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Month: May 2010

Business Development 101

In all my years of being involved and around sales, marketing, and advertising, it surprises me how many small business owners don’t have someone working on business development.

Many an owner and manager I’ve met should be the biz dev person but they just don’t have the desire or truly understand what to do. I think this comes back to a couple of things and those are sales and social interaction.

I seemed to fall into the sales position when I was a little kid and it stuck with me all my life. If there was business to be had I was the one to go get it. That still stands true to this day. Some people are not wired this way but are very socially adept and can be referred to as a people person. They thrive in large or small social gatherings and settings.

Recently I was listening to a CD by Guy Kawasaki and he mentioned that part of what he does while he’s on his computer all day is Tweet. Now this really got my attention since he has been an extremely successful accomplished author, writer, and businessman.

Another business acquaintance that I made earlier this year has hundreds of thousands of people following him on Twitter and this was very exciting news!

Whether your business is online or offline, business development should be an integral part of your sales and marketing plans.

So what can you do to enhance your business development skills?

1) Learn the art of cultivating relationships. Read books and/or listen to audios on the subject. Take what you learn and polish your people skills.

2) Get involved in the industry, not just the companies you are looking to engage with. If you are tuned in, the opportunities might come your way. If you’re tuned out then they’ll pass you by.

3) When an opportunity comes your way, take action immediately.

4) Learn and engage in online social media outlets.

5) Plan the work and work the business development plan on a daily and weekly basis.

The bottom line with business development is that it starts with you. So start where you are, make a plan, take action and stay focused on a daily and weekly basis.

Do you want to learn how to develop more business and increase your sales? Then I suggest you Check out my New Guide now.

If you want to find out more information about business development, this article might help: Secrets to Business Development

To your continued Success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher

 

Integrity and the Underground Economy

I am sure you had a few choice words for companies such as Lehman Bros., AIG and others (just as I did) as we saw our IRAs, 401Ks, and other investments shrink considerably. We complained of the corruption and excesses exposed at these highest levels, but are we doing any better? The dollars may be smaller, but are we an example of integrity in our own business community?
Consider God’s checklist for us as business owners. The Lord wants us to:
1. Be completely honest. – Leviticus 19:11
2. Keep our contractual agreements no matter the cost. – Ecclesiastes 5:4-6
3. Avoid areas where we have a conflict of interest. – Philippians 2:3-4
4. Exercise truth in advertising. – Proverbs 12:22
5. Stay away from the “underground economy.” – Romans 13, 1 Peter 2

Given our political and economic environment number five is becoming a larger issue. Some economists estimate the underground economy in the U. S. at $2.25 trillion dollars a year. This sector of the economy includes evil businesses, such as drug dealing and prostitution. The problem is that this sector of the economy also includes practices that many consider a normal part of doing business, such as providing “off-the-books ” services for cash, or the underreporting of wages and income to evade taxes.
With the government’s insatiable appetite for taxes, the burden on businesses will grow exponentially over the next few years. As the burden grows we can quickly fall into resenting the government taking more and more of our hard earned money.
We need to review these verses: Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10-11, and Deuteronomy 8:17-18. It is all God’s stuff, and He is the one who provides the ability to produce wealth. Are you going to obey the tax laws, which will testify that you trust God, or are you just going to give lip service to the concept?