“Just Nancy” – Page 25 – The Web Authority

January 2, 2017December 29, 2016

What Are You Worth? “Just Nancy”

Nancy McCord — “Just Nancy” – My Point of View for Today.

Have you ever wondered what you were worth when it comes to the value you offer clients? If you are new in the business, you may not have a clear idea of your worth, but if you are a seasoned professional you probably have an idea of what you bring to the table in regards to customers.

Here’s how I’ve found out my own worth:

I’ve chatted with clients when they have not purchased a service. In several cases, I found that my prices were too low and actually scared a customer into feeling that others were more valuable as they charged more.

In one particular case, I actually got the client back when the higher priced resource shot themselves in the foot by not providing attentive customer service. I learned from that situation that sometimes having a low price is not a good thing.

I’ve provided white label services and have seen the markup that is put on my own price and resold without additional value. In this case I found out that I was priced lower than the market and clients were willing to pay more for quality hands on, attentive service.

I watch how busy I am. If I am having trouble staying on schedule as I have too many customers, I know that I may need to review my pricing and consider adjustments or packaging of services together. If on the other hand, you are not busy and just getting established, you may need to drop your price to pick up business.

I think the key is to gauge what is happening in your industry and in your own business. If you have not done a market survey and even blind shopped your own marketplace, now’s the time. It is important to make sure you are not priced too low, but especially not priced too high.

December 19, 2016December 16, 2016

Time Management Tips

Time is Money! When It Comes to Being Productive in Your Job.

I am experiencing one of my strongest business growth trends this year and as a result I have become a master of time management in order to be productive.

Here are my top tips to get more out of your day:

1. Turn off email notifications. These are those messages that float across the bottom of your screen if you are using Outlook telling you that you have email. While you are working resist the urge to check your email. Stay on task and check when your task is done.

2. Control your phone calls. I use Google Voice and I update my voice mail message regularly. I do not answer my phone when I am really in production. I simply let my calls go to voice mail. It is better to finish up a task faster than to be constantly interrupted.

3. Control your email. When I am really tied up, I will post an auto responder on my email alerting clients when I will touch base back with them. Then mid morning and mid afternoon I will send a quick email response letting a client know I got their message and that I will respond either by the end of the day or the next morning. Then I make sure I do just that.

4. Use a call scheduling app for clients that need to chat with you. Instead of my trying to corral a client and exchange multiple emails to find a time to chat about a project, I put the client in control and use Calendly for my phone call scheduling. I have set the parameters of when I will take calls and the client chooses a time that is good for them. The call appears automatically in my schedule. The client can even self-manage and cancel or reschedule a call. I just make sure that I have time available and code in my Google Calendar when I am free and not available.

5. Control your task list, each night I plan my next day. I move things on my calendar and decide what I will do when. I group similar tasks together like perform all my AdWords work in the morning and all my webmaster work in the afternoon. I even schedule time for lunch, my workout, and planning time. I have found that if I schedule these things I assure that I do have some downtime and flexibility in my schedule if I have to drop in a project or take a call.

6. Move all your email, calendar, and file exchange to the cloud. By moving to the cloud, I have been able to increase my productivity as my smartphone has become my mobile desktop. I can move files to my staff, check on staff projects, and keep abreast of projects even while I am walking on the treadmill.

By being productive and very schedule oriented, I am generating more time for existing clients and more time for taking on new clients.

December 12, 2016December 9, 2016

Google My Business Verification Problems

Building Exterior that Google does not like!

Google My Business verification should not be so hard! For owners of a single business verification is a snap – complete your profile, ask for a letter to be mailed to you, confirm the PIN number Google sends to you. But if you are an owner of multiple businesses that you run out of separate offices, brace yourself for the run around from Google when you try to verify a second business.

Just this last week, a supervisor at Google My Business finally told me that Google would never verify my client’s second account. We had been working diligently since October 11th to provide all the information and documentation pictures the Google staff said it needed for review. I have to say I was nearly foaming from the mouth when I heard that final response!

It is unthinkable that Google has such vague standards when it comes to business verification; rules that are not in step with small businesses located in the USA. Additionally, add a language difficulty , as the staff appears to all be located in India, and the difficulty grows exponentially.

Ridiculousness at Its Best

I was told to supply a photo of both suite doors and signage on each but as there was a wall between the two, Google did not like the image. I could not knock down a wall in order to provide the photo.

I was told to take a picture of exterior signage for the business, but as the client is in an office condo park, no businesses have exterior signage unless they own a whole floor. Another fail!

I was told to take a picture of the reception desk with the large company sign behind the receptionist. Okay let’s get real, this was a small business, they have an office, but not a glitzy reception area and no need for an inside sign, they know who they are! A fail again.

Finally, I was told that the font on the second business sign did not match the font on the sign on the first business. Wow, that was an eye opener!

Then I was told that due to the history of requests and images sent as we tried to give Google what they wanted for over a two month period, that they did not believe the client ran two businesses. So, the history of what I had sent to Google based on the account reps requests totally worked against the client.

Nothing should be this difficult to resolve, but it’s Google! Understand that on Google My Business verifications, Google does run the world.

November 30, 2016November 27, 2016

Opera VPN for Smartphone Security

If you use your phone on travel, sitting at Starbucks, at Target and even Macy’s, you’d better make sure you are secure by using this free app called Opera VPN.

I have my phone set up to minimize data use. As a result when I am out an about, my phone is looking for Wi-Fi spots to connect to to save data. As a result, if you connect to any Wi-Fi, you may be setting yourself up for a hack attack and potentially even identity theft.

Opera has introduced a free super easy to use app called Opera VPN that makes it easy to stay secure on Wi-Fi anywhere. Download the app for Android or Apple at Google Play or ITunes. The app is simple to use, click the Wi-Fi icon and it lets you know a letter grade of your security. Turn it on and the app gives you a new grade with cute visuals helping you to understand how the app keeps you safe. Additionally, you’ll get an integrated ad tracking blocker.

As this app is easy to use, has cute visual cues, and is free, I consider it a great app for kids, teens, and those on a budget. If you have kids using smartphones, make sure to review this important security information with them. It is not common knowledge and we have to as parents instruct them how to be safe from identity and banking theft through the use of unsecured or compromised Wi-Fi access points.

I am not being paid for this review, just like the app and wanted to share it with you. Make sure you keep an eye on this app in the future. For now it is ad-free, but it may be ad supported in the future and may sell aggregated data, but for now, it is a smart, free, and easy to use way to be safe online with your smartphone.