The Seed Newsletter

	August 2007 Newsletter

Welcome! Welcome to the August issue of TheSeed.com newsletter In this issue we will be looking at how testimonials can transform your business without costing you any money, the value of having them and how they should be used to maximum effect to help you build your business. As we are always striving to improve our service and seeking to ensure that we provide you with fantastic business leads we have added a new section to our website which is mentioned within our top tips section, keep your eyes open for it and how it can help you. If you have any comments or feedback on the service provided by The Seed please click here and let us know. The Seed.com Team
	The Seed News
This month we are delighted to announce that we have just broken the 1000 customer sign ups mark! This is a very significant threshold for us and demonstrates the continuing popularity of our service. Of course we are always actively seeking new customers and are pleased that TheSeed.com is proving to be a great success, long may it continue. Many thanks to those of you that have sent new customers our way, either via referrals, testimonials or through our Partner Programme.
	Get more Testimonials
No matter how great your own sales and marketing skills are, or how you communicate your messages into the market place, there is nothing that tells a prospective customer better about your offering and your services than the words of other people who have had the pleasure of doing business with you. And what’s more....... Testimonials don't cost you anything! Convincing potential customers who visit TheSeed.com to choose your company is one of the biggest obstacles to overcome. So when customers tell you they are pleased with you, don't be shy – get them to share their experience with others. In the majority of cases a happy client will be delighted to write a testimonial and will have no problem with sharing the positive experience they have had using your business. When prospects visit TheSeed.com they have the opportunity to view your company information and look at what others are saying about you and the experience they have had with you and your organization, this may make all the difference in them choosing you over a company that either doesn’t have any testimonials or who’s client experiences don't stand out as well as yours. So how can you get the best from your testimonials? The best testimonials are the ones that give some real detail and provide the readers with a good description of how your customer has benefited directly from what you have to offer and the difference that it has made to their company. Make sure that the testimonial is relevant to the service/s that you are offering via TheSeed.com so that prospective clients can feel an affinity with it. When you create a testimonial, build it in three parts: the situation the solution the results Always include your customers name and if appropriate the type of business they are in. Don't use anonymous testimonials because people don't find them believable but perceive that they are just made up. Once you get testimonials - use them! Make sure you use them everywhere - on your website, brochures, emails. Even consider getting your best testimonials printed out on sheets and hand them to customers. You can even use them to handle objections e.g. do you provide good value for money? do you deliver what you say you are going to and on-time? The testimonial may be one of the most powerful marketing tools you have. Carefully choose your testimonial clients or customers, making sure that each one represents the size, industry, and type of work you want. And don't forget - always get written permission for all testimonials, especially for those in print. Don't under estimate the power of testimonials - they transform what others think about your business!
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		Top Tips
	It’s not what you know but who you know We would like to do something different within top tips this month. We have recently launched the Find A Supplier section of TheSeed.com which is a fully working example of our Quote Module, the medium we use to generate leads for you. We have added this element to TheSeed.com so that it makes it easier for you, our customer, to find a trustworthy supplier should the need arise. As many of you will undoubtedly have experienced, we can’t always manage the amount of work we have on, or sometimes, don't even have the in-house ability to be able to cope with a certain element of business. At these times in need, we have to call on a supplier to help fill in the gaps, the problem is, who do you trust with the task? As there are so many businesses out there, where do you even begin your search? This is why we have added the Find A Supplier area to our site which will enable you to get a quote from a fellow trusted company in whatever field you may need. This will save you the trouble of having to do a search elsewhere when TheSeed.com is literally, on your doorstep. We hope that this new section helps you to find a trusted supplier the same way in which external companies can find you via TheSeed.com.

		Leads this month
	Below are a selection of sample leads generated over the last month. These example leads should give you a taste of the type of leads you will receive if signed-up to TheSeed.com. Direct Mail Wednesday 29th of August 2007 15:36 We're looking to send about 2000 letters per week to begin with, but looking to expand this. The mail out will include a personalised letter, a double sided application form and a freepost DL envelope, all paper clipped together (not hugely important). A C5 windowed envelope would be fine. The personalised letter can be created from a mail merge with a spreadsheet we can provide, which also has all the addresses we want to send to on it. We can provide designs for both the application form and freepost envelope. We may want to be flexible and have the option of scaling up and down quantity from week to week. Additional notes from TheSeed.com: Spoke to Charlie who advised that they are currently doing this function in-house but would like to increase the volumes and feels that outsourcing the entire process is the best way to move forward. Initially they would like quantities of 1000 per week but this would quickly increase to 2000 and maybe more and think that outsourcing would be more efficient and cost effective. They would also like to outsource the printing of the enquiry form and the envelope if possible. As mentioned above they are currently carrying out this work in-house so the requirement is not urgent although they would like something in place in the next few weeks. The data may take a couple of weeks to source but they would like to have chosen the supplier in place when they get the data. Charlie is the best person to talk to and he is available on the above number at any time. He would like to hear from you ASAP. If the number is engaged please keep trying. Telephoned by Phil on 2007-08-29 at 16:08. Email address confirmed. Email Marketing Tuesday 21st of August 2007 14:27 I want to send an e-mail campaign to my customers/players and e-mail list. My initial campaign will be sending 300,000. I have the html etc for this already. Please can you provide a quote for this? I have a few quotes already so I am looking for a competitively priced quote. Additional notes from TheSeed.com: I talked to Mark and he told me that he is based in Bedfordshire and is looking to get something under way ASAP. He has had some quotes already however he would not supply any information regarding this, but has not set himself a budget as of yet. He is the best person to talk to and can be contacted on the number provided at any time. He already has the template and the contact list of around 300,000, however he would like the list checked for spam and viruses and then sent for him. Telephoned by Kim on 2007-08-21 at 14:43. Email address confirmed. IT Outsourcing Wednesday 15th of August 2007 16:03 Onsite Hardware (severs, networking), Remote Software Support for Server 2003 SBS and Terminal Server. Navision Software Support. As and when required Additional notes from TheSeed.com: I talked to Michael and he told me that he is based in Nottinghamshire and is looking to replace his current service provider. He is unhappy with the prices that he is being charged so is looking for something competitive and is looking to change over within the next 6 months. He has not set himself a budget and has not had any other quotes. He is the best person to talk to and can be contacted on the number provided in normal office hours. He is looking for support for the following, 20 pc's and 2 servers, all in one location. He is currently using Small Business Server 2003, Microsoft Office, Navision and sage payroll. Telephoned by Kim on 2007-08-15 at 17:43 Email address confirmed.