TheSeed Newsletter - February 08

	February 2008 Newsletter

Welcome! Welcome to the February issue of TheSeed's newsletter. We are pleased to announce that as of April 2nd 2008, TheSeed.com will be launching a new look newsletter. Further information about this is available in the News section. In this issue we will be looking at 5 Top marketing tips to keep your company front of mind and hints as to how to improve your marketing to increase your bottom line. Also, we are running a promotion with regard to our new Pay-Per-Click service which you do not want to miss out on. TheSeed.com Team
	The Seed News
New Launch! With TheSeed.com continually looking at how we can improve our service to you, as of April 2nd 2008 we will be re-launching our newsletter and changing it from a monthly issue to a quarterly one. This new newsletter will be issued on the first Wednesday of the new quarter instead of the last week of the month and we aim for it to provide you with more in-depth features and helpful hints and tips as to how you can improve your marketing and make TheSeed.com work harder for your business. We hope that the revamped style will be of even more use to you as a business and we would love to hear your thoughts on how we could improve the Newsletter. Please feel free to send any ideas you have regarding the contents and subject areas you would like us to cover in the new Newsletter to customerservices@TheSeed.com.
	Top Tips to improve and update your marketing:
Regardless of what market sector you are in the tips below are relevant to the majority of businesses and they focus on the need to become more pro-active with regard to your marketing. You will not believe the impact it will have on your business if you ensure that each of these methods is an integral part of your marketing mix. 1. Customer satisfaction With competition being very high in most market sectors, how do you keep your customers happy and ensure that they come back to you for more and not another company? Around 67% of customers go elsewhere, not because they have experienced poor service or products but simply because no one has kept in touch with them. Don’t give the customers you have gained from TheSeed reason to shop around, keep in touch with them and let them know how valued they are to your business, don’t just assume that as they haven’t been in touch they do not have a requirement. Keep front of mind and they are sure to come back. 2. Lucky 7 Many of us, if not all, have been in this scenario. You receive an enquiry, you meet with the business and get back to them with a proposal and then you hear nothing. You call, email and write and still they don’t get back to you. At this point most of us would shelve it and move onto the next one. But, according to research, we may be giving up too soon. Research across market sectors show that on average it takes 7 attempts of contact to actually get back in touch with that person and then more often than not, the business will be yours. We have to appreciate that as we all are, these people are extremely busy, but with persistent action, we can win the work. So don’t give up hope on your Seed leads, just keep contacting them. 3. Networking – is it worth it? As the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it! The power of networking for your business should not be underestimated. Many people attend a networking event and come away thinking: “well, that was a complete waste of my time and no-one there wanted my services”. This may be the case in the fist instance but just think, not every networking meeting attracts every member so there may be someone who is not there who will use your services. And also, it is not just about selling to that group of people, but speaking to them and letting them know what you offer so they can think about how they could use you for their clients. 4. Business cards – pick a card any card When you attend a meeting, and we’re sure we’re all the same, there is nothing worse than being handed someone’s business card and looking at it to see that it has biro marks all over crossing out an old number, the graphics are blurred and that it has been cut on an angle! Your card is the first thing that you hand out to a potential client and it says a lot about you as a business. It is definitely worth having your logo and stationary designed by a professional as it shows your care about your company appearance. You need to ensure that your card contains all of the relevant details, such as your up-to-date phone, fax, web and email, your job title and what your business does. 5. Finally... And finally, people are more likely to give you their business if you are totally passionate and confident about your products or services. If you come across as being complacent or bored by their query then they are more than likely to move onto the next company. Each enquiry you receive for your business, be it large or small is worth pursuing, it is not only about that individual client but about the other companies they will tell of your great service. We hope that the above, combined with your leads and profile through TheSeed.com keep your company expanding and fresh business coming your way.

		Top Tips
	What we are about to mention may seem very obvious to most of you, but a lot of businesses are missing out on great leads through TheSeed as they do not keep their account credit topped up. It is vital that you ensure you have credit in your account, if not; your profile drops offline so potential customers cannot see your company details and don’t even know that you are there. And all of the time you are offline you run the risk of missing leads that are absolutely perfect for your business and which may represent your next big sale. Ensure that your credit is always topped up so that you’re not disappointed. To say a thank you to our existing customers, we are also running a promotion to mark the launch of our Pay-Per-Click (PPC) service. Any existing Seed customer who sets up a PPC account and credits it with 50 GBP will receive 25 GBP worth of FREE Pay-Per-Lead credit – don’t hesitate and Click Here to sign up today to ensure your business benefits.

		Leads this month
	Below is 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. Payroll Outsourcing / Payroll Services Tuesday 19th of February 2008 16:20 We currently employ hundreds of cleaners at schools all over the country. Recent changes in VAT legislation means that we now have to charge VAT on this labour when we invoice our clients for this service. In many cases this will mean that a client who cannot recover the VAT will have to pay much more for our invoices. Hence, we are looking at a solution whereby the staff are transferred to the clients, but we continue to manage them and they are paid via a payroll bureau. i.e. from a clients perspective the only change is that instead of receiving 1 invoice per month, they receive 2: 1 from us and 1 from payroll bureau. I would like someone to meet up with me so we can discuss the practicalities and costs of providing our clients this solution. Additional notes from TheSeed.com: Telephoned by Phil on 2008-02-19 at 17:20. Spoke to Toby who explained a little bit more about the situation. As explained above VAT legislation has changed recently meaning that Toby’s company are going to have to start charging their clients VAT on the labour aspect of the service they provide. As some of the organisations that they work with will not be able to claim this VAT back Toby would like to find a way of minimising the impact of this legislation change on his clients - and thus be seen to be offering extra value. He feels that moving the Payroll responsibilities over to the clients themselves whilst retaining the management aspect of the workers would be the best solution and would like to discuss this scenario with you ASAP. If this is feasible Toby believes that it would be a popular solution with Schools etc and could also lead to lots of additional business for the recommended Payroll Bureau because you would effectively be provided with leads into many organisations and ultimately it may be that the Schools would choose to pay all staff via the Bureau. Toby is the best person to talk to and is available on his mobile the majority of the time, however if you do get his answer phone please leave a message and he will get back to you. Public Relations (PR) Thursday 21st of February 2008 10:52 We are a waste management company who operates within the UK market, in 3 major sites and some jv. We require the services of a media relations company to deal with the media should an accident or other type of incident occur which would generate interest in the company and its operations. Additional notes from TheSeed.com: Telephoned by Kim on 2008-02-21 at 11:41. I talked to Yvonne and I talked to Mark and he told me that he is currently based in Sheffield as the regional manager. He transferred from a UK blue chip company where he had used a PR company in the past, to his current position. He states that his company is under the umbrella of a Spanish multinational waste disposal company and are looking for an on demand service in case of a spillage, chemical release or accident at one of the plants. If it is of high proportions he feels that media coverage has to be dealt with swiftly and would like a PR company to step up and deal with this aspect of their business. He has not had any other quotes and has not allocated a budget as of yet. He is the best person to talk to and can be contacted on the number provided at any time. They are looking for coverage where ever it may have an effect, whether it is regional, national or multinational. Management Consultants Monday 18th of February 2008 16:46 Development for a team of managers who are taking the organisation through considerable change to include the following areas: Leadership, Communication skills, Motivational skills, Performance management, Team dynamics. Some managers would like to gain a qualification from the training as well e.g. ILM Additional notes from TheSeed.com: Telephoned by Phil on 2008-02-21 at 14:30. Spoke to Alan who told me that his company has undergone some considerable changes during the last 12 months including consolidating 2 service tiers into 1 which has caused some issues. The organisation is also being put under considerable pressure by their paymasters (mainly the public sector) to improve the efficiency of their operation which is something that he feels is difficult for a lot of managers. Alan has already spoken to Business Link about this but had no joy so started looking on the internet and found TheSeed. He has not contacted any other companies yet and would like to get something under way around April time. Alan is the best person to speak to about this and although he has taken some annual leave this week (which is why we have found it difficult to get hold of him) he should be available via the switchboard number above at most times. Early morning are best (about 8:45am - 9am) and his direct line is available from us.

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