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Tag: sales

  • 5 Tips for Improving Performance in Small Sales Teams

    5 Tips for Improving Performance in Small Sales Teams

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    In my years of experience in sales and sales management, I have observed many small and medium sized sales teams. Often, they struggle to perform at capacity and hit their goals and it's frequently a sales management issue. Sometimes it's because the CEO or business owner is the de facto sales manager and is wearing many hats. They are often just too busy running their business or spread too thin. Sometimes they're the technical experts in their field and their expertise and time is being used to improve products, systems or services. It's sometimes because a top performing sales person was promoted into a sales management role and their strength lies in salesmanship and delivering revenue to the business personally rather than in a broad sense. Below are five things you can do to improve sales management in your company now.

    1. Planning
    Many business owners have at best a rudimentary sales plan. If they do have one, often times it consists of higher and higher sales goals, without accounting for what will drive that new business. Will a new product line be added, a new market be opened or new additions made to the sales team? Will the company be able to support the added expense while markets are opened and new sales people trained? How much risk will the company bear? A good but simple sales plan takes this into consideration. Takeaway: Make a better sales plan with concrete steps to get to the desired goal.

    2. Modernize
    There are many new technologies that make it easier to interact with prospects. Among them are CRM systems, collaboration tools, the cloud, dialers, email tracking, prospect and customer information systems. Existing systems are being upgraded all the time with the newest capabilities. All are designed to more efficiently and effectively reach more buyers, disseminate information, warm them up and help make sales. Social media platforms allow a business to extend its reach inexpensively and makes your business more visible to search engines such as Google.com. Takeaway: Evaluate new technologies on a regular basis to make sure you are keeping up and modernize as needed.

    3. Training
    Training sales people serves three purposes. The first is that it provides them an opportunity to hone and refresh their skills. The second is that it reminds them that performance is important and that expectations for them performing well are high. The third is that it shows a willingness to invest in them and that they are part of the long term plan for the organization. Takeaway: Make sure you offer training to your sales people every year (a sharp ax cuts better than a dull one).

    4. Lead Generation
    All businesses need sales and most small and medium sized businesses are subject to the feast / famine paradigm. When they're busy, the first thing that gets pushed aside is prospecting for new business. Until business slows down. Then there's a flurry of sales activity and soon business is back where it should be. For a while. Most small businesses don't have bandwidth to prospect effectively in a consistent way.

    Lists should be highly targeted and refreshed regularly. Technology should be used and a proven process followed. The technology should reinforce the process rather than detract from it. Top management should enforce the use of the technology and following of the process. Utilize social media and blogging to widen your reach inexpensively. Finally, no one can be an expert on everything so get help from the professionals when needed. Takeaway: Make prospecting part of the company routine and culture and call in the experts when needed!

    5. Measurement
    You get what you measure is the old adage and it's mostly true. The challenge is top management often has a hard time pinning down the exact actions, activities and behaviors they are trying to encourage and measure. Here's a practical example. Maybe top management believes that offering free webinars will increase sales since it worked well in the past. So the goal is to run well attended webinars.

    How will these webinars be promoted to prospects and clients? Will a set of emails be sent, starting a few weeks before the first webinar? Then a prospect list with email addresses will need to be purchased and loaded and a compelling email invitation created.

    Will prospects be called and told about the webinars? Then phone numbers will be necessary, a script will need to be created and a person designated to make the calls. To track call results, an activity report should be created and run on a regular basis to test the messaging, to make sure the calls are being made and to analyze the prospect responses. Will the report be grouped by prospect type (or industry or state or city or source)? Then that data will need to be captured or imported for each prospect.

    Finally, reports should measure the success of each webinar, so that results can be tabulated. How many people registered and attended are important to measure, as well as what happened to the prospect once the webinar was complete to determine the ROI. Takeaway: Create reports that measure actions, activities and behaviors that drive sales success, run them regularly and share the results.

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    Source by Jerry Crowley

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  • The Power Of Pocket Money

    The Power Of Pocket Money

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    Kids have always loved the thrill of receiving their very own pocket money to spend however they like. From saving up to buy the toy they’ve had their eye on for weeks to the quick delight that comes from waving around a bubble sword or getting stuck into a new puzzle book, hours of fun can come from the simplest of things.

    Halifax, which has conducted an annual pocket money survey since 1987, suggests the average amount kids receive is now £7.01. And in today’s financial climate, pocket money can be a good way to teach children to be careful with their cash and learn how to make it go further. Advance education about the importance of saving and an understanding of money has been shown to give children a head start when it comes to money management in later life.

    But it’s not just the kids that are jumping onto the pocket money bandwagon.

    Parents are also opting to turn away from bigger box items. After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than shelling out on an expensive toy only to see your child tire of it after half an hour. Especially when it takes so long to undo all the wasteful packaging!

    The growing trend for pocket money toys means a wider variety for the smaller customer, and it’s a great way for parents to get the latest fad without breaking the bank.

    One pocket money item that has seen incredible growth in sales is slime and putty. Venture onto YouTube and you’ll find millions of videos of kids playing with it. In fact, there are even global slime conventions throughout the world off the back of this massive craze and there is no sign of it slowing down. Global sales are still rising and the popularity of this realtively simple and inexpensive toy is still growing. With thousands of variations – magnetic slime, rainbow slime, glow in the dar slime and more this is the craze that should go for many months more.

    Of course, certain toys are timeless and will never go out of fashion. Spinning tops, tumbling tower games, marble drops and classic board games have captured children’s imaginations throughout the years and continue to be just as popular today as they ever were.

    Another range that has been adapted for the pocket money market is the educational toy. It’s no secret that play is a great way to help children learn and toys are continually evolving to support this trend with more and more unique playsets and experimental kits to keep them entertained.

    So to summarise, think twice before thinking you need to shell out large sums of money to keep your kids happy. Sometimes a £1 pot of slime will bring just as many smiles.

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    Source by Vicky Walmsley

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  • 6 Key Elements of Customer Relationship Marketing

    6 Key Elements of Customer Relationship Marketing

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    Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) is a highly topical and relevant way of thinking about marketing. It is relevant because of the internet, and the impact it has had on the way marketing is carried out by businesses.

    In this article, I’d like to look at six of the key conceptual elements which under-pin the CRM approach.

    Element 1: Customer Differentiation

    As its’ name implies, CRM is a customer centric approach to business. With this approach, a company is aiming to differentiate its’ product or service offering by customer profile. Instead of a more conventional approach, where a company differentiates primarily by its’ products or services.

    Element 2: Long Term Emphasis

    The aim here is to build a relationship with a customer over a period of time. This approach dove-tails very well with many Inbound Marketing strategies which are used on the internet.

    This ongoing relationship has both cost and revenue benefits. On the cost side, it is almost always less expensive to market to an existing customer, than find a new one. The reason is simple; they already trust your organisation.

    Element 3: Continuing Transactions

    This is in some ways related to element two above. Rather than seeking one-off transactions with customers aim for multiple transactions. This may be in the form of cross-sales, add-on sales etc. Or it may be that you become a preferred supplier for a given niche product or service.

    Sometimes, this is an economic necessity, as the cost of getting a first transaction is so high, that only repeat sales make the process worthwhile.

    Element 4: Two-Way Communication

    A core element in the building up of meaningful customer relationships is their ability to stay in touch with a company. With the advent of social media, email and SMS, this is even easier. This technology allows the communication to become more of a two-way process. And it is the customers who are just as likely to initiate a communication as is the organisation.

    This is a great way to get real feedback of people’s wants and needs. And it ties in well with element one above; creating customer centric products and services.

    Element 5: Retention Focus

    With the CRM approach, a company is focused more on how to retain customers as opposed to simply how to acquire more customers. Aiming for a low customer churn rate is seen as highly desirable, and it is very often a cost effective way of doing business.

    This feature again ties in well with the shift in power between buyers and suppliers that the internet has created. Buyers are no longer dependent on supply companies to tell them what’s available. They can go to the internet and do their own research, and share stories with other people who have used a product or service.

    Element 6: Share of Values

    By aiming to share a value set with their customers, companies can build strong relationships. These strong relationships translate into a clear brand identity, which transcends the ability of organisations to simply buy loyalty with advertising or special offers.

    Summary

    In summary, CRM is a major shift in marketing practice, from mass marketing to individualized marketing. The focus has shifted from acquiring lots of new customers to retaining and building more business from a smaller base of loyal high-value customers.

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    Source by David R Durham

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  • Try These Tips If You Want To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing

    Try These Tips If You Want To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing

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    Affiliate marketing can be a great way to establish a good income with little or no overhead at all. Just a whole lot of honest hard work, dedication and of course, good information. This article is designed to provide you with some excellent advice on the business of affiliate marketing and help you find your way in and around it to a nice, consistent profit!

    Trying to market popular products online will not produce good results in your affiliate status. You want to have a good quality product but it does not have to be uber popular. Choosing very popular products means you will be in fierce competition ahead. You may be unable to make a profit.

    When selecting an affiliate marketing program, check out their resources in terms of sale-boosting items for you. A good affiliate program will offer you banner images, content for text ads, and letter templates, in order to help you boost sales. A sale for you is a sale for them, and you want to work for a company that understands your value as an affiliate.

    Try looking into secret links. There are plenty of including affiliate links into your text without them being completely obvious. Be transparent about them if you use links and take advantage of their use. Make sure your readers understand the reason for the link so there are no surprises.

    If someone visits a site about sports, they expect to see sports-themed news, ads, and merchandise. Only a sports-related link would benefit your affiliate site. If the site has relevant links, people will be more likely to access them.

    It is better to affiliate partners that put out products if possible. You are more affiliate revenue by working with businesses that have a larger variety of products which are interesting to your consumers. Avoid one-trick pony and fads.

    Anything you write during a marketing campaign or for your business, in general, should be written in plain, easy-to-understand language. Do not open the thesaurus and look for rarely-used words that make you seem a bit too snobbish. This is your Internet business, not a Newspaper. Readers want it simple.

    It is advisable for affiliate partners to use text services in order to gain greater commissions.

    A great affiliate marketing tip is to provide your real name and a working email address to your visitors and customers. Providing your name and email address will make you look credible, and you want to look as credible as possible in order to gain the trust of your visitors.

    If your site has a sports-related theme, your viewers are there for sports. Only a sports-related link would benefit your affiliate sites that are related to the products you market. Your visitors will follow a link that is relevant to the information on your site.

    Remember to always provide great, timely, valuable content that really gives your readers helpful and useful information. When you do this, your readers will have more faith in you and will be much more likely to want to do business with you. A great deal of affiliate marketing depends upon building a good relationship with your clients and proving yourself trustworthy and knowledgeable.

    Consider using paid advertising to get a jump start on your affiliate marketing program. Ads that are targeted towards keywords related to your site.

    One good way to evaluate a potential affiliate marketing partner is to examine the material they give to potential customers, such as their sales letter. You can learn a lot about an affiliate by seeing how they treat their customers. Think of yourself as a customer and ask yourself if the affiliate is someone you would buy from.

    It is so important that your readers trust you and your content. Readers support authors who provide them with quality contact by purchasing through your links.

    You don’t want to spend much time working on a company’s affiliate program only to never get paid or to discover that they mistreat referrals. Check the company’s reputation by visiting the appropriate blogs and user forums. Test communications through email and telephone. Do they promptly answer emails? Are they rude? Are phone calls put on eternal hold? They way they treat you is how they will likely treat the customers you refer to them.

    Create a hard deadline for consumers to buy certain affiliate products. When visitors feel time pressure, they are more likely to jump on the deal. This approach is likely to render a good strategy that may help improve your sales.

    A great affiliate marketing tip is to disguise your affiliate link. Sometimes marketers will try to scam you by simply changing your link around so that they’ll receive your commission. You can avoid this by disguising your link. An easy way to disguise your link is by making it redirect to a domain or page.

    You need to be quite aware of who is visiting your target audience is in affiliate marketing. You need to work to meet the needs of your message to resonate with your readers. Try to figure out what makes them visit your website and then expand on that knowledge. What specific things are they interested in?

    Do not make the mistake of focusing on just one sales technique. You might have the best blog in the world, but you are still losing out on customers who need a little more push or don’t like reading a blog. Advertise on other sites. Send out emails with value-added sales techniques to take people from prospects to customers.

    You should reveal your affiliate position to your readers. Being honest like this helps readers feel that they are sure to appreciate that.

    There may seem to be a million and one things to remember about affiliate marketing, so many different things to think of and take care of to cultivate your online earnings from it. Hopefully, this article has enlightened you somewhat, to the complexity and confusion and you are now ready to embark on a career change to affiliate marketing that could very well, change your life!

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    Source by Cameron Nyack

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  • The Power of Content Marketing

    The Power of Content Marketing

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    WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?

    Content marketing is described as a strategic approach to marketing that focuses on the creation and distribution of valuable, consistent and relevant content to attract a certain refined audience for profits in the consumer market.

    Most leading brands hire people with courses in content marketing to improve the branding of the product or service being marketed in the public domain and also benefits enterprises by increasing sales, cost saving and getting more and better consumers with higher loyalty.

    THE NECESSITY OF CONTENT MARKETING

    Marketing has revolutionized today due to the digitization of almost everything around us. Mass media is targeted to reach the specific audience for which the product or service has been catered for. Quality content is extremely essential for successful marketing along with a well-defined plan or strategy.

    Different forms of content marketing like social media marketing, search engines publishing quality and consistent content, successful PR strategies, inbound marketing etc. are dependent on a proper content strategy that helps deliver the perfect content for a curated or mass audience.

    Today, everything is digital. Marketing for almost anything, be it political, retail products or services, food or academic books etc., Everything is effectively and almost freely marketed via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Most of these social media websites and search engines pop up relevant ads according to the searches we make across the Internet.

    STATEGY FOR CONTENT MARKETING

    Content marketing must be smart so as to capture the attention of the target audience for the service or product. Targeting the youth on social media, the elderly via television and radio advertisements are some of the strategies for smart content marketing.

    The content must be designed in such a way so as to target the right audience in their mindset. Map the content for the product or service and then try to use the right type of content for the problem by mapping the buying cycle of people who have the specified problem and would be willing to venture into the product or invest in the service.

    VARITIES OF CONTENT

    Different types of content are available suitable for different marketing strategies like vlogs, videos, advertisements, billboards, surveys, email newsletters, posts on social media pages like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc., Polls, podcasts, quizzes, outreach programs, photographs, predictions, news etc.

    Each option has its own benefits and can be used according to the demand of the situation. The single main goal of marketing is to increase business revenue and there are numerous ways to achieve that.

    Content marketing requires creative brainstorming from professionals who can analyze the minds and thinking of the consumer to decide which approach is best to capture their attention. Interactive and creative content will definitely help make a product or service successful.

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    Source by Shalini M

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  • 2 Multi-Level Marketing Payment Structures

    2 Multi-Level Marketing Payment Structures

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    As of 2017, people all over the United States are becoming affiliated with the Multi-level marketing industry. As an entrepreneur, when you get involved in that industry, you get to sell products or services to the masses. If you are fortunate enough to see success, you can put yourself in position to see large returns.

    In my opinion, most people get involved in that type of industry and fail to educate themselves on the payment plan structures that are offered by the opportunities. Today I will share with you two different payment plan structures to help assist you.

    However, let me educate you on what that industry is all about. Multi-level marketing, abbreviated as MLM, can also be referred as network marketing and pyramid selling. This type of industry has developed a controversial reputation. Most people who join this type of industry fail because they are not educated on proper marketing techniques.

    A common practice in the MLM industry is selling products and services to family and friends. They usually call it the “warm market” strategy and it is highly ineffective, in my opinion.

    However, if you see success, here are two possible payment plan structures that your opportunity may use to pay you.

    #1 Matrix

    In this plan, there is a specific and predetermined width and depth. For instance, one MLM company can have a 4-by-5 matrix, which permits a distributor to sponsor five people directly on their front-line. In addition, they earn revenue from the sales of those people up to six levels.

    This plan is in place to encourage distributors and new recruits to work as a team. Sometimes, when a distributor’s front-line is full, the opportunity will upgrade that distributor from seller to teacher. They do this to make sure that you are focused on helping out the people who are at lower levels.

    #2 Breakaway

    The breakaway plan is also known as the stair-step breakaway plan. It earn the name from the idea that a salesperson, after climbing their way through each level of the company, can reach the point where they can “break away” from their up-line. The up-line is the person who introduced you to the opportunity.

    The benefit of this payment plan structure is that it motivates the distributors to work hard and eventually break away to create their own organization. Opportunities that offer this type of payment plan structure usually aim for full-time business builders.

    Unfortunately, in my opinion, this plan can discourage distributors to work as a team because most people will only be concerned with building their own organizations.

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    Source by Marc-Eddy Drouinaud Jr

    Views: 0

  • Breaking Down Sales and Marketing

    Breaking Down Sales and Marketing

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    Revisiting the Sales and Marketing Conversation

    Back in October 2015 we shared an article called "5 Ways Marketing Departments Help Salespeople Catch Butterflies." Recently a tenfold article was shared with us, titled "What is the Meaning of Sales & Marketing and Their Advantages? " And, I have to say, it does a pretty awesome job of breaking down the differences, responsibilities, and links between sales and marketing roles. Why revisit this now? Because it has never been more apparent that the relationship between sales and marketing is still just as misunderstood as ever, especially with advances in marketing technology.

    Setting the Record Straight

    Many in the business world, especially those who rely on sales and marketing for success, don't actually have a concrete grasp on exactly what sales and marketing are. Yes, the two are linked, but they are not one and the same. Sales departments rely on marketing; marketing departments and strategies exist to feed sales (notice I didn't say "make" sales). You wouldn't engage in marketing if you had nothing to sell, and your sales strategy would be much less informed and successful if not for your marketing efforts. Yes, many old-school salespeople (or go-getter small business entrepreneurs) are quite capable of drumming up business on their own, and may even have some tried-and-true marketing tactics up their sleeve – but few have the time, skill , or technological resources to effectively capitalize on the true potential of their market.

    A common mistake made by older, more established businesses is to assume that salespeople are skilled at marketing and that marketing people are skilled at making sales. In some cases this may be true, but certainly not across the board. While trying to conserve capital, many of these companies will attempt to combine their sales and marketing departments, essentially tasking their employees with two job descriptions, and that's usually a bad move. It's no accident that more recently established companies, tech giants, and organizations that employ a large number of millennials are killing it with their marketing efforts.

    Breaking It Down

    As the tenfold article explains, some of the key responsibilities of a sales team include:

    • Follow Up
    • Relationship Building
    • Closing
    • Retention

    The mark of a great salesperson is the ability to cultivate a personal relationship. Many consumers who have stayed loyal to the same brand, dealership, or salon for years will say that they appreciate the personal attention they receive there. It is not a marketing employee's responsibility to follow up with a salesperson's existing customer once the lead has been handed off, nor is it their responsibility to convert a lead to a sale, "close the deal," or make sure the client remains a client for many years. Short of having an outstanding relationship with a skilled salesperson, product quality and excellent overall experience are the main things that will bolster client retention.

    On the marketing side, primary efforts are:

    • Awareness
    • Engagement
    • Conversion (from anonymous to known)
    • Retention

    It is not a salesperson's job to generate awareness or buzz about their brand, product or service. If they are expected to use their energy to make sales by nurturing leads and relationships, then how can they also be expected to have the time to do the leg-work up front that brings those leads to the table in the first place?

    The marketing department creates awareness, builds engagement by creating information that will invite audience members to take action, and targets and tracks engagement by motivating audience members to provide contact information or initiate a free trial or consultation (converting them from a cold prospect to a known lead or potential buyer). It is important to note here that the retention function of a marketing department doesn't really overlap the retention efforts of a sales team.

    On the sales side, client retention refers more to the salesperson's efforts to use the client relationship to continually check in with the client, attempt to engage them in further discussions about additional products or services they may be interested in, and seek referrals to the client's friends and family members. On the marketing side, however, retention refers to maintaining a higher level of consistent engagement (through targeted marketing based on buying preferences, interests and history) so that the customer relationship doesn't end at the initial purchase. Those email newsletters you receive after becoming a customer somewhere are not random – they have a purpose and are often tailored to things you've viewed or expressed interest in. A sales team simply doesn't have the insights, time, or often the resources to execute these types of strategic campaigns.

    The Fine-Tuned Coexistence Of It All

    The ideal sales and marketing relationship is a symbiotic one. Marketers and salespeople work together to determine what consumers need and how to deliver it. Sales and marketing should motivate, inspire and feed one other. They should collaborate and coexist. In the hierarchy of the business food chain, sales and marketing should not be seen as rivals or equals, but counterparts. One truly cannot exist without the other, but their skill sets are not the same – especially today, where advances in technology require the modern marketer to have a very specific, honed, and competitive set of skills that most sales people simply do not need to have.

    For this reason many marketers are introverted, analytical, and deep-thinking individuals. Whether they're crunching numbers and analyzing data, compiling reports on trends and conversion rates, or writing awesome ads and creating beautiful websites and collateral material, they are required to intensely focus on what works, what doesn't, and adjust their creative efforts accordingly. Usually a marketing department will have creatives, analysts, and more tech-oriented people (who dive into the numbers and algorithms behind advanced marketing tools).

    In contrast though, many salespeople are extroverts – they light up a room, they have excellent "people skills," can easily relate to others, and have the ability to pick up on social cues that might actually help them close a sale. Oftentimes salespeople have a broader focus, preferring to spend their days with appointments and meetings – activities that build relationships – rather than sitting behind a desk doing what a marketing department does best. For this reason, many salespeople have administrative assistants to help them with follow-up, paperwork, appointment setting, phone calls, proposals, and calendar management. This type of functional assistant role is less widespread in the marketing realm.

    Share Your Thoughts

    Be sure to read the full article (and let us know how it compares to our post ) for additional insights on the relationship between sales and marketing teams. Join the conversation: in your experience, what have been some key components of a successful sales and marketing partnership?

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    Source by Jessica Champion

    Views: 0

  • Small Business Owners: Accounting Is for Profit Planning, Not Just Tax Preparation

    Small Business Owners: Accounting Is for Profit Planning, Not Just Tax Preparation

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    One might be led to believe that profit is the main objective in a business but in reality it is the cash flowing in and out of a business which keeps the doors open. The concept of profit is somewhat narrow and only looks at expenses and income at a certain point in time. Cash flow, on the other hand, is more dynamic in the sense that it is concerned with the movement of money in and out of a business. It is concerned with the time at which the movement of the money takes place. Profits do not necessarily coincide with their associated cash inflows and outflows. The net result is that cash receipts often lag cash payments and while profits may be reported, the business may experience a short-term cash shortage. For this reason, it is essential to forecast cash flows as well as project likely profits. In these terms, it is important to know how to convert your accrual profit to your cash flow profit. You need to be able to maintain enough cash on hand to run the business, but not so much as to forfeit possible earnings from other uses.

    Why accounting is needed

    Help you to operate better as a business owner

    1. Make timely decisions

      • Know when to hire a team of employees
      • Know how to price your products
      • Know how to label your expense items
      • Helps you to determine whether to expand or not
      • Helps with operations projected costs
    2. Stop Fraud and Theft

      • Control the biggest problem is internal theft
      • Reconcile your books and inventory control of equipment
    3. Raising Capital (help you to explain financials to stakeholders)

      • Loans
      • Investors

    What are the Best Practices in Accounting for Small Businesses to address your common ‘pain points’?

    1. Hire or consult with CPA or accountant

      1. What is the best way and how often to contact
      2. What experience do you have in my industry?
      3. Identify what is my break-even point?
      4. Can the accountant assess the overall value of my business
      5. Can you help me grow my business with profit planning techniques
      6. How can you help me to prepare for tax season
      7. What are some special considerations for my particular industry?

    To succeed, your company must be profitable. All your business objectives boil down to this one simple fact. But turning a profit is easier said than done. In order to boost your bottom line, you need to know what’s going on financially at all times. You also need to be committed to tracking and understanding your KPIs.

    What are the common Profitability Metrics to Track in Business — key performance indicators (KPI)

    Whether you decide to hire an expert or do it yourself, there are some metrics that you should absolutely need to keep tabs on at all times:

    • Outstanding Accounts Payable: Outstanding accounts payable (A/P) shows the balance of cash you currently owe to your suppliers.
    • Average Cash Burn: Average cash burn is the rate at which your business’ cash balance is going down on average each month over a specified time period. A negative burn is a good sign because it indicates your business is generating cash and growing its cash reserves.
    • Cash Runaway: If your business is operating at a loss, cash runway helps you estimate how many months you can continue before your business exhausts its cash reserves. Similar to your cash burn, a negative runway is a good sign that your business is growing its cash reserves.
    • Gross Margin: Gross margin is a percentage that demonstrates the total revenue of your business after subtracting the costs associated with creating and selling your business’ products. It is a helpful metric to identify how your revenue compares to your costs, allowing you to make changes accordingly.
    • Customer Acquisition Cost: By knowing how much you spend on average to acquire a new customer, you can tell exactly how many customers you need to generate a profit.
    • Customer Lifetime Value: You need to know your LTV so that you can predict your future revenues and estimate the total number of customers you need to grow your profits.
    • Break-Even Point:How much do I need to generate in sales for my company to make a profit?Knowing this number will show you what you need to do to turn a profit (e.g., acquire more customers, increase prices, or lower operating expenses).
    • Net Profit: This is the single most important number you need to know for your business to be a financial success. If you aren’t making a profit, your company isn’t going to survive for long.
    • Total revenues comparison with last year/last month. By tracking and comparing your total revenues over time, you’ll be able to make sound business decisions and set better financial goals.
    • Average revenue per employee. It’s important to know this number so that you can set realistic productivity goals and recognize ways to streamline your business operations.

    The following checklist lays out a recommended timeline to take care of the accounting functions that will keep you attuned to the operations of your business and streamline your tax preparation. The accuracy and timeliness of the numbers entered will affect the key performance indicators that drive business decisions that need to be made, on a daily, monthly and annual basis towards profits.

    Daily Accounting Tasks

    1. Review your daily Cash flow position so you don’t ‘grow broke’.

    Since cash is the fuel for your business, you never want to be running near empty. Start your day by checking how much cash you have on hand.

    Weekly Accounting Tasks

    2. Record Transactions

    Record each transaction (billing customers, receiving cash from customers, paying vendors, etc.) in the proper account daily or weekly, depending on volume. Although recording transactions manually or in Excel sheets is acceptable, it is probably easier to use accounting software like QuickBooks. The benefits and control far outweigh the cost.

    3. Document and File Receipts

    Keep copies of all invoices sent, all cash receipts (cash, check and credit card deposits) and all cash payments (cash, check, credit card statements, etc.).

    Start a vendors file, sorted alphabetically, (Sears under “S”, CVS under “C,”etc.) for easy access. Create a payroll file sorted by payroll date and a bank statement file sorted by month. A common habit is to toss all paper receipts into a box and try to decipher them at tax time, but unless you have a small volume of transactions, it’s better to have separate files for assorted receipts kept organized as they come in. Many accounting software systems let you scan paper receipts and avoid physical files altogether

    4. Review Unpaid Bills from Vendors

    Every business should have an “unpaid vendors” folder. Keep a record of each of your vendors that includes billing dates, amounts due and payment due date. If vendors offer discounts for early payment, you may want to take advantage of that if you have the cash available.

    5. Pay Vendors, Sign Checks

    Track your accounts payable and have funds earmarked to pay your suppliers on time to avoid any late fees and maintain favorable relationships with them. If you are able to extend payment dates to net 60 or net 90, the better. Whether you make payments online or drop a check in the mail, keep copies of invoices sent and received using accounting software.

    6. Prepare and Send Invoices

    Be sure to include payment terms. Most invoices are due within 30 days, noted as “Net 30” at the bottom of your invoice. Without a due date, you will have more trouble forecasting revenue for the month. To make sure you get paid on time, always use an invoice form that contains the right details such as payment terms, itemized charges, and your payment address.

    7. Review Projected Cash Flow

    Managing your cash flow is critical, especially in the first year of your business. Forecasting how much cash you will need in the coming weeks/months will help you reserve enough money to pay bills, including your employees and suppliers. Plus, you can make more informed business decisions about how to spend it.

    All you need is a simple statement showing your current cash position, expected cash receipts during the next week/month and expected cash payments during the next week/month.

    8. Executive Dashboard (weekly review)

    This dashboard gives you a ‘snapshot’ of your operations on a weekly basis.

    It consist of Cash on Hand, Cash burn rate, Account Receivables, Accounts Payable, Items sold, Inventory on Hand, inventory turns, outstanding issues in the business, and gross profit margin, new sales wins, customer losses, customer service performance, on time delivery rate and product quality performance.

    Monthly Accounting Tasks

    9. Balance Your Business Checkbook

    Just as you reconcile your personal checking account, you need to know that your cash business transaction entries are accurate each month and that you are working with the correct cash position. Reconciling your cash makes it easier to discover and correct any errors or omissions-by you or by the bank-in time to correct them.

    10. Review Past-Due (“Aged”) Receivables

    Be sure to include an “aging” column to separate “open invoices” with the number of days a bill is past due. This gives you a quick view of outstanding customer payments. The beginning of the month is a good time to send out overdue reminder statements to customers, clients and anyone else who owes you money.

    At the end of your fiscal year, you will be looking at this account again to determine what receivables you will need to send to collections or write off for a deduction

    11. Analyze Inventory Status

    If you have inventory, set aside time to reorder products that sell quickly and identify others that are moving slowly and may have to be marked down or, ultimately, written off. By checking regularly (and comparing to prior months’ numbers), it’s easier to make adjustments so you are neither short nor overloaded.

    12. Process or Review Payroll and Approve Tax Payments

    While you have an established schedule to pay your employees (usually semi-monthly), you need to meet payroll tax requirements based on federal, state and local laws at different times, so be sure to withhold, report and deposit the applicable income tax, social security, Medicare and disability taxes to the appropriate agencies on the required dates.

    Review the payroll summary before payments are disbursed to avoid having to make corrections during the next payroll period. A payroll service provider can do all this to save you time and ensure accuracy at a reasonable cost.

    13. Review Actual Profit and Loss vs. Budget and vs. Prior Years

    Each month, take the time to review your budgeted expenses and compare them to what you have actually spent. Are you spending above or below budget? Discuss the variances and take action as needed

    Your profit and loss statement (also known as an income statement), both for the current month and year to date, tells you how much you earned and how much you spent. Measure it against your budget every month (or quarter). Comparing your actual numbers to your planned numbers highlights where you may be spending too much or not enough, so that you can make changes.

    If you have not prepared a budget, compare your current year-to-date P&L with the same prior-period year-to-date P&L to identify variances and make adjustments.

    14. Review Month-End Balance Sheet vs. Prior Period

    By comparing your balance sheet at one date-June 30, 2015, for example-to a balance sheet from an earlier date (December 31, 2014), you get a picture of how you are managing assets and liabilities. The key is to look for what is significantly up and/or down and understand why. For example, if your accounts receivable are up, is it due to increased recent sales or because of slower payments from customers?

    Quarterly Accounting Tasks

    15. Prepare/Review Revised Annual P&L Estimate

    It’s time to evaluate how much money you are actually making, whether your net assets are going up or down, the difference between revenues and expenses, what caused those changes, how you are spending profits, as well as identifying trouble spots, and making adjustments to improve sales and margins.

    16. Review Quarterly Payroll Reports and Make Payments

    You have been reviewing your semi-monthly payroll reports. However, the IRS and most states require quarterly payroll reports and any remaining quarterly payments. Again, it’s best if your payroll service provider completes these reports and files them. Your job is to review to make sure they appear reasonable.

    17. Review Sales Tax and Make Quarterly Payments

    If your company operates in a state that requires sales tax, make sure you comply to avoid serious penalties. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can help you determine your state tax obligations.

    18. Compute Estimated Income Tax and Make Payment

    The IRS and states that have income taxes require you to pay estimated income taxes. Review your year-to-date P&L to see if you owe any estimated taxes for that quarter. Your tax accountant can assist if necessary.

    Annual Accounting Tasks

    19. Review Past-Due Receivables

    Now it’s time to check significant past due receivables and decide whether you think customers will eventually pay, whether to send past due bills to a collection agency or whether to write them off for a deduction.

    20. Review Your Inventory

    Review your current inventory to determine the value of items not sold. Any write-down of inventory translates to a deduction on your year-end taxes. If you do not write down unsellable inventory, you are overstating your inventory balance and paying additional taxes that you don’t owe.

    21. Fill out IRS Forms W-2 and 1099-MISC

    The IRS has a January 31 deadline that requires you to report the annual earnings of your full-time employees (W-2s) and most independent contractors (1099s). This deadline includes mailing copies of the tax forms to the people who worked for you. Note: A 1099 form is not required for any contractors who earned less than $600. Consider saving time and avoiding errors with an e-filing service.

    22. Review full-year financial reports for tax reporting

    • Get organized

      • Collect and store important documents (use apps and calendars for help)

        • Create email folders to store bank statement and receipts
        • Store contracts and agreements
        • Track miles and vehicle expenses
        • Store all required documents for your business type.


      • Tax Preparation

        • Tax preparation is a historical view and not a profit planning event
        • Capture all relevant events
        • Identify all deduction categories
        • Capture all meals

          • Meetings —-whatever was discussed/calendar

            • Try not to go over industry average industry cost for meals.

    At tax time, carefully review your company’s full-year financial reports before giving them to your accountant. Before you sign your return, be sure to review it for accuracy based on your full-year financial reports. Remember if IRS audits due to underpayment, they will deal with you not your accountant for any additional taxes, penalty and interest.

    If you don’t have the bandwidth to do all this yourself, a great strategy is to partner with a monthly accounting service. Outsourcing your accounting to an expert will simplify your life and give you more time to focus on running your business operations.

    A monthly accountant will provide you with a profit and loss sheet, balance statement, and accurate account reconciliation every month, ensuring that you have the financial information you need to make the best choices for your company.

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    Source by Vinson Primas

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  • How to Find Shop Vitamin Supplements

    How to Find Shop Vitamin Supplements

    In order to satisfy the increasing demand for healthy products and vitamin supplements, shop vitamin supplement outlets specialize in selling vitamin supplements to consumers. Originally the only place to find shop vitamin supplements was through a medical practitioner providing a prescription that had to be filled at the local drug store. As the research into the benefits of vitamin supplements became more in depth the drug administration allowed for the production of shop vitamin supplements that could be bought over the counter without the need for a prescription. This led to shop vitamin supplements being widely available in grocery stores and even gas stations, especially for the most commonly required shop vitamin supplements such as vitamin C.

    The production of shop vitamin supplements has increased to such a level that there are now specific shop vitamin supplements available to cater for different age groups, including children and the over 50s. The increase in demand for shop vitamin supplements does not seem to be decreasing but the variety and choice available to consumers is constantly being improved.

    The laws governing the sale of drugs have led to many companies diversifying their businesses to concentrate on selling shop vitamin supplements. This has been one of the main reasons for the appearance of a number of internet based businesses selling a wide variety of shop vitamin supplements. The sales tactics for these websites are becoming increasingly more dubious with the promise that some of their shop vitamin supplements can cure almost any illness or condition. The regulation of these internet shop vitamin supplements is constantly being found to be lacking and the federal drug administration is powerless to prevent some of these sites from making false claims. It is therefore down to the consumer to research the claims of these store vitamin supplement manufacturers and to make their own judgment as to the validity of the sales pitches.

    The most important factor to consider is the possible overdose effects that some of these shop vitamin supplements can have. There are a number of vitamins that can actually be toxic if consumed in too high a quantity and a person should always obtain professional medical advice before consuming any form of store vitamin supplement whether it claims to be from natural sources or not. This applies to shop vitamin supplements that are purchased from a specialist vitamin supplement retail outlet, grocery store or internet company.

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  • Your Affiliate Marketing Guide

    Affiliate marketing is something that many webmasters know how to do. They know what it is about, and what it takes to be successful. However, if you are new to the webmaster world, you may just be wondering how you can get into affiliate marketing and making an income on the side for yourself. Doing so is not that complicated, and we have created this guide to get you started.

    First of all, lets cover just exactly what affiliate marketing is. Affiliate marketing is when you sell or get leads for someone else’s service or product. You are going to find that there are so many people that do this. When a company needs some help making sales, and they allow people to sign up as affiliates, they are willing to pay a commission or a flat rate per lead or sale. Depending on the company, this percentage or flat rate will vary.

    Affiliate marketing can be used to make a decent income several ways. You can use a website, a blog, newsletter, email, ads etc. The list goes on and on. However, the most popular form of affiliate marketing is done with a website. When you choose the market that you want to promote, be sure that you choose one that you are some what familiar with. This way you can become an expert on the topic, and everyone will know that you are the king of that market. Once that is done, it is time for a URL. There are many places that you can get your own domain from. Once you have decided where you will purchase that from, choose a URL that has the topic you are selling in the URL for the best results. For example, if you are wanting to market cat food, you wont use a URL that has dog in it. Make sure that everything is all relevant.

    Now that you have your market and your URL chosen, you will want to determine the hosting that you will use for your website. You need dependable hosting for the best results. A hosting company that has more up time than down time is best because during the down time, your website will not be accessible. So, get some recommendations from others that have tried a few and use the best that you can find. It is worth it to pay for good hosting.

    Once that is done, you are ready to get your affiliate links and website set up so that you can market the most effectively. Determine the amount of money that you want to make, and set up an outline of how you are going to make it. There are so many ways that you can get a website out there to be seen, and you will want to make the best decisions. So, finding out the best ways for you to do this is that is cost effective is a good start.

    Learning SEO which is also known as search engine optimization is a great idea. Using SEO to get your site higher in the search engine rankings with keywords will pay off in the end. You can learn it yourself, or you can pay someone to do this part for you. It is up to you. However, you should know that learning and using SEO yourself is time consuming. Hiring an SEO guru might be better for you.

    Write articles about the market that you are promoting from your website and submit them to all of the article directories. When you include a back link to the site that you are optimizing that will help you as well with the search engines.

    Affiliate marketing is not anything that you can make money with over night. You need to be able to build up and keep adding to your website daily or weekly, and keep it going. You can do it, just don’t give up.

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