Tag Archives: prospect

Do not lie to your prospects

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Jon Stow

Being straight with your clients is essential as we all know. Being honest as to whether we can help new enquirers is also vital. When we start in business there is a temptation to try to grab every customer who … Continue reading →

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Promoting your start-up business – Part 4 – Your Website

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Jon Stow

  I write this with trepidation as everyone has an opinion about websites, what they should include, and what they should look like. There are plenty of choices. Of course a lot depends on your budget, what sort of business … Continue reading →

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Sales and marketing and the butcher’s apostrophe

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Jon Stow

It is always dangerous to write about grammar, spelling and punctuation. We all make the occasional mistake. In writing a blog post like this we’re all allowed the odd contraction (see?) to be more conversational than we might be in … Continue reading →

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Never assume

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Jon Stow

Once upon a time, my first job was with an international and mainly Far-Eastern bank. I wrote a nice letter of application in my best handwriting and was placed in the “Income Tax Department”. We only dealt with personal tax. … Continue reading →

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Why we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or a colleague or prospect either

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Jon Stow

First impressions First impressions are important. When meeting someone in business for the first time I am sure we all do our best to present ourselves well. That is simple commercial sense. Sometimes if we get a poorer impression of … Continue reading →

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Verbal contracts and honour

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Jon Stow

Image via Wikipedia In terms of gathering in new clients, I cannot call myself a hard-nosed salesman, but I do sell on the value of my business offerings. Generally my approach is soft-selling, letting the prospect lead herself to make … Continue reading →

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How to avoid problem clients and customers

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Jon Stow

Have you ever wished that when you started your business you had known then what you know now? I certainly have, but sometimes we have to learn the hard way. However, if you are starting your business now or very … Continue reading →

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Why customer service is important even to those who are not customers yet

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Jon Stow

I am feeling a bit let down by the local commercial hospitality providers. The hotel told me they were closed for the week for refurbishment. It is a pity no one told me when I made what I thought was a booking, and it is a pity too that no one realised the error and telephoned me. All-in-all it was pretty poor customer service. Continue reading →

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Quasi prospects, time-wasters and an experiment in human nature

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Jon Stow

This piece could have been in either of two blogs but I put it in my Taxing Times thread. Please feel free to visit!

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Why your brand and your USP are important

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Jon Stow

Have you ever been confused by a marketing message or an advertisement that seemed out of place with the product? I believe that when we market our business by whatever means, we need to keep our product or service clear and distinct. Continue reading →

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