Business121 Small Business Newsletter #4

In this week's Business121:

1. 7 Easy ways to be a smart buyer and cut your costs
2. Latest News and Views - including 8 Classic web marketing
mistakes and How to find good keywords
3. What's New... LogBuy - The UK's Business Discount Club

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7 Easy ways to be a smart buyer and cut your costs
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I love running my own business.

And like most people who have made the leap from the cosy corporate world to the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants world of small business - I wouldn't have it any other way.

Wild horses couldn't drag me back to the stifling atmosphere and back-biting culture of big business offices but there is just one aspect of being a bigger company that I do wish I could still benefit from.

The one real advantage that a big business can bring to bear against smaller businesses is its sheer size.

Big businesses can use their scale to buy raw materials, products and vital services at a lower price. And there's not much we small business owners can do about that. Well, that was what I thought before I researched this week's Business121.

But before I reveal how EVERY small businesses can now enjoy the buying power of a big company, here are 7 tips to help you keep your costs down by buying smart:

Plan ahead
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If you ever need to get something in a hurry you're almost certainly going to have to pay more for the pleasure because you're in no position to negotiate. So plan your purchases ahead.

Negotiate
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Don't be afraid to ask for a discount. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much you can save just by asking.

Get 3 Quotes
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When you're making purchases it's good practice to get three quotes. Now there's no need to get 3 prices on a new pack of paper clips but if you follow this principle on significant purchase you're making a statement to your suppliers and you'll make sure that you never over-pay.

Buy at the end of the month
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A less-common trick is to stall your purchase until the end of the month. Why? Well some salespeople have monthly sales targets to hit. And if they're short of their budget with only a few days left in the month you can use their desperation to make their target to your benefit.

Know where you are spending
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If you use a software package for your accounts, you'll be able to quickly run a report listing your biggest costs or major suppliers.

Remember, your time is a valuable commodity too - and you can only spend it once. So concentrate your cost-cutting efforts on the areas where you spend most.

Talk with your suppliers
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If you get to know your major suppliers you'll learn what factors affect their costs. By working together you may well be able to find ways where you can both benefit. Ask your suppliers if there are any areas they can save you money.

Be aware of monthly direct debits
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Direct debits are a handy way to reduce admin but make sure you review these payments every 6 months. Sit down with your bank statement and go through each DD to make sure that you still need what you're paying for.

Smart buying in practice
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I recently witnessed a great example of smart buying. It's worth sharing as an example of what can be achieved if you follow some of these smart buying guidelines.

Ed runs a business supplying fresh fruit and vegetables to caterers and restaurants, and was looking to buy a new delivery truck.

So he kick-started the buying process well in advance of when he really needed the vehicle and contacted 3 potential suppliers. All three of the firms were keen to sell him a vehicle there and then but he took his time slowly negotiating with each company.

As time passed, each company managed to find extra reductions in an attempt to win his business. Within a month he'd managed to negotiate a whopping discount of £2,200 on the price he was originally quoted.

Now I know we don't make big purchases like this very often, but when we do, if we're smart we can make big savings, just like Ed.

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Latest Small Business News and Views
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8 Classic Web Marketing Mistakes
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Without doubt, most of us are constantly finding out new ways to improve our small business web marketing efforts - this is only natural.

However, given that the Internet is jam-packed with sites that have run into all sorts of trouble in their quests to get noticed, I thought I'd list down some of the classic ways to ensure that your site will get no visitors whatsoever - reverse psychology perhaps!
http://snipurl.com/_8ClassicWebMistakes

How To Find Good Keywords
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Good keywords are frequently searched for (high demand) but not being targeted by many other websites (low competition). There are a number of tools out there that can help you find them.
http://snipurl.com/_Good_Keywords

Five Reasons why you need a Business Plan
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The problems of not having an over-arching goal and plan for your business...Top five reasons a firm needs a business plan
http://snipurl.com/BusPlan_5_Reasons

Small companies take marketing seriously
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Britain's smallest organisations are the most likely to cite marketing as essential to business success, the most inclined to invest in marketing, and the quickest to recognise the importance of having a marketer in the boardroom.

This was the conclusion of a marketing trends survey published this week by The Chartered Institute of Marketing and conducted by MORI.
http://snipurl.com/_CIM_marketing

Business banking more expensive than 3 years ago!
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Business banking has become more expensive since the Competition Commission published its recommendations to the main business banks three years ago, according to Business Moneyfacts.

The results of its latest current account survey and found that, since the Competition Commission recommendations designed to make business banking less expensive were published three years ago, most business accounts from the 'big four'‚ now cost small businesses more every month.
http://snipurl.com/banking_costs_rise

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What's new... LogBuy - The UK's Business Discount Club
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Publishing Business121 is immensely rewarding in itself. It also means that, occasionally, my research leads me to something really useful - a technique, product, service or gizmo that can help us all to run a more successful business.

When I first started writing this week's issue I thought that, for once, we'd have to concede defeat to our big business friends.

As you can imagine, raising the white flag to the corporate stripes isn't something I'm keen to do, so I set out to find an alternative.

Luckily for me, it wasn't too long before I stumbled upon what seemed to be the perfect solution to our problem.

It's an idea so simple that part of me wishes I'd have thought of it. But even though I didn't have the foresight to start the operation, it's easy enough for me to see the massive potential this has for every small business in the country.

When you're running a small business you can't afford to pay over-the-odds for anything but on the other hand you can't afford to take the time to find suppliers you can trust either. Suppliers that you know will always give you good value.

Well, that particular frustration will be consigned to history if LogBuy has anything to do with it.

Get BIG discounts from trusted suppliers
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The concept is unbelievably simple; small businesses club together to enjoy big business buying power. LogBuy sources suitable suppliers and negotiates exclusive discounts for members.

Suppliers that have already signed up to the scheme include Shell, Europcar, OneTel, Neopost, Business Post, Regus and Apple. As a LogBuy member you can save 20% on car or van rental with Europcar and 25% on express parcel delivery with Business Post.

By clubbing together, every small business in the country can now enjoy the buying power of a big business.

And it gets even better - the more of us that join LogBuy, the bigger our buying muscle and the bigger the discounts we get.

At present, there's no joining or membership fee, and there's no commitment for you to buy a certain amount.

I signed up in less than 2 minutes (it will take you even less if you've managed to train your 'form-filling wizard' correctly) and I recommend you sign up right now. It's fr.ee and it means that we can all enjoy the big discounts normally reserved for big businesses.

You can join LogBuy right now here:
http://snipurl.com/_LogBuy_Join

Or, if you want to find out more, click here to visit LogBuy's homepage: http://snipurl.com/_LogBuy_Home

Remember, the more of us that join, the bigger the discounts we'll all enjoy, so please do forward this email around to as many small businesses as you can.

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READER CLASSIFIEDS
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Discover 'The Secrets of Effective Time Management'
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and achieve more of what really matters in your business! Time Management seminars in November - Bournemouth and Swindon
http://www.mosaic-learning.co.uk/timemanagementcourse.html

SEE YOUR AD HERE
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Business121 is read by over 12,000 small business owners every week. You can book an ad here for as little as £30+VAT. Just email: Classified@Business121.co.uk for details.

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