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Blog posts tagged services

Ten sites for selling your wares

April 28, 2010 by Emma Jones

Whether you’re selling your knowledge or products crafted by your own hands, there are online platforms to help you reach an audience of customers and make sales. Here is my top ten:

Business services  If you’re an IT contractor, graphic designer, business coach or expert translator, these sites might help you:

  • Peopleperhour.com – more than 45,000 freelancers use this site to source work and new clients. As the freelance, you respond to job opportunities, pitch for work and receive payment, all via www.peopleperhour.com
  • Business Smiths – companies needing anything from business plans to web design head to www.businesssmiths.co.uk to find experts who can help.
  • Wooshii – a new kid on the block, this site has been created for creatives who produce video and rich media. Companies upload their projects to www.wooshii.com and Wooshii-registered creatives respond with their best offer.
  • Lingo24.com – for linguists, Lingo24.com can become your business development tool as work is sourced on your behalf. Clients include multinational companies and government bodies and Lingo24.com services these clients with a workforce of thousands of freelance translators spread across the globe.

Personal services If health, beauty and wellbeing is more your thing, here’s where to head:

  • Return to Glory – London’s largest home massage and mobile beauty company, the site is a displaying ground for beauticians and health experts who deliver treatments in the client’s own home. Visit www.returntoglory.co.uk
  • Wahanda – welcome to the world of therapists, stylists, practitioners and trainers. They gather at wahanda.com as customers come looking, ready to order their services.

Handmade crafts There is a growing number of sites for the artisan and handmade community. Here are just three of them:

  • Etsy – the mother of all craft sites. Since the company launched in June 2005, more than 250,000 sellers from around the world have opened up Etsy shops.
  • Notonthehighstreet.com - this site offers personalised gifts and other delights you won’t find on the high street. At the end of 2009, the company reported 1,500 craft designers using the site with sales of £6.4m. Visit www.notonthehighstreet.com

Manufacturing

  • Alibaba.com – through this site you can make your niche manufacturing dreams come true by sourcing production in China and then selling the finished item. Visit www.alibaba.com 

Emma Jones is Founder of Enterprise Nation, the home business website, and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’. Her next book, ‘Working 5 to 9 – how to start a business in your spare time’, will be published in May 2010.

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Posted in Sales and marketing | Tagged websites, translator, services, Selling, IT contractor, graphic designer, crafts, business coach | 0 comments

5 powerful questions to help you describe what you do

October 21, 2009 by Sonja Jefferson

"So, what do you do then?"

If someone asks you to describe what your new business does, what do you say?

For many, this is not as easy as it sounds. Whether it's for your business plan, on your website or in person, you need a clear, compelling description. You need to get your idea across in a way that will really get the attention of potential clients.

Here are 5 crucial questions to help you communicate what you do in a way that people understand, and act on:

  1. Talk about your CUSTOMERS: who do you work for? What kind of people benefit from your services? Where are they based?
  2. Talk about the PROBLEMS YOU SOLVE: what kind of issues, opportunities or challenges do you help with? Why are these so important to your target customers? When should a potential client pick up the phone to your company?
  3. Briefly describe your SERVICES: how do you help? What kind of services or products do you offer? What's your process?
  4. BENEFITS: what kind of results or outcome can they expect from working with you? Prove this with case studies and testimonials.
  5. Explain your MISSION: What's the story? Why are you in business? What difference have you set out to make to your customers?

Whether you’re writing your business plan, web content or describing what you do in person, remember to answer these five questions. Don’t just talk about your products and services. Tell your customers how you solve problems for people just like them. 

When they ask you what you do, this is what they really want to hear.

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Posted in Start up business ideas, Sales and marketing | Tagged business purpose, business plan, services, customer benefits, problem solving | 0 comments
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