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Answer Upon - Business Profiles--Know Yourself and Your Competiton
Although sub prime leads are one of the more popular forms of internet mortgage leads, they can at times be a tough deal to close. Especially if the customer is in foreclosure or has a credit score hovering around 500.Now that the new year is upon us, you may want to consider as one of your new years resolutions to make yourself somewhat of an authority on sub prime.Or at least make the effort to build relationships with the wholesale lenders who specialize in poor credit, foreclosures and bankruptcy buy outs.Once you accomplish this, you will no longer have to feel the pain of being helpless when a potential customer tells you they have a score less than 500 or they are in
* Do you sell by a long-term contract?
* Do you sell through agents or a sales staff?
Why would customers buy from you?
What are the buying patterns in your industry?
* How do customers choose among the competitors?
* Why do they make these choices? price, product, support, delivery?
* What strategies do your competitors use to distinguish themselves?
Competition among restaurants in one area may depend on reputation in one area and location in another area. How do professionals (doctors, lawyers and accountants) compete? Do local customers prefer national or local brands or businesses?
Broaden your list of competitors. Hobby stores compete with recreational businesses for leisure activity dollars in family budgets. Eating out competes with eating in. Looking at your industry helps give you a realistic perspective of your business in your local and regional economy.
Learn more about your business
Learn more about your business (and your competitor's busines
Are you having problems with your current business card that fails to impress potential clients? Or maybe you are not getting the increased business that your card is supposed to provide for you. Then you should improve your business card to make it into a great marketing tool.The business card is more than just a piece of paper to pass our names & numbers. It represents an opportunity to become an impressive marketing tool. Our business cards should be unique & distinctive so as to be a memorable conversation piece for consumers.Below are 10 tips to making your business cards function as a ‘fresh’ advertising billboard for your businesses.* Ensure basic information on your
The classifying authority for industries in the United States is the census bureau. Standard industry classifications began in 1934 because data collected by the government for similar businesses was not suitable for comparison across a broader range of businesses. The classification system consisted of a four-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code with the first digit representing the broadest classification.
Standardization sought to classify 'industry' in the broad sense of all economic activity; that is, agriculture, forestry and fisheries; mining; construction; manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance and real estate; transportation, communication, electric, gas and sanitary services; and services. They began by classifying manufacturing and reached the first agreement in 1938.
The United States, Canada and Mexico developed a joint North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in 1997. This is a six-digit code with major sub-divisions using one to four digits. NAICS/SIC comparison charts are available on the web. The NAICS identified new industries such as credit card processors; fiber optic cable manufacturing; pet supply stores; paging; casinos; cellular and other wireless communications; and so forth.
Finding your industry is a good exercise. Your fellow industry participants are most likely your competitors. The similarities are strong.
* You sell similar products and services,
* You most likely use the same or similar suppliers
* You have similar buying, selling and distribution patterns
* Local and regional economies affect you in the same way
* Your operating cycles are similar and
* Your capital needs and profit margins are similar.
A complete business plan discusses general industry economics, participants, distribution patterns, factors in the competition, and whatever else describes the nature of this business to outsiders.
Who else is in your industry and what is happening to them?
You should know who about similar businesses in your marketplace. Industries usually have similar types of participants. There is a huge difference, for example, between an industry like television services, with a few huge companies, and one like dry cleaning, with tens of thousands of smaller businesses.
This can make a big difference to a business and plans for growth and other changes. Look at the food industry: for eating in, we have grocery stores, health food stores, farm markets and so forth. For eating out, there are two major types of businesses: The restaurant industry has many small participants while fast food competitors consist of a few national brands seen in thousands of branded outlets, many of them franchised.
An industry consolidates when many small participants begin disappearing and a few large players emerge. In accounting, for example, there are a few large, well-known international firms and tens of thousands of smaller firms. The automobile business is composed of a few national brands seen as thousands of branded dealerships. In computer manufacturing, for example, there are a few large international firms whose names are well known, and thousands of smaller firms.
What is a distribution pattern?
Products and services can follow many paths between suppliers and users. Is yours an industry with retailers supported by regional distributors (like computers, magazines, or auto parts)? Does your industry depend on direct sales to large industrial customers? Do manufacturers support their own direct sales forces, or do they work with product representatives?
* Are you a retail stores selling to consumers?
* Are you a distribution company buying from manufacturers and selling to other businesses?
* Do your items come directly from the manufacturer?
* Do you sell through mail campaigns? national advertising?
Your competitors most likely have the same distribution pattern.
* Do you sell by the item? or by outcome?
* Do you sell by a long-term contract?
* Do you sell through agents or a sales staff?
Why would customers buy from you?
What are the buying patterns in your industry?
* How do customers choose among the competitors?
* Why do they make these choices? price, product, support, delivery?
* What strategies do your competitors use to distinguish themselves?
Competition among restaurants in one area may depend on reputation in one area and location in another area. How do professionals (doctors, lawyers and accountants) compete? Do local customers prefer national or local brands or businesses?
Broaden your list of competitors. Hobby stores compete with recreational businesses for leisure activity dollars in family budgets. Eating out competes with eating in. Looking at your industry helps give you a realistic perspective of your business in your local and regional economy.
Learn more about your business
Learn more about your business (and your competitor's business
Just like Christmas is a wonderful time for children’s book authors to market their Christmas picture books, Halloween is the perfect time for horror authors. There are many events you can plan ahead of time to sell books during the spooky month of October. For instance, you may do book signings at normal bookstores, or, better yet, at horror specialty bookstores. You may host a Halloween party and invite all your friends, co-workers, relatives and neighbors. If you’re a children’s author with a Halloween-theme title, you can host a party for your children’s classmates, as well as do readings in schools and libraries.The important thing here, however, is to make the event fun and ‘spooky
Finding your industry is a good exercise. Your fellow industry participants are most likely your competitors. The similarities are strong.
* You sell similar products and services,
* You most likely use the same or similar suppliers
* You have similar buying, selling and distribution patterns
* Local and regional economies affect you in the same way
* Your operating cycles are similar and
* Your capital needs and profit margins are similar.
A complete business plan discusses general industry economics, participants, distribution patterns, factors in the competition, and whatever else describes the nature of this business to outsiders.
Who else is in your industry and what is happening to them?
You should know who about similar businesses in your marketplace. Industries usually have similar types of participants. There is a huge difference, for example, between an industry like television services, with a few huge companies, and one like dry cleaning, with tens of thousands of smaller businesses.
This can make a big difference to a business and plans for growth and other changes. Look at the food industry: for eating in, we have grocery stores, health food stores, farm markets and so forth. For eating out, there are two major types of businesses: The restaurant industry has many small participants while fast food competitors consist of a few national brands seen in thousands of branded outlets, many of them franchised.
An industry consolidates when many small participants begin disappearing and a few large players emerge. In accounting, for example, there are a few large, well-known international firms and tens of thousands of smaller firms. The automobile business is composed of a few national brands seen as thousands of branded dealerships. In computer manufacturing, for example, there are a few large international firms whose names are well known, and thousands of smaller firms.
What is a distribution pattern?
Products and services can follow many paths between suppliers and users. Is yours an industry with retailers supported by regional distributors (like computers, magazines, or auto parts)? Does your industry depend on direct sales to large industrial customers? Do manufacturers support their own direct sales forces, or do they work with product representatives?
* Are you a retail stores selling to consumers?
* Are you a distribution company buying from manufacturers and selling to other businesses?
* Do your items come directly from the manufacturer?
* Do you sell through mail campaigns? national advertising?
Your competitors most likely have the same distribution pattern.
* Do you sell by the item? or by outcome?
* Do you sell by a long-term contract?
* Do you sell through agents or a sales staff?
Why would customers buy from you?
What are the buying patterns in your industry?
* How do customers choose among the competitors?
* Why do they make these choices? price, product, support, delivery?
* What strategies do your competitors use to distinguish themselves?
Competition among restaurants in one area may depend on reputation in one area and location in another area. How do professionals (doctors, lawyers and accountants) compete? Do local customers prefer national or local brands or businesses?
Broaden your list of competitors. Hobby stores compete with recreational businesses for leisure activity dollars in family budgets. Eating out competes with eating in. Looking at your industry helps give you a realistic perspective of your business in your local and regional economy.
Learn more about your business
Learn more about your business (and your competitor's busines
Most of us spend more time AT WORK then elsewhere. If you're like the rest of the working stiffs... it's about 60% up to 70% or more of your time either traveling back and forth plus 8 to 12 hours on the job for your employer. We call that full-time.One thing is SURE... it's nice to have a career path that challenges your best self and gives you joy as you work. Money, vacations, and all the other stuff folks talk about is meaningless. Life is too short to spend most of your time doing a menial job, especially one that has no sense of reward or enjoyment for you.I know, someone will say, "who cares?", if the money is right. You can get your joy later, right? Simply not true f
Who else is in your industry and what is happening to them?
You should know who about similar businesses in your marketplace. Industries usually have similar types of participants. There is a huge difference, for example, between an industry like television services, with a few huge companies, and one like dry cleaning, with tens of thousands of smaller businesses.
This can make a big difference to a business and plans for growth and other changes. Look at the food industry: for eating in, we have grocery stores, health food stores, farm markets and so forth. For eating out, there are two major types of businesses: The restaurant industry has many small participants while fast food competitors consist of a few national brands seen in thousands of branded outlets, many of them franchised.
An industry consolidates when many small participants begin disappearing and a few large players emerge. In accounting, for example, there are a few large, well-known international firms and tens of thousands of smaller firms. The automobile business is composed of a few national brands seen as thousands of branded dealerships. In computer manufacturing, for example, there are a few large international firms whose names are well known, and thousands of smaller firms.
What is a distribution pattern?
Products and services can follow many paths between suppliers and users. Is yours an industry with retailers supported by regional distributors (like computers, magazines, or auto parts)? Does your industry depend on direct sales to large industrial customers? Do manufacturers support their own direct sales forces, or do they work with product representatives?
* Are you a retail stores selling to consumers?
* Are you a distribution company buying from manufacturers and selling to other businesses?
* Do your items come directly from the manufacturer?
* Do you sell through mail campaigns? national advertising?
Your competitors most likely have the same distribution pattern.
* Do you sell by the item? or by outcome?
* Do you sell by a long-term contract?
* Do you sell through agents or a sales staff?
Why would customers buy from you?
What are the buying patterns in your industry?
* How do customers choose among the competitors?
* Why do they make these choices? price, product, support, delivery?
* What strategies do your competitors use to distinguish themselves?
Competition among restaurants in one area may depend on reputation in one area and location in another area. How do professionals (doctors, lawyers and accountants) compete? Do local customers prefer national or local brands or businesses?
Broaden your list of competitors. Hobby stores compete with recreational businesses for leisure activity dollars in family budgets. Eating out competes with eating in. Looking at your industry helps give you a realistic perspective of your business in your local and regional economy.
Learn more about your business
Learn more about your business (and your competitor's busines
If a store had a great discount in the middle of the woods and nobody was around to hear about it, would it make a difference?There are two types of discounting. There are arbitrary discounts; these are the type you just make up because you are trying to close a sale or for some other stupid reason. Arbitrary discounts are not only ineffective, but they can often backfire on you and make you look like a salesman. Then there are legitimate discounts that are in place to move a certain product or for some other acceptable reason.These legitimate discounts work great if you can promote them and use them to bring more customers into your store. Discounts will only ea
What is a distribution pattern?
Products and services can follow many paths between suppliers and users. Is yours an industry with retailers supported by regional distributors (like computers, magazines, or auto parts)? Does your industry depend on direct sales to large industrial customers? Do manufacturers support their own direct sales forces, or do they work with product representatives?
* Are you a retail stores selling to consumers?
* Are you a distribution company buying from manufacturers and selling to other businesses?
* Do your items come directly from the manufacturer?
* Do you sell through mail campaigns? national advertising?
Your competitors most likely have the same distribution pattern.
* Do you sell by the item? or by outcome?
* Do you sell by a long-term contract?
* Do you sell through agents or a sales staff?
Why would customers buy from you?
What are the buying patterns in your industry?
* How do customers choose among the competitors?
* Why do they make these choices? price, product, support, delivery?
* What strategies do your competitors use to distinguish themselves?
Competition among restaurants in one area may depend on reputation in one area and location in another area. How do professionals (doctors, lawyers and accountants) compete? Do local customers prefer national or local brands or businesses?
Broaden your list of competitors. Hobby stores compete with recreational businesses for leisure activity dollars in family budgets. Eating out competes with eating in. Looking at your industry helps give you a realistic perspective of your business in your local and regional economy.
Learn more about your business
Learn more about your business (and your competitor's busines
There are many graduates year after year, they come from different fields of specialization, and are all looking for jobs. If you are among this crowd of applicants, are you sure, that you will stand out and immediately catch the employer's attention?Every time you apply for a job, you need to submit a resume. But your resume alone is not enough; it is a must that you have a cover letter. By now, you should be familiar with this type of letter. Cover letters introduces you and plainly explains your extreme desire for a certain position or job, and that you can make yourself available when the need arises. A few of your key points are typically highlighted in a cover letter, and it is a w
* Do you sell by a long-term contract?
* Do you sell through agents or a sales staff?
Why would customers buy from you?
What are the buying patterns in your industry?
* How do customers choose among the competitors?
* Why do they make these choices? price, product, support, delivery?
* What strategies do your competitors use to distinguish themselves?
Competition among restaurants in one area may depend on reputation in one area and location in another area. How do professionals (doctors, lawyers and accountants) compete? Do local customers prefer national or local brands or businesses?
Broaden your list of competitors. Hobby stores compete with recreational businesses for leisure activity dollars in family budgets. Eating out competes with eating in. Looking at your industry helps give you a realistic perspective of your business in your local and regional economy.
Learn more about your business
Learn more about your business (and your competitor's business) and see your business from a different perspective. Sign up for The Small Business Survivor, our newsletter for tips and ideas to keep your doors open!
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