Brendon Sinclair's Business Mix

There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-06-29)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 41

Show Notes:

Tips & Tricks to Grow Your Business with Outsourcing

Outsourcing work can be a great way to grow your business and provide additional services to your clients that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to provide. However, it can be difficult to find competent and reliable subcontractors/freelancers to outsource work to, and then keep them motivated to work for you.

Today’s tips and tricks are mostly from a web development business perpective, but there are a few key things that can be applied to any business wanting to subcontract out work.

You can find subcontractors a number of ways. Online, I like to use elance.com or rentacoder.com to find web designers and programmers, as well as checking out the forums and their job listing facilities. Ask others in your industry who outsource where they find people if you are not sure where to start.

Once you have a few prospects, ask for a quote, check out what work they have done before and check their references. Then test them out on little jobs before giving them a big one. It’s also a good idea to develop relationships with several people who you can subcontract out to, rather than only relying on one or two.

Thoughout the whole subcontracting process, communication is the key. I have learned from expeience (both good and bad!) that good communication is vital to a job well done and I explain this further in the podcast with some really good experiences and some nightmare ones!

One of the things I have found is that when you find a good subcontracter/freelancer, you should pay them properly and treat them well. I share a few really useful ways to build relationships with my suppliers and keep them motivated to want to work for me.

As always, enjoy the show!

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 41

Regards,

Brendon

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There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-06-26)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 40

Show Notes:

How Great Marketing of an Average Product Beats Average Marketing of a Great Product.

On today’s show, I get fired up about businesses that miss out on key marketing opportunities, that then wonder why they aren’t making more sales. There are many examples of a great product idea that never makes it in the marketplace, or an average product that does phenomenally well because of terrific marketing. I have a couple of great examples for you, namely Arctic Heat (great product with average marketing) and the ipod (average product with great marketing).

The key to marketing your product or services is to take action early and often, quantify every marketing effort as much as you can. It’s better to get up of your ass and do some marketing that worry about making an ass of yourself and then not doing anything.

I talk about relationship building as part of my marketing strategy, and how I am using a hobby of mine (marathon running) to help build business relationships. Tina and I have produced some video and audio for the Gold Coast Marathon as part of building this relationship. Even though it took Tina and I away from working on web development projects that we are currently doing, you should never underestimate the value of building business relationships. Make sure you set aside some time for this, and have fun at it too.

As always, enjoy the show!

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 40

Regards,

Brendon

{ 1 comment }

There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-06-09)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 38

Show Notes:

How to Use Great Testimonials Effectively

On today’s show, we have a case study for you on how including a great testimonial in your marketing material can have a colossal impact on the number of sales you make. We break down the difference between a good testimonial and a great one, and give you some examples of how you can use testimonials to sell more products, win new clients or land a great new job.

Check out the Google AdWords book I mention here.

Enjoy the show!

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 38

Regards,

Brendon

{ 1 comment }

There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-06-01)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 37

Show Notes:

Why You Shouldn’t Give the Customer What They Want

Today’s show is abut the benefits of having confidence in your own ability as a consultant. We talk about what you can do when you are faced with the tricky situation of a client that wants you to deliver something you know isn’t going to work. Our advice is to really try and educate the client, enough to understand that they can trust your opinion as an expert.

Show Resources

• Copy Blogger – A great resource on how to write effective copy
• Google Analytics – We just can’t stop mentioning this free statistics program, as it is really useful
• Stanford study quantifying design importance. – We just can’t stop mentioning this free statistics program, as it is really useful.
• Increase conversion rates by 40% with a new headline.

Enjoy the show!

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 37

Regards,

Brendon

{ 4 comments }

There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-05-25)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 36

Show Notes:

Increasing Sales by 400%?

On today’s podcast, we bring you a case study of a recent client of hours. We share some simple changes that we made to the client’s website, that we expect will dramatically increase his sales.

What We Did

1. Added a statistics package
Statistics on your website are essential. You can never know enough about your visitor numbers and visitor behaviour. A good stats program means you are better equipped to see where any improvements to your site can be made, and recognise the effects of any changes you make to your site. Google Analytics is an excellent free statistics program.

2. Created a Customer Survey.
While a statistics package can tell you how many visitors you have, and what pages they visit, it can tell you how they “feel” about your site and whether they feel comfortable purchasing from your site. A simple, well thought out survey can give your great information on how you can improve your site. The survey software we use is One Minute Poll, which is very easy to use and quite cost effective.

3. Added a Blog
Blogs are great for all kinds of reasons. Two main ones are: They provide an easy way to add regular content to the site and are highly regarded by search engines. We usually use free blogging software such as Blogger or WordPress

4. Simplified the shopping cart process
Once you’ve got someone as far as your shopping cart, you want to make it as simple as possible to buy. Ensure your shopping cart is as secure and user friendly as possible.

5. Simplified the Navigation on the site
You want visitors to spend time learning about your products, not trying to figure out how to find them. Learn to think like your customers, and even get a few to test drive your site for ease of navigation.

So there you have it. 5 simple, easy things to do on your e-commerce site that will help you increase your sales.

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 36

Regards

Brendon

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There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-05-15)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 35

Show Notes:

Making Secrets of a Successful Web Development Business

Today’s Podcast is an interview with Billy Kirkley, a Brisbane web developer, on how he built his business up from a one man show to himself and 9 employees in just 11 months.

The show is longer today – about half an hour, because Tina had trouble deciding on what to edit out as Billy had so many great tips that web developers and small business owners might find useful. This is also the reason we are putting it up today instead of Friday – sorry about that, but we are sure you will enjoy the show anyway.

Resources from the Show

Billy’s Top 2 Things to Do Today that Will Help You Build Your Business:

1. Pick up the phone and call 20 people you would like to do business with. Tell them why, and why you are better than the other companies out there offering similar services.
2. Learn to outsource work. Your time may be more valuable spent with clients and managing your business than sitting in front of a computer doing the technical work of your business. If you can learn to leverage other people’s time instead of just your own and those of your permanent employees, you are in a far better position to pick up more clients and grow your business.

3 Websites to Visit:

• Monster Template have some great templates for web developers. Even if you don’t want to buy them, it’s a great place for design ideas.
• SEO Black Hat. A blog on some of the more dubious SEO (search engine optimization) techniques. Though a lot of the techniques on this site are not recommended, it’s a great resource for the latest news and gossip
  on search engine technology.
• SEO Guy’s tutorial has some great techniques on search engine optimization, sure to give both the novice and intermediate web developer and edge on the competition.

And, of course, Billy Kirkley’s Brisbane Web Design Web Site.

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 35

Regards

Brendon

{ 7 comments }

There are 2 ways to listen:

1. Use the player above to have the audio stream in now (it’s the one that says BS-Biz-Mix-2006-05-11)
2. Download the mp3 file below to play later, download to your mp3 player, etc

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 34

Show Notes:

Great PR Tips for Your Business

The much awaited interview with Chelsea McLean is here. The show is a little longer today, because Chelsea had so much great stuff to say, so we thought we’d put it all in there for you.

Chelsea and I talk about why publicity is much more effective than advertising in promoting your business. We talk about effective PR strategies that anyone can use and that won’t cost anything but a little time.

Chelsea’s 3 Top Tips on Getting Quality (& Free!) Publicity

1. Be prepared. Have a media release on your business ready to send to any media enquiries you receive. Know the answers to any questions you think the journalist may ask.
2. Just give it a go. You won’t get any publicity if you never try. So get prepared, make some phone calls, send some emails and keep politely in touch with relevant media even if they aren’t interested first time.
3. Be creative. Keep up with topical events and think of creative ways to tell a story about your business and “piggyback” on current newsworthy items.

Show Resources:

• Example of a Press Release that Chelsea created for my business, Tailored Consulting. In PDF format
• Get The Word Out – Great info on how to write a journalist friendly media release.
• Seth Godin – Marketing Guru, has some great tips on good storytelling for business, big and small.

Enjoy the show & stay tuned for Friday’s Interview with successful web development firm owner, Billy Kirkley.

Click here to download and listen to Brendon Sinclair’s Business Mix Show # 34

Regards

Brendon

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