Fraudsters target UK businesses
The threat of fraud continues to be a concern for many businesses.
Research by commercial credit referencing agency Graydon UK found that fake credit applications account for 45 per cent of fraudulent incidents over the past 18 months.
Among the 373 companies surveyed, 16 per cent said that internet fraud poses a significant threat, while 13 per cent had been affected by “corporate hijacking”, when criminals change a company’s official registration details with Companies House to impersonate that company. Twenty-two per cent claim that commercial fraud is on the rise.
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Being Red Carpet Royalty: How to Be a Trend Leader
Celebrities aren’t always famous for being good actors or actresses, or great directors, or responsible leaders. Many celebrities are famous because they spotted something that would catch on, recognized it as a profitable trend, and proceeded to lead the world in adopting the trend. Being a trend leader won’t necessarily make you famous or allow you to walk the red carpet, but it can give you a sense of fulfillment like discovering a new species of animal and having it named after you.
The process of leading a trend begins with discovering one, and there are two ways by which you can do this successfully: research and observation. First, you need to find the field that you want to specialize in. All fields have their own trends: artists have their fashion and art styles; writers have their writing styles and settings and the occasional murder-mystery that involves famous artists hiding secret messages in their paintings; even architects have to contend with trends that dictate how homes and buildings should appear.
As soon as you know what field you want to specialize in, you can move into the realm of research. Look at the history of your chosen field, and see what major trends people in it have followed. As soon as you spot the trends, look at what might have pushed the trend to be popular. Everything in history happens for a reason: mini skirts weren’t simply a way to cool women’s legs, but also served as protest in favor of women’s rights. The current upsurge of scientific research didn’t happen because of better funding, but because we have better tools to carry out research.
If you know what can cause a trend to be adopted, then you can recognize a trend when you see it. You can now move into the realm of observation: look at the current events in your chosen field, and keep track of the latest news in other fields. As soon as you spot events that might push a trend to occur, be on the lookout.
If you spot a trend, what do you do? You write about it and you use it. For instance, if you are in fashion, write about that new revolution in skirts and why it will tick; couple your writing with an example, and wear the skirt yourself. If you preach that a trend will occur, then you have to be the first to follow it.
Lastly, admit defeat. Not all trends are destined for success. The key to being a great trend leader is to go back to research and observation, and to keep on trying.
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#Direct #Marketing #Tip – Call to action
Always issue a call to action. Tell your readers clearly and precisely what you want them to do. Do not be timid. Tell them more than once. If you don’t, you run the risk of them not doing anything.
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Pension reform costs ‘too high’
The cost of implementing and running the new pension legislation is too high for businesses, it has been claimed.
A new report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has suggested the impact of upcoming pension reforms on small businesses are cause for concern.
The report identified several key aspects to the implementation of the Pensions Act 2008 which could negatively affect businesses when it is brought into force between 2012 and 2016.
Read more: http://www.mybusiness.co.uk/YeYQ1bRo6VWuDg.html
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Leaders are Born… Not!
Just like the question ‘nature versus nurture,’ the question ‘are leaders born or made’ continues to be a debate? Leaders are born meaning they have a natural talent compared to others. Then again, without the needed practice, a leader, just like any athlete, will eventually fail in his endeavor.
All great leaders, be it business or social leaders, have natural leadership skills and have devoted years in developing these. By spending a tremendous amount of their time knowing more and more about leadership and how to manage their own companies, these leaders usually come out on top.
A natural leader has the four Es. Energy, Energize, Edge and Execute. “Energy” pertaining to the capability to cope with the fast-pace changes in the industry, “Energize” pertaining to the ability to galvanize, excite and encourage the organization to take action, “Edge” pertaining to the self-confidence to take on the decisions of making the “yes” and the “no” that can make or break the company, and “Execute” pertaining to constantly delivering the goods and never disappointing the team.
It helps to be born with these leadership skills, but a born leader isn’t enough to lead a company. He has to have practice. Therefore it helps that the leader experience trials and errors wherein he will be able to hone the leadership skills in order to figure out his strengths and weaknesses.
This is the very reason why major American corporations invest on the financial resources which move the employees to various parts of the organization and engaging them in different kinds of assignments. This process determines the strength of each individual. The company does its best to give the employee the position where he can be of the most use and importance due to what he can do and offer.
Thanks to effective coaching, leaders can achieve the highest potential possible. They just need to enhance their innate skills and natural talent by constantly practicing. They can do this by reflecting on what makes them an effective leader. If they have someone who can coach or mentor them, they should be open to that idea.
A good leader knows his strengths and weaknesses. He works on both of them. He may be a natural born leader but he can progress by constantly doing right and eradicating or lessening the actions which can be liabilities later on.
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#Direct #Marketing #Tip – Guarantee
Always offer a guarantee. By this I mean a strong guarantee. Something that shows your prospects you have complete faith in your product. A good guarantee period is at least 90 days and a one-year guarantee is a true winner.
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Bosses blamed for recession woes
Employees whose companies have been hard hit by the recession have low levels of trust in their bosses and blame the troubles on poor management, according to research published today.
A study of 5000 workers has revealed that businesses that have experienced office closures and involuntary redundancies have seen a sharp drop in employer trust, with scores falling to 51 (on a scale of 1-100). By contrast, firms who have taken a more measured response during the economic downturn, such as flexible working and budget cuts, have seen trust in their management rise to a score of 68.
Read more: http://www.mybusiness.co.uk/YY4Lnh1o6VWuDg.html
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Leaders are Made
Leaders are not born. The same can be said about artists. Leaders may have the potential but what makes a great leader is practice.
Some say that leaders are born. There may be truth to this because some people have the authoritative and distinctive airs that are normal to those who eventually become leaders. These character traits allow them to stand out in a crowd. Now these are natural and not learned.
In order to lead, you must have these attributes:
1. Adventurous. You should be open to the idea of exploring and breaking new ground. Challenging the status quo, standing up for beliefs, risking rejection, rebelling against authority and innovation are only a few examples of this trait.
2. Influential. Has a logical argument, persistence, enthusiastic and can paint a picture clearly for everyone to see.
3. Constantly in search of improving your surroundings and always confident in conversing with people. Manages to get points across.
4. Has a drive that can dominate people and the desire to make one’s self different from the others in order to leave a mark.
You can become a leader by modifying your style a bit. You don’t have to totally change who you are. Take for example your persuasiveness. You will have a harder time being charismatic if you don’t have that innate trait. Work with what you have.
If you are strongly conservative or cautious of people accepting you, then you won’t see the big picture. You won’t be able to shift your passion for taking on risks because you are afraid of rejection.
You don’t need an IQ equivalent to a MENSA membership. You just need to be smart enough in order to make those crucial decisions that can make or break the team or the company.
These tips on becoming a leader clearly reject the belief that leaders are born. People who think this identify leadership with the person’s influential abilities and closing their minds to the idea that anyone can do it as long as he knows how.
There are no born leaders just as there are no born artists. Let’s look at that example closer. An artist has to take time to practice his craft. An actor enrolls in acting school, a pianist has piano lessons and a painter practices. The same can be said about a leader.
A leader is made if he works on the skills mentioned and practices them. He doesn’t have to rebel and challenge every status quo in order to get his point through. He just has to lead.
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#Direct #Marketing #Tip – Testimonials
Provide your customers with testimonials from other customers just like them. Overcome customer reluctance by demonstrating how well your product has worked for other customers with similar problems. When using text, audio or video testimonials, a complete name and company name along with the city is most convincing.
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Preparing for second credit crunch
To minimise the financial impact of the second credit crunch on your business, you need to make sure that you’re doing all the right things – and that your customers and clients are too.
Here are top 10 tips on how to safeguard your business from a second credit crunch:
- Check your banking facilities to prepare for any cashflow problems and the cost
- Make sure you understand the terms and conditions of your banking agreements and any borrowings you may have
- Check on your potential and existing customers and make sure you keep on top of what is happening in their businesses
Review your payment terms and monitor your clients’ payments - Have you got the retention of title provisions in your terms and conditions? For example, if a business you are working with sells and ships a product that you have contributed to and they have not paid you, do you still own the product?
Read more: http://www.mybusiness.co.uk/Yde-46JoGhP-DA.html
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