Tips on delivering the perfect elevator speech

Elevator

going up! If your organisation regularly pitches to potential clients, you need to ensure that your sales team can deliver great elevator speeches.

Of course, elevator speeches don’t literally take place inside a lift, rather they refer

to the idea that the person giving the speech ought to be able to succinctly introduce themselves, as well as the product and/or service their organisation offers and what they can do for customers, all in the time it would take to go up several floors in an elevator.

The key to succeeding with an elevator speech is to provide short, yet detailed, pitches that give a great impression of your brand and will provide your target audience with the impetus to find out more your organisation. Whatever industry you’re in, taking the time to develop perfect elevator speeches will help your business to convert more leads. To pick up some tips about how to develop fantastic pitches, read on.

What are you going to say?

Yes, it’s stating the obvious but don’t think you can underestimate the importance of planning out exactly what you’re going to say in your pitch.

An elevator speech should be given in about one minute, which means there is no room for you to waffle or use technical jargon. Instead, you need to deliver a punchy speech that looks directly at what your organisation does and sums up exactly how it can benefit the recipient(s) and their own objectives.

Generally, you’ll find that most listeners will ask themselves “what is in it for me?” while you’re talking. So, if they find your speech evokes a positive answer to this question you will have won half the battle in convincing them to spend money with your organisation. On the other side of the coin, if people can’t figure out how your speech is relevant to them they are unlikely to provide you with their full attention and ultimately their custom.

Practice makes perfect

To make sure your elevator speech is successful, you’ll need to put in plenty of hard work. While timing yourself delivering a practiced pitch in a lift is probably taking things a little too far, it’s a good idea to establish how quickly you can say everything you want to and where, if possible, unnecessary points can be cut out.

Remember, the point of an elevator speech is to get people interested in learning more about your organisation, so you should think about what questions they are likely to ask in advance which should, in turn, mean that you have well-considered replies.

While preparation is important, your speeches should never feel like they are generic and over-rehearsed. Make sure each pitch is tailored directly to the clients you are meeting and highlights specifically how your company can help them.

Leave a lasting impression

Once the pitch is over your audience should be eager to find out more about your organisation and you should hand out promotional business gifts before you leave.

Promotional gifts run the gamut from printed pens to business cardholders (if you use the latter make sure they contain a copy of your own business card). Research by the British Promotional Merchandise Association shows 56 per cent of people feel more favourably about a company after the company sent them promotional product.

What steps are you taking to deliver fantastic elevator speeches to potential customers? Leave a comment and let us know!

How to Become a Private Tutor

Many people require tutoring in various subjects. Hiring a private tutor is a good way for people to obtain the instruction they need because they can schedule the sessions to fit their schedule. Here is a list of things you need to know to become a

private tutor:

Qualifications
Unlike a teacher that is required to have a college degree and certification, there are currently no prerequisites or academic requirements that are needed for a person to become a private tutor. However, the more education you have, the easier

essay writer

you will be able to get paying clients. To put it simply, education will open more doors for you.

Make a Lesson Plan
Before you begin to tutor people, create a lesson plan that is easy to follow. Make sure your students understand the syllabus or curriculum you will be teaching them. This will ensure that your lesson plans will be as effective as possible. One of the most important qualities tutors must demonstrate is how to and realize how to teach different students with varying ways of learning. Always be well organized and professional. Students may not want to keep hiring you if you are fumbling through your materials in front of them.

Consult an Attorney
If you plan on tutoring school children, it would be wise to talk to an attorney first. There will most likely be very specific laws concerning the tutoring of children in your area. You must make sure you adhere to these laws, as they can vary widely depending on where you live.

Obtain References
Even before you begin tutoring a new student, ask them if they will allow you to use them as a reference for potential future clients. References are crucial in this line of work. Before a person invites you into their home and starts to pay you money, they want to hear from other people that you are a good tutor and that you provide a quality learning experience.

Advertise Your Service
You need to let people know about your tutoring service. The best way to do that is by getting your name out there. There are many different classified sites where you can post ads promoting your business. You can also make some posts on message boards pertaining to tutoring.

Payment
Make your rates competitive and sign up to an online payment service that accepts credit cards. This will make it easier for your clients to pay you.

The demand for quality private tutors will always be high. Since people often need to juggle busy schedules around their classes, they will need a private tutor that can teach them at a convenient time. Good references and an effective lesson plan will help make your private tutoring business a lucrative one.

Steady Careers: Solid Work and Decent Pay

There are some jobs that people think about automatically: doctor, lawyer, teacher, nurse. They are the careers that people are most familiar with, and the most likely to be pursued when they graduate from high school. However, because they are so f

amiliar, there is likely to be a lot of competition in those fields. Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher or a lawyer. Working in the medical field might sound great, but again, not everyone is able to be a doctor or a nurse. There are plenty of other professions in these fields that might not be as glamorous, but still provide a solid paycheck

and stability.

Medical Billing Clerk or Medical Billing Coder
In every hospital, doctor’s office and clinic, there is the need for a billing clerk as well as a coder. In some cases, one person may do both jobs, but usually they are separate positions. The work is steady, but can be a little repetitive; the pay is solid, however, and there is job security because billing will always need to be completed so doctors can get paid for their services. Training can be accomplished with , making it even simpler and more convenient. Once trained, you can do the work in an office, but some do this job from home using special software on their own computers.

Paralegal
In the legal profession, time is money. Lawyers cannot spend their

time doing research on their cases, looking for things like case law and precedents. They turn some of those responsibilities to paralegals who do the groundwork for the cases and may type up motions and other documents as well. The lawyer may get the glory in court, but the paralegal does the foundation work that they build the cases on. In some offices, the paralegal may handle the role of secretary/receptionist as well. You may earn your degree, either on campus or online. Some states do require that paralegals be licensed. In any case, you will not be allowed to give legal advice at all.

Patient Satisfaction Worker (Hospital)
This position is called by a variety of names depending on the hospital they are working in. Basically, they will go to each new patient’s room and speak with the patient as well as the patient’s family to ask if they are being treated well and if they need anything to make their stay better. The level of education and experience needed for this position will vary depending on the hospital’s needs. Not all hospitals employ these services, however, while others use outside contractors to do surveys on a rotating basis.

Patient Relations (Doctor’s Office/Clinics)
A patient relations clerk may serve as the connection between the front and back office in a doctor’s practice. This may be the person who answers messages that are left for the nurses and doctors and may take in requests for prescription refills and other needs. Some doctors prefer this to be a LPN, while others will hire non-medically licensed people if they have a medical background.

Five Mistakes That Undermine a Company's Success

Employees well being, and positive, motivated attitudes, have a tremendous impact on the success of any company. These factors cannot

be ignored when considering improvements involving profits and productivity. The following are the top five mista

kes a company may make regarding its employees. Making these mistakes causes companies to lose in productivity, money and profits.

Lack of recognition
It is human nature to desire recognition for a job well done. When an employee works hard to give quality service to

an employer, and those efforts appear to be unnoticed, there is little motivation to continue offering the same level of effort.

Employee awards, in the form of both verbal praise and plaques, or other forms of public acknowledgement, prevent a feeling of futility or discouragement in the hard working employee.

Poor benefits
Health insurance and other benefits promoting employee fitness, and well being are not simply nice perks that a benevolent employer hands out to workers. Good health benefits and company programs designed to keep workers healthy can mean fewer sick days, and less loss of productivity. In addition, good health benefits impart the sense that a company cares. Remove these benefits, and you remove one important motivating factor.

Lack of tangible rewards
Tangible rewards, such as extra vacation days, gift certificates, valuable or interesting keepsake items, give employees something extra to shoot for, in addition to the paycheck. Companies that forsake tangible rewards miss the extra effort employees will go to in order to achieve perks. If you are unsure how to offer rewards, or what kind may be appropriate for your company, consult a business such as O.C. Tanner. This company helps companies like yours set up positive, effective rewards programs.

Lack of communication
When an employee does not understand exactly what the company wants of him and his questions are ignored, it is a loss to the company. There must be a clear and efficient path of communication. All employees should understand deadlines and goals as well as what his or her particular position is regarding those goals. A lack of communication leads to a lot of lost time and productivity, as well as a loss of morale.

Poor team leadership
Team leaders must be able to motivate the team positively. Absentee leaders who retreat into their own office and avoid interaction, give the message that the team does not really matter. This does not mean that upper management must look over employees shoulders all the time, that is rarely appropriate. However, employees respect a boss who is willing to get his hands dirty, figuratively or literally. Get to know your team, know their needs, and work with them.

Small Business Storage Solutions

Small home businesses often don’t have enough storage space. When you decide to start your home business, you may quickly see that your business is taking over your garage, your

attic, your den or your living room. If your business is based in New

York City, you may find yourself especially pressed for space. Self storage is a great alternative to renting expensive warehouse facilities or office space and it’s easy to rent more or less storage as needed.

Many excellent self storage locations are available in and around New York City. There is very likely business friendly self storage close to your home. Whether you need to store computer related goods, your inventory of jewelry or vintage clothing or your plumbing or carpentry supplies, you can easily and economically organize your goods in storage in NY. It’s just too difficult to keep large amounts of inventory organized at home, especially with other family members and possibly small children around.

There are other reasons any small business owner might consider self storage. Business owners may want to store office furniture and equipment to be used for the future, to archive documents and files, as a small distribution center, or to stock up on office supplies after purchasing them in bulk at a discount.

Self storage facilities are useful to small business owners for security purposes, as well. The storage building should have well-lit grounds. Yours may be equipped with video surveillance or a full time guard. It would also be wise to inquire about things like sprinkler systems and fire alarms.

Make sure that your self storage unit has everything you need. You will need adequate lighting. Be sure to pick a facility that controls the climate, since extreme temperatures can be a problem for many types of goods. It’s important to be able to do the necessary maintenance in your unit and that your things are organized in a way that you can easily and quickly get to what you need.

Call a few self storage facilities should you have any questions. Many facilities are committed to providing quality service and creating lasting partnerships. Self storage can give you peace of mind and space you need to keep your small business materials and inventory organized and available when you need them. Here is some more information on self storage facilities in New York.

3 Advantages of Investing in Early Retirement

Retiring early is what most Americans want, but few actually work towards achieving it. But it’s definitely a dream that you can make a reality by making the most out your productive years while you’re still young.

Investing in an early retiremen

t has many advantages. In the following article we discuss a few important ones…

#1: Find More Time for Family

Working hard and getting ahead in your career is a good thing. But is it really worth sacrificing your family time for your career goals? Do you feel satisfied spending less and less time with the family on the pretext of fattening your bank balance?

If you look around, you’ll find that most working people have a hard time finding a balance between work and family. Saying your family comes first is different than actually being there for them. Investing in your retirement at any early age and accelerating your savings helps you come closer to giving more quality time to your family.

#2: Live Your Dreams

Dreams, we all have them. However, most of us are so busy working day in and day out that we find no time and space to actually live our dreams. Besides that, enjoying life and doing what we want to requires enough money, which usually takes a lifetime to save.

If you wait too long to invest in your retirement, you could miss out on the opportunities to make the most of your dreams. However, if and when you retire young, you not only have the energy but also the ambition and passion to enjoy

things that old retirees are unable to.

#3: Start Your Own Business

Not everybody wants to stop working after they retire early. You may have an undying entrepreneurial spirit in you that pushes you to use your experience and knowledge to start your own business. It could be what you always wanted to do.

For example, if you’re a software programmer with years of corporate experience under your belt, you could use it to start your own software firm. What’s more, with great learning resources like Income.com available, you won’t have a problem finding the guidance you need.

It may sound difficult at first, but retiring early is entirely possible if you stay focused on your goals. You don’t have to wait till you reach your 30’s or 40’s to start investing in your retirement. Take massive action and do it while you’re young - you will thank yourself.

Tips For Capitalizing The Online Side Of Your Business

You should investigate the benefits of taking your business online when considering the option of expanding the business and meeting

growing customer needs. There are many benefits of taking your business online such as increased customer relation

ships, revenue etc. Here are some tips to follow in order to capitalize the online side of your business.

1. Create an appealing and easy-to-access website
The website you make should appeal to the customers, and should be easily accessible. Creating a simple landing page won’t be sufficient. If you plan to go with a ‘cart checkout’ order system, make sure it’s not too complex, and allows the customer to order easily. The website should have all types of payment options such as debit cards, credit cards, PayPal and other popular online payment mediums.

2. Create a blog
As mentioned in the first point, a simple sales/landing page won’t be sufficient for your business. Creating a blog for your business on the official website is a smart thing to do. Joel Spolsky runs a blog on software development which helps in promotion of his small business, Fox Creek Software. Creating a blog will benefit your business in the following ways:

· Better rankings
Your online business website will be found easily by search engines as you’re going to update the blog with fresh content. Re-indexing will also be quicker.

· Direct audience communication
You’ll build a relationship with the audience overtime who subscribe to your to receive updates. Every new blog post will be accessible to all the regular readers, allowing you to communicate directly with them.

· Value on social media
If one of your post goes viral on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media website, your value will increase on social media, and you’ll get possible high quality inbound links and new visitors.

· Greater revenue
Your revenue will increase with a blog. If your business is popular, then the blog will be popular within a few months. You’ll get advertising offers for your business blog, which will lead to greater overall revenue.

3. Get feedback of the current business practices
Getting feedback of customers is important. You can easily get feedback online upon the thoughts of the consumer about current business practices. Dispatching e-mails to customers will give you a few answers. With feedback, you’ll know if your business is on the right track, or are there some changes to be made. It will also give more exposure to your business, as customers are likely to talk about a business that connects with the customers.

4. Get a positive online reputation
Positive online reputation can lead to brand protection, new customers and much more. Controlling your image online may be difficult to do on your own, so you can take an ORM service for the

purpose. Before you do so, you should read reviews about ORM companies like the Review of Reputation.com. You would be able to prevent unnecessary content about your business floating around and private information from being made public.

By following the tips mentioned above, you can capitalize on the online side of your business and increase your revenue and exposure.