The Power of your Sales Ledger

May 21, ’12 6:45 AM

Author Guest Blogger Categories Guest Blog

Many businesses are not aware of the potential to release cash against their sales ledger. For every sale made, you have to invoice your customers for goods sold or services provided. Factoring.uk.net explains how resourceful your sales ledger could be in these economically demanding times.

Just like your business’ brand, the sales ledger is an intangible asset that generates value and contributes to growth. It is not the most obvious choice of an asset because it’s a record of sales you’ve already made.

Using your sales ledger

The sales ledger records a business’ regular sales – income receipts from the sale of goods and services. However, this income also includes money owed to your business. The assumption is that it will be in your interest to chase your debtors, especially slow-paying customers for payment.

It’s important for you to regularly record the total amount of sales invoices. By doing this, you will be able to identify and calculate the amount of debt owed to your company. Also, you need to save copies of the sale invoices as it could help you when tracking invoices for payment.

The modern SME will tend to trade on credit terms of up to 90 days. Imagine the financial impact this could have on the owed company?

Financing via Invoice Finance

Your business could have a comfortable turnover, with a high proportion of cash locked up in your debtor books. You would still have to pay out expenses and meet other financial requirements whilst waiting 60-90 days to get paid by your customers. This ‘wait’ could have a devastating effect on your cashflow.

How about a facility where you could release cash against your sales ledger? That is what invoice finance is all about. Your sales ledger is used as the principal security against which up to 90% of the cash could be released.

Invoice finance is a cashflow solution for any type of business – start-ups to established companies, regional to multi-national, lower turnover businesses to financial giants. As long as your sales ledger has invoices outstanding to other businesses, you could qualify for invoice finance.

Invoice finance is administered in two forms: factoring and invoice discounting. Both facilities release a pre-arranged cash advance on your invoices as soon as they are raised. The invoice balance, less any charges, is paid to your business once your customer settles their invoice.

The main difference between both forms of finance is that factoring provides an additional service of sales ledger management and debt collection. This makes factoring suitable for SMEs (including start-ups) that trade on credit with other businesses.

On the other hand, invoice discounting allows the business to mange its own sales ledger and chase customers for payment. Invoice discounting is geared towards the ‘larger’ businesses, with a projected annual turnover of at least £350k, as they have in-house debt collection systems.

Benefits of sales invoice financing

Your business benefits from accelerating its cashflow by up to 90% of the cash tied up in your sales ledger. You immediately gain access to working capital that can fuel growth into your business.
Unlike other traditional forms of finance such as bank loan and overdrafts, the credit rating of the applicant is not a major issue. Finance providers set their invoice prepayment percentage based on the quality of the outstanding invoice.

Whilst waiting on your customers to make payments, your business could potentially miss out on supplier discounts and offers. The funds released via invoice finance boosts your bargaining power with suppliers and enable you take advantage of early discounts.

Invoice finance is a flexible form of finance that grows in line with your business. This means the more invoices you raise, the more cash you could get. Should you require, bad debt protection could be offered.

GUEST BLOG: This business advice article is written by Factoring.uk.net, the invoice finance experts.

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Tips to bring business success

Apr 30, ’12 6:45 AM

Author Guest Blogger Categories Guest Blog

Running a business, given its share of rewards and risks, could be a very daunting challenge. It is commonly thought that running a successful business requires large amounts of capital, hundreds of employees, to name a few – this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

In this difficult economic climate, running a business is made a much harder task. If you are willing to accept the challenge, then you must do everything in your power to enhance your chances of success. There are a few tips to help bring success – they could increase your odds for success.

1. Define the business idea

You could go to bed and dream of an idea that could grow your business. Once you’ve come up with an idea, you need to ensure that there’s a market for it. Your business idea doesn’t need to be new, but it needs to distinguish itself from the competition. Document your idea and welcome feedback (positive or criticism) from trusted industry experts as this could help you modify your project.

2. Make a Business Plan

A concise and effective business plan is a very big step towards success. Without any doubt, the most important item on your success checklist is the business plan. It is a description of the market environment, an analysis of your business’ strengths and weaknesses and a template from which your subsequent plans will be developed.

The business plan could be a short MS Word document. However, the document should provide information about your business’ size, management team and financial statements, amongst others.

A business plan should convincingly show evidence that your business can sell enough of its products or services to make a satisfactory profit and be attractive to potential investors. However, in order to be able to write a business plan that will ‘wow’ an investor instantly, you need to demonstrate a solid knowledge of the market.

3. Stay on top of your cashflow

Once you have developed a sharp business plan, you can begin to identify your funding needs. Once you’re in business, cashflow is king. Many businesses fail because they run out of cash, even though they have solid business plans and staffing levels.

Stay on top of your cashflow and be wary of accumulating unpaid invoices with your customers – you do not receive any income if you fail to collect sales payments from your customers. If this is the case, an invoice finance facility could release up to 90% of the value of your outstanding sales ledger, usually within 24 hours of raising an invoice.

4. Be aggressive in marketing

How do you reach out to the public? How do you improve your brand’s awareness? It’s simple – marketing. The final step in the success ‘ladder’ involves creating an ongoing marketing strategy.

Develop a marketing plan that describes how you will make profit via sales to new and repeat customers. Once you’re in business, you need strong marketing skills and management tools in order to stay in business. Remember, your competitors are watching you.

Your marketing strategy will guide you on how you are going to penetrate the market. Furthermore, the strategy could sell your company to capitalists in order to raise the funds needed for your business.

GUEST BLOG: This guest post is written by Sema Fongod from Touch Financial, the UK’s largest invoice finance broker.

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The Secret Behind The Success of Group Buying

Apr 26, ’12 3:05 PM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Guest Blog

In recent years, businesses have been exploring new ways to market and sell their products and services. Group buying is a phenomenon that has caught on in the last few years and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down in the future. What exactly is group buying and why is a good for both buyers and sellers?

Group Buying

The idea behind group buying is that a seller can afford to sell a large number of products at a lower price if it knows that enough people will buy. Because of this, there had been a number of group buying services emerge in recent years such as Groupon

With a group buying arrangements, the group buying service approaches local merchants and asks if they have any products that they would like to sell in large quantities. They negotiate a deal in which the product can be sold at a deep discount. In many cases, the product is sold at half price or even at a lower price point. The group buying service then sends out a message to a large list of subscribers providing information about the deal. Subscribers can then purchase the deal directly through the group buying service. They will be given online coupons or a promotional code to use when they visit the merchant. The group buying service pays the merchant directly for the deal.

Advantages for Sellers

This type of arrangement can be very beneficial to merchants who decide to participate. In many cases, merchants sell their products at very high margins so that they can generate profits. Because of this, they know that if they had a large order, they could sell the same products at a much lower profit margin and still make money. In these cases, the merchant can make a decent amount just by offering a deal through the group buying service.

Another reason that these deals can be so beneficial is because many consumers buy other things while they are visiting the merchant. For example, if a restaurant offers a $20 gift certificate for $10, the customer probably won’t just spend $20 at the restaurant. Instead, he may spend $30 or $40 in one visit. When the deal is to a retail establishment, the customer may end up buying additional items that are not included in the deal. These items can be sold at regular price and the merchant can make a good profit margin on them. This means that even if the item sold through the deal isn’t that profitable, it can generate plenty of business in other ways for the company.

In some cases, these deals can be a good way to create brand awareness. Instead of spending money on a radio ad that may or may not bring people in the door, you can offer a deep discount through these group buying services. This will bring people in the door and let them see what you have to offer. If customers like what you have to offer, they will probably come back for more and pay full price next time. This can be a very productive way to bring in loyal customers.

Advantages to Buyers

The obvious advantage for buyers is that they get major discounts on many of the things that they need to buy anyway. These services typically work out deals with merchants in buyer’s local areas. This means that when you subscribe, you can expect to get some great deals on food and things that you would possibly need to buy already. The deals are usually divided up by geographic region, so you don’t get a bunch of deals that you cannot gain access to.

The online deals are usually not a sales gimmick. They actually do represent a deep discount of somewhere between 50 and 90 percent off.

Group buying is a process that has changed the way a lot of companies do business. It will be around for the long-term as more companies see the power in this promotional model.

GUEST BLOG: This informative business article was provided by Victor Daly.

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How Cloud Computing is Revolutionizing Project Collaboration and Gaming

Apr 26, ’12 6:45 AM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Cloud Computing, Guest Blog

As technology has advanced over the past decade, cloud computing has revolutionized life for both businesses and individuals. Cloud computing allows users to store data, process information, and retain settings on a central server.
This allows mission-critical data to be stored in a safe location. This prevents the accidental loss of data through fire, flood, theft or electrical glitches.

A Little History of the Cloud

Cloud computing uses the internet to transfer files and data. There have been several different iterations of cloud computing over the past decade. Early cloud computing allowed users to store a backup of financial software on a central server. Since the early internet was much slower than a modern internet connection, it often took a significant amount of time to transfer files. A backup of local data was usually made during the night.

Modern cloud computing benefits from broadband internet connections. A modern consumer-oriented internet connection can transmit high-definition images and audio in real-time. This allows users to stream movies, audio, games, and other information quickly and easily.

Many services allow users to store a backup of all their files and folders on a central server. These services can mirror a local hard drive in real-time. In addition, it is possible to create a local copy of data stored on a server.

Benefits of the Cloud in Business

SIP Trunking

Businesses can leverage the cloud by communicating over IP, also known as SIP trunking. Allstream SIP trunking, or from similar providers, can be a great way to empower cloud technology as it allows you run all your data and voice traffic – local, long-distance and inter-office – on a single IP backbone.

Project Collaboration

A cloud drive or shared folder will allow multiple people to access the same resource. This allows for excellent collaboration on shared projects. One of the challenges of project management is maintaining a set of shared resources. It can be difficult for multiple people to work on the same presentation, document, or data set. Cloud computing allows multiple users to view and edit files at the same time.

In addition, some programs allow users to see the changes other users are making in real-time. Individuals can provide real-time feedback while another individual is working. This can create a positive environment for brainstorming, nurturing talent and proofing documents.

Gaming Industry

The cloud is also used by video game and high-end graphics companies. It can be expensive and challenging to process high-end graphics on a computer. Cloud computing allows users to render graphics and other processor-intensive work on a central server. This can be a valuable tool when creating models, rendering an animation, and computing a complex set of equations.

Gamers can also take advantage of the cloud, which allows users to play games over an internet connection. A gamer purchases a small set-top box that connects to his or her television. This set-top box acts as a video receiver with an internet connection. An audio and video stream of a game is transmitted over an internet connection, where users can see it on their television. Inputs from a user are transmitted through the set-top box.

New advances in computing technology have revolutionized life for both businesses and individuals and will continue to respond to the demands of an ever-increasing tech-driven market.

GUEST BLOG: This helpful article was brought to you by Steve Williams.

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A Guide to Managing Travel Expenses for SMEs

Apr 18, ’12 6:45 AM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Guest Blog

With the cost of fuel, rail and air travel increasing each year, managing employee travel expenses is a key area of concern for many businesses. Smaller companies, with lower travel budgets and fewer resources, often find the process particularly difficult to bring under control. Further to being expensive, booking and organising travel is a time consuming process, especially for SMEs who often forego luxuries such as office PAs.

Below are our top tips for managing employee business travel, saving you time and benefiting the bottom line.

Reducing The Cost of Business Travel

Many businesses attempting to cut costs resort to simply downgrading the comfort in which their employees travel as well as that of accommodation. Traveling uncomfortably, however, usually results in poorer performance in meetings and pitches, losing your company money in the long run. In particular, downgrading accommodation should be approached with caution. Booking somewhere dirty and cheap (particularly with security/safety issues) can end up costing you a lot more time and money than simply booking a mid-priced hotel.

Strategic management is key to limiting the cost of employee business travel. Look at how your employees currently travel and identify where savings can be made. How far in advance are tickets booked? In which class are employees traveling/what style of hotel is being booked? How are transfers between airports/train stations and hotels organised?

Following this, create a policy for travel and entertainment expenses that specifies guidelines based on your research. Perhaps you’ll allow employees to book business class flights for long haul, but economy for short. If they are traveling by train at busy times you may specify that they book a first class ticket to be able to work, but if the route is quiet economy class will suffice. Equally with hotels, specifying that employees book as far in advance as possible will allow them to book at the best rates.

Time Saving Tips

Once your business travel policy is in place, you can move your focus to streamlining the logistics of planning and booking group and solo travel, as well as the process of filling in expenses forms.

For this, technology is your best friend.

There are now many smartphone apps centered around business travel, ranging from simple to sophisticated. Turboscan, focuses purely on coherent presentation of expense reports and receipts whereas apps like Tripit or Gateguru, provide a much wider range of services from suggesting accommodation, keeping track of all expenses, to storing flight itineraries.

If most of your employee business travel takes place in the UK, the Best Western Business Account could save you both time and money. The account works like a joint family bank account. When employees travel they put all expenses onto a card that can be monitored by the account holder/CEO via a centralized online billing system. Not only does the service keep track of all expenditure in an easily manageable and clearly presented report, it also provides various discounts including 51% off train travel and offers at hotels across the UK and beyond.

If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to making the travel expenses process as painless as possible, both for you, your employees and the bottom line.

GUEST BLOG: This helpful advice was brought to you by Simon Green on behalf of Best Western Hotels.

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Four Common Invoice Factoring Myths

Apr 13, ’12 2:09 PM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Guest Blog

Invoice Factoring is increasingly recognised as an important part of business finance, particularly for SMEs. It operates as a viable alternative to a traditional bank loan and helps to promote a healthy cash flow. However, there are a number of misconceptions that cause many business owners to hesitate before taking advantage of it. In this article I’ll clear up some of the most common Invoice Factoring myths.

Myth: Invoice Factoring is only for businesses that are having serious problems.

Reality: Invoice Factoring is a way of managing your existing cash flow more effectively. It isn’t a bailout, and in actuality is much better suited to companies that are performing well and looking to grow and develop. Invoice Factoring involves using your customer invoices as collateral in return for ready cash, which the factoring company will then make back by collecting on these invoices. It is generally popular with companies that have good relationships with their customers, but find themselves short of ready cash due to slow or staggered payments from customers. By managing their cash flow more effectively, they can then spend less time chasing invoices and more time developing their businesses.

Myth: Invoice Factoring companies take a huge cut of the value of your invoices

Reality: Most invoice factoring companies will give you up to 90% of the value of your invoices right away, and then return the remainder when the customers have paid. The cost deducted is a service fee that covers the management of the facility, calculated based on the projected turnover. In the case of a reputable invoice factoring company should typically be around 0.3-0.5% of your profit.

Myth: Factoring companies will harass your clients with aggressive collection calls

Reality: Factoring companies want to enable you to do more business, so it’s not in their interest to alienate your customers. They will often adopt a more professional and systematic approach to make the collection process simpler for all concerned. In other cases the client will barely notice a difference in how and when they’re paying for your goods and services at all.

Myth: When customers realise that I’m using a factoring company, I’ll lose business

Reality: Invoice Factoring helps your company to grow and develop, so an effective factoring plan can often be a sign that a company is doing well, rather than badly. However, some factoring companies are aware that this misconception exists and offer services that allow all communications to appear to be coming from you. They can also offer alternatives for companies that have particularly strong relationships with their clients and wish to maintain a face-to-face relationship.

Utilised correctly, Invoice Factoring can be one of the best ways for a company to grow and develop even in times of economic uncertainty. However, it is vital that you choose a trustworthy and reputable factoring company. Seek out established finance brands that are fully accredited before making any commitments and you should be in safe hands.

GUEST BLOG: This blog post is provided by Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, winner of the Factor and Discounter of the Year award at the CreditToday Awards 2011.

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Merchant Cash Advances: Alternative Funding Goes Mainstream

Apr 2, ’12 5:19 PM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Guest Blog

With an increasing number of banks either ending their small business lending or placing more and stronger restrictions on access to small business loans, it should come as no surprise that business owners are turning to other sources to find the working capital needed to grow their companies.

Many alternative funding sources exist, including equipment lease-back plans, co-op funding, and private investors, but the funding source that is attracting the most attention is the merchant cash advance.

What is a cash advance? It’s actually exactly what it sounds like: you, the business owner, provide proof of a history of credit card sales, and in return a merchant capital funder advances you a sum of money, based on future sales. You then repay the loan by giving the funder a percentage of every credit card sale you make (anywhere from 5 – 20%) until payment is complete.

If this payment plan seems overly strict, consider that with a regular loan, payments are fixed. You’ll pay the same amount every month, no matter what your net income is. With a cash advance, however, you’ll pay less in slower months and more in months when business is booming. It does balance out, but it also means that you’re not straining the company coffers to make a specific loan payment.

If that sounds like just another kind of loan, consider the following:

* Merchant cash advances are unsecured. Payment is guaranteed by either moving your credit card processing to a company affiliated with the funder, or by placing an electronic “lockbox” on your credit card machines.

* Your credit history is irrelevant. As long as you can prove a track record (generally six to twelve months) of credit card sales, you and your business can qualify. Credit reports are generally not even run.

* The process is quick. Most cash advance lenders approve applications within 24 hours, and funds are typically disbursed within 72 hours after that.

* Unlike small business loans, roughly 90% of merchant cash advance applications are approved.

It’s easy to see why small retailers and restauranteurs (two of the most common kinds of applicants) are turning to merchant cash advances, but what about businesses that don’t do much credit card volume? Owners of those types of businesses need not fret; most cash advance lenders offer a variety of products, from the credit card advance mainstay to invoice advances and ACH advances.

Small business loans may never completely disappear, but in a market where they’re increasingly difficult to obtain, and expensive to repay, merchant cash advances are the logical choice of alternative funding, and are fast becoming more “mainstream” than truly “alternative.”

GUEST BLOG: This helpful article was kindly provided by Merchant Cash in Advance.

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Confidentiality in Invoice Finance

Mar 29, ’12 2:38 PM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Guest Blog

What’s your business’ most valuable asset? Throwing this question at several entrepreneurs, you would expect to get responses such as equipment, plant & machinery and freehold premises.

However, the largest asset for many businesses, especially SMEs, is often their unpaid sales ledger invoices. In this economic climate, your sales ledger is a financial resource that you just can’t afford to ignore. Many businesses run out of cash, even though they have thousands (and even millions) of pounds owed to them by their customers.

How about a facility where cash is drawn against your unpaid sales invoices? This introduces us to the term invoice finance. It is a facility whereby businesses can release up to 90% of the value of their outstanding sales invoices, usually within 24 hours of raising the invoice. Invoice finance provides flexible funding terms and is usually considered as an alternative to the traditional bank overdraft facility.

Invoice finance is available in several forms: the most common are factoring and invoice discounting. Both facilities release a cash advance of up to 90% of your unpaid sales invoices. You would receive the remaining 10% balance, less any facility charges, once your customer settles their invoice.

Not every business that uses invoice finance wants their customers to be aware of it. Invoice finance could be administered on a confidential basis, where your customers are unaware of a finance provider’s involvement.

Confidential Invoice factoring

This is an attractive option for start-ups and SMEs, as they usually don’t have the resources and in-house accounting systems to effectively chase and collect payments from customers.

A confidential factoring facility releases funding against your sales ledger invoices, but the dedicated sales ledger management function is provided by the factoring company on a confidential basis – the factoring provider chases your customers in the name of your business. Letters and statements will be sent out by the factoring provider using your brand and any calls made will be done using your company name. This creates a seamless link between the factoring provider and your business, which is invisible to customers.

Factoring improves your cashflow, creating additional working capital that can fuel growth into your business. Unlike the overdraft, you do not need to queue up in the banks to renegotiate your credit limit every time you need extra funds – factoring finance grows with your business.

(Confidential) Invoice discounting

Invoice discounting is a particularly attractive option for larger businesses, with a healthy balance sheet and a solid turnover, often in excess of £300k. It is a suitable facility for established organisations with robust in-house and well-run credit control systems.

Invoice discounting is a means of releasing up to 90% of the cash tied up in your unpaid sales invoices. Your business retains control of their credit control function and day-to-day customer contact. Confidential invoice discounting is no different except for the fact that the process is administered confidentially, whereby your debtors are unaware that you are working with an invoice discounter. So, from your customer’s perspective, it’s business as usual.

CHOCs facility

A CHOCs (Client handles all collections) facility is a facility that allows the business to retain control over their sales ledger and debt collection. It is often considered as a hybrid between factoring and invoice discounting and could be an attractive solution for businesses that are not eligible for invoice discounting and wish to save on the costs of paying for outsourced credit control.

With invoice discounting, you notify the lender of the total amount of raised invoices, whereas with CHOCs, you notify the lender on each single invoice. CHOCs is slightly cheaper than the other forms of factoring and there are a very limited number of lenders who offer the facility.

How to access confidential invoice finance?

Every lender will have a slightly different approach to keeping their facilities confidential. That’s why it’s advisable to speak to a commercial finance broker, as they have built relationships with a variety of lenders. They would thoroughly talk you through the range of financing options available to you.

GUEST BLOG: This business advice article was provided by Sema Fongod from Invoice Discounting, the invoice finance specialists.

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Trade Finance could expand your business

Mar 2, ’12 3:56 PM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Guest Blog

In this current economic climate, businesses – especially those looking to expand – tend to trade with other organisations beyond national borders. Trade finance is a form of business finance that funds the cashflow gap between the purchase and sale of goods. It can enable businesses to capitalise on the global trade market conditions to expand their business.

What is Trade Finance?

Trade finance is a funding facility that provides importers with instant funding against confirmed customer orders. Simply put, trade finance refers to financing short-term business transactions, usually international. It ensures an ongoing supply of cash against your sales ledger.

Language barrier, risk of bad debt, supplier difficulties are some examples of the challenges faced by businesses. Trade finance provides a financial package for businesses to fund their whole trade cycle. It ensures timely payments between you and your suppliers and could include credit insurance against customer defaults.

How does it work?

Most trade finance arrangements are administered alongside an invoice finance (factoring and invoice discounting) facility where funding is received against the value of your sales ledger. Trade finance works in the following way:

• A customer places an order for goods/services
• You source goods from your supplier
• Your supplier requires prepayment for the goods before they are shipped to you.
• On the basis of the confirmed order, the lender advances up to 100% of the invoice order value for you to pay your suppliers – via a letter of credit to your supplier or supplier’s bank or paying you directly.
• Your supplier ships the goods to you

How invoice finance works with trade finance:

• Upon delivery, you supply your customers, invoice them and send a copy of the invoice to the invoice finance provider
• The invoice finance provider makes available up to 90% of the invoice value
• You settle your invoice with the supplier
• The lender chases your customers and collects payments on your behalf
• Your customer settles their invoice and you receive the 10% remainder balance, less any facility charges.

Am I eligible for Trade Finance?

Trade finance injects valuable cash into your business and can help your business open up new markets with a peace of mind. Trade finance is suitable for your business if:

• You trade with other businesses
• You issue credit terms of 30-90 days
• You have an annual minimum turnover of £50000

Benefits of Trade Finance

• Improve your cashflow: Upfront payment of up to 100% of the order value could be released within 24 hours. This bridges the cashflow gap between paying your supplier and being paid by your customer.
• Cost-effective: Attractive cost of funding relative to traditional finance sources. The facility is priced depending on the strength of discounts and take-on volumes – advantageous pricing at a negotiable market discount.
• Bad debt cover: Most trade finance agreements include bad debt cover which protects your business against non-payment and bad debt. Can be structured to offer security and peace of mind to both trading parties.
• Flexible: The facility could be tailored to match your business’ requirements. The funding released via invoice finance is based on your sales turnover – as your business grows, you could have access to more cash.
• Business growth: The use of letters of credit for supplier payments promotes growth as there’s no need to use your business’ assets as collateral for the transaction. Also you benefit from material cashflow gains arising from regular supply of goods with no payment until the final shipment.
• Online access: Most trade finance providers allow customers to monitor their accounts online 24/7.

GUEST BLOG: This business advice article was provided by Sema Kummar from Invoice Discounting.

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Guide to Winning New Clients

Feb 7, ’12 2:59 PM

Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Business Marketing, Guest Blog

Your business will only succeed if you have a healthy client base. In that respect any business, big or small, faces two continuing tasks. Winning new clients and keeping existing clients. Both are as important as each other and together they will ensure the success of any business. In the current economic climate, winning new business can be extremely difficult, but there are various techniques you can use to your advantage.

Here we’ve got a few tips on how to win those all important new clients.

Corporate hospitality

Corporate hospitality is a great way to show potential clients how much they are valued to you. In the UK at the moment, one of the best options for this is by purchasing hospitality packages at major sporting events. Think how much your clients may enjoy a corporate day out one of the top Premier League clubs in the country. It’s all about leaving a lasting impression on your potential new clients. If you can prove you’re willing to go the extra mile to secure their business they’ll be assured of your commitment towards them as clients. Providing them with an unforgettable day out will ensure your enterprise is never far from their thoughts when conducting business.

Conduct press relations

The personal relationships you have with key editors of local magazines and national publications can be critical to the public exposure of your company. Public relations is one of the most credible and cost-effective ways to capture the attention of your target market. When you wish to promote new aspects of your business it’s important to issue press releases and use your network of contacts to ensure these are published, grabbing the attention of your target market. Furthermore you can assemble professional press kits to begin making some contacts, by packing together the following: a detailed description of your business, company literature, contact information and any relevant photographs.

Put in place an internet marketing strategy

There are various ways you can use the internet to win new clients and new business. These options range from pay per click advertising, blogging, use of social media and search engine optimisation (SEO). If this isn’t necessarily your forte, look into the possibility of employing internet marketing experts to conduct this on your behalf. With continuous traffic each and every day there is huge potential for securing new clients through online means.

GUEST BLOG: This helpful business advice was provided by The Executive Club at Manchester United

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