Amy C. Fitzjohn's Blog, page 33

(A super short post with an infographic that will take less than 5 minutes to read)

Back in June, I exhibited at my first business show.

At the time, I shared my Business Expo Checklist.

The Business Showcase Southwest is on Wednesday 5th October and I have a delegate pass.

I decided against taking a stall for this event for various reasons, but I’m still attending.

These events are a great networking opportunity and useful free advice is usually on offer, so they’re always worth a look in.

It can be easy to just cruise on in unprepared, and meander aimlessly around stalls, picking up the odd freebie, and although that might beat being in the office, it’s not particularly productive.

So, here’s my six top tips to make the most of a business event when you’re attending as a delegate:

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Published on October 01, 2016 09:01

September 30, 2016

Breathe New Life into Old Writing

(This is a super short, quick tips post that will take less than 5 minutes to read)

I’ve been blogging for a few years now, one of the things I love about it is that gradual build up of great value I can share.

Some of my most popular workshops sprung from an idea for a blog post.

The beauty of building up a library of content is that you can use it over and over again in different ways.

I wrote a guest post for SHC Social Media recently on 16 Ways to Repurpose Your Content, but there are other things you can do to breathe new life into your old writing:

Share it again. Use scheduling tools, such as Hootsuite, to re-share old content. Thursday’s are ‘Throwback Thursday’ so use that popular hashtag to get more eyes on it:

#TBT

#ThrowbackThursday

Change the format

If it was a written piece before, why not turn it into a video? or an infographic?

You could also create new images for the post to use in social media updates when you re-share the links.

Rewrite for a new audience

When you first wrote the piece you would have had a particular audience in mind. As your business has evolved, have you got new audiences that you now cater for?

Re-write and reissue the original post adapted for them, changing the call the action on the post to one that’s appropriate for them.

Review it for accuracy

Things inevitably change. Your opinion, your knowledge, technology, and input from others. Create an updated piece of content, referencing the original and adding what’s changed.

For example: ’round up posts’ – If you’re written a ‘5 Best TED Talks on X Subject’ in the past, revisit it and add the latest great videos on the topic to the list. Or if you’ve talked about a service and it has changed in some way, revisit it.

Change the headline

Could you update the piece and rename it?

You could also use different headlines for the piece when you share it on social media – ie: schedule in different Tweets for the same content link.

Change the context

This can be a fun one. Try changing the tenses and point of view of an existing piece of content and see how it changes the feel of it.

For example: instead of saying ‘I’ or ‘we’ say ‘you’. Instead of using a past tense, use present tense. Experimenting with your use of language, tense and syntax can really liven things up.

What clever things have you done to revive your old writing? Follow me on Bloglovin’

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Published on September 30, 2016 03:06

September 19, 2016

How to Increase Viewers on your Instagram Stories – A Guest Post

“Can I be a guest please, Amy?”

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This week I’m proud to host another guest on the blog.

Sheena Mathieson pitched a content idea to me and her timing was perfect.

I’ve just entered the mysterious world of Instagram.

Here I am…

I’ve been resisting; with

Interesting content

What attracts an audience to stay is an interesting show. Instagram stories are designed as a feed in the form of a slide show. How you gain Instagram Story Viewers is also the same as how you gain Instagram Video Views. Once a follower opens your story, it continues to flip from the First post to another till the last one. It is just like an album of all the things that you did within the last 24 hours.

Make your story as interesting as possible. You have to make your viewers feel that they are not wasting their time. You can get creative with the editing features. Show off your goofy side by making funny posts, something that people can relate. You can also get into the trend to catch the attention of more audience. A good story with good content is always worth anyone’s time.

Select the Best time of the day to post your story

Like the Instagram feed, stories are also aligned and organized from the most recent to the oldest. Each user has a limited number of stories posted; you might want to know the best time of the day to post for your followers to see. You should also know where most of your followers are from because their waking hours might not be the same as yours.

These are just tips to guide you in achieving the best results. Whatever the outcome also depends on the decisions that you make. There are millions of Instagrammers out there; all you need is for them to notice you.

Sheena Mathieson understands the essence of making excellent content that suits the needs of every business, especially when it comes to online marketing. She can spice up your marketing campaign with the content she makes and then incorporate Buy Real Marketing services.

Thanks Sheena for contributing to the blog. If you have an idea for a guest post for me, please get in touch HERE

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Published on September 19, 2016 04:20

September 13, 2016

5 Top Accounting Tips for Start-ups – A Guest Post

What’s the one area of your business that scares you?

For me, it’s the financial stuff, I’ve always been bad at numbers – I still have cold sweats when I think about the evil teacher I had at primary school – Mr Williams – who made fun of me because I couldn’t recite my times tables parrot fashion at the age of 7!

On the other hand, give me a spreadsheet of data and I’ll go off on my merry way playing with formulas and graphs – it’s all in the tools.

With a guiding hand and the right tools for the job, that big, hairy, financial, bogeyman loses his potency.

James Comer, of James Comer Accounting, demystifies the process, and with him your business finances are in safe hands.

I’m proud to host James as a guest on the blog this week.

James specialises in helping businesses use technology to be better at managing their money.

He’s also a jolly nice chap and comes highly recommended.

Here are James’s top 5 tips for start-ups to get to grips with their accounts before they get a grip on you.

Top 5 Accounting Tips for Starting-up in Business

So, you have decided to take the plunge and set-up your own business? You now have a million ideas running through your head and reams of scribbled “to do” notes. But where do you start?

Well, a good place to start is with the item that typically makes the very bottom of the list – your bookkeeping and accounting.

Here, Bradley Stoke based accountant James Comer talks us through his top 5 accounting tips for start-ups:

1. Speak to an accountant before you begin

Although it may be at the bottom of your list, or may not have even made the sheet of paper, seeking professional advice from an accountant is vitally important when you start out.

A good accountant will help you start off on the right footing with your accounting, provide useful advice about the best approach to your business and also be able to introduce you to their network of contacts.

From pension providers to graphic designers and beyond, an accountant will be a great source of contacts to help you and your business.

By speaking to them early you can avoid any nasty surprises later and benefit directly from their business knowledge.

Despite what you might think accounting isn’t just about numbers. It is all about building your business knowledge and skills then assisting your clients with their business needs.

2. Set up your accounting systems from the start
A strong robust accounting system will soon become your best friend in business. Not only will it capture all your financial data and provide valuable reports to track your progress but it will also assist with key parts of your start-up such as producing reports for debt collection and identifying areas to potentially improve your profit margin.

The key is implementing a system that is the right fit for you as an individual and one that can grow with business. Anyone can buy an off the shelf bookkeeping package or be force fed a system their accountant uses. However, be brave and speak to your provider about ways the software can be tailored to suit your needs.

3. Plan Ahead
The data produced by your bookkeeping system is fantastic but it is important as a business owner that you use it.

I always advise my clients to review the financial information every quarter to get a feel for the numbers, the profitability of the business and potential cash-flow shortfalls.

Along with reviewing the financial data for current trends it is also useful to utilise this information to forecast for the future. This can include knowing when you may require an overdraft facility, producing a profit forecast to help raise finance or even identifying when may be best to run a promotion to stimulate sales.

The benefit of planning ahead cannot be underestimated and is a valuable tool for all new businesses.

4. Learn and grow

We all make mistakes in business that is a fact of life, nobody is perfect.

Whether this be taking on a client that becomes a bad debt or signing up a large client that you struggle to meet demand on. The benefit of using an accountant and online bookkeeping software is that you will be able to track data in real time. This is a great tool for assisting the growth of your business as you can react quickly to circumstances directly affecting your start-up.

For example, if your main customer is not paying on time the software will tell you and you can review their credit terms to nip this in the bud before the debt becomes a significant problem to you.

5. Embrace technology
With the constant changes in technology affecting everyday life, why wouldn’t you want to embrace it within your business?

With HMRC plans to make tax digital by 2020 it is advisable to utilise bookkeeping technology from the start of your business.

Online accounting software is a great tool to manage your bookkeeping on the go with it all backed up safely within the cloud. This enables you to login, process transactions and reconcile data wherever you are. With the added peace of mind that the accountant can view remotely any changes you have made.

Apps are also readily available that will feed directly into the software to assist you. From stock control management to tracking sales and taking photos of your receipts to upload, all your affairs can now be managed efficiently online.

Meet James Comer, the smiling accountant!

James Comer Accounting Limited is a sole practitioner firm based in Bradley Stoke specialising in helping local Limited Companies, Community Interest Companies and business start-ups utilise technology to manage their business finances efficiently. James is an avid fan of online accounting software and the benefits this can bring.

Further information on his services can be found at www.jamescomeraccounting.co.uk or by contacting him directly on 01454 501894.

A big thank you to James for offering his insights!

What accounting software do you use, and why? Follow me on Bloglovin’

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Published on September 13, 2016 00:01

August 30, 2016

Four Eyes Are Better Than Two

So you’ve written a blog post. You’ve read through it a couple of times, looked at the preview to make sure it’s all laid out properly on the page, you’re hovering your mouse over the ‘Publish’ button.

You freeze. Freak out.

You read it again.

You spot another mistake and change it, then you’re back to hovering over the publish button.

That horrible sick feeling rises in your guts and those voices of self-doubt get louder…

“What’s this junk? Where did that come from? You’re a rubbish writer!”

“No one’s going to read this nonsense, what’s the point?”

“Have I got it all right? What if someone more experienced calls me out for being a fraud?”

“Who am I to be sharing this advice, what do I know?”

“What if it’s full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors? I’ll look like a fool!”

Any of that sound familiar?

I’m sure even the most well known and successful writers in the world still have these internal struggles.

I bet you J K Rowling and Stephen King get those voices too!

And this is important, this is your baby, your business. Your website is your shop front to the world and your blog the reason people will come in and hang out.

Firstly, it’s OK to have these fears and feelings about what you release into the wild – it’s human, it’s natural.

Those feelings prove you care about your business.

The moment you stop caring about your business is the moment your customers will stop caring too, and that can never end well.

Secondly, and this is worth holding onto, whenever ‘imposter syndrome’ rears its horrible head, remind yourself you just need to be one step ahead of your customers.

One step.

Customers will pay to be just one step ahead.

More often than not you are more like four or five steps ahead of your customers so there is always more you can offer them to help them move forward.

They’ve come to you for help because what you offer is something they can’t do or don’t want to do themselves, or don’t have.

Imposter syndrome is that voice that tells you you’re a fraud, you don’t know what you’re talking about, you haven’t earned the right to do what you do and sell it to other people.

Don’t let it bully you!

I learned very early in my career as a trainer that I don’t need to have all the answers about the topic I’m teaching – I just need to know the material and know a bit more than the audience so I can talk with confidence around that topic.

Just because you’re not a millionaire, or a regular on the Dragon’s Den panel, doesn’t mean you don’t have some valuable insights to offer.

You know your thing, and that’s a thing lots of other people don’t know – therefore it has value.

Sharing a little of yourself and your knowledge on your blog is the best way you can demonstrate your expertise in your thing.

Even something that seems really basic and obvious to you can be an earth-shattering revelation to someone else.

It’s that world changing outcome that your customers are paying for. Not the fact that you’re some celebrity entrepreneur that impresses them with their vast wealth and influence.

We relate more easily to ordinary people who are just like us. People who have faced similar challenges to ours and have overcome them.

Still, even when you remind yourself that the content you are about to publish has value, you hesitate before clicking ‘publish’.

Whenever you write something, getting a second pair of eyes to look at it is always advisable.

Here’s four reasons why four eyes are better than two:

When we read our own work, our brain reads what it thinks it’s written so can skip over typos and spelling mistakes.

We all make mistakes in our grammar, spelling and sentence structure. We form bad habits and repeat the same mistakes without realising. Sometimes we need someone else to point it out.

When we’re passionate about a subject it’s easy to get carried away and say too much or to assume that everyone knows what we’re talking about. An independent eye can quickly spot the things that don’t make sense to them.

Writing is a skill like any other and you will naturally improve over time and with practice. But without feedback from someone else how will you improve if you don’t know what needs improvement?

When it’s someone who writes for a living you can be confident that you’ll get actionable tips and advice to improve your writing.

For your peace of mind, I offer a monthly subscription document checking service – The Prologue Package.

For just £45 a month you can send me up to 2,000 words of content over multiple documents (ie: 2 – 3 blog posts).

I won’t just do a spelling and grammar check, I’ll also make suggestions and point out areas for improvement with both my writer hat on and my business advisor hat on.

Get in touch to dicuss your needs for free HERE

My latest book, ‘Blogging for Business’ is crammed with tips, advice, insights and inspiration from my years of blogging experience. It also includes a checklist for the ideal blog post.

Get it HERE on eBook and

HERE on Paperback

If you enjoy my blogs, say thank you by topping up my coffee kitty

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Published on August 30, 2016 00:17

August 17, 2016

Rock Your Writing with a Blog

I first started blogging about three years ago.

What started as a way to share ideas, evolved from a bit of fun on Blogger to an integral part of my marketing strategy to build my authorpreneur business.

Although, I admit, I’m a bit slack at monitoring the stats behind my marketing, I’m certian putting my writing out there regularly and sharing my knowledge and expertise is the main reason I’ve sold over 5,000 books in the past three years.

When you have a blog, you never run out of things to say on social media.

In that time, I’ve learned so much about the art of blogging, enough to put in a book!

However, one of the biggest benefits for me from cultivating a regular blogging habit has been to improve my writing craft.

Voice and Tone

When you regularly write, you soon develop a style that works for you and your audience. You naturally use particular words and phrases, find a pace that is comfortable and develop effective ways to express yourself, in the same way as when you are communicating verbally with people who know you.

When writing comes more naturally, your authentic self shines through in those words.

Practice, practice, practice

Practice makes perfect, as they say (although I don’t believe in perfect; it’s a fallacy). As with anything, the more you do it the better you get. It takes years to learn any skill well. I’ve heard a statistic that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be an expert in something.

It’s easy to look back on your early work and cringe, but take a positive lesson from this and remind yourself how far you’ve come. As you build up a library of content, look back and you’ll see a pattern of improvement.

Less is more

The mark of a good writer is to say a lot with few words. The more you write, the easier it is to write less.

Our early writing is often littered with over-description, extra words and too much information. Sometimes small changes can tighten your writing and give it more impact.

For example:

“She started walking”

Change the tense and it becomes:

“She walked”

We often use extra words for impact when, ironically, they give it less clout – words like ‘really’ and ‘very’.

For example:

“It was very good”

Choose a better adjective and remove the ‘very’ and it becomes:

“It was excellent”

Feedback

The only way to improve your writing is to get feedback.

Be open to constructive criticism and comments.

Unless you put your words out there you’ll never get that.

When I ask people for comments and criticism I ask then “What’s wrong with it?” Knowing that, gives me the opportunity to improve it. It can be tough to hear, but suck it up, in years to come, you’ll be glad of it!

Want more?

For more tips like these on telling your story more effectively in writing and fuelling your business with a blog, I’m running a workshop for Brave Enterprise Agency in Bristol in September: Book here

Alternatively, learn all my blogging secrets in my new book ‘Blogging for Business’

Buy me a coffee by topping up the coffee kittey here, Thanks

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Published on August 17, 2016 00:50

August 4, 2016

Will Work for Views: Top Tips for YouTube Self-Marketing (Guest Post)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBwbANrjTtw

This week, I’m pleased to host a guest blog from a great guy I met at an entrepreneurs and opportunity seekers meet up in Bristol recently.

A young copywriter that endeavours to turn water into wine and wine into even nicer wine. Using a degree in Creative Writing and an extensive media background, Jason McCarthy produces copy and promotional material to get lightbulbs flickering and gums flapping.

Jason blogs about food and is a YouTube marketing whizz.

Here are his top tips to use the second biggest search engine to elevate your business:

Will work for views. Top Tips for YouTube Self-Marketing. Zero to Hero

These modern times, huh? You can go from zero to hero just by clicking ‘upload’. YouTube now makes it possible to become an overnight star; people are even making a living from playing video games. However, is it that simple? How do you get the view counter to go from ‘zero’ to ‘hero’?

What if you don’t wish to be a professional video game player? Can you use YouTube to promote your business or market your services? Why, yes, yes you can.

How do I know this? Because I am a freelance copywriter that attracted clients by posting videos of himself stirring yoghurt and peanut butter in a bowl. How did I do this? Well this is where it gets interesting.

If you want to see this yoghurt and peanut butter stirring action, then you are in luck:

Wave Your Stick

YouTube is all about raising awareness and increasing traffic. Once you have the attention of the traffic then it’s up to you where you wave your stick to direct them. Once I raised awareness by making cooking videos that consisted of me crunching ‘Sot and Pop’ (salt and pepper) on chicken whilst jolly, yet painfully generic elevator music played, I then directed the traffic towards my services as a copywriter – specializing in marketing anything to look good. An example of this marketing is this Tangy Orange milkshake – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzWg8jnb4Ns

Top 4 Tips for Social Media Marketing

So how did I increase my traffic from zero to thousands in just a few weeks?

Well, here are my top 4 ways to market yourself and boost traffic to your YouTube channel using social media.

Reddit

Reddit is a powerful promotional tool once you can get to grips with its seemingly cluttered appearance and its strict rules known as ‘Reddiquette’ – which often frowns upon spamming self-promotion – so you have to be clever with it!

Once you begin looking at Reddit as a discussion forum for pretty much any subject you want, then you begin cracking the code.

I made a video on how to make a homemade standing desk – if you want to see how then check out the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBcRD5LuoBA

I then found relevant Sub-Reddits (this is the name for the pages dedicated to specific discussion topics, such as “Gardening” or “Money Saving Tips”). The Sub-Reddits I chose to post on were “R/posture” and “R/back pain” – low and behold, hundreds of people were creating posts and discussing these two subjects. I then thought ‘why not?’ (as I am quite the risk taker) and typed into Google ‘R/standing desk Reddit’. I promise you that out there in the sea of the internet, someone has created a whole Sub-Reddit devoted to discussing desks with longer than average legs.

I posted my video under the guise of friendly advice, rather than shameless self-promotion and boosted my views from the tens to the hundreds overnight.

Twitter

Twitter is all about the hashtags. I always scan on the left to see the top trending hashtags and see if there is anyway I can shamelessly plug my video and relate it to a hashtag that might read #borisjohnsonelectedking – which is a dead cert for traffic, I think you’ll agree. When there is a will there is a way: ‘Can’t believe Boris is King…better have an Orange o’Tang Shake.’ Terrible, I know.

Facebook groups

Posting your video to Facebook groups is similar to my Reddit method – the difference is, everyone knows how to use Facebook. These groups are also tight knit communities so if you get friendly with them, then they will share your video happily. I joined a vegan recipe group and posted my video about meat-free pulled pork made from fruit. This created much intrigue and I spent time answering question commented on my post in a friendly way. Overnight I had achieved a thousand views.

If you want to see how a fruit can be made into meat-free pulled pork, then check out the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLV1J5YM4k

Research popular markets

Which leads me on to my next tip. I made the jackfruit pulled pork video as I had researched that the vegan market on YouTube was growing in popularity.

My thinking was simple: ‘1) Make vegan video. 2) Attract popular traffic. 3) Hope some of the traffic parks up for a longer stay.

Essentially, marketing myself through YouTube is all about building a following through attention grabbing videos, in order to direct attention to my services as a copywriter. However, the other day I received a testimonial from someone who said they had lost a ton of weight from following the recipes of my videos. I felt as if I had somehow turned water into wine; turns out that YouTube is the way to bottle it.

My last tip would be to take any opportunity to market yourself, even when writing a guest blog…

So you can check out my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ChtX4vgzm6m5v-t6dhNMg

And if you are in need of a copywriter then contact me at heartybreakfast5@gmail.com or visit my blog: https://heartybreakfastwriting.wordpress.com

Follow Jason on Twitter @HeartyBrekkie

I love Jason’s fun and quirky approach to copy writing and marketing and I’m privileged to have met him.

A big thank you to Jason for contributing.

Feed the coffee kitty here:

4 Ways to get More Twitter Chatter 3 Ways to Get Better Time Management

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Published on August 04, 2016 10:48

August 1, 2016

Follow Your Dreams (but not for these 10 reasons)…

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I’ve been following the progress of one inspiring young entrepreneur in the states for a while now, Marc Guberti.

He’s written a couple of guest blogs for me in the past:

He is also a prolific writer of business eBooks:

Marc on Amazon

What really impresses me about Marc, is his natural entrepreneurial ability – especially for someone so young. He started his business while at school, and is still not old enough to buy a beer in a bar in his home country (he’s only just old enough to in the UK).

I’m a keen follower of his business story, and looking forward to seeing future chapters.

A blog post he shared in his latest email newsletter caught my eye:

7 Wrong Reasons to Become an Entrepreneur

In the post he offers 7 insights from his experience in business:

The 7 Wrong Reasons To Become An Entrepreneur

They are:

In it for the money Hate work To make quick cash Easy life Got and A in entrepreneurship at college To be in charge and have power Have a better schedule for yourself

He goes on to explain more about each of the 7 reasons in the post and it’s well worth a read.

I wanted to share it with you, as I couldn’t agree more with what Marc has listed.

It made me think about other reasons why people might choose the independent road.

Here’s 3 more, and how they too could prove to be the wrong reasons for starting a business:

1) Unable to find a suitable job, so created one instead

I’ve worked with start-ups and pre start businesses for many years now and this is a common reason.

This can be great reason to set up in business, but it can also be a bad one.

It’s one thing to have a skill, quite another to turn it into a business.

So many small businesses fail because the person at the heart of it has a skill but are in denial about their business ability. I see it time and again.

There’s a fine line between self-confidence and being too proud to ask for help, or too tight to pay for it!

If this is your main reason for going into business, first do some soul searching. Question why you’ve not been able to find a suitable job. Be honest with yourself. Are there skills you lack? Do you have the right attitude to be able to work for yourself? Do you have the drive and motivation? Are you willing to accept that you can’t do it all yourself?

2) Turning a hobby into a business

This is a compelling one, and one I have experience of from turning my love of writing into a career as an author.

In many ways this is the best of both worlds; if there’s something you love doing and you can earn money from it, this is the holy grail of business. Soon work no longer feels like work.

Many people I meet who’ve done this report their feelings of guilt that they just do what they love; my answer to this – don’t!

Work is not supposed to suck! Life is not supposed to suck! You win, stop beating yourself up about it!

However, much the same as creating your own job, just because you have a skill doesn’t mean you can run a business. There is one other major flaw in this approach to starting up: will it take the joy out of it for you? It may sound obscure, but the moment you have to rely on something for money that you’ve previously done for relaxation and entertainment, you can quickly resent it.

This is partly why I say: “I’m not a copy writer”

I like writing, but I want to spend my writing energy on writing want to write, and I want to put my name to it. I’ve done the occasional piece of paid writing for others, and once in a while it’s OK – if it’s a topic I’m interested in – but the moment I start relying on it for income the moment it will get in the way of writing content and fiction writing.

3) Instant gratification

Related to Marc’s mention of an ‘easy life’ or ‘quick cash’, this one can be a killer in businesses.

We live in a world fixated on instant gratification.

Social Media has overtaken porn as the most popular pastime online. We can enter a virtual community and be ‘liked’ and ‘followed’ and be bombarded with emoji’s telling us we’re loved or made someone laugh.

We can go into a shop and buy pre-prepared food – here’s some fine examples of the laziest food available:

Canned custard Frozen jacket potatoes Precooked chicken Any and all ‘fast food’!

We hate waiting for things.

But in business, it takes time. Even a ‘quick win’ can take 6 months to develop and get to market.

Some of the profit projections I’ve seen people produce when I’ve looked at their business plans… I’ve struggled to keep a straight face. It’s amazing how many start-ups are so enthused by their idea they’re convinced everyone and their dog will buy this untested product and they’ll be millionaire’s by the end of the month.

Be realistic.

Have a contingency.

Ask for help and be prepared to pay for it.

Relax and accept that it will take a lot longer than you thought, just keep going…

There are many reasons for choosing to start a business. Take a moment to consider why you started your business. Make sure you are doing it for the right ones.

Buy me a coffee by topping up the coffee kittey here, Thanks

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Published on August 01, 2016 03:05

July 20, 2016

3 Powerful Words to Clinch that Sale

http://www.prudenthealthcover.com/

Last week, I had a stand at my first trade show…

I made some great connections and spoke to lots of fascinating businesses, as well as catching up with some familiar faces.

One such face was Tony Pizii.

Tony is an independent, whole of market personal insurance broker, whose specialism is lifestyle protection for small and micro business owners. I connected with Tony last year at an Action Coach event.

During our catch up at the Business Growth Show, Tony remarked that he’s been thinking more and more about publishing a practical sales book, drawing on his years’ of experience to help others to get over the objections they face when negotiating a sale.

He shared three powerful words with me to use when faced with an impasse in negotiations: Feel, Felt, Found

I asked him to expand on this for my readers and I’m proud to host him as a guest blogger this week. This is how ‘Feel, Felt, Found’ works in practice:

A question I was often asked was “how do you deal with a competitor objection when you are presenting your solution to the client.”

We have all heard the – “Bloggs O’ Glaze looks the same as yours, same guarantee but they are cheaper” – phrase that the client throws in. It’s not to say they will buy from Bloggs, but they know they are cheaper.

Can you offer a better price than your quote? Probably not, if you could then perhaps you should of in the first place.

Can you argue that your product is better? If you can, do you have the evidence to hand, and is it compelling enough to justify the difference?

In many cases the sales person packs their bag and writes the presentation off as a bad day. I have found over the years that by adopting three simple words you can, in many cases, pass this argument by.

Feel, Felt, Found.

It’s as simple as that:

“I know exactly how you feel”

“Many of my clients have felt the same as you”

“But, after doing some research, what they have found is”

If this simple phrase is practiced and backed by testimonials, industry evidence and a smile, it’s amazing how quickly the object is passed; as it may not have been a genuine objection in the first place, merely a reason not to make a decision now. The sales person that packed their bag early will never know if it was a genuine objection or not.

So, that’s it! Try it on your next client who raises the ‘but so-and-so is cheaper’ argument.

Empathise: “I know exactly how you feel”

Qualify it with experience: “Many of my clients have felt the same as you”

Demonstate the benefits: “But, after doing some research, what they have found is”

Good luck, and go get ’em!

If you’re baffled by the murky world of insurance, Tony Pizii can help.

Talk to him about: Income Protection

It’s a means of insuring yourself against loss of income if you fall ill or are injured. For self employed poeple – who don’t get sick pay from their employers – it provides you with a safety net.

Contact him by email: tony@prudenthealthcover.com or take a look at the website for the brokers he represents:

He’s based in my old neighbourhood of Taunton, Somerset, and is a thoroughly helpful and friendly chap too!

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Published on July 20, 2016 02:54

July 15, 2016

Sharing the Business Karma