Simple Steps to Project a Professional Home-Business Image
?>
Download eBooks and Software
 The Lotto Black Book
This Radical Approach To An Online Sales Letter Converts In The 3-5%... We've Never Seen Something Like This Since The Early Days Of 2004-2005 And I'm Sure You Haven't Either... We Convert More Than Our Competition And We Pay Out More... Try It!
How To Create An Iphone Or Ipad Apps And Games Succeed In App Store!
Discover How To Create An Iphone Or Ipad App&game And Hit Pay Dirt With It In The App Store! 60% Commission + Bonus. Awesome Member Area With Full Video Course. All You Need To Know On How To Start App Business With No Programming Skills At All!
Legit Online Jobs
Completely Redesigned For 2012! New Pricing = Higher Conversions And Lower Refunds. 24/7 Support Converts Even More Visitors Into Customers. Visit Http://www.legitonlinejobs.com/affiliates To See How Each Visitor Can Be Worth Well Over $200.
Articles > Online BusinessSimple Steps to Project a Professional Home-Business Image
by: David A. James
One of the more difficult tasks to deal with when starting a home-based business is to decide how to establish your pathways of communication in such a way that you appear organized and professional, yet don’t have to break the bank to get started.
I have found three methods of communication that I use on a regular basis: e-mail, telephone, and fax. These could probably be considered ‘the basics’ for most businesses, large or small, and these are the ones we’ll discuss.
As a side note, with technology, of course, there are many variations on these tools. For example, you can now use a cell phone with a built-in camera to take a picture and instantly send it to a friend or business contact. This is pretty spiffy indeed, but this really falls into the category of e-mail or telephone communications, depending how you want to look at it. This probably isn’t going to be a main communication method for most businesses, unless you’re an interior designer or an artist and in need of constant visual communications with your clients.
E-mail – I’m assuming you already have an e-mail account or know how to get one. Many people have what are known as free e-mail accounts such as Yahoo (http://mail.yahoo.com) or Hotmail (http://www.msn.com, click Hotmail). While these are easy and free, they don’t portray much of a professional image. Instead, you should take the name of your business, for example Home Income Digest, and purchase what is known as its ‘domain name’. In this example, the domain name would be ‘homeincomedigest.com’. Now you have the ability to correspond using djames@homeincomedigest.com, info@homeincomedigest.com, or whatever name(s) you prefer. This is usually coordinated with the web hosting company that hosts your domain name. There are many topics to discuss with e-mail, but let me hit another one very quickly: autoresponders
An autoresponder automatically responds to a person who has just sent you an e-mail by sending a message that you have previously composed back to them. Sounds great, but many people take this as a sign that you really aren’t serious about your business or are trying to automate everything to the point that you don’t have to do any work. Others say autoreponders show you ARE serious and want your customers to know you’ll be in touch as soon as you can. I think you see the dilemma here. My advice is don’t use autoresponders if you can generally get back with people promptly (within a few hours, or one business day at the most). However, there are situations where autoresponders are perfect, for example sending receipts, since most people don’t expect personal interaction for this type of correspondence.
Telephone – In most cases, you really should get a second phone line. The problem with using your personal phone line is that there is no greeting you can give that will sound correct for all situations. Sure, your friends will get used to you saying, “Hello, this is Jenni’s Interior Designs” but it’s pretty cheesy. Caller I.D. may help, but still. Also, there is really is no appropriate way to compose a voice mail greeting. You could get voice mail with multiple mailboxes, but recording a greeting of “Hello this is Jenni. For Jenni’s Interior Designs press one, to leave a personal message for Jenni press two” doesn’t really impress either. Opt for the second phone line, and make sure you use it strictly for business. Also, try to keep the phone in a quiet room or where you can shut the door if necessary.
One great tip is to record a new phone message each day with the date included. For example, “Hello, today is September 17th, this is Dave with Home Income Digest. I’ll be out of the office from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. today, please leave a message and I will get back with you as soon as I can. Thank you for your call, have a great day”. Immediately your customer knows you’re still alive and actively in business. They are also more likely to leave a message because it’s obvious you’re serious about keeping your customers informed. Do this every single day; it will pay off.
Fax – With the rise of e-mail, which can use attachments, faxing isn’t as common as it used to be. However, not everyone is handy with creating and using attachments, and there are still situations where fax machines are still the better choice, such as sending a document with a signature. Since a fax machine is dormant the vast majority of the time, there really isn’t a need for a separate phone line for your fax, unless of course it’s your primary means of communication for some reason. Most likely, it’s better to get a phone feature called ‘multi-ring service’. For a few dollars a month, this allows you to have two separate phone numbers and ring patterns on one phone line. You set the fax to pick up on a double ring, and you know to pick up the phone yourself on single rings. If you have yet to buy a fax machine, I would recommend getting a multi-function laser unit that does faxing, printing, scanning, copying, and attaches to your computer as well. This will give you a lot of options for storing and editing documents, along with options for communicating with your customers. But always remember the most important thing about a fax machine - keep it full of paper!
Above all, the most important, and simple, thing you can do to impart a professional appearance is to physically be in your office at all times during business hours. In the end, no one likes getting passed to an answering machine. But more importantly, there is no way to calculate how much potential business you are losing simply because you’re not there to answer the phone.
?>
News on Online Business
McGraw University Introduces New Online Business Degree Programs to Match Employers’ Needs
McGraw University adds in new courses to the current business curriculum in order to increase the relevance to the current job market trendsArlington, TX (PRWEB) May 25, 2012 McGraw University, an accredited leading online university that has been known around the world for its improved learning services for working adults has announced that it has introduced fresh courses in its Business and ... Online CRM Provider Really Simple Systems Increases Web CRM Adoption With Intelligent Data Import
LONDON, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ ---Innovative data import solution increases usability and simplicity of online CRM, web CRM and  small business CRM  system-Really Simple Systems http://www.reallysimplesystems.com/ ... Raising Funds for Your Online Business: Show Me the Money!
Tax guru Barbara Weltman explains the options available for obtaining capital for your growing ecommerce business. In Part 1, she discussed the pros and cons of borrowing money (debt) vs. taking in investors (equity) - see Raising Funds for Your Online Business: Debt vs. Equity . Today, she discusses where to look for debt and equity financing and some pitfalls to avoid. A SEO package to help build your online business
What do we offer in websites that improve SEO? Our website packages allow you to feature your business with a customizable webpage built with the latest search engine optimization (SEO) tools. Through these SEO tools, as well as coupons and special deals and premium placement in your local online directory, you can maximize online traffic to your business. Building a multi-billion pound business online
The recent valuation of Facebook at $104bn, the purchase of Instagram (by Facebook) for a billion dollars, and even Rakuten’s investment in social network Pinterest shows that there is serious money to be made in online business.
|
