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5 tips for control your financial investments.

Refreshing Cold Sales Leads -without being a pest!

Cold leads, now we all know they are not the easiest to work with, but they do nag at you - a lot, and you need to find away to warm them up without sounding or feeling like a pest. If you don’t do anything, thenwhat could once have been a potential sale and long-term business relationship, is lost. Let’s face it, a certain amount of your time and effort has already gone in bringing it up and you would hate to see it all go down the drain, when, you are confident given one more chance, you can crack the deal.So how do you go about doing it? Here are a few current age tips for making your cold leads a little bit warmer to bring you closer to that- not so lost, SALE. CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA A nice, subtle way to remind them you exist is to connect with them on social media. Start by seeing if they have a presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, tryconnecting with them there. No brownie points for guessing LinkedIn and Twitter would be the preferred options, followed by Facebook! Try and stay away from the personal and connect with the professional accounts. Don’t become a stalker, just try and connect on one network from your professional page and if there is a response, take it from there,but slow. KEEP ON OFFERING UPDATES Have you recently added or updated your products or services, changed/ added locations, hired someone new? These are all relevant pieces of information that can provide a way for you to re-start the conversation with past leads. Don’t get me wrong here, now you’re not just sending a nagging follow-up message, but you’re offering something new to the (to be) customer, and that is acceptable. This might be just the right thing to rekindle the interest of the potential client whose initial interest fizzled out, and you never know it might just tilt the scales in your favor! EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE Keep on educating your potential leads by supplying snippets about whatever is currently happening in your industry, by sharing knowledge posts like blogs, newsletters, e-news etc. This way, you are showing your technical superiority over competition, and staying in touch via meaningful interaction. This consistent reminder that you really know your domain can make you the contender when the right time for decision making comes. GIFT SOME VALUE And by this I do not mean Diwali and New Year Gifts! If it’s your company policy to give gifts, you would have already added him to that list by now and that is totally your prerogative. What I mean though is, try and offer meaningful help, say for example with a common linked department, training & placement, government resources or in general by using your business network. When you go out of your way to help someone, and you are competent in your chosen business field, the person is bound to feel some warmth and consider you next time round. BOLSTER YOUR MYNTRA Have you, an employee, or the company recently won an award, been featured in a prominent magazine, or done some groundbreaking work that people are talking about? Highlighting this will only helpyou reinforce your Myntra as an expert in your field. This is your moment and there is no harm in taking the well-deserved credit. Now don’t go all bashful and boasting about it but a little graceful pride to highlight your success is all that is needed. CALL ONCE MORE Yes! If you’ve tried it all and nothing works, then the only option is to pick up the phone, reintroduce yourself politely and try and make a fresh start. And trust me on this one if you can not do it personally, get someone really important and high up in your organization to make that call. A tele caller executive doing it for you maybe a one-way street to a permanent Bye-Bye! If after all this, you do not get a yes, then you will finally get a reason to put that file in the ‘not happening’, section. But a true sales person never does that. Or does he? PUSH DOWN THAT EGO Yes, you heard me right! EGO is a three-letter word my friend that destroys relationships, including ones formed by business. Just because the customer is not warming up to you, doesn’t mean you will try to give him back in the same coin! He is and will most probably always be a potential customer, always treat him with the respect that a customer deserves. Business is not the place to get personal, and trying to teaching him a lesson will definitely not convert into a sale, my friend. Patience and perseverance overcome mountains, whoever said it, must have been a sales person!And when it comes to leads-gone-cold, some people would rather climb the Mt.Everest than revisit them, and unfortunately, we can all understand why. Try these gems of suggestions put together by our team and see if you can crack some. Do let us know if they work! We are here to help Team G-way Consulting.

Why outsource to consultants at all?

IT out sourcing is now a common place thing and more and more companies are going that way. But business consulting and outsourcing business process though not unheard of, isstill not that common and, what becomes a majorquestion here,is taking the decisionwhether to outsource or not to. Yes, every big company has a sales/ service department, marketing & research section, independent HR resources, finance guys, customer-care specialists, IT cells, well you name it and they have it. The question to be asked here is - do you have the resources and the bandwidth for the same?
If you run a small business trying to find its feet, it can be a daunting challenge. Should you outsource your services? Read on to learn the reasons why outsourcing might be right for you.
Why Outsource at all? Outsourced services could provide management with major aspects of operations. Every modern-day business needsvarious specialists. The decision about whether to outsource them or hire and setup an entire department is like the decision you might make about directly employing a lawyer or engaging an attorney from a law firm. Or, whether you might justhire cleanersversus contracting a cleaning company. The final decision lies in various key factors that you have to weigh against each other to arrive at a possible choice. You will have to look at your size, how central the activity is to your business, your current capability, how critical the function is in the current time, long term use, financial situation, physical premises, right talent acquisition, retainership and much more. While you are thinking about all these internal parameters, here are some of the ways in which business process outsourcing can benefit SMEs and MSMEs. The consultants are experts Just like you are an expert in your field, so are these consultants. A marketing consultant will draw out your marketing strategy and budgets within a matter of hours while, a finance specialist will be able to come up with all your budgets and annual plans and financial reports in lesser time than it will take you to hire one. Then why not just hire one? Read on. Cost Control Establishing and maintaining an in-house service specialist with a team can be expensive. You can’t achieve the economies of scale that an outsourced team can. Besides, considering that you are a small company, will you be able to attract the right talent, retain, train and support them while providing them with viable opportunities for growth? Then you are left with only two choices, either deal with mediocrity, or outsource to your chosen expert, that too at a fractional cost! Focus on what you do – that’s important You have a core activity and resources, especially in a start-up situation, and your resources need to be fully engaged onto it. Other activities can feel like a lot of distraction and move you away from your core competencies. Outsourcing allows you to channel all your attention to what you do best. Don’t get me wrong but, your business survival may depend on your ability to focus on what’s critical. Benefit from Knowledge Transfer In this ever-evolving world, there is a new technology being launched each day, while we are getting used to new marketing resources, we have to adapt to digital marketing. When we have just fixed our accounting principles, the GST regime changes and a new software is there for the same. However, working with an outsourcedservice team means you can take advantage of the opportunities for knowledge transfer. You will be kept up to date with new thinking and best business practices, avoiding hit and trial and many a pitfall. Handle Rare Problems Outsourced service teams are likely to have a wider range of experience in handling problems. They can call on a diverse range of skills, experience, knowledge and contacts. Their experience is developed by working with a range of clients with different products, services, sizes, needs, ecosystems, locations, challenges and opportunities. The problems that you are facing may be new to your team, but most likely they will not be unique.Someone somewherewould have fixed that problem before and your outsourced services provider being an expert, in all likelihood will have an access to that experience, it’s as simple as that! Human Resources Creating and maintaining a significant in-house service team is a human resource challenge. The recruitment alone requires some technical understanding that you may not possess. Outsourcing can help you overcome this HR challenge. Stay Current, stay relevant Developments in technology are rising at an exponential rate and with changing policies and ever-changing systems, businesses have to adapt to these technologies at a rapid rate to get thatcompetitive advantage. Upgrading at such a rapid rate may become difficult for small organizations.Outsourcing your services can give you access to these developments and to help you keep up. In a nutshell, business process outsourcing allows you to get more done byentrusting important tasks and processes to experienced professionals without having to grow a full-time team of your own, thereby providing you with the bandwidth to focus on what you do best. When you are a small organization, you may see many people juggle many roles, undermining their strengths and compromising on their efficiency. Thus, leading to under productivity and them losing interest in their work. And when that happens, the productivity of the company starts to come down. A better solution would be to outsource functions, if not permanently, then in the form of projects- short/ long term. This way, preventing burn out in your team, finding that elusive solution and keeping the momentum going. Do keep us posted on what you think about outsourcing services. - Team G-way Consultants

Business processes that are easy to outsource for SMEs and MSMEs

Like I said in my previous blog,business process outsourcing allows you to get more done byentrusting important tasks and processes to experienced professionals without having to grow a full-time team of your own, thereby providing you with the bandwidth to focus on what you do best.More than a half of small businesses in developed countries currently outsource at least some of their operations

Business process/ function outsourcing services are now commonly available in countries like ours and more and more small businesses are benefitting from this idea. Initially it was successfully applied to IT, advertising and customer care services, but now experts in more fields are open to free lancing and working on project basis and helping smaller companies grow. Some of the key functions which you might consider for outsourcing are explained here. IT services IT is one of the largest outsourcing industries in the world. If you are not an IT company, it will be a waste of precious resources to hire and maintain an in-house IT team, as you would probably be needing it only for a limited time. You can outsource to a managed service provider or work with a firm that offers on-demand assistance to handle any technology issues you may have. In this field, choices are not limited, its all about finding the right fit, based on technology offered, platform being used, time being taken and cost being quoted. Marketing and Advertising When it’s time to start selling, creating your brand or growing your business, an outside marketing firm can help you do it quickly and efficiently. They are experts at what they do and can easily take product/ market testing, content creation, digital media amplification, product launch, client mapping and other such details off your plate so you can focus on the internal functions critical to your business. Additionally, these consultancies hire experienced professionals who can help you come up with creative ideas and helpful strategies that you may otherwise not have had an access to. Sales Similarly, your company might not have the personnel or expertise to do what it takes to close deals. Or your product may need to be sold via the direct marketing channel, or maybe you can survive by only selling online. The question is do you need to reinvent the wheel? There are sales channels available that can add on product and services. By outsourcing to sales firms or professionals, you can hand those tasks over to skilled individuals who know how to and will bring in more business, but you will need an expert to guide you through the decision making and contracting processes. Research, Analysis and Business Development Finding the right raw material suppliers, formation of work flow procedures, product life cycle, pre-launch product/ marketing surveys, heat mapping, customer growth cycle, post sales data analysis, launching new markets, all need a lot of research and analysis. Some will be specific to your product and you are the best person for it. At other places, you may find yourself quite out of your depth. That is the right time to hire a consultant or to outsource the function, to bring in their expertise, time tested resources and precise insights. Customer care/Services If it is not your core business, and you need to deal with customers mainly online or over the phone, you can outsource your customer service strategy to an outside call center, again someone who specializes in it. They can easily depute some of their dedicated resources to your work. You can find your solution from amongst unlimited choices, depending on technology and resources being offered, the extent the service provider is willing to go to understand your processes and set up your systems and the cost being quoted. Alternately, or if customer care is a part of your core business, you may hire an expert consultant to set up your own customer support center. The need of the expert arises for increasing efficiency, project management, balancing costs, understanding and building processes, efficient hiring and trainings and ensuring a smooth start-up for the customer care center. Accounting and Finance Accounting is one of the most common key areas where small businesses do choose to outsource and also one area where if efficient management is not exercised, you may lose the entire business. If you’re not a financial expert, then it can take a lot of your time and skills to learn all the processes, compliance standards, taxation regimes and company laws that your company must adhere to. A skilled accountant can often manage this area for multiple businesses at once. This increases efficiency and saves money for all. Similarly, for a close control on finances, to seek funding, and for day to day running, you will need solid business plans, inflow/ out-flow charts and company and departmental budgets. For several small enterprises, the work can be taken up by a single specialized team. That is where outsourcing of the financial function comes in. Human Resources Human resources is fast becoming a function that is now-a-days more commonly outsourced by small companies. There are easy options available for outsourcing training, benefits-administration, payroll management, and digitized time and attendance issues as well. Human resource firms started off as recruiters where they brought in qualified candidates for new or vacant positions. However, this is now just one of the many services that they provide. You may pick and choose or take the whole lot. Administrative Tasks Virtual assistants are becoming more and more common, especially for solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who work out of a home / shared office. There are VAs that can handle everything from inbox management and scheduling. This is often one of the least expensive ways to outsource. You can also hire people to respond to your generalized mails, virtually, and so on, albeit at a (very low) cost. Manufacturing Setting up a dedicated manufacturing facility can be quite daunting and costly for a small business. Take for example the garment industry, almost 85% of what you buy in the developed countries is produced in the third world countries. All vehicle manufacturers buy parts from other factories called OEMs (Original equipment manufacturers), and then assemble at an assembly line at their plants. Because these original manufacturers produce in bulk (for more than one company), theyderive benefits of economies of cost, which eventually turn into profits. For a small business, the production numbers will never be sufficiently high to justify setting up of an economic production facility and outsourcing remains the viable option. Shipping and Logistics If your product is being delivered by an ecommerce platform, then it is always better to hand it over to a trusted shipping and logistics partner. They know their business, they have a pre existing network across cities and countries, they have well-formed and tested insurance and grievance redressal procedures and they are willing to go that extra mile to get your business! You can literally pick and choose. Event Management May it be a launch event, distributor conference or some promotional tour. The only commonality that remains is that there is nothing common or repeated amongst any of these. It is always advisable to partner with a local event management company to make it a success. You know your product; they know their location and how to create the right event in the desired area in the approved budget. The synergy, generally produces a best fit that can produce phenomenal results. Legal advisory Even though more and more companies now have their own inhouse legal teams, it is not cost effective or even otherwise feasible for all small organizations to hire end maintain full legal teams. The same can however easily be hired on a case to case basis or for consulting purposes or as advisories, as the case may be. This way the best of legal minds become easily approachable to small businesses, which, will otherwise be quite impossible. As new businesses are coming in, we are continuously being exposed to new technologies and new ways of working. After the corona virus pandemic of 2020, we will definitely see many more changes in the way of doing things. Let’s see what all can be added to this list of business functions that can be outsourced. Do add your valuable feedback. - Team G-way Consulting

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