Consider offering a loss leader
The idea of making an initial offer that actually costs us more than we make from it, at first sight, may seem to be bad business.
 
However, we would recommend doing this sometimes in order to win a new customer. The important consideration is the value of that customer over time. Winning new customers is the hardest thing to do in sales. In fact it is calculated to cost 6 times as much as keeping a customer once you have won them.
 
The supermarkets are very aware of this, and measure the value of a customer by calculating their average monthly spend, and multiplying that by the number of months a customer, on average, continues to shop with them.
 
The key point here is that the lifetime value of the customer is what really matters. When you take that in to account, it is usually worth losing a little money on the first order, in order to make money on all the subsequent ones.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Five Key Skills for Raising Emotional Intelligence

In the words of Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear), “Some say”, when it comes to happiness and success in life, emotional intelligence (EQ) matters just as much as intellectual ability (IQ). Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at work, and achieve your career and personal goals.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others.

Emotional intelligence consists of four attributes:

• Self-awareness – You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior, know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
• Self-management – You’re able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Social awareness – You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.
• Relationship management – You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.

Why is emotional intelligence (EQ) so important?

As we know, it’s not the smartest people that are the most successful or the most fulfilled in life. You probably know people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially inept and unsuccessful at work or in their personal relationships. Intellectual intelligence (IQ) isn’t enough on its own to be successful in life. Yes, your IQ can help you get into college, but it’s your EQ that will help you manage the stress and emotions when facing your final exams.

Emotional intelligence affects:

• Your performance at work.
• Your physical health.
• Your mental health.
• Your relationships.

Developing emotional intelligence through five key skills:

Emotional intelligence (EQ) consists of five key skills, each building on the last:

• The ability to quickly reduce stress
• The ability to recognize and manage your emotions
• The ability to connect with others using nonverbal communication
• The ability to use humour and play to deal with challenges
• The ability to resolve conflicts positively and with confidence

How to learn the five key skills of emotional intelligence

The five skills of emotional intelligence can be learned by anyone, at any time. There is a difference, however, between learning about emotional intelligence and applying that knowledge to your life. Just because you know you should do something doesn’t mean you will—especially when you become overwhelmed by stress, which can hijack your best intentions.

In order to permanently change behaviour in ways that stand up under pressure, you need to learn how to take advantage of the powerful emotional parts of the brain that remain active and accessible even in times of stress. This means that you can’t simply read about emotional intelligence in order to master it. You have to experience and practice the skills in your everyday life.

Contact us to Learn more about why emotional intelligence is so important and how you can boost your own EQ by mastering the five core skills.

Spinning Plates

It is often (some might say too often) claimed that women are able to multi-task much better than their male counterparts. This may well be true, but in today’s society which features many varied challenges and countless devices to attach to, the male of the species may be catching up.

Anyway, I digress. I really wanted to share with you the experiences that a humble Insurance Broker faces behind the scenes…

Even before the telephone receiver has been replaced in its cradle, or before I’ve left a client’s premises after a meeting, a plan is formulating in my mind on how to approach the challenge of providing a suitable policy (or an entire insurance programme) to meet that client’s specific needs. In fact with the more complex cases, I will have already undertaken a number of enquiries before gathering the specific risk detail, to prepare myself appropriately.

With my presentation to Underwriters prepared, I may have gathered claims experience from the present or previous insurers, obtained a survey report, or a flood questionnaire (particularly relevant in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire), I then begin the task of “sounding out” Underwriters who might be interested in offering terms (i.e a quotation) for the particular case. I’ll then monitor this to ensure each insurer is working to my deadline and feedback any additional pieces of information which may assist in the assessment of risk.

So why Spinning Plates? Simply because this process is going on for dozens of my clients and prospective clients simultaneously, as well as responding to Insurer queries, accounting issues, payment matters, client questions, internal queries and referrals – and all in a manner which is compliant with the various Regulations which govern the way in which I and my firm operates. For instance, we can no longer take details of a risk on the back of a cigarette packet and present to the client on a piece of paper which is hardly larger than A5!

In addition to this, I have to demonstrate to my professional body and my employer that I am competent in the areas in which I conduct business.  Undertaking regular study, assessment, reading of trade publications, e-learning modules, insurance seminars, regulatory lectures all find the time to fit into my diary.

Professionally as well as personally, the concept of Spinning Plates is constantly a part of how I live. I thrive on being busy, with many varied, interesting, testing challenges and tasks on-going at any one time. The idea that a plate might fall, keeps me on my toes, ensuring that I give everything the greatest attention that I can. 

Yes, occasionally one plate might appear to be perilously close to falling to the ground, but as an Insurance bod, I have always risk-assessed the situation prior to the launch of that activity…

The Foot - Did you know?

The foot can be split into three parts FOREFOOT, MIDFOOT and REARFOOT.

The foot has 26 bones, 20 muscles, 19 joints, 3 arches and 2 sesamoid bones - Now there’s a lot that could go wrong!

The foot’s components and structure are vital in determining the distribution of the ground forces that are absorbed by the body when walking and running.

When the foot is moving well the ground reactive forces translate through the foot into the knee - hip - pelvis - lower back and up into the rest of the body.

If there is an error in the foot mechanics the forces absorbed by the body can become more dominant in certain areas. If the foot, ankle and knee aren’t absorbing the force correctly for example, this will place excessive pressure onto the hip and lower back and can present itself as pain and discomfort in these areas, leaving the foot and knee pain free!

To prevent problems occurring in the foot...

Wear supportive shoes that fit well, avoid walking barefoot, keep your foot skin healthy and nails cut neatly. If you develop pain or discomfort get it checked out - usually a few simple tests and observation can identify any errors in the foot mechanics and often simple manual treatment can be enough to restore the foot (and therefore body) back into balance.

Call me for more information or advice on 01600 890 282 or visit www.shireschiropracticclinic.co.uk.

What would be the impact of an IT system failure in your business?

With technology and IT ever changing, that means there are a number of potential
problems small businesses can face. From setting up IT infrastructure, supporting it to
making sure it’s used appropriately.

Most businesses can often benefit from professional support and other resources to help
them make the right decisions.

What is the best IT infrastructure for your business?

The IT infrastructure of your business is absolutely vital. If it’s not setup correctly in the
beginning, there can be significant problems sooner rather than later down the road.
Do you need inhouse servers or cloudbased storage? Are desktop computers, laptop
computers or tablets the best choice for you and your business? Should you set up an
Ethernet network or rely on wireless technology?

So what is the best way to make sure you get the correct IT infrastructure for your
business? Bring in a qualified professional team who can best understand your needs.

Getting IT Support

Once your network is setup: how do you get the best support you need for your IT
infrastructure?
Without good expert support, your IT systems could be down more than they’re running, and
that could mean lost revenue for your business.

So what’s the best option for IT support? How will you perform updates to software
applications and ensure critical patches are applied? Who will upgrade components of
your system when needed and diagnose hardware problems? What will you do if your
network goes down and you lose connectivity?

Because there are so many questions that centre on IT support, you need to have a good
solution in place. If your business budget allows and the size of your business is sufficient
to support hiring an IT professional, having a person available onsite all the time may be
your best option.

How will you ensure your IT is being used efficiently?

How will you ensure your IT resources are being used effectively? How will you keep costly
bandwidth from being wasted? How will you protect your network from malicious viruses
that can be hidden in emails or on websites?

The best way to avoid many of these problems is to ensure your system has safeguards
such as firewalls and other controls in place. The IT support solution you choose will assist
in making sure that you have the most appropriate measures in place to protect you and
support your business.