Business Plus Baby

Photo credit Medith IT

You’ve been busy planning, writing, and marketing your business. Days go by. Months go by. And suddenly years have gone past and you cannot remember the last time you took an active look at your website and updated it. Well it’s time for a makeover!. Here are a few tips and idea to bring your website up to date.

Set up analytics

If you haven’t already added Google Analytics to your site, now is the time to do it. Google Analytics are free and the information you receive is priceless. Once you’ve installed  analytics you’ll know why people come to your site, how long they stay, what they click on and what keywords they use to find you.

It’ll change your entire mindset when it comes to your site. You can put the most popular pages right up front where each visitor can see them and you can create similar content and pages to keep your prospects coming back to your site.

If you set up analytics some time ago, go back and check that it’s set up to gather the data you need now. It’s easy to set up a new site and forget to add it to your analytics account, for example.

Add some video

Video is an easy way to add a nice and personal touch. Your video doesn’t have to be long. You can include a short welcome video – less than one minute. Video helps give your visitors a face and voice to your site. It also helps them connect to you on a personal level. Did you know that people, you included, tend to buy from people you like and connect with? Video on a sales page can help you boost your conversions.

Add free content

Do you have free content on your site? Not just free articles and perhaps videos but free reports, e-books, video series – maybe even workbooks or webinar recordings. If you do have free content, make sure it’s up to date. You can update a free e-book and suddenly you have a new promotion to share with your audience. If you don’t have an abundance of free content, create some. It boosts your credibility, authority, and of course it keeps your visitors coming back to your site.

Refresh your Social Media Tools

Finally, let’s not forget about social media tools. Facebook, Twitter, and many other social sites have plug-ins and tools you can add to your site. They can help others share your information. They can also post updates and build your social media connections.

You might also consider other useful tools like a print function so visitors can print your articles and posts. And don’t forget to set up a way for visitors to subscribe to your content via email or via a reader.

Whether you work from home or just need a spot for paying bills, creating a grown-up office space is always worthwhile. You could transform a spare bedroom or space in your home, or just set aside a corner of your bedroom. But setting up a desk gives you a proper place to sit down and get things done. Here are a few of the ways you can make your desk area feel classy and gorgeous.

Beautiful Stationery

While our smartphones can do a lot these days, often the act of physically writing things out is still better, and so you’ll need some good paper products. Notepads, list pads, a calendar and a diary for dates and addresses will all come in useful. You can buy some really stunning designs so keep an eye out for pieces that grab your attention. Some high quality letter writing paper, thank you cards and personalized note cards are also a nice touch. That way each time you attend a special event, you have beautiful stationery ready to write up and send out.

A Good Quality Pen

To write out your letters and cards, you’ll need a good pen. Get rid of the cheap old biros and invest in a proper pen that you can keep hold of for years to come. It could be a ballpoint or fountain pen depending on your preference but go with something that feels nice to hold, and you enjoy using. Providing you look after it well, a high-end pen is a good investment. Simply refill the ink every time it runs out and it will pretty much last you forever.

Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers will bring life and color to your desk and will make you feel happier while you’re working. You could treat yourself to a bunch every couple of weeks and enjoy them on display next to you. You could go with whatever you like the look of, or pick different seasonal flowers depending on the time of year Sunflowers, orange and yellow gerberas, chrysanthemums and orange lilies for example are all gorgeous for the fall. You’ll be able to pick up the perfect mixture of blooms in any florist, or try the grocery store if your budget is smaller. Next time you go on a nature walk, you could even collect a bunch of different wildflowers.

A Scented Candle

Finally, to set the ambiance and give you a beautiful scent while you’re working, pick up a scented candle. You could go with something really luxurious here and treat yourself. Certain scents are said to boost productivity so you could get on board with the idea when you’re choosing your candle. Cinnamon, lemon, and  jasmine are just a few which are recommended for offices. Alternatively, you could go with whatever fragrance you like best and enjoy the flickering glow and lovely scent as you do your work.

Do you have a desk set up in your home? If so, what key pieces do you have at it that you couldn’t live without?

If you’ve ever been in a sales environment, you’ll know that there’s always somebody who just seems to be a cut above the rest. Their customers come back time and time again. And they get bags of commission, taking home a handsome paycheck at the end of the month.

You’ve observed them and watched what they do. But no matter how hard you try, you just can’t emulate their success. What is it that they are doing that you can’t?

It’s an important question. In fact, it’s a matter that has plagued those who study the issue. There seems to be a difference in the way that they behave and approach the sale that’s tough to learn. But now science is uncovering why some people are better at selling than others. Here’s what they do.

They Sell On Value

People who are new to sales think that selling is all about the product. They spend ages talking about all the benefits of the product, including details like its specification and so on. But there’s a problem with that approach. The problem is that those differences in specification are actually quite abstract for most buyers. Most buyers aren’t experts like you in what the product can do differently from its competitors. They just want something that will work for them.

This is the “value” of the product. But what exactly does that mean? Well, imagine you’re trying to sell ice cubes to two different people. One is an Eskimo living in the Arctic, and the other is a Jamaican living in the Caribbean. The block of ice might be the best quality ice in the world, but to the Eskimo, it’s of little use. Why would he or she want to cool down their drinks when it’s constantly freezing outside? By contrast, things are a little warmer in the Caribbean. The Jamaican would attach high value to the ice cube because he or she would want their drink to be cooled. Great sellers understand what is valuable to their customers. They spend all their time thinking about possible use-cases and selling these to their clients. It’s about how the product makes the lives of customers better, not what it is or what it does.

They Work As A Team

Photo credit: usembassylondon

Resources, like SalesHub, make it clear that in order to sell effectively, people have to work as a team. Too often, salespeople are competing with each other; chasing after a fixed sum of commission. This actually undermines the team and makes a sale less likely.

Salespeople have to work together because customers are increasingly turning against the “hard-sell.” Competitive environments create the desire among salespeople to sell at all costs. And for today’s savvy customer, this is actually a big turn off.

Teams that work together help to facilitate the long lead time needed to get a new customer. Teams need to work together at every stage of the sale. That means cooperating from planting the first seed of interest to getting the customer to sign on the dotted line.

Making friends, dating, shopping, ordering food or working out – there’s a life-saving app for everything and anything, and we’re not afraid to use them. We use the internet to guide and entertain us at every step, and without it we’d be lost. So why not also look online when it comes to getting an education?

Despite the previous stigma regarding the quality of online education, students and employers around the world are finally seeing it as a valid way of earning qualifications. Providers like Anglia Ruskin University, for instance, offer a wide range of creditable online degrees and are serious rivals for traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions.

If you’ve been debating about whether or not to go to university and recognise any of the following three arguments, it could be a sign that an online degree makes perfect sense for you. Take a look.

Sign #1: I can’t afford to move

University is expensive. There isn’t really any beating around the bush with this one, it’s just an uncomfortable fact of life. Whether you study online or attend a traditional course, you’re going to have to make a hefty financial investment.

The beauty of online degrees is that you can access them anywhere, meaning you don’t have to move to an expensive university city with sky high rents and dodgy student housing. You’ll enjoy cheaper living costs, and be able to live wherever you want!

Sign #2: I’m too busy

Earning a degree isn’t a small commitment, especially when you already have plenty of other pressing concerns (like a job or a family to care for). Classes, deadlines and marathon reading lists are only a few of the time-consuming tasks that’ll be added to your already demanding to-do list.

The strict routine of a traditional university can be difficult for busy students to manage, but with the flexibility of an online degree you can study around your existing schedule whenever you choose.

Sign #3: I’ve hit a career roadblock

There’s nothing more demotivating than being stuck in a rut, bored by your day to day work but unable to nail that promotion or pay rise. The good news is you’re not the only one struggling against a career roadblock.

In a job market flooded with employable graduates it’s hard to stand out and win that dream job. With distance learning, you can stay in your current job whilst also earning a postgraduate or specialized degree to give you an edge over your competitors come promotion time.

Do one or more of these three signs sound eerily familiar? Then put your internet skills to good use and find an online degree you can get your teeth into. You’ll enjoy the future career benefits of higher education without having to attend an expensive bricks-and-mortar university that’s not right for you.