Work At Home Adventures

By now it should be clear that one way to stand out in business is to write notes by hand to clients and colleagues.  In today’s hectic world, out of sight is often out of mind.  Anything you can do to remind people that you are around and available is valuable.

A handwritten note will do that because it is a tangible object that keeps your name in front of others.  It is something that your contacts can feel, touch and even keep.  After all when was the last time you printed out an e-mail message, looked at it on your desk from time to time and said to yourself, “How nice.”

If you didn’t already have enough good reasons for writing notes, add these to your list.

Personal notes are your very own marketing and sales tools.  They are your creation, crafted by you and delivered in your special handwriting. Never mind how it looks.

Notes can build relationships.  They give you the opportunity to express something on a personal level to a business connection in a way that stands out.  They tell the client that you care enough to go to some extra effort.

Notes raise your visibility.  When your special message, whether it is congratulatory, appreciative or just thoughtful, is noticed so are you.

Notes will give you the edge over your competitors because chances are they aren’t taking the time to pick up their pen and paper.  When it comes time to decide with whom to do more business, your clients will remember you.

And notes get read.  In a stack of typewritten envelopes or computer-generated labels, hand-addressed mail stands out. It not only says, “Read me;” it says “Read me now.”  Think about it.  You know that it won’t take long. It’s not like a letter that you are likely to put aside until you have more time.

Use notes to connect with people whom you can help and with people who can help you.  Consider them as part of your networking activities.  You can’t have too many connections in business if you want to be successful.

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert who travels the world teaching etiquette and manners.  You can learn more about her at http://www.mannersthatsell.com.

So how has 2009 been for your company thus far? Are you ahead of your targets for this stage of the year? I hope, for the sake of your business, that you have answered both of these questions in the positive; I am however fully aware that the majority of the readers of this article will in fact be struggling. I meet a lot of business people in the course of an average month, here in the UK, and I have to say that many of them are stating that conditions have never been so tough.

So what can a business do in order to survive this recession? Well a number of the company directors that I have spoken with have contracted a cost reduction service to enable them to reduce their business overheads. This, they say, has massively helped them as it leaves them with additional money to spend on “the things that matter”.

Just a quick point before I continue; I am not a cost cutting expert therefore please do not think that I am trying to sell you something here. I am in fact a person who offers various forms of stuttering aimed at helping people to achieve fluency.

In which areas could a business potentially reduce their costs? There are, of course, many however the more obvious ones would be the electricity, gas and the telephone. Then there are the telephone charges; there are many company’s now offering a “cheap calls to mobile phone service”. There is also computer services, window cleaning, general maintenance, I.T, to name a few others.

There has never been a better time to think about ways in which your business could cut costs. I personally believe that we are now very much in the middle of this recession and I am yet to see any of those infamous “green shoots”.

One of my clients, Leah Grant, has created a website for hand picked small business resources.  She has lots of listings right now and is constantly adding resources to the site.  Hop on over and take a look at http://www.leahrecommends.com

Dear Aspiring Affiliate Marketer,

Although I hate the term and don’t own a tiara, my colleagues call me the “Affiliate Marketing Queen“. A January 2009 trade magazine pegs me as the female affiliate marketer (since 1998) with the most experience.

Over the years, thousands of ‘regular, non-technical folks’ (just like you — and me) have learned how to start and run their own successful affiliate marketing businesses using the methods I teach in the Super Affiliate Handbook (and as an industry expert speaker, magazine columnist and consultant) and YOU can learn them too!

To read more click here!.