Category Archives: Sales

Competition or attrition?

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Jon Stow

I am in a service business. I have all the modern advantages. I can help people all around the world because we have email and the internet. I do not have to meet my clients, although it is great if … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Sales | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Freebie folly

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Jon Stow

I had an email from an accountancy firm asking if I would give free tax advice in half-hour sessions over the telephone. I thought the guy must mean free to the client, but his firm would be paying my business. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer relations, Sales | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Self-belief in business

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Jon Stow

It stands to reason that if we have our own business we need to believe in what we are doing. That means that we should believe sincerely in our product or service. If we are honest with ourselves we can … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, productivity, Sales | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Brands, value and me

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jon Stow

I would normally avoid medical matters in this blog, but it is relevant that I am allergic to pollen floating about from early spring to mid-summer. You see, I buy anti-allergy pills which I find very helpful. I needed some … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, Sales | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Insults, self-respect and selling by value

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Jon Stow

I had an email enquiry from someone who was concerned about possible tax liabilities should he sell a property he used to live in, but had let to tenants recently. There was one particular point he had got completely wrong. … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer relations, Sales | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Turning down work – really?

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Jon Stow

One of the mistakes many start-up businesses make is taking every project or job, no matter what. I made it myself.  It is very tempting to accept anything which comes along, but the new business owner needs to consider: Is … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer service, Sales, Start-up | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The leaky tap – are your customers happy?

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Jon Stow

We all try to do the best for our customers, but do we know if they are happy? There might be something which they see as having gone wrong with our service, and we do not even know about it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer relations, Sales | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The value resold

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Jon Stow

A few months ago I advised a client on some potential tax issues he was concerned about. It took a while to research; well mainly to check as I had good knowledge of the issues. It is always important to … Continue reading →

Posted in Sales | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Are your prospects in harmony with your business?

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Jon Stow

I guess we can all make a splash once to get noticed, and a joke might be the way to do it. Will prospects really remember a business for the one joke, repeated over and over again, or will they … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, Sales | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

If you are not special, you are not trying

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Jon Stow

I have had my run-ins with telecoms companies in the past, and very frustrating it has been. For the third month in a row, my business broadband provider, which is one of the smaller ones, failed to process my monthly … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer service, Sales | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment