Casual Articles - Business

Test You Residential Construction Estimating Know How
Estimating a residential construction job is very different from a commercial job. Often the contractor is frustrated with collecting data to create an estimate that is low enough for them to win the bid and high enough for them to make a profit.before a contractor even begins the project it is a good idea for him or her to look at the area that will be built upon to make sure that there are no environmental hazards, or that there are no structures that may have to be taken down. These factors not only cause delays, they can cost additional money.when a contractor is creating an estimate he or

about what really goes on behind the scenes of today’s professional shop environment. When it comes to gaining customers for the collision center, the seed should be planted before the customer is in an accident.

There are off-the-shelf “Accident Kits” available that can be included with new car sales. These kits include items such as a checklist of what to do in case of an accident, paper and pen, tape measurer, accident report form, and some even include a disposable camera that can be customized with your business name, logo and contact information. Another way to “plant the seed” is to produce a short informational video CD about the collision center and what the customer should do if they have an accident. The CD would also be included with all car sales and customers would be encouraged to view the video soon after the purchase. These are just several ide

New At-Home Business Opportunity!
I am a business woman. I work from my home and with so many opportunities opening through the internet, it is nearly impossible to catch them all. All too often I find that an opportunity has passed me by simple because I did not know that it existed. I am writing this article from a professional, un-biased standpoint. I am not promoting the business but rather helping expose you to the possibilities of a new opportunity should you be interested.The business is called Orovo LLC. It is in the beginning stages – it will not even be openly advertised on the internet until the end of June or beginnin

The growth of your collision center depends on your ability to gain new customers. Unfortunately, the scope of marketing efforts for many collision shops is to place an ad in the local yellow page phone book. Not that this practice is a bad one, but there is much more that shop management can do to drive more customers to the collision shop.

Do you have a marketing plan for your collision center? If not, you should. An effective marketing plan can bring more customers to your door. Through the process of developing and writing a marketing plan for your shop, you will conduct a competitive review and market analysis, review advertising and media options, and identify ways to build customer awareness as well as leverage referral business. And in today’s world, the task of writing a marketing business plan is much easier than in days past. There are numerous tools and resources available to you through your paint jobber and other collision shop consultants to assist you in getting this important task completed.

Another important key to gaining new business is tracking and measuring current business through Customer Satisfaction Indexing (CSI). Most dealerships conduct CSI on new car sales and some do it with their service departments, but research shows very few perform this important business function at the shop level. As in other areas of a dealership, when properly done, a well-ran CSI program for the collision center will help turn customer feedback into useful marketing and management tools that insure long-term profitability. And remember, for greatest effectiveness, CSI should be done on a consistent and ongoing basis, and administered by a third party for the highest level of credibility. Keep this statistic in mind when considering implementing a shop CSI program: The average disgruntled customer tells 17 people about his experience. How many people will those people tell?

Speaking of referrals use your satisfied customers to help spread your good name around. Start sending your customers a Thank You card for choosing your shop to bring their pride and joy back to pre-accident condition. And take it a step further by enclosing a small “pass along” card (printed on one side with your shop info) that your customer fills out with their name, address and contact info on the backside. The idea is to get your customer to “pass along” this referral card to a friend, family member or associate that we all know will likely be in an accident sometime soon – especially if they drive in any metropolitan area. Increase the “pass along” success rate with an incentive for the person who passes it along once a referral uses your shop. Reward them with a gift certificate to a restaurant, tickets to a movie, or maybe just cash. Get creative. Nothing beats word of mouth advertising.

Can the service center help promote the collision center? Of course it can. How many vehicles pass through the service center with dents, dings, crumpled fenders and bruised bumpers? Probably plenty. Educate the service staff to make note of body damage when vehicles are brought in and have informational material on the collision center ready for handout to the customer. Take a minute or two and promote the collision center – and vice versa.

How long has it been since your dealership conducted a “Customer Appreciation Day”? These events go a long way in showing your customers that you truly appreciate their business. They also provide an excellent venue to showcase your many services and an opportunity to educate customers about what really goes on behind the scenes of today’s professional shop environment. When it comes to gaining customers for the collision center, the seed should be planted before the customer is in an accident.

You Want to Market Your Business, But Do You Have The Time?
I am going to give you golden nuggets of time management wisdom that I personally use in my direct response copywriting business. To qualify that these actually work…I utilize all of these methods personally, and I “work” no more than 4 hours a day! Use them in your business today!1) The foundation is your desk. How clean and organized is your desk? Do you adopt the principle of “use it, file it, or throw it away” with every single item that comes across your desk? You either use information (paper, email, whatever), file information (only if you have TIME STAMPED when you are going to use it),

ailable to you through your paint jobber and other collision shop consultants to assist you in getting this important task completed.

Before You Resign - Make Sure to Take Note of These 10 Key Points (Job Search Support)
1: Know why you are leavingHave you outgrown your job, decided you want to specialise in a new area or have you had a fall out with a colleague or feel miffed because you have been passed over for promotion. It can help to talk through the reasons for this with an objective outsider to make sure the same things don't go wrong again. 2: Don't quit on a whimThink it through. Make sure you find out everything you can about the new company and location. The grass is not always greener, and once you have gone it's unlikely you will be able

g a shop CSI program: The average disgruntled customer tells 17 people about his experience. How many people will those people tell?

Need New Direct Mail Donors? Look For These Three Qualities For Fundraising Letter Success
New donors are a lot closer than you may think. And persuading them to make that vital first donation need not be as hard—or as expensive—as acquiring them in other ways. But before you rent a list of names or drop anything in the mail, examine the people you are approaching with your direct mail appeal to make sure they are good prospects for a donation today—and tomorrow. You should look for three qualities in potential direct mail donors. 1. Capacity to give Good direct mail fundraising prospects have the resources to support your organization with g

op. Reward them with a gift certificate to a restaurant, tickets to a movie, or maybe just cash. Get creative. Nothing beats word of mouth advertising.

Employment Screening Questions
Effective hiring is a stringent process which starts from the pre-employment phase. Moreover, to secure that only top, reliable and honest applicants would make it as your employees, screening them must be highlighted by throwing employment screening questions to ascertain whether he is fit for the job and is truthful with his data.Questions must delve with different aspects. From the applicant's previous employment information to his health and criminal records and finally to other background information must be covered in the set of questions.Here are some of the salient employment screening

Having an automobile accident is usually a very stressful and sometimes traumatic experience for most people. By educating and preparing your customers for this event, you are doing them a favor and keeping your business in their mind when it comes time to choosing a shop to repair their vehicle.

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The information you really need to include in your business plan to get the professionals to take your proposal seriously.

As your cleaning business grows, one of the first things you will need to do is hire employees. But before you put that ad in the paper or start interviewing prospective cleaning employees, you should have a written job description that specifies the duties of the position.

When you are setting up a trade show display for your products, it is important to keep in mind that the two primary reasons for participating in trade shows are (1) to increase name recognition for your company and (2) to generate leads.

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