What is a Website For?
What is a Website For?
A website is a Business Development tool, to project an image of professionalism and trust to your prospect and then gather contact information to enable trust marketing.
”a transfer of confidence between your visitor and your business via your website. Understanding your market and engaging with prospects in order to create the desire for the prospect to take positive action and ultimately make a purchasing decision in your favour.” Mick Say
To achieve this a website needs to be engaging and offer the information your website visitor is searching for and it needs to present this information in a way that is easy to absorb and then easy to navigate to the pages they need to answer their original search question.
The vast majority of small business websites do not achieve the intended goal and this is a chronic waste of time, money and resources.
Most cheap or DIY websites drive more clients AWAY from the business than they draw new clients into the business. This is because what they see online is how they perceive your business to be, so if your website looks cheap and or unprofessional – so does your business!
What’s worse is most website owners don’t even know this is happening because they don’t see visitor data and are therefore unable to react to that data.
What Makes a Good website Good?
A website is a never sleep ambassador representing your business 24/7/365. It should be designed form a consumer’s perspective and not yours. You have to have a leap of faith and allow the designer to research your market and then present a design (which can be tweaked) which will achieve the visitor goal.
What the visitor wants
- Immediate subject recognition
- Easy navigation to the goal
- Quality content and images
- Seamless navigation
- How much does it cost
- How can I buy it
- How can I contact you
What you want from the visitor
- Orders !
- Email Address
- The visitor to keep returning
Your Ultimate Mission
No matter what your business model is or what products or services you sell, your personal mission as the business owner or CEO is to facilitate and oversee:
- Find – New Prospects
- Get – Convert Prospects in to Clients
- Keep – The client returning for more
- Grow – Your Business via Returning Satisfied Clients
Please review our Website Packages and drop us a line if you have any questions…
Contact Mick Say direct or Join our mailing list to stay in touch.
Hairdressing Salon Website Design.
If you are serious about business you have to put your business online. The salons that choose to ignore this advice will notice deterioration in business which will accelerate as time and technology rolls on.
Consumers do it and so should you!
“If consumers cannot find you on line, then increasingly you cease to exist”
- Ever wonder why those clients just stopped coming?
- Is your client retention rate slipping?
- Are you winning fewer new clients than normal?
- Are you winning fewer new clients than normal?
- Are you selling less salon retail than expected?
- Are your salon vouches sales falling?
The modern consumer has evolved and the “ideal” salon client does everything online including searching for salon services and grooming products. Full Column has developed a new breed of website which satisfies the needs of client and the salon owner.
A new war for clients is being fought online.
I am not saying that if you buy a new website today you will have a full salon tomorrow, but I am saying that you will be back in the fight AND if you have a good enough website you will win more battles than those that don’t.
Evolved (Local) Salon Business Strategies.
I offer no apology if this paragraph sounds a little cynical but the majority of cheap salon website design companies know nothing about website optimisation and they know even less about “Local Search Engine Marketing!
This is why the web is littered with thousands of salon websites that do nothing for the businesses they are meant to promote. A website is a business development tool – ours are designed to develop the salon business.
Now is the time to listen and learn (please)
Many Salon Owners make costly misjudgements with their websites and online marketing and now is the time that salon owners should STOP buying CHEAP websites and worse still stop trying to make their own.
The web is a complicated technical arena which is best left to experts in that field. I am not being rude or cynical but we both know the problems that the Super Market box colour causes for both salon owners and your clients.
Consumers should leave hair colour to the professionals and professional salon owners should leave website development to web professionals!
Human Resource Management
Human Resources Management
Human Resource Planning
Productivity
A high level of employee achievement is only possible with a well structured human resources strategy. Hence Human Resource Management is concerned with how employees perform their duties.
A good manager knows that people have pride, feelings and aspirations and takes into account that many employees have ambition and want to succeed, whilst others just want to get by. The effective Human Resources Manager takes these points on board and considers:
- The needs of the business
- The needs his or her subordinates
- The needs of the shareholders
Human resources management involves investigating employee needs during one-on-one meetings and by providing opportunities for professional development via a meaningful appraisal and goal setting system.
Within a mature organisation a system of performance appraisals is essential to ensure continued growth of all employees and sustainable profitable growth of the organisation.
Human Resource Training
Training needs are determined during the appraisal process and relevant training is provided in order for individuals to meet organisational objectives. An individual and companywide training and development plan is created to ensure that each person and department move towards cost effective achievement of goals.
A people manager who does not understand the recruitment process, basic employment law and does not “get” performance appraisals is a liability to an organisation for two reasons:
- Unfair or constructive dismissal costs UK companies millions of pounds each year, and none of these companies thought that this could happen to them!
- When a people manager does fully understand the recruitment process, basic employment law and the appraisal system – business grows! When they don’t, it does not.
Performance Appraisals for Business Growth
When performance appraisals are conducted by an expert appraiser they will have significant positive impact on employee morale and motivation, leading to exponential business growth which would not previously have been realised.
This is the benefit of the performance appraisal. Appraisals should not be dismissed as red tape or unwanted administration. If this managers attitude it is because the manager does not understand how to implement or conduct meaningful appraisals.
In the many companies “lip-service” is paid to performance appraisals and a generic performance appraisal form is used and both the appraiser and the appraise gain no benefit and the process de motivates all staff involved.
If this sounds familiar to you – you must, for the benefit of your business commission performance appraisal training for all managers involved in people management.
The performance appraisal meeting is only one part of the system. In order to ensure that the process works to achieve the business growth goal, the performance appraisal must be preceded by an audit of:
- Staff contracts
- Staff job descriptions
- Employee handbook
Performance appraisals can create negative feelings, they can even conjure feelings of fear or dread.
This happens when:
- The employee has been poorly appraised by a non-skilled appraiser in the past
- The appraisal system has been used as a tool to embarrass or discipline staff
- The appraise is aware that an accomplished appraiser will uncover complacency & or descent.
Therefore it is essential that performance appraisals are used positively for professional development. An employee who is given every opportunity to grow professionally will produce more than one that is given no support, guidance to training.
Improving Performance
A good appraisal system allows the manager to achieve clarity with each team member about the precise detail of their job. This is why it is important to ensure that the employees contract and job description are specific to the role.
- Clear objectives and goals
- Continuous assessment and feedback
- Recognition for performance and achievement
- Individual Personal development
Senior management will have clear direction regarding the organisation’s mission and the performance appraisal system is the best method for checking and analysing progression towards achievement of this mission whilst simultaneously clarifying and improving departmental and individual employee functions.
key Performance Appraisal Stages:
- Achieve job clarity
- Set clear achievable and measurable goals
- Review performance on the job
- Prepare for the performance appraisal
- Conduct the performance appraisal
- Perform a training needs analysis
- Issue personal development plans
Many employees are happy to just get by working 9-till-5 when they are easily capable of contributing more during normal working hours. If an organisations overtime bill seems excessively high you can bet performance appraisals are not being conducted properly!
The CEO is advised to personally audit the organisational performance appraisal system or hire a HR consultant to do the job.
Contact Mick Say direct or register with us to stay in touch.
Field Sales Management
Field Sales Consulting Services
Mick Say: Field Sales Consultant
Sales Coach
Career Sales Professional
Mick’s sales career began aged 16 in 1978 as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman carrying his demonstration kit on the bus. Aged 17 powered by a new Vauxhall Viva Mick was poached by one of his vacuum cleaner prospects to sell garden sheds and portable buildings.
Aged 24 Mick won his first Sales Management position building a northern sales team for a southern Ironmongery distributor. A steep people and business development learning curve.
During Mick’s 30+ years career in Sales and Marketing he has occupied the following posts. Sales Manager, Business Development Manager, Director of Sales and Director of Sales and Marketing. Today Mick is CEO of his own business services consulting company which includes field sales consulting.
British Excellence in Sales and Marketing Awards (BESMA)
BESMA
Mick Say: Winner of the BESMA Sales Presenter of the Year (2006)
The Institute of Sales and Marketing Management is the leading organisation for sales professionals in the UK. A monthly magazine provides informative sales tips and sales related articles. I recommend membership of the ISMM to all sales professionals.
As the organisation that represents sales and marketing professional the Institute organises and promotes professional sales and marketing via the annual BESMA awards.
Return on Field Sales Team Cost Investment
The CEO is responsible to shareholders for company performance, yet many CEO’s are unaware of the often substantial seepage of revenue that occurs via field sales team inefficiency and complacency. My advice to CEO’s is:
If your gut instinct tells you that cost of sales is too high, it probably is, and a field sales audit may be necessary.
Field Sales Audit
A Field Sales Audit can take many forms, from a simple check on a sales persons daily field activities to a complete analysis of field sales functions and performance resulting in restructuring, retraining or even disciplinary action.
The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. It is a common rule of thumb in business; e.g., “80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.” and in sales circles that “80% of your sales come from 20% of your sales effort”
If you believe in the Pareto principle then 20% of your sales team will be producing 80% of sales revenue. Mick’s job during the Field Sales Team Audit is to help the organisation to build a field sales team of 20%ers !
Complacency and Procrastination (CRAP)
Complacency and Procrastination each on their own can be business killers when left unchecked. If both exist in an organisation then the long term effect is both inevitable and unenviable. A great sales manager will keep C&P in check but if your gut instinct tells you that sales performance is not as it should be or cost-of-sales is too high then it would be wise for the Sales Director or CEO to consider the benefits of a Field Sales Audit.
Benefits of a Field Sales Audit:
- Increase: Face-to-face selling time
- Increase: Number of Sales Calls
- Increase: Sales Conversion Rates
- Increase: New Business Accounts
- Increase: Average Order Value
- Improve : Customer Retention
- Increase: Total Sales Revenue
- Decrease: Sales Persons Time in Car
- Decrease: Cost per Sales Calls
- Decrease: Sales Persons Expenses Spending
- Decrease: Lost Sales Opportunities
- Decrease: Lost Customer Accounts
- Decrease: Total Cost of Sales
Even a small number of points increase in productivity matched with a small number of points decrease in cost-of-sales will have a huge impact on the organisations fortunes. The larger the sales team the more important the needs for a Field Sales Audit.
Contact Mick Say direct or register with us to stay in touch.
Mick Say on Business Development
Business Development Consultant
Only the numbers matter. – You have to be cold and ruthless about this to ensure that cash flows constantly in to the bank and not down the proverbial drain.Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want you to be mean with your staff, you are an important person and you are responsible for the livelihood of your employees and their families, but as much as it is nice to be important, its more important to be nice. Just don’t let the buggers mistake nice for weak!
In Business for the Long Run
At first glance the long distance runner appears unremarkable, skinny and without substance. However their bodies are strong and have much stamina and their minds are completely focused on the long road ahead. This is a fantastic simily for business management because no business can become rich with a sprint. Business has to be as lean as possible whilst having the stamina to function at 100% capacity for the whole distance.
This means analysing every aspect of the business by measuring “Cost -vs- Benefit” and where the cost outweighs the benefit that cost centre must be quickly improved or cut. Just be sure that the person carrying out the analysis is qualified to do so.
Two Key Strategies
- Human Resource Management
- Online Marketing Management
Of course there is more to business than the two points above, however I believe that these are the two most important strategy issues facing modern employers.
Human Resource Management
Generally speaking payroll is a businesses most substantial overhead and if employees are not adding value to the business then remedial action must be taken to gain significant improvement or there must be a parting of the ways.
You want to get the most out of your employees. You want maximum productivity for minimum cost, you want to be fair, you have to be legal – but you must demand a fair return on your payroll investment.
To achieve this you need a strategy for managing the the people whom you rely on to produce and sell your products and services. Follow this link to read more about Human Resources Management and how to build a fair and productive HR strategy.
Online Marketing Management
In my experience most modern SME’s and many corporate bodies are not taking full advantage of available online marketing opportunities. Projection and amplification of your brand, products and services to online consumers has never been as important as it is now, and this urgent need to connect is destined to grow. Please don’t expect a cheap website to constitute an online strategy though, and just like your HR strategy you have to be in it for the long haul.
OK so it’s not brain surgery, you know marketing is important but here’s the crux: If the definition of marketing is “Identifying customers needs and then satisfying them” then increasingly the online world is the most important arena of all time. I invite you to visit the-web-host.co.uk to read more about Online Operations and Strategy
To discuss these or any other issues contact Mick direct or enter a question or comment below.
Thanks – Mick Say