Top reasons why small businesses fail to punch above their weight
In my day to day work, I come across too many small business owners who are so completely immersed in running their business and actually doing the work they generate, that they forget to look at their business from their customers point of view and are surprised when a prospect or potential supplier asks them a question about how big their company is, how many employees they have and how successful they are.
They actually forget that this information is important to both their prospects and suppliers to make a decision, and they also forget that when they’re talking to someone they can easily create confusion.
Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to cover some of the top reasons why small businesses fail to punch above their weight.
The first mistake is using a Mobile number as their business number .
This is an instant give away that there is only one person who is in this business. Plus with no landline, it gives the impression that you’re either not serious about the business or that you may disappear next week.
With technological advances there is no reason for even the most mobile business owner to just use a mobile number. VOIP (Voice over IP or internet phones now allow you to choose a phone number in the area you want. Some of my clients use professional VOIP companies, others use Skype.
Other companies use a virtual office to answer all their calls and publish the phone number that the virtual office allocate to them. This would seem like a good idea at first, however as you don't own the number, you would be tied to that virtual office indefinately, so make sure that they're going to do an excellent job for you before you commit yourself and your business to a receptionist that you can never sack!
So if you're using your mobile number as your business number, there are plenty of options for you to consider. There is no excuse!
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