Март 2008

How to Generate Business For Your Auto Body Franchise

Every business is feeling the pressures of our rough economy right now. Don’t let the economy keep you from success at your own franchise business. This is a hard time, but as a business owner you will need to keep positive and find new ways to improve. There are many ways you can improve, but you need to get the customers there first. So, if your auto body franchise needs more business, here are some ways that you can use to generate more business for your auto body franchise.

First of all you need to advertise for your franchise business in some way. There are many different ways to get the word out about your business. Your franchisor most likely offers some form of advertising, but you can also beef it up locally. You could contact a local radio station about getting an advertisement about your franchise location on it. You can also contact the local newspaper about getting an advertisement in it as well. You may even want to make some flyers to pass out or hang at public locations advertising your business. All of these are simple and cost effective.

Next you may want to offer a promotional deal. If possible you should offer a deal of some sort. For example, when someone gets paintless dent removal service they receive a certain amount off of auto detailing service or whatever you think will work and will also work for your budget. Remember, you may be giving them 10.00 off but they are spending more on the additional service that they weren’t going to get in the first place. People like DEALS!!!!!

If possible you should try to work with a charitable organization. You could get something worked out that a portion, even if small, of work done is donated to a reputable charitable organization. People like to know that you are doing something to help others and that they can help as well. Plus you will get extra attention for your business. Not only will you be helping a good cause but you will help your business as well.

Provide great customer service. Even if you are not getting as many people in as you would like, make sure you treat the ones who are there great! People talk A LOT! If someone comes to your auto body repair shop and receives great customer service, they will tell people about it. It’s called word of mouth advertising. The best part about this form of advertising is that its FREE! You just have to ensure that you and all of your staff are providing great service. Then not only will that customer return in the future but they will tell others about your auto body franchise!

Lastly, have a clean appearance on the inside and outside of your franchise business. Even if it’s from a road views, people want to do business with a place that is clean and well kept. That is another easy thing to maintain, don’t slack in the cleaning department.

These are a few things that should help generate more business for your auto body franchise!

Know How Canadian Pardons can Get You Rid of Your Unjust Criminal Records

In Macbeth, William Shakespeare rightly says, «This even-handed justice commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice to our own lips». This quote is very much true about crime and consequence in the real life. Crimes are surely followed by bitter consequences. The past criminal record of a person may be the bane of his present life and future prospects. It follows him at the heels wherever he goes. It puts his social status and professional reputation at stake. Though you have suffered just punishment for a criminal offence, the criminal record an indelible disgrace haunts you like an unpleasant dream. Here lies the necessity of Canadian pardons to help you live a normal life keeping your criminal record aside.

Canadian pardons are like a breath of fresh air for those who have long been under trauma due to their criminal record. If you have ever been charged of a criminal offence and therefore, fingerprinted, your name remains in the list of criminal records. Even if you have been graced with discharge, a non-conviction criminal record remains behind you. The criminal record makes it difficult to have a police clearance. Canadian pardons will get you rid of such unjust blemish on your forehead.

Canadian pardons come with character reference letters. A character reference letter is utterly crucial to relieve you of your criminal record. It will purge you of your past criminal offence, wipe out your criminal record and stamp your character with mark of good conduct as well as morality. The process of acquiring character reference letters is too tortuous for a common man to undergo. The applications for character reference letters are reviewed by the National Parole Board, an independent administrative tribunal with absolute authority to grant or deny Canadian pardons according to the Criminal Records Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. You need legal guidance to undergo the process smoothly.

Canadian pardons come to fruition when they are accompanied by U.S. waivers. Without U.S. waiver, a Canadian pardon is not enough to eliminate your name from the Border Services database and the records of the U.S. Customs. May be, your name is in their database because of your previous convictions and charges in Canada. Some minor offences like trespassing, juvenile delinquency, driving under alcoholic influence, etc. are little considerable for the U.S. Customs to allow you entry to the country. You will be denied entry if you have ever been convicted with a crime of moral depravity like fraud, blackmail, trafficking, drug possession etc. the persons like you who have been the victims of non-conviction criminal records need waivers along with Canadian pardons for U.S.

How A Joint Venture Mentor Can Help You Create Your Own Successful JV

You have considered the idea of forming up a joint venture. Perhaps it’s to get help with manufacturing or technology that you don’t have. Or maybe it’s to help build a business and customer network. Or perhaps it’s for the good old-fashioned reason of making great profit. However, you’re afraid to take that first step into the unknown realm of joint ventures. You’ll be glad to know there is help available to JV newcomers in the form of mentors!

What is a JV Mentor?

A JV mentor is simply a coach, an individual who has experienced all the rewards and challenges. They are wise individuals who can offer great advice from their experience. They can help you find the right JV partner and form the strategies needed to make a JV a success on the first try.

Do JV mentors and coaches cost money? Most of them do, yes. But the money invested in a good mentor to learn how to avoid costly mistakes is money well spent. Here are some ways a JV mentor can help you:

— CD & DVD Coaching: Many successful individuals who have made money through JVs have put together a training program via CD or even DVD video. Rather than work one-on-one with fewer people, their recorded training products offer advice to numerous entrepreneurs who want to improve their business through JVs. A recorded training system can offer helpful tips, great advice, and step-by-step guides to making your own successful JV.

However, be on the lookout for JV programs that are all fluff and no content. Conduct the research on your potential JV mentor first. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Make sure you are buying a product from a trustworthy and experienced individual before you plunk down hundreds of dollars for useless CDs.

— One-on-One Training: Oftentimes a successful individual who has made their mark in the joint venture world will offer their services one-on-one to help mentor newcomers. These are organized individuals who may have formed a streamlined process for making a successful JV and want to share their knowledge and wisdom.

One-on-one mentors don’t usually offer full access to individuals. To do so would be extremely expensive. Rather, you could join in with a limited size group that meets for a few hours each week online or via phone to ask questions to the mentor. These group sessions can be very helpful and cost efficient since you don’t have to pay for all the mentor’s time yourself.

— Government Assisted Mentoring: If you are an economically and social disadvantage individual who owns and controls a business, you may qualify for mentorship through the Business Development Program through the Small Business Administration. Mentors are chosen carefully to help disadvantaged business owners compete in American economy, as well as the federal government contract market. Prot?g?s can form JVs with mentors who can help with financial or technical assistance, offer small loans, and give management advice. Check with the SBA website for more information.

Joint Ventures can be a great way to improve your business and your profits, but the unknown aspects of a JV are often difficult obstacles to overcome. Get help through a mentor if you have questions and get your JV started with confidence.

How to Skyrocket Your Sales This Year

Completely grasp the power of the Best Buyer Concept and you will double your sales within the next twelve months. The concept is easy to understand, yet powerful: There’s always a smaller  number of ideal buyers, compared to all the possible buyers, so ideal buyers are cheaper to market to and yet bring greater rewards.

A magazine used this strategy to double sales in 15 months flat. Here’s what they did:

They took a database of 2200 advertisers and sent promo-pieces to them each month. After learning this
strategy, they did an analysis and found that 167 of those 2200 advertisers bought 95% of the advertising in their competitor’s magazine.

This concept is called «The Dream 100 Sell,» a concept where you go after your «Dream» prospects with a vengeance. This magazine sent the 167 (best buyers) a letter every two weeks and called them four times per month.

Since these were the biggest buyers, the first four months of  intensive marketing and selling brought no actual reward. In the fifth month, only ONE of these Dream clients bought advertising in the magazine.

In the sixth month, 28 of the 167 largest advertisers in the country came into the magazine all at once.
And since these are the biggest advertisers, they don’t take quarter pages and fractional ads, they take full pages and full color spreads. These 28 advertisers alone, were enough to double the sales over the previous year. The magazine went from number 15 in the industry to number one in just over a year.

Lesson learned: Market to your best buyers

Now you’re probably thinking to yourself, who are my best buyers?  If you sell to the business-to-consumer market, chances are, your best buyers live in the best neighborhoods.If you are a dentist, accountant, chiropractor, R.E. Broker, financial advisor, restaurant, or even a MLM professional you should consistently go after the folks who live in the best neighborhoods.

They are the wealthiest buyers who have the money and the greatest sphere of influence. If you send them an offer every single month without fail, within a year, you’ll have a great reputation among the very wealthy.

If you sell to the business-to-business market, it’s usually fairly clear that your best buyers are the biggest companies. So what are you doing, every other week, no matter what, to let these companies know who you are?

There’s no one you can’t get to as long as you constantly market to them, especially after they say they’re not interested. People will not only begin to respect your perseverance, they will actually begin to feel obligated.

This doesn’t happen right away, but even the most hard-bitten and cynical executive or prospect begins to respect you when you refuse to give up. The publication I mentioned earlier went on to double sales two more years in a row. They  consistently marketed to the best buyers and much more aggressively than they did to the rest of the buyers.

A company selling to manufacturer’s used this strategy to target the 100 biggest manufacturers in the country. For the first three months no one responded to any of the calling or phoning.

But after three months executives started saying: «I just have to meet you. I’ve never had anyone continue to call me so many times after I said no.» Within 6 months they had gotten in to
see 54% of those they targeted.
The secret is to NEVER give up.

Just keep going after those companies again and again. Or if you sell to consumers, commit to sending a promotional piece every single month to those wealthy neighborhoods. Eventually, all the wealthy people in your area will know exactly who you are.

Now the question is: Who are your DREAM prospects and how committed are you to getting them as clients?

Information Technology Services In Pakistan

The IT revolution can still change the destiny of Pakistan, but will require a readjustment of the sights. This readjustment will require her to work with what she has, and not what she currently doesn’t!

Pakistan has been unable to produce software developers in increasing numbers, but does possess skilled workers in reasonable numbers in other fields that can provide services to clients all over the developed world through the Internet. These services range from data entry to telemarketing to insurance claims processing to payroll management to computer-aided designing to financial analysis and forecasting.

Pakistan’s doctors can be employed for medical data analysis; lawyers can provide legal advice over the Web; graphic designers can produce animations. The possibilities are numerous and the opportunities lucrative. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) numbers for many of these opportunities are similar to those for the software export business.

As an example, look at the function of an insurance claims processing company. Say an automobile accident takes place in New York City. The claimant fills a paper form describing the incident and providing his particulars and submits the form to the insurance company’s office in New York. The company scans the form and sends it to the offshore company in Lahore, Pakistan. That form will be automatically routed to the computer terminal of a claims examiner. The examiner goes through the form and (using some simple business rules) determines the validity of the claim and sends his decision to the insurance company in New York. End result: the New York-based company saves 50 per cent of the processing cost!

The customers for such IT-Enabled Services (ITES) are looking for more than one benefit: on the one hand, they want to achieve cost reductions of around 50 per cent, and on the other, they want an improvement in the current level of their services. By outsourcing the non-critical tasks, they also want to focus all their energies on the processes that form the core of their businesses.

Canada is the easiest market to get ITES work from, as it has the highest percentage of businesses that use outsourcing services. Number two on the list is Australia, followed by the US. A higher percentage of companies in the energy sector outsource, followed by the financial services and then, technology companies.

Companies that outsource look for service level guarantees, a proven track record and specialization in the business process of interest from the providers. Many outsourcing relationships fail because of organizational resistance in the client company, unclear performance metrics, or the client’s loss of control over the outsourced business process.

The primary advantage that Pakistan’s ITES businesses enjoy is the relatively low cost of labor. Secondary advantages are zero corporate taxes and low-cost infrastructure. The time zone difference between Pakistan and the US can also be an advantage in certain ITES businesses.

The key challenges that an ITES entrepreneur faces is marketing the service that he or she is striving to provide and ensuring the confidentiality and security of the client’s data. Another challenge is ensuring the quality of the service that can only be achieved by having a clear and continuous organizational focus on the training of the service providers.

Pakistan-based ITES businesses face three types of competitors. The most significant competition comes from prospective clients carrying out the non-core tasks themselves. However, if clients focus on non-core tasks, they suffer from higher costs and lower efficiencies. Hence, they can be enticed by offering high-quality service at a lower, fixed cost.

The second type of competition comes from developed-countries-based outsourcing operators. They run very efficient businesses but are hampered by higher labor costs. The final type of competition comes from outsourcing operators based in low-labor-cost countries like India and Philippines. Pakistan-based ITES businesses don’t really have any advantage over them, but can ignore that competition for now as the demand clearly exceeds the supply.

In summary, ITES is Pakistan’s irresistible value proposition because of the availability of the trained human resource in reasonable numbers. Moreover, increasing the size of this human resource is easier as compared with what is required for software development.

ITES is a lucrative opportunity for forward-looking entrepreneurs. While selecting an ITES sector, they should look for human resource-intensive business processes in which the difference in the cost of labor between Pakistan and the target market is the largest. They should focus on utilizing their existing strengths and should also try to develop contacts with Pakistan-origin expatriates for marketing purposes. To achieve long-term success, they should look for value-adding partnerships with international companies and focus on organizational excellence and customer satisfaction.

The US economy as a whole is depressed, resulting in squeezed revenues for almost all companies. To meet their profitability targets, most companies have no option but to cut costs. Pakistan’s companies can benefit from this situation by offering IT enabled services and software development services at attractive rates. These should be the best of times for Pakistan’s companies.

The economic downturn in the US is an opportunity for Pakistan’s ITES and software development companies, not a setback!