Laptop pregame: What to do to your company laptops before you give them to employees

Giving employees company laptops is a great way to allow for maximum productivity both in and out of the office. You don’t have to worry about software incompatibility issues – everyone will have the same make and model of computer. Employees who couldn’t work out of the office will now have the ability, regardless of whether they owned a computer in the past.

What to do to your company laptops before you give them to employees

There are a few things that you have to do to your company laptops, however, before you can hand them over to your employees. By taking a few precautions now you can help avoid massive headaches and potentially expensive issues later on.…

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9 Useful Tools for a Small Business to Manage Work Better

A small business requires a lot of work in order to prove successful. You can use all the help you can get in order to manage the work and the employees better. Luckily for you, there are many useful tools available that will make your job much easier.

PandaForm

PandaForm is a great tool which can help you centralize all of your business data into one single database. You can also use it to create many different kinds of forms such as for orders, meetings and customer surveys. The program is also able to export and import the data it gathers and even share it with clients.…

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How to Get Paid What You’re Worth

getting paid what your services are worthFew moments are as energizing in your business as sitting across from a potential client in a meeting that is going well. Your presentation came across smoothly, the client is engaged, they’re ready to buy”¦the only thing left is the price.

You quickly calculate a reasonable price in your head. You know that your competition couldn’t come close to your level of quality – and still you keep your prices in par with theirs.

You tell your prospect your price”¦and the conversation chills. They tell you that they were expecting to pay half of that. What should you do?

Discuss your competition

If what you are offering is genuinely better than the competition, don’t be afraid to highlight your competitors’ weaknesses.…

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Why Shoppers Choose to Use Chat Features

why shoppers use chat features onlineLauren Freeman, President of the e-tailing group (a niche e-commerce consultancy), published a white paper to share the findings of consumer rationale for using chat. Studies were undertaken to determine the “who, what, where and why” behind consumers’ choosing to use an online chat feature.

Online retailers have much to be gained by implementing the best of the live chat experience into their business.   It can be concluded that the six core reasons online shoppers choose to use live chat are multi-faceted:

Shoppers feel special and empowered when they use live chat

Strong expressed strong feelings of appreciation for chat’s availability to solve a problem when sought on their own terms.…

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11 Steps To Give New Angle To Your Old Content

tips for engaging online readers

When you’re an online marketer, it becomes a necessity to keep adding new angles when it comes to engaging your readers with content. This keeps your readers happy and looking forward to more. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel – just a few imaginative twists and angles now and then are enough to keep the blood flowing.

1. Highlight Words And Phrases

When you want your readers to pay special attention to funny bits, informative bits and quotes, make sure you highlight them. If possible, use a different font for quotes – perhaps even a slightly larger font size. Try to present your top keywords in italics or in bold, to let your reader know that the content is relevant to their search.…

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Cloud Support Services Work To A CEO’s Advantage

Your chief information officer (CIO) may be in the loop about the latest cloud support services and offerings, but how about the company’s CEO? What many don’t realize is that technology consultants often recommend that business leaders who choose to place their data in the cloud, or use cloud-based applications, allow third parties to manage it.

cloud support services

In addition to giving you the ability to improve vendor relationships, cloud support services can help streamline service management, support company growth and give your IT employees the opportunity to focus on revenue-related projects.

Additional advantages of cloud support services include:

A focus on business outcomes.…

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Monetize And Measure Your Video Marketing With These Two Online Tools

Two Tools to Monetize And Measure Your Video Marketing

SMBs spend either time or money on their website videos. Both are valuable for the owner of an SMB which is why you need to get the most out of your videos. Saying a URL or telling someone to visit your site isn’t enough, you cannot accurately measure this and see what your ROI is. You also don’t get to see your reach or where the traffic comes from.

Here are two tools (with free versions) that will help you see the real return from your video and video marketing efforts:

Viewbix lets you add clickable buttons and calls to action to your website videos.…

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Managing Business Growth: Fail To Prepare, Prepare To Fail

Managing an expansion is a difficult task. Should you be overzealous or over ambitious, you could end up doing your business more damage than good. Equally, it’s important not to be overcautious, subsequently missing opportunities. It’s up to you as a business owner to find the right balance and largely, your knowledge and experience will dictate this.

tips for managing business growth

That said, there are steps you can take to ensure you navigate the process more smoothly though. Here’s some things to consider before you undertake a big expansion…

Recruit wisely

With expansion, comes the need for extra staff. Integral to this process is a HR manager, so make sure they’re amongst the top of your recruitment priorities.…

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4 Things You Need To Stop Doing To Sell More

stop doing these things to sell moreThere are a gazillion new books, magazines and blog posts giving sales advice.   Each one seems to take on a new phrase, new framework or new methodology.   Few resources ever advise you on the things   you need to STOP doing.

A small business CEO faces a daunting schedule with a multitude of demands on their time, and often sales is high on the agenda.   Pruning the activities that do not contribute to a  successful sales  program can free you to be a more impactful leader.

Here are a  few things you can stop doing to help you focus on the most productive activities:

1.  …

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Four Ways To Address The Changing Landscape Of Work

The business world is changing, and the mobile worker is at the forefront.   Mobile workers are not just those who travel across the country or world doing their jobs; they are also those who have the mobility to do their work in a variety of places within a building, across a campus, across an ocean or in the comfort of their home. Research has predicted that nearly 35 percent of the global workforce will be mobile in 2013.

Why the change? Technology is advancing rapidly, making it easier than ever for people to work outside of a traditional office setting. But while technology is changing, the human process of innovation has not.…

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