This is a great question and the answer or approach of the small business owner will have a significant impact on the growth of their enterprise.
At wefinda we hear feedback from small business owners across many professions and services who are unsure whether or not to telephone or email a potential customer (“prospect”) in the first instance. It is the most common question that we receive in our feedback, so the good news is that you are not alone!
The underlying principle of good sales is to treat your prospects in the manner in which you would like to be treated plus a little bit of extra care that makes your prospect feel special.
At wefinda we follow a few basic steps to ensure that our potential customers will always consider us when purchasing our type of product. For optimum conversion, we call first and e-mail after.
1. Preparation – ensure that you have the contact details of the business that you are calling and the decision makers name and know a little bit about what the prospect does.
2. Attitude – Be positive, your product is a solution to your prospects needs, hopefully you can both work together to achieve great results.
3. Phone call – Business is and always will be about people. Pick up the telephone, ask to speak with your potential customer and carefully introduce yourself and explain the reason for your call. The following are a few characteristics of a good call.
(a) Introduction example - “Hi, my name is Harry and I am calling from Bentley’s graphic design. I received your details from wefinda/another customer/online research and I was hoping to take 30 seconds of your time to explain the reason for my call and how our service could work for you. Is now a convenient time to talk?”
(b) Ask questions and listen – fully understand the prospects business needs and their budget.
(c) Explain – Match your product or service to your prospects needs.
(d) Call back – book a time to call back or meet the prospect.
(e) Follow up – send a mail to the prospect to cover the main points of the call, highlight the action points discussed on the call and send any additional requested information.
4. Commit to your call backs, promised emails and scheduled appointments. By not sticking to your plans, it is very easy to leave a bad impression with a prospect.
There are far more qualified people than I who can advise you on how to get a better return for your sales efforts, how to grow your business and how to approach your calls with confidence and belief.
I can recommend How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins and any book by Dale Carnegie.
I would like to finish with a little whisper. Rude or ignorant prospects are to be ignored and left to their own devices. Do not take these people personally, it is just an unfortunate small percentage of people who you have accidently called. Don’t waste your quality time and personal service on someone who does not deserve it.
Thanks for reading.
dave@wefinda.co.uk
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Monday, 26 July 2010
Business fraud - free wefinda guide to low cost prevention.
In our weekly news of 16 July we reported that according to the National Fraud Office 15,000 people had reported being scammed by fraudsters in the first six months of 2010. With £3.5 billion being lost by individuals and businesses to fraudsters every year, even taking a few small steps to protect your firm will pay dividends. We thought we’d give you a few handy hints on simple fraud prevention methods that won’t cost the earth.
Cheque books – one of the oldest and simplest methods of fraud in the book. Leave your company cheque book lying around in an unlocked drawer and the fraudster will take one cheque from near the back of the book. If the fraudster has time they’ll also pinch a copy of one of your letters so they have your signature and the first you know of it is when the money has gone from your bank. Always lock up cheque books and when a new book arrives from the bank note it in your records and keep it safe. Better still, with the banks phasing out cheques, start the move now to electronic banking. Make sure you choose a bank which will offer you dual authorisation as a minimum and keep passwords safe.
Company stationery – leave headed paper lying around and the fraudster will use it to arrange bank transfers or order goods in your name. Always lock up paper at night and don’t leave it lying around during the day in a place that visitors can access.
Invoices – scammers will send you invoices for entries in business directories or for goods that haven’t been ordered. Make sure that invoices are signed off by the person or department head that received the goods or service. Also make sure that decisions on ordering are not left to a junior member of staff. We have seen a situation where the junior was left to order stationery. They ordered paper from a firm which charged four times the going rate, sent and charged for additional unordered items and then sent incentives to the junior in the form of drink and vouchers. Make sure you have a strict policy on incentives and that all orders are reviewed by a second person.
Data – recent surveys gave the worrying statistic that some 89% of businesses regularly transferred data using unencrypted memory sticks and even among data professionals 52% still don’t protect data. With data loss not only leaving you open to fraud but also to a potential fine from the Data commissioner’s office, a strict policy of data care will pay dividends.
People – we are sure that you take and check references on your staff, but what about casual visitors to the office? Do you make them sign in and then assign a member of staff to accompany them around the office or do you just let visitors wander wherever they want. Worryingly a badge and a “just come to service the photocopier” gains instant unquestioned access to many offices. Take references on firms that you use regularly and make sure you know who is visiting the office.
In summary, secure data, cheques and passwords; put a few basic checking procedures in place and make sure that staff are aware of their role in preventing fraud. This may not stop the determined fraudster but you will stop most opportunist frauds and whilst these procedures won’t cost the earth they may save your business.
Cheque books – one of the oldest and simplest methods of fraud in the book. Leave your company cheque book lying around in an unlocked drawer and the fraudster will take one cheque from near the back of the book. If the fraudster has time they’ll also pinch a copy of one of your letters so they have your signature and the first you know of it is when the money has gone from your bank. Always lock up cheque books and when a new book arrives from the bank note it in your records and keep it safe. Better still, with the banks phasing out cheques, start the move now to electronic banking. Make sure you choose a bank which will offer you dual authorisation as a minimum and keep passwords safe.
Company stationery – leave headed paper lying around and the fraudster will use it to arrange bank transfers or order goods in your name. Always lock up paper at night and don’t leave it lying around during the day in a place that visitors can access.
Invoices – scammers will send you invoices for entries in business directories or for goods that haven’t been ordered. Make sure that invoices are signed off by the person or department head that received the goods or service. Also make sure that decisions on ordering are not left to a junior member of staff. We have seen a situation where the junior was left to order stationery. They ordered paper from a firm which charged four times the going rate, sent and charged for additional unordered items and then sent incentives to the junior in the form of drink and vouchers. Make sure you have a strict policy on incentives and that all orders are reviewed by a second person.
Data – recent surveys gave the worrying statistic that some 89% of businesses regularly transferred data using unencrypted memory sticks and even among data professionals 52% still don’t protect data. With data loss not only leaving you open to fraud but also to a potential fine from the Data commissioner’s office, a strict policy of data care will pay dividends.
People – we are sure that you take and check references on your staff, but what about casual visitors to the office? Do you make them sign in and then assign a member of staff to accompany them around the office or do you just let visitors wander wherever they want. Worryingly a badge and a “just come to service the photocopier” gains instant unquestioned access to many offices. Take references on firms that you use regularly and make sure you know who is visiting the office.
In summary, secure data, cheques and passwords; put a few basic checking procedures in place and make sure that staff are aware of their role in preventing fraud. This may not stop the determined fraudster but you will stop most opportunist frauds and whilst these procedures won’t cost the earth they may save your business.
wefinda wonderful weekly news (week ended 23 July 2010)
Top of the news for last week was the announcement that the UK’s GDP rose by 1.1% in the second quarter of this year. Following an increase of 0.3% in the first quarter, the rise took most analysts by surprise. Within the overall figure, the picture is still mixed. Business, services & finance rose by 1.3%; distribution, hotels and restaurants by 0.7%; whilst transport, storage and communication fell by 0.7%. Among other areas, manufacturing rose by 1% whilst power & water fell by 1.6%. Whilst the climb out of recession is good news, if the statistics continue the upward trend the prospect of a rise in interest rates becomes nearer.
Last week the government launched the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). This has been set up to completely review all taxes and come up with a simplified framework. For businesses the OTS has been asked to come up with a report by Budget day 2011 which will simplify SME taxes. This will include a review of IR35, the regulations governing whether a worker can be treated as self-employed or an employee.
From time to time we see stories in the press wondering about what the EU actually does for us and whether our contributions are justified. Usually all we hear are the headline stories or the silly summer stories but we don’t often find out about the background work that goes on. The EU does put a lot of money into funding for research and ICT is one of the areas that is benefiting. For all of you involved in ICT, the EU has launched a call for proposals that will result in projects worth €1.2 billion launching in 2011. The proposals are based around 'ICT for Energy Efficient Buildings', 'ICT for the Fully Electric Vehicle' and 'ICT for Factories of the Future'. Full information is available on the EU web site.
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming week? Well in Parliament the MPS will be packing their suitcases and heading off on their holidays. Parliament goes into recess on Wednesday until 6 September so journalists can now look forward to a summer of “who is running the country” stories.
And finally, at Wefinda we don’t just put suppliers and potential clients in touch with each other; we love to celebrate business success. Share your good news or funny business stories with us and we’ll put the best ones in our weekly news articles. We may even include our favourite in our monthly newsletter which is e-mailed to tens of thousands of businesses. E-mail us on mail@wefinda.co.uk with a brief outline of the story and a contact name and phone number in case we need clarification
Last week the government launched the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS). This has been set up to completely review all taxes and come up with a simplified framework. For businesses the OTS has been asked to come up with a report by Budget day 2011 which will simplify SME taxes. This will include a review of IR35, the regulations governing whether a worker can be treated as self-employed or an employee.
From time to time we see stories in the press wondering about what the EU actually does for us and whether our contributions are justified. Usually all we hear are the headline stories or the silly summer stories but we don’t often find out about the background work that goes on. The EU does put a lot of money into funding for research and ICT is one of the areas that is benefiting. For all of you involved in ICT, the EU has launched a call for proposals that will result in projects worth €1.2 billion launching in 2011. The proposals are based around 'ICT for Energy Efficient Buildings', 'ICT for the Fully Electric Vehicle' and 'ICT for Factories of the Future'. Full information is available on the EU web site.
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming week? Well in Parliament the MPS will be packing their suitcases and heading off on their holidays. Parliament goes into recess on Wednesday until 6 September so journalists can now look forward to a summer of “who is running the country” stories.
And finally, at Wefinda we don’t just put suppliers and potential clients in touch with each other; we love to celebrate business success. Share your good news or funny business stories with us and we’ll put the best ones in our weekly news articles. We may even include our favourite in our monthly newsletter which is e-mailed to tens of thousands of businesses. E-mail us on mail@wefinda.co.uk with a brief outline of the story and a contact name and phone number in case we need clarification
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
wefinda weekly small business news (week ended 16th July)
Let’s start the week off on a note of warning. The National Fraud Office reported last week that 15,000 people have reported being scammed by fraudsters in the first six months of 2010. With £3.5 billion being lost by individuals and businesses to fraudsters every year, even taking a few small steps to protect your firm will pay dividends. Top of the list for July is a warning on phishing e-mails which look as though they have come from HMRC. For more information see:
http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/phishing-warning-tax-credits-deadline-july10
For businesses interested in environmental issues, NetRegs (NetRegs.gov.uk) provides free environmental guidance to SMEs in the UK. Whilst some areas of the country enjoyed rain last week, others are still officially in drought and suffering hosepipe bans. NetRegs has several handy hints on saving water in your business including recycling waste water and rainwater collection, both of which could cut your water bills.
In our news for the week ended 18 June we reported the end of the trial in respect of the Buncefield Oil Fire in 2005. Five companies have now been ordered to pay fines totalling £9.5 million for their part in the disaster. In imposing the fines the judge, Mr. Justice Calvert-Smith, said the companies had shown "a slackness, inefficiency and a more or less complacent attitude to safety." With local businesses and homes still affected following the fire, claims for compensation are likely to be substantial. SMEs should take this as a warning to tighten up on their Health & Safety and Business Continuity plans.
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming week? As far as SMEs go, there is not a lot happening in Parliament although there is a select committee review on Tuesday looking at the work of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. On the 19th the Office for National Statistics will release both the latest consumer prices index and the economic & labour market review.
The EU also seems to be winding down for the summer although it was interesting to hear the European Vice-President for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, talk last week about the need for “facilitating a competitive environment for SMEs to develop future Internet business models”.
And finally, whilst London’s commuters often complain that the M25 is more like a car park than a motorway, spare a thought for the weekend commuters of the Rhur. Forty miles of motorway were closed on Sunday 18th July so that three million people could celebrate the Rhur being chosen as the European City of Culture. Whilst millions picnicked in the middle of the road, over one million people cycled and skated along the closed autobahn.
http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/phishing-warning-tax-credits-deadline-july10
For businesses interested in environmental issues, NetRegs (NetRegs.gov.uk) provides free environmental guidance to SMEs in the UK. Whilst some areas of the country enjoyed rain last week, others are still officially in drought and suffering hosepipe bans. NetRegs has several handy hints on saving water in your business including recycling waste water and rainwater collection, both of which could cut your water bills.
In our news for the week ended 18 June we reported the end of the trial in respect of the Buncefield Oil Fire in 2005. Five companies have now been ordered to pay fines totalling £9.5 million for their part in the disaster. In imposing the fines the judge, Mr. Justice Calvert-Smith, said the companies had shown "a slackness, inefficiency and a more or less complacent attitude to safety." With local businesses and homes still affected following the fire, claims for compensation are likely to be substantial. SMEs should take this as a warning to tighten up on their Health & Safety and Business Continuity plans.
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming week? As far as SMEs go, there is not a lot happening in Parliament although there is a select committee review on Tuesday looking at the work of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. On the 19th the Office for National Statistics will release both the latest consumer prices index and the economic & labour market review.
The EU also seems to be winding down for the summer although it was interesting to hear the European Vice-President for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, talk last week about the need for “facilitating a competitive environment for SMEs to develop future Internet business models”.
And finally, whilst London’s commuters often complain that the M25 is more like a car park than a motorway, spare a thought for the weekend commuters of the Rhur. Forty miles of motorway were closed on Sunday 18th July so that three million people could celebrate the Rhur being chosen as the European City of Culture. Whilst millions picnicked in the middle of the road, over one million people cycled and skated along the closed autobahn.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
What can we learn from Apple's iPhone 4 mistakes?
Rumours of user problems with the Apple iPhone 4 signal strength surfaced shortly after Apple released the new phone on June 24th 2010. Apple have since made two official responses to this reception issue, recommending that customers do not hold the phone in a certain way and another response suggesting that there is a glitch in the signal strength display.
On the Apple website, an open letter dated July 2, 2010, states that "The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history". It continues: "that we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong". To make matters worse, Apple conclude their letter with the following, possibly regrettable line: "We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same — the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped"
This Monday, July 11th 2010, Consumer reports in San Franciso stated that they have found a problem with the reception of the Apple iPhone 4. "Apple needs to come up with a permanent—and free—fix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4". On Tuesday, Investors rushed to sell shares in Apple, wiping £6.5bn of the market value of Apple, amid fears that Apple may have to recall the product.
Apple are now due to hold a press conference this Friday.
With speculation of a full product recall for the iPhone 4 and Apple's golden reputation now affected, what lessons can businesses like ours learn from Apple's handling of this product flaw? How would you have handled this product release problem?
Thanks for reading.
On the Apple website, an open letter dated July 2, 2010, states that "The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history". It continues: "that we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong". To make matters worse, Apple conclude their letter with the following, possibly regrettable line: "We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same — the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped"
This Monday, July 11th 2010, Consumer reports in San Franciso stated that they have found a problem with the reception of the Apple iPhone 4. "Apple needs to come up with a permanent—and free—fix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4". On Tuesday, Investors rushed to sell shares in Apple, wiping £6.5bn of the market value of Apple, amid fears that Apple may have to recall the product.
Apple are now due to hold a press conference this Friday.
With speculation of a full product recall for the iPhone 4 and Apple's golden reputation now affected, what lessons can businesses like ours learn from Apple's handling of this product flaw? How would you have handled this product release problem?
Thanks for reading.
Monday, 12 July 2010
wefinda weekly UK business news - week ended 9 July 2010
As expected the Bank of England MPC kept interest rates at 0.5% last week and also left the asset purchase programme unchanged at £200 billion. The minutes of the meeting where we see how the members voted will be released on 21 July. Last month seven members voted in favour of keeping rates unchanged whilst one voted against.
The University terms have ended and the annual flood of graduates has hit the market. With the recession fall out still affecting confidence, employers have 7% less places for graduates this year (report by the Association of Graduates Recruiters). Whilst 70 graduates are chasing each job, up from 39 per job in 2008, many employers are insisting on at least a 2.1 degree. Smaller businesses could therefore win out with many qualified graduates turning to the SME market for their first job.
For those of you involved in manufacturing, you only have until the 31 July to enter the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards. There are four categories (Enterprise, Innovation, Environmental and Apprentices) and the awards are open to all UK manufacturers and their apprentices. There is no charge for entry. Click on the link for further information and to download the entry form. http://www.eef.org.uk/awards/default.htm
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming week? The EU seems to be concentrating on people with special needs with a conference on access to technology by people with disabilities in London on 13th and a conference on ICT for people with disabilities in Vienna from 14th to 16th. The Vienna conference includes a demonstration on RoboBraille which converts text into digital or audio files, thus helping the visually impaired and dyslexic in the workplace and at home.
As far as SMEs are concerned there is a quiet week in the House of Commons. The finance bill continues its progress in the main chamber whilst one of the committees is looking at Occupational Pension Schemes.
Finally, if one of your employees has started to look tired and perform badly they could be suffering from the latest disease to have hit the survey market. According to Axa, money sickness syndrome is on the rise. It is caused by poor financial understanding and a lack of control over personal finances. Apparently senior managers mainly try to ignore the problem whilst skilled manual workers and administrative staff either turn to drink or eat more.
If you think that your staff may have this syndrome, a talk by a financial adviser or debt counsellor could be the answer. However, if you decide more drastic measurers are called for to restore employee togetherness, think carefully before doing what one Italian company did and get your staff to walk over a bed of hot coals. The wrong wood was used and nine people ended up in hospital.
The University terms have ended and the annual flood of graduates has hit the market. With the recession fall out still affecting confidence, employers have 7% less places for graduates this year (report by the Association of Graduates Recruiters). Whilst 70 graduates are chasing each job, up from 39 per job in 2008, many employers are insisting on at least a 2.1 degree. Smaller businesses could therefore win out with many qualified graduates turning to the SME market for their first job.
For those of you involved in manufacturing, you only have until the 31 July to enter the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards. There are four categories (Enterprise, Innovation, Environmental and Apprentices) and the awards are open to all UK manufacturers and their apprentices. There is no charge for entry. Click on the link for further information and to download the entry form. http://www.eef.org.uk/awards/default.htm
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming week? The EU seems to be concentrating on people with special needs with a conference on access to technology by people with disabilities in London on 13th and a conference on ICT for people with disabilities in Vienna from 14th to 16th. The Vienna conference includes a demonstration on RoboBraille which converts text into digital or audio files, thus helping the visually impaired and dyslexic in the workplace and at home.
As far as SMEs are concerned there is a quiet week in the House of Commons. The finance bill continues its progress in the main chamber whilst one of the committees is looking at Occupational Pension Schemes.
Finally, if one of your employees has started to look tired and perform badly they could be suffering from the latest disease to have hit the survey market. According to Axa, money sickness syndrome is on the rise. It is caused by poor financial understanding and a lack of control over personal finances. Apparently senior managers mainly try to ignore the problem whilst skilled manual workers and administrative staff either turn to drink or eat more.
If you think that your staff may have this syndrome, a talk by a financial adviser or debt counsellor could be the answer. However, if you decide more drastic measurers are called for to restore employee togetherness, think carefully before doing what one Italian company did and get your staff to walk over a bed of hot coals. The wrong wood was used and nine people ended up in hospital.
Friday, 9 July 2010
The wefinda video
Today we created the wefinda video, we hope it explains our service. It will be on our new homepage from Tuesday, July 13th.
It lets you know how to use the service to get three quotes for all your business needs. It explains how you can access our expert buyer guides and most importantly, how the wefinda service can be of benefit to your business.
Thanks for reading (and watching)
It lets you know how to use the service to get three quotes for all your business needs. It explains how you can access our expert buyer guides and most importantly, how the wefinda service can be of benefit to your business.
Thanks for reading (and watching)
About wefinda service from wefinda team on Vimeo.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Behind the scenes: web design and development for wefinda 1.1
This is the sitemap or flowchart of the latest iteration of wefinda. wefinda v1.1 (goes live July 13th 2010) allows our customers to create an account and log in. This will enable customers to leave one click quote requests going forward. Customers can now log in and press a single button to generate up to 3 immediate quotes for their business needs.
Additional benefits for our customers include a new reward program to thank users for using the service and help promote their own business. The reward program is in it's infancy and will expand based on our customer's needs and feedback.
MVP
We launched wefinda as a MVP (minimum viable product). This meant that we designed the basic functionality needed to operate our quotes service and went live with that minimum functionality. The advantages of MVP development would appear to be that it focuses your mind on the functionality that is critical, not nice to have. It allows you to work in rapid iterations, designing, developing and building a website very quickly. And most importantly it gives you and your customers a platform to enhance based on your customer needs. The disadvantage is in the discipline required to cut out all those very cool features that you think you will need, but probably never will ; ).
Iteration
wefinda will continue to iterate and roll out enhanced versions of our service. This will be based on 2 key metrics. We will listen to customer suggestions regarding their needs and evaluate our conversion analytics for areas of improvement.
Going forward
As we continue to grow we will add the necessary functionality in an attempt to create a world class business service. It's about the little wins right now though and continued focus on our aim to add value to our customers daily business operations.
Thanks to @johnnymayhem (design) and @rfwatson (development) and @desktopdan (Jedi-like project management) who have brought the site to life with amazing speed, quality and skill. They can probably give you the experts opinion of what we have developed to date, this is just the layman version!
Thanks for reading.
Additional benefits for our customers include a new reward program to thank users for using the service and help promote their own business. The reward program is in it's infancy and will expand based on our customer's needs and feedback.
MVP
We launched wefinda as a MVP (minimum viable product). This meant that we designed the basic functionality needed to operate our quotes service and went live with that minimum functionality. The advantages of MVP development would appear to be that it focuses your mind on the functionality that is critical, not nice to have. It allows you to work in rapid iterations, designing, developing and building a website very quickly. And most importantly it gives you and your customers a platform to enhance based on your customer needs. The disadvantage is in the discipline required to cut out all those very cool features that you think you will need, but probably never will ; ).
Iteration
wefinda will continue to iterate and roll out enhanced versions of our service. This will be based on 2 key metrics. We will listen to customer suggestions regarding their needs and evaluate our conversion analytics for areas of improvement.
Going forward
As we continue to grow we will add the necessary functionality in an attempt to create a world class business service. It's about the little wins right now though and continued focus on our aim to add value to our customers daily business operations.
Thanks to @johnnymayhem (design) and @rfwatson (development) and @desktopdan (Jedi-like project management) who have brought the site to life with amazing speed, quality and skill. They can probably give you the experts opinion of what we have developed to date, this is just the layman version!
Thanks for reading.
How can your pension help your business cash flow? The small self administered scheme (SSAS) explained.
The small self administered scheme (SSAS) is a business pension that is either completely overlooked or raved about depending on your individual circumstances. Whilst we want you to read on, we do have to say at the outset that SSAS rules are very complex and you do need to talk to your accountant and a qualified financial advisor before making any decisions.
For those of you still with us after that warning, we can give you the good news which is that a SSAS is potentially a way of raising finance for your business from your pension fund. For all those businesses struggling to raise finance from banks, the SAAS could be a viable alternative.
So how does the scheme work? Well, a SSAS is a pension scheme which is set up under a trust deed for the benefit of its members. It has to be originally set up for a business although once set up, non employees can join. This means that relatives of directors or employees could join. The only limit is that is has to have fewer than twelve members. A SSAS scheme is run under the control of its trustees and is regulated by HMRC.
One of the benefits of a SSAS is that members can pay in to the scheme which can then lend up to 50% of the value of the scheme’s assets to the business. Not only that, the SSAS can borrow up to 50% of the value of its assets to purchase items such as business property or intellectual property. There are regulations on allowable investments and although a SSAS can invest in business premises it cannot invest in private property. Buy a shop with a SSAS and develop the top floor into a flat and you can expect to face major penalties.
Taking the first scenario, businesses with a SSAS pension fund can borrow from the SSAS. There are some conditions however. The loan has to be secured against assets by way of a first charge so it won’t work if your business already has already given a full bank mortgage over business assets. The loan term has to be less than five years so repayments may be steep and interest rates of at least 1% over bank base rate has to be charged. These conditions mean that businesses who are already in financial difficulty and who have charged their assets will probably not be able to benefit fro a SSAS.
Looking at the second scenario, if the SSAS has sufficient funds it may be able to borrow to fund the purchase of business premises. The property can then be leased to the business and any capital gain within the scheme is free from CGT. One slight note of caution here in that the SSAS trustees are legally bound to ensure the fund is secure. There have been cases of businesses defaulting on their lease payments and being evicted by their SSAS. Again, this is probably not the answer for businesses which already have difficulty in meeting their payments.
Having given the notes of caution, for businesses which are on a sound footing but need an injection of cash to fund expansion and development, the SSAS may well be the answer. A SSAS can provide a tax efficient and flexible way of pension planning whilst providing much needed funds for your business.
For those of you still with us after that warning, we can give you the good news which is that a SSAS is potentially a way of raising finance for your business from your pension fund. For all those businesses struggling to raise finance from banks, the SAAS could be a viable alternative.
So how does the scheme work? Well, a SSAS is a pension scheme which is set up under a trust deed for the benefit of its members. It has to be originally set up for a business although once set up, non employees can join. This means that relatives of directors or employees could join. The only limit is that is has to have fewer than twelve members. A SSAS scheme is run under the control of its trustees and is regulated by HMRC.
One of the benefits of a SSAS is that members can pay in to the scheme which can then lend up to 50% of the value of the scheme’s assets to the business. Not only that, the SSAS can borrow up to 50% of the value of its assets to purchase items such as business property or intellectual property. There are regulations on allowable investments and although a SSAS can invest in business premises it cannot invest in private property. Buy a shop with a SSAS and develop the top floor into a flat and you can expect to face major penalties.
Taking the first scenario, businesses with a SSAS pension fund can borrow from the SSAS. There are some conditions however. The loan has to be secured against assets by way of a first charge so it won’t work if your business already has already given a full bank mortgage over business assets. The loan term has to be less than five years so repayments may be steep and interest rates of at least 1% over bank base rate has to be charged. These conditions mean that businesses who are already in financial difficulty and who have charged their assets will probably not be able to benefit fro a SSAS.
Looking at the second scenario, if the SSAS has sufficient funds it may be able to borrow to fund the purchase of business premises. The property can then be leased to the business and any capital gain within the scheme is free from CGT. One slight note of caution here in that the SSAS trustees are legally bound to ensure the fund is secure. There have been cases of businesses defaulting on their lease payments and being evicted by their SSAS. Again, this is probably not the answer for businesses which already have difficulty in meeting their payments.
Having given the notes of caution, for businesses which are on a sound footing but need an injection of cash to fund expansion and development, the SSAS may well be the answer. A SSAS can provide a tax efficient and flexible way of pension planning whilst providing much needed funds for your business.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
How to make friends with your Website designer and improve profits
It is a simple fact of business life that if you don’t have a web site, your potential clients won’t find you and your existing clients will wonder if you are still in business. Use a web site properly and not only will it bring you new clients, it will also save costs and help to streamline your work flow.
In today’s climate we know that budgets are tight. The majority of the cost of a web site relates to time so at wefinda we’ve put together our seven point guide to saving your website designer time and therefore saving you money. Get three quotes now from quality suppliers.
Why do you need a web site?
This seems like a simple question but until you have answered it you could spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds in design time going around in circles. So, do you need the site to give people information about your business or to attract people to your business or to act as an online marketplace? Once you’ve decided why you want your site it is time to go to the next stage.
Explore what is out there
Spend some time surfing the web. Look at sites from competitors and unrelated businesses alike. Get an idea of the style you like; do you like lots of words or a few, do you prefer technical jargon or simple phrases, what colour schemes and fonts attract you? Now you are starting to get a good idea so move to stage three.
Find out what a web site can do
Web sites should be considered as a method of exchanging information. You can set your site up so that it tracks who uses it and what they use it for. You can find out what searches led people to your site and you can configure the view so that repeat visitors see information that is appropriate to them. Explore what sites can do for you then look at the next stage.
Integrate the site with your processes
Your web site shouldn’t be seen as a separate entity to your business. Because it can link with sales, marketing, customer relations etcetera it is worth reviewing your processes to get the most out of your site. Now you have a good idea of what a site can do for you it is time to take stock with our next hint.
Need to have v like to have
You know what is possible so it is time to be realistic. Before you sit down with the designer have an idea of what you need to have on your site and what you would like to have if the budget allows. That will allow the website designer a bit of leeway if costs look tight. You are almost ready to go and see the designer but before you do….
Describe what you want
You know what you want and like and it is time to make sure the designer will too. Take screen shots of your favourite styles, write headings for all the pages you need and sketch out any layouts you have been thinking of. With the site integrating into your processes, produce some flow charts so that the designer understands what is required.
And finally
Keep an open mind. You’ve done lots of research and this will save costs as well as helping the designer to come up with a site that you like and will help your business to grow. Web technology is evolving fast and the web designer is an expert so if he comes up with alternative suggestions then take some time to consider them. They may help your business to grow even more.
Get three quotes now from quality suppliers
In today’s climate we know that budgets are tight. The majority of the cost of a web site relates to time so at wefinda we’ve put together our seven point guide to saving your website designer time and therefore saving you money. Get three quotes now from quality suppliers.
Why do you need a web site?
This seems like a simple question but until you have answered it you could spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds in design time going around in circles. So, do you need the site to give people information about your business or to attract people to your business or to act as an online marketplace? Once you’ve decided why you want your site it is time to go to the next stage.
Explore what is out there
Spend some time surfing the web. Look at sites from competitors and unrelated businesses alike. Get an idea of the style you like; do you like lots of words or a few, do you prefer technical jargon or simple phrases, what colour schemes and fonts attract you? Now you are starting to get a good idea so move to stage three.
Find out what a web site can do
Web sites should be considered as a method of exchanging information. You can set your site up so that it tracks who uses it and what they use it for. You can find out what searches led people to your site and you can configure the view so that repeat visitors see information that is appropriate to them. Explore what sites can do for you then look at the next stage.
Integrate the site with your processes
Your web site shouldn’t be seen as a separate entity to your business. Because it can link with sales, marketing, customer relations etcetera it is worth reviewing your processes to get the most out of your site. Now you have a good idea of what a site can do for you it is time to take stock with our next hint.
Need to have v like to have
You know what is possible so it is time to be realistic. Before you sit down with the designer have an idea of what you need to have on your site and what you would like to have if the budget allows. That will allow the website designer a bit of leeway if costs look tight. You are almost ready to go and see the designer but before you do….
Describe what you want
You know what you want and like and it is time to make sure the designer will too. Take screen shots of your favourite styles, write headings for all the pages you need and sketch out any layouts you have been thinking of. With the site integrating into your processes, produce some flow charts so that the designer understands what is required.
And finally
Keep an open mind. You’ve done lots of research and this will save costs as well as helping the designer to come up with a site that you like and will help your business to grow. Web technology is evolving fast and the web designer is an expert so if he comes up with alternative suggestions then take some time to consider them. They may help your business to grow even more.
Get three quotes now from quality suppliers
Monday, 5 July 2010
wefinda rewards - it just makes sense.
Hello to all our wonderful wefinda customers,
This is a short note to let you know that the new wefinda rewards program is about to be launched (July 15th 2010) and to thank you all for your custom to date.
As the people responsible for giving your business choice, we also appreciate that you have a choice whether to use us or other less useful methods of search! Hence we are announcing our rewards program.
The following activities will earn points to claim prizes:
We will release exact details closer to launch. Please get in touch if you have any ideas for the team, our feedback on rewards is hosted at http://www.ukbusinesslabs.co.uk @ http://bit.ly/boDbd1
Thanks,
Dave
wefinda rewards - it just makes sense.
This is a short note to let you know that the new wefinda rewards program is about to be launched (July 15th 2010) and to thank you all for your custom to date.
As the people responsible for giving your business choice, we also appreciate that you have a choice whether to use us or other less useful methods of search! Hence we are announcing our rewards program.
The following activities will earn points to claim prizes:
- Using wefinda to get quotes for your business needs.
- Recommending a friend to do same.
- Providing feedback on our quality suppliers.
We will release exact details closer to launch. Please get in touch if you have any ideas for the team, our feedback on rewards is hosted at http://www.ukbusinesslabs.co.uk @ http://bit.ly/boDbd1
Thanks,
Dave
wefinda rewards - it just makes sense.
Wonderful wefinda weekly news - week ended 2 July 2010
Top of the wefinda news for the last week has to be the three Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members who have publicly commented that they believe it is too soon to consider raising interest rates. Last month the eight man committee voted seven to one in favour of keeping interest rates unchanged. Although inflation is rising faster than forecast and a rise in interest rates would bring in currency investors; keeping rates low helps business borrowing as well keeping the pound low and helping exports. We will be watching the results of this week’s MPC meeting with interest.
On the IT front, last month saw the launch of both the Sage 200 (2010) upgrade and Microsoft Office & Sharepoint 2010. The Sage upgrade launched last week promises to be both more flexible and accessible than previous versions and it also includes a new Sage report designer. Microsoft Office & Sharepoint2010, launched in mid June, have a host of new features. The one we like best is the ability to co-author your files, editing them simultaneously with colleagues working from different locations.
Turning to energy, Ofgem announced that from 1 July customers will receive clearer bills which will help to monitor electricity use. They also announced a cut in both premiums being charged to customers in rural areas and differential tariffs being charged to customers in different parts of the country. Businesses and private customers alike will benefit from Ofgem’s crack down on unfair tariffs. Two unnamed suppliers have been asked to account for their price premiums, as a first stage towards possible enforcement action.
So what do we have to look forward to this week? In the EU we have the 5th international carers’ conference in Leeds, whilst in Brussels on 8th July there is an information day on the future internet.
In Parliament, the most important topic as far as we are concerned is on Thursday with questions relating to business innovation and skills although we may take a passing glance at the Wednesday questions on international development.
As an aside on the question of international development, if you are considering trading overseas then it does pay to contact the UK trade & investment department. We’ve heard that they can be extremely helpful in getting you started and helping with everything from grants to contracts, business practices and occasionally even secondments. More information is on their website (http://www.ukti.gov.uk/home.html).
And finally, if the summer weather is encouraging you to get out and about but you need to stay in touch with your business, the answer has arrived. Power wellies convert the heat from your feet into electricity which you can use to charge your mobile phone. Unfortunately at present you have to walk for twelve hours to get one hour of charge but this we think this latest offering from GotWind and Orange is an important step forward in renewable energy solutions.
On the IT front, last month saw the launch of both the Sage 200 (2010) upgrade and Microsoft Office & Sharepoint 2010. The Sage upgrade launched last week promises to be both more flexible and accessible than previous versions and it also includes a new Sage report designer. Microsoft Office & Sharepoint2010, launched in mid June, have a host of new features. The one we like best is the ability to co-author your files, editing them simultaneously with colleagues working from different locations.
Turning to energy, Ofgem announced that from 1 July customers will receive clearer bills which will help to monitor electricity use. They also announced a cut in both premiums being charged to customers in rural areas and differential tariffs being charged to customers in different parts of the country. Businesses and private customers alike will benefit from Ofgem’s crack down on unfair tariffs. Two unnamed suppliers have been asked to account for their price premiums, as a first stage towards possible enforcement action.
So what do we have to look forward to this week? In the EU we have the 5th international carers’ conference in Leeds, whilst in Brussels on 8th July there is an information day on the future internet.
In Parliament, the most important topic as far as we are concerned is on Thursday with questions relating to business innovation and skills although we may take a passing glance at the Wednesday questions on international development.
As an aside on the question of international development, if you are considering trading overseas then it does pay to contact the UK trade & investment department. We’ve heard that they can be extremely helpful in getting you started and helping with everything from grants to contracts, business practices and occasionally even secondments. More information is on their website (http://www.ukti.gov.uk/home.html).
And finally, if the summer weather is encouraging you to get out and about but you need to stay in touch with your business, the answer has arrived. Power wellies convert the heat from your feet into electricity which you can use to charge your mobile phone. Unfortunately at present you have to walk for twelve hours to get one hour of charge but this we think this latest offering from GotWind and Orange is an important step forward in renewable energy solutions.
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