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From the desk of Bob Meyer...
01/18/2011
City-Run Barter Site Proposed For Bringing Citizens Together
The co-owner of one of Vancouver�s (Canada) internationally
acclaimed restaurants wants to create a special network with
a social conscience. Meeru Dhalwala�s idea is a city-run web
site that connects people and enables them to barter
services and favors. People using the site would be
clustered together by their postal codes.
Small Business In The USA
More than three quarters of U.S. businesses have no
employees, generating only 3.2% of sales nationwide,
according to the Census Bureau. Firms without employees
average $45,000 in sales.
The average business posts sales of $1.1 million a year and
has about four employees.
Thoughts Worthy Of Your Time
�Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of
choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to
be achieved.�
�William Jennings
Bryan, American politician.
�Don�t be afraid that your life will end; be afraid that it
will never begin.�
�Grace Hansen,
American dance director.
�One of the striking differences between a cat and a lie is
that the cat has only nine lives.�
�Mark Twain, American
author and humorist.
Mackay Says Success This Year Depends Upon
Your Goals
Small business columnist Harvey Mackay stresses that a
person needs a specific and clear direction, and
understanding of what is wanted, before achievement is
attainable. In other words, know what you really want � be
very specific. What is your motivation for this
accomplishment? Focus on one or two areas, and be willing to
take risks.
Make 2011 different by setting reasonable, measurable goals,
then take charge and move forward with determination.
All
back issues of "From the Desk...� can be accessed by
clicking
here.
(Please feel
free to forward our newsletter to your friends and
colleagues. We have a �box� at the end of the
newsletter for your convenience.
See you next week. . .) |
Pricing Mistakes That
Many New Entrepreneurs Make
Trying to be the lowest
price provider �
One
of the most damaging beliefs in business is the idea that the lower
price gets the highest volume. However the whole lower price equals
higher volume idea, a fundamental law of economics, is for
undifferentiated commodities, not your business.
Successful lowest-price strategies are unusual, and they usually
take a lot of capital, resources and visibility. What works for
Costco and Walmart doesn�t work for the corner store, independent
restaurants, various service-oriented businesses and others.
Mixing your pricing
message ...
Price is the most powerful marketing message you have. Do you think
people don�t buy your work because it�s too expensive? But isn�t it
worth it? Don�t you believe in it? It�s about positioning. How are
you different from the others? Is what you sell better than the one
across the street? Does your price say so?
Would you get a root canal from the cheapest dentist in town? Would
you save money by buying two-day-old sushi? And why isn�t the
cheapest-made car the most popular?
What would you rather have for dinner: a $1 hamburger or a $30
steak? A restaurant that has really good food and surprisingly low
prices no longer exists. (Their profit margins were too thin; by
refusing to change their low price policy they went out of
business.) Do you think pricing had something to do with that?
Underestimating real
costs ...
Businesses go under when they run out of money. The research on how
they run out of money is confusing and ambiguous, and there are
rarely single identifiable causes. They frequently run out of money
because they underestimated real costs.
We
talk a lot about gross margin in business analysis. That�s your
selling price minus your direct costs. So when you buy that widget
for $2 and sell it for $6, then the gross margin is $4, and your
gross margin percent is 67-percent.
Unfortunately, focusing just on gross margin isn�t enough. Aside
from the $2 you paid for that widget, there are all those other
expenditures � including your rent, your payroll, your insurance,
your electric and water bill, all of your marketing costs, and lots
of hidden costs, plus the computers and software you�ll likely need
in the future. We tend to forget this additional overhead �all the
way to the business grave. You simply run out of money. So give your
pricing considerations the time and study they deserve.
Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On
Valuable New Business?
If
your barter company�s listing on BarterNews.com isn�t current, you
are definitely missing out on new business. The web site
BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic � with over 150,000 page-views
every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the
thousands of articles, the weekly �Tuesday
Report,� and the �Contacts
Section� of our site. They use the latter to find barter
companies with which to do business.
Is
your barter company�s listing up-to-date?
To
keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A)
update any changes to your company�s listing, such as new location,
phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company
has not been listed.
Here�s how to get on board:
To
make changes to your listing
click here.
For
new listings
click here.
Use Barter To Build Your
Assets In 2011
There are several ways barter can play an important role in the
building of your assets �
click here to find out how.
�
International visitors look for BARTER CONTACTS in our Global Barter
Section. If YOUR exchange isn�t listed see the forms on the lower
left of the page. (Click
here.)
�
Attention trade exchange owners...thousands of visitors every month
visit our BARTER CONTACTS section on our web site where we have
names & addresses of barter companies in the USA. If YOUR exchange
isn�t listed, or the information is incorrect, you can correct the
situation by using the forms to the lower left of the USA map. (Click
here.)
Click here
www.barternewsblog.com.
Test Your Marketing
Know-How
Questions:
1)
Having the lowest price is a great marketing tool.
True False
2)
It�s a bad sign when you constantly change your sales strategies and
incentive programs.
True False
3)
Most sales leads should be coming from your sales staff.
True False
4)
It�s bad news when your customers say, �I didn�t know you carried
that.�
True False
Answers:
1)
False. You have a serious problem if having the lowest price is your
best marketing tool. The lowest price can often make you seem hard
pressed. It may also suggest that your product isn�t valuable.
2)
True. Having different strategies each month only creates the
impression of desperation.
3)
False. Yes, salespeople should develop leads. But something is wrong
if your marketing program isn�t yielding a constant flow of new
customers. Throwing more salespeople into the field is an expensive
way to get business.
4)
True. Your message isn�t getting out if your customers don�t know
everything that is available to them. What�s worse, if they don�t
know, you can be sure your targets for new business haven�t heard of
it either.
