, till it is made once again to reverse its journey. So, when you are sure about your target BUY price and SELL price, you will always be sure to GET IN and GET OUT of that journey without any loss for you.

Do not also go by any advice bu the broker, since he will be compelled more by the commission he earns rather than the performance of the share. Similary many and most of the shares announced as IPOs is always invariable introduced when the marketis in bull phase. We have seen cancellation of many IPOs when the market turns bearish.Make your judgement, when even financial instutions back any particular IPO, they have their own resons for it.

So, he sure way to invest in shares is to learn the fundamentels, detailed study of that particular industry, choose the company as per its value(refer ny previous article) and be bold to actaccording to your judgement. So invest in fundamently good company, with good track record, and also try to buy (if your cash reserves permit) during downtrend, so as to bring down your average cost, by which you will be turning the trend to your advantage, rather than sulking atit.

BR PREPARED FOR THE OPPURTUNITY, IF MISSED, IT WILL TAKE ITS OWN SWEET TIME TO RETURN.

N.Raghu