Small Business Owners and Freelancers : Learn About Building Business Relationships & Networking
by John Kovacs
Since
the majority of your business transactions are online, you’re
not out meeting people one-on-one developing business relationships.
So you need to focus on building these relationships via the
Internet. You need to communicate and establish trust with
your customers or business associates, as it is a vital step
to your business success.
Some
people will start an online business and only focus on what
services or products they can sell. They are not concerned
about establishing a business relationship or even a simple
“thank you” when they do make a sale.
s
For
those who use this methodology will eventually see a significant
drop in their business over time. Ask yourself, if you dealt
with a company that gave poor customer service, how quick
would you go back to them for future business?
Think
of relationship building as the foundation to your business. It establishes you as a professional, trust worthy and a reliable
source.
Realize
this for a moment, building relationships builds retention,
retention builds sales, sales grows your business.
With
an Internet business, this is your only way to establish yourself
as a reputable company, leaving a positive impression to all
who do business with you.
Your Small Freelance Business & Relationship
Building:
Even
if you have great products or services that you offer, most
customers or business associates will rate their experience
by how they were treated while doing business with you.
The
correct way to build relationships with your customers is
being there before, during and most importantly, after the
sale (or any other business transaction). Following up with
your customers after the sale is the most important step to
the sales process, as this instills trust and support.
Provide Great Customer Service
The
logic is pure and simple, provide great customer service to
the people you do business with, and you will get customers
coming back to you.
Understand & Listen to Your Customers
It’s
important to understand and listen to your viewers needs by
asking for feedback or suggestions you can implement. This
will give you the added insight to better enhance your services.
You can do this by having a contacts page on your website
with a comments or feedback form. If you publish a newsletter,
you can also accomplish this by asking for feedback from your
subscribers.
This
is your way of letting your viewers know you care about what
they have to say and how important they are to you. When you
show interest in your customers you will build trust, credibility
and loyalty. When you receive a request (whether it be a question,
concern or simply someone looking for more information) by
all means answer them promptly. If all possible, answer their
request within 24 hours. This shows attentiveness to their
concerns and that you are a reliable source.
Sell Quality Products or Services
If
you sell products on your website, sell quality products that
have merit, plus offer a guarantee and stand behind it. One
of the quickest ways to destroy a business relationship is
selling poor quality products and not standing behind what
you offer. If you are promoting third party affiliate programs
from your website, take the time to research the companies
you recommend. Only represent companies that are of legitimate
nature and have a solid Internet presence. Remember the companies
you recommend will have an impact on your business reputation.
John Kovacs is the CEO and founder of “A
Home Business Opportunity”. John’s expertise is
in Corporate Management/Sales with over 16 years experience.
His website focuses on supplying free marketing tips, resources
and support for home startup businesses and Internet marketing.
http://www.ahomebusinessopportunity.net
HOW TO SET YOUR FREELANCE RATES - A GUIDE FOR FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTSThere are many factors which business owners must consider on a daily basis as it relates to the running of their business. Things such as how to find good help, where to acquire supplies and how much to pay one’s employees are all pertinent matters which must be addressed. There are a few ways to go about figuring out your rates when it comes to how much to charge the customers.
Apr
01
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MARKETING PLANS : A Collection of Articles for How to Outline and Write a Marketing Plan for Freelancers Starting a Home Business or a Small BusinessA solid, well-prepared marketing strategy is the foundation of success in business. The freelancer or any type of business owner must become informed on the development of an effective marketing plan. The following links will focus on marketing plan articles for the freelancer to have a successful business.
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Category: Getting Started - Self Promotion - Marketing | Trackback | No Comments »
BUSINESS PLANS: Business Plan Examples, Samples, Templates, Software and ToolsIn any type of the business including those people that perform freelance work, the proper tools are necessary to become a success. The following links consist of selected online tools for the freelancer to develop an effective business plan.
Mar
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Category: Getting Started - Freelancing & Self Employment - Lists - Freelance Resources | Trackback | No Comments »
MAR
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FREELANCING AND FINDING WORK AT HOME JOBSThe difficulty lies not in the fact that there aren’t plenty of work at home jobs available but rather in the fact that genuine, quality, money-earning work at home jobs are all mixed up with work at home scams. This makes finding a work at home job that’s legitimate a not-so-easy task for people who are just breaking in to the freelancing business. But don’t worry; once you learn the lingo and know the basics, finding a work at home job gets a lot easier!
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Mar
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BUSINESS PLANS : A Collection of Articles for How to Outline and Write a Business Plan for Freelancers Starting a Small Business
Business plans are necessary in all types of businesses … and this also includes freelancers. Writing an effective business plan will help you plan out the success of your future business. Factors such as customer base, profit potential, as well as many other factors will be placed in this document. The business plan will help you, the freelancer, think through every aspect of your future successful business. We found the following business plan articles to be very helpful and we hope that you will find them to be useful too.
Category: Getting Started - Lists | Trackback | No Comments »
FEB
25
HOW FREELANCER WRITERS CAN DEFEAT WRITER'S BLOCKHelpful hints and tips to overcome the dreaded White Page Syndrome - There is probably nothing more dreadful and problematic for a writer than not being able to get going, being stuck on a menacingly white page. Read on for more ideas on how freelance writers can overcome Writer's Block.
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FEB
19
WAYS TO GET MORE CUSTOMER REFERRALS FOR YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe amount of customer referrals will often determine how successful one’s freelance business can really be. As word spreads quickly, having customers refer others to you and your services is a wonderful way of gaining new freelance business and making more money. There are a few distinct ways to get more client referrals for your business.
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FEB
18
FREELANCE HOME OFFICE DISTRACTIONS VS DISTRACTIONS WHEN WORKING IN AN OFFICEOf course, distractions are different depending on whether you are freelancing from home or working in an office. Both kinds have their pros and cons so let’s take a look at some of the basic ones so that you can start getting a grasp on good vs. bad distraction behaviors for freelancers.
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FEB
08
WORKING FULL TIME WHILE RUNNING YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe key to being able to make the transition to full time freelancing is in setting goals that allow you to focus on moving away from working full time for someone else and towards putting more hours in to your freelance business.
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FEB
06
20 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR FREELANCE SERVICES USING ONLINE FORUMSThere are a few distinct ways in which freelancers can market their services through forum marketing techniques.
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JAN
24
60+ UNIQUE LOCAL & OFFLINE MARKETING IDEAS FOR YOUR CONSULTING BUSINESS Although online promotion is important for your freelance business, it’s crucial to remember to go back to your basics and do offline promoting as well locally, nationwide, and worldwide depending on who you are marketing to. Here are over 60 ideas to market your consulting services locally. Let Freelance work find you.
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JAN
22
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOOGLING INFORMATION ON YOUThis can be an issue for freelancers whose customers google them and try to find out information relating to them and their business. The following is a list of what to do when your customers are googling information on you.
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JAN
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26 THINGS TO DO WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW AND IN DOWNTIME MODESome freelancers are anxious to work day in and day out which may present a problem for them when business is slow. However, there are many things which freelancers can do to bide their time while waiting for new freelance work to come in. Here are 26 ideas for staying productive during your consulting business downtime.
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JAN
15
ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE TIPS FOR FREELANCERS & THE SELF EMPLOYEDThere is a casual attitude about communication that takes place online and that creates an environment in which customers sometimes don’t take your work seriously, leading to problems with projects and payments. In order to avoid those problems, you need to make sure that you are conducting all of your online work in as professional a manner as possible. Here are some tips on how to do that.
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JAN
02
TOP 150 PLACES TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR FAMILY WHEN YOU STILL NEED TO GET WORK DONEWhen you are self-employed, there is no vacation time to save up, and there is no one to cover for you when you’re away. For many that mean giving up on vacations altogether, and this is what I have been doing for awhile. Most of These All-Inclusive Family Resorts Have Kids Clubs in Which Your Child can enjoy supervised and fun activities while you and your spouse can have fun or get freelance work done. Take a look below and enjoy!
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DEC
30
LIST OF ARTICLE SITES, BLOGS, AND INFORMATION DIRECTORIES FOR FREELANCERS, CONSULTANTS, AND THE SELF EMPLOYED Do you ever get frustrated when you can't find the information that you need about freelancing? Well, I've just compiled a list of the best article sites, blogs, and directories for freelancers, consultants, and the self employed.
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DEC
30
DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO FREELANCE OFFSITE OR ONSITE Deciding to work onsite or offsite sounds like a relatively simple decision, but it’s actually one which isn’t easy to make. Sure, when you’re lying in bed just after the alarm has gone off and you see that it’s raining outside and all you wish was that you could go back to bed for ten minutes and then do your freelance work from home, working offsite sounds ideal. But there are as many cons to the offsite work job as there are pros and you need to weigh them carefully when making the decision about whether to work onsite or offsite.
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DEC
21
IS FREELANCING RIGHT FOR YOU? Freelancing, a term introduced by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), is when you work without being committed to an employer. With development of internet and communication technology, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people going their own way and leaving behind the cubicles. You are reading this book, so you must be contemplating becoming a freelancer, but before you make your move there are a few things to consider.
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DEC
20
FREELANCER'S GUIDE TO TIME MANAGEMENT The most common problem that freelancers face is figuring out the balance between work and the rest of life. While there are a few freelancers out there who don’t work as much as they need to in order to pay their bills and improve their business, most freelancers have the opposite problem – they work ALL the time. And that’s why there are a great number of freelancers who “burn out” after a short (or if they’re lucky, a long) time. In order to make sure that you aren’t one of those people who “used to freelance but got burned out”, you need to set limits on how much you work. Then you need to stick to those limits.
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DEC
16
SHOULD I TURN DOWN FREELANCE PROJECTS? As freelancers, we often feel as if we have to say ‘Yes’ to every single job out there. However, we as freelancers are in a position where we can choose to say ‘No’ if we want to. Believe it or not, there are certain projects that you probably shouldn’t accept. Turning down work is probably the hardest decision you will need to make when running your business, but sometimes turning down a gig is necessary. In this article I will explain to you the details that you need to consider when you aren’t sure which route to take. Consider the following:
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DEC
12
COOL IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARDS As freelancers, we need to promote ourselves with business cards. How about putting yourself ahead of the rest of them by designing and printing completely unique business cards? You are about to take a look at the coolest and most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
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DEC
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LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can’t find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
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