Monthly Archives: August 2009

Pricing – your Achilles heel?

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Many small businesses struggle, not because their product or service is poor, but because they are not charging the right price.

Getting your pricing right is the key to building a profitable business. Charge too little and you will go out of business, because you cannot pay the bills. Charge too much and you will go out of business, because you won’t sell anything.

  • If you concentrate on building a price based on your costs, plus a margin for profit, you run the risk of ignoring the market value for your product/ service.
  • If you look only to the market and based your price on your competitors, then you run the risk of not covering your costs.

In practice, you need to have a very clear picture of your business costs (including a proper salary for you, the business owner). This means that when you look at the market price for your product/service, you know whether or not you will make a profit.

You need to really understand the value of what you supply to your customers. It is important, therefore, to talk to your customers regularly about their current and future needs. If you can increase your value you will find it less likely customers will go else where even if tempted by lower prices.

Pricing is as much an art as it is a science – by having key information to hand about; what your customers want, what your competitors are charging, and what your own business’ costs are, you will be able to paint the right pricing picture for your business success.

Find out more about small business strategy at http://www.brightdimension.co.uk/
Sales Training and Business Courses Bristol, Somerset and the South West.

Workshop – Bright Business Basics

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Maxwells Chartered Accountants, The Jelf Group and Bright Dimension present…
 
Bright Business Basics

 

Are you a small business owner looking for better and more effective ways to grow your business, but feel frustrated by problems such as:
  • You are not getting enough new clients
  • You don’t know how to market your business effectively
  • You find running your own business a lonely experience
  • You don’t have a plan which will help you in the current economic climate

If you face any of the above challenges then come along to the Bright Business Basics workshop.

Here’s what you will get by attending:

  • The opportunity to explore the 7 most common problems business owners have and what you can do to solve them
  • The chance to meet, and network with, other business owners
  • The tools you require to refocus, re-motivate and re-inspire you

Monday 14th September 2009, 4.30pm – 7pm
Bridgwater and Albion Rugby Club, Bridgwater
£15 per business (buffet included)
 

To reserve your place, email 

clive@maxwellsaccountants.co.uk

Find out more about small business strategy at www.brightdimension.co.uk.
Courses and training in Bristol, Somerset and the South West.

Do you show Business Confidence?

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A business’s confidence is key to its success.

A confident business does not have to apologise for its existence – it can just get on with providing a great product or service.

In an owner/managed business the level of business confidence conveyed is directly related to the confidence you as the owner have in yourself and your business proposition. Even a business which offers great service and is well respected by its customers can be undermined, if you continually doubt yourself.

So how do you keep your confidence levels boosted?

Firstly, make sure you have a great product/service, which you can easily describe to third parties. If you sell a service, productising elements of your service can make it easier for potential customers to understand what you do.

Talk to your customers so you are clear why they buy from you. Although this might be hard at first, it will enable you to talk confidently to prospective clients about the effectiveness of what you do.

Whilst you are talking to your customers, ask them for testimonials. Not only can you use them in your marketing, they will also boost your confidence.

If you know where you want your business to go, you can confidently decide what you need to do to get you there. So, have a robust, regularly updated business plan. Alongside this, try to build a great business skills base. There are many facets to even small businesses, so the more you know about each of them the more effective, and confident, you will be.

Be part of a strong business network. Business networks are a fundamental part of raising the profile of your business and finding support locally. Regular contact with other business owners, many of whom face similar problems to yours, will help make running your business less lonely too.

Finally, think about how you are presenting yourself. If you are well prepared, wear the right clothes for the right occasion, and think about your body language, you will be best able to express yourself confidently.