Questions When Buying a Business

Buying an existing business can be a wonderful experience or a nightmare. Don't let anyone talk you you into something that is not what you really want and are willing to work hard at. It does not have to be wildly profitable but it does have to have the potential to make it great using your new ideas. Ask yourself some of these questions before you commit.

 *Do you like the business? the products and services
 *Do you like the location?
 *How old is the business?
 *Profitable or not (not always important)?
 *Will suppliers transfer open credit to you?
 *Are there employees? (talk to them)
 *What are employees paid and benefits?
 *Will valuable employees stay after a sale?
 *It there inventory and what is its value?
 *Is inventory current or obsolete?
 *Is all the equipment working properly?
 *Will landlord write a new lease at favorable terms?
 *Who will train you to run the business?
 *How many competitors will you have?
 *How long will it take to learn the business?
 *Who will answer questions after you take over?
 *Are there any unseen problems that could occur?
 *Will you have to accept any debt on the business?
 *Is there owner financing? (owner will help more)
 *Is there a customer mailing list or email list?
 *Will current owner sign a non-compete agreement?
 *How big is the target market?
 *How will you reach potential customers/clients?
 *For retail, can you get the demographics?
 *Can you live with the hours it takes to succeed?
 *Would you buy from this business?

Financial statements don't tell the full story and are made to look good. Check the overall business and decide if you can do things that the current owner is not doing to make it more successful. Once you are the owner you call the shots and can use your ideas to grow the business.

Barry is a speaker and consultant that assists in buying or selling a business.  www.idealetter.com

Little Known September Holidays

These are real holiday that you can use in your business for fun and profit.

 4 Newspaper Carrier Day
 5 Ok to be late day
 6 Read a book day
 7 Grandma Moses day
 8 Pregnant women day
 9 Teddy Bear day
 11 National Neighborhood day
 12 Video games day
 13 Helicopter day
 15 Born to be wild day
 17 Citizens day
 18 National play-doh day
 19 National Butterscotch pudding day
 20 Hollywood magic day
 21 Miniature golf day
 22 National Elephant day
 23 Checkers day
 24 National Cherries Jubilee day
 26 National Good Neighbor day
 29 National Goose day

 Barry Thomsen  www.idealetter.com

Front Line Service

Your front line people are the first contact for most new prospects and customers. They set the beginning of the Customer Experience for future business, referrals and loyalty. If people are not treated like the important part of the business that they really are, you may lose them or turn them off. It doesn't matter whether that contact is in person, by phone or even online, an impression is generated and remembered. Are your front line people the best communicators with the best attitude possible?

Front line people should have continual training and monitoring to be sure they are giving that unforgetable customer experience. They can make or break the start of a long term relationship instead of making your business or organization "The Only Choice". Give them the tools they need to excel and to answer FAQs quickly without making a first contact wait or get a vague answer. And most of all train and photograph their smile an expect them to use it all the time (YES even on the phone or online) Build your business starting with the best possible front line people.

Barry is a speaker on The Customer Experience and available for your next convention, conference, trade show or company meeting.  www.idealetter.com

Ready for Your Grand Opening?

When opening a new business and you have done all the pre-open work the special day is Grand Opening Day(s). This is when you make your target market and the community aware that you are ready to do business and provide outstanding products and services. But be sure you are ready and most of the pre-opening problems and glitches are taken care of before hosting guests and potential customers. Remember the old "first impression" experience, well it goes for businesses too. You don't want to be making excuses on your first day of business. Here are a few other ideas:

 *Select the date well in advance
 *Be sure the date will give you enough time to be completely ready
 *Have a seperate budget for the Grand Opening
 *Have a ribbon cutting ceremony (get a celebrity?)
 *Invite the mayor, govenor and legislators
 *Ask suppliers for signs and displays
 *Have all staff & extra temps on hand
 *Try to get a radio remote for the day
 *Give away samples and prizes
 *Have a few free refreshments
 *Alert the police of a possible big crowd
 *Hire an entertainer for the kids
 *Ofeer free blood pressure tests (health co's will do it)
 *Advertise all over social media and ask friends to share
 *Dress one level above your guests
 *Get enough sleep the night before

Barry is a marketing consultant and professional speaker.  www.idealetter.com

The Telephone in Your Business

Don't throw your telephone out yet, it's still used in business. Here are some good reasons to to make calls in today's business envirnoment.

 *Check on order satisfaction after the sale is over. Make sure you will get them to order again and fix any problems they bring up

 *Ask for referrals. Satisfied customers will send their friends and relatives but may need a nudge to get them started.

 *Special Offers. Recent satisfied purchasers will be open to new offers that would be of interest to them.

 *Customer Surveys: Find out what they are thinking, both good and bad ideas, then use those ideas.

 *Ask for testimonials. Use these for marketing and to get new accounts.

 *Voice mail messages. Let them hear offers and what's new at their leisure

 *Order Processing. Clear up issues and questions on current orders so there is no delay.

Barry is a Marketing & Customer Experience Speaker & Trainer  www.idealetter.com

Online Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are ubiquitous in today’s offline world. From retailers like Bestbuy, coffee shops such as Starbucks to numerous Airlines. Online loyalty programs do play an essential role in most marketing departments.

However, customer loyalty programs are not yet fully established in today’s Ecommerce landscape. Only bigger market places such as Amazon or Rakuten successfully use loyalty programs to increase revenues.

But not only big brands and retailers are benefiting from the positive influence loyalty programs have on customers' purchase decisions.

1. Loyalty rewards will differentiate your online store

Loyalty programs help online stores to increase brand awareness. In a direct comparison of 1000 online stores, shops running a loyalty program stayed more significantly top of mind in comparison to their competitors not offering a rewards program. Today’s customers face an ever increasing amount of online stores. Offering a loyalty program to customers helps to increase differentiation.

2. Rewarding your customers for purchasing has a positive impact on customer feedback ratings

Stores offering their customers the option to participate in a loyalty program earned on average a 15% better customer feedback rating. Customers seem to be more satisfied with both services and products offered by the shop if the shop rewards the customer for their purchase.

Loyalty programs, hence, contribute not only to customer satisfaction but also help increasing the shop’s reputation.

3. Loyalty programs display the strongest incentive to make customers return

Amazon, Starbucks, Bestbuy and Delta Airlines (just to name a few companies) all saw a substantial increase in returning customers after the initial introduction of their loyalty programs. The likelihood that a customer returns increases on average by >23% in retail due to the implementation of a loyalty program.

The mechanics are easy and well known: Customers come back more often if they know that they get rewarded for it.

4. Loyalty programs are already well known by your customers

The average American household joins four different loyalty programs. From coffee shops to supermarkets, clothes shops to drugstores, rewards programs are well known and accepted. Big merchants such as Walgreens and Bestbuy have achieved a competitive advantage through loyalty programs. Similarly, loyalty programs will enter the Ecommerce domain and being among the first ones will allow online shops to even attain a first mover advantage.

5. Joining a loyalty network can help you to acquire new customers

Apart from pure customer retention, the right multi-partner loyalty network can help online shops to win new customers by using the co-marketing opportunities within the network. Frequent travel programs have long been using networks to shift customers from airlines to hotels and car rentals.

The aspect of acquiring new customers becomes especially powerful when the participating merchants are offering complimentary services.

6. Loyalty programs help you to learn more about your customers

Lastly, loyalty programs help you to learn more about your customers. The right insights can help your business to target the right customers or to adjust the products offered in your store. Today, Amazon is generating more than a third of its revenue through customer data driven optimization of their product inventories, marketing campaigns and product recommendations. So far, small shops have lacked the opportunity to follow the market leader Amazon by setting up their own online loyalty program, but now they have their chance.

By Paul Gebhardt

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Want to sell your business?

Need help selling your existing business along the Colorado Front Range? I just helped a friend sell his for about $100,000.00. Even if the business is loaded with debt, too much inventory and tough competition there may be ways to walk away and still get money out from a new owner or other methods, legally. I can work with you by-the-hour and no commission and show you how to do it or 3-5% commission (business brokers charge 8-10%) when sold. I will need about one hour to review the possibilities that it can be sold, make it sell ready or just closed and assets sold or customers referred for commission. If your business is doing well and profitable we can get a much higher price. Are you considering some owner financing with a down payment? Send me an email... idealetter@aol.com

Are You Prepared?

As long as we live on this Earth we will experience  unplanned, enexpected, spontaneous good and bad situations that will happen with no notice. It's fantastic when something good happens and you make business and money not in your daily plan. But are you ready if something bad happens and comes out of nowhere and ready to hurt or destroy your business? It may be wise to have a plan or way out in case the worse occurs to help your business bounce back and recover quickly. Here are some thing that can happen unexpectedly to think about:

 *Weather problems, tornados, hurricanes,  heavy rain or snow
 *Natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanos, floods
 *Acts of violence, terrior attacks, wars and military actions
 *Fires, wildfires, your building or home
 *Economy, severe downturns domectic and worldwide
 *Accidents, chemical spills, train wrecks, plane crashes
 *Crime scene and road construction closures
 *Employee injury, sickness and related claims
 *Lawsuits from unexpected situations
 *Utility outages planned and unplanned
 *Key employess leaves and goes to a competitor
 *Your death, it will happen, is there a succession plan?

Barry is a business speaker, author and trainer.  www.idealetter.com