This came from a discussion in another thead when I asked if having a mobile number puts off potential clients. Of course, how can you count the phone calls you never got?
As a buyer, what gives you the confidence to buy from someone, product or service, online?
Sometimes landlines can be expensive? Does that put you off having one? I personally have a line from VOIPfone for which I pay about £4 a month and calls on top. It was expensive to buy the phone initially. I decided on a proper IPphone rather than software and headset which I could only use if my pc was on and which I felt lessened the sound quality.
Personally I think it could be 50/50, some potential clients will be looking for a larger firm for stability etc, others might prefer to work with a sole trader or smaller company for more personal service.
I guess it depends on how you talk about yourself on your website. If you refer to yourself as we, about us, etc then you will probably attract those looking for larger firms. So if you then refer to yourself by name and give a mobile number this might put them off.
If however you have an About Me (instead of about us), you talk about yourself by name etc, then they would already assume you are an individual so a mobile would probably be a plus.
I would always put a landline anyway, some people do not like calling mobiles because of cost.
This probably raises the question on whether you should refer to yourself as we instead of I, a question we get a lot at the ICB.
I think you have a good point, James. Maybe the discussion is wider and should be do you make yourself look bigger and established, or small and personal?
Personally, I think you'll see from my website I go with the first. However I was thinking about setting up another site using the second just to see if there is a difference.
This probably raises the question on whether you should refer to yourself as we instead of I, a question we get a lot at the ICB.
I've often wondered about this on some people's websites where I know it is just the one person they refer to "we". I'd always gone on the assumption they used plural as they were talking about "the person" and "the business" and that was their justification.
As for landlines/mobiles, I am an old fuddy duddy type that insists (now) on having the electric company supply me with electricity, the gas company with gas and British Telecom supply me with a phoneline. I only use the phone line for the internet - any calls I make are with my mobile. But it means I have a landline.
When I start advertising for business (not until I have level III with ICB) then I'll be using both numbers. I attach various ska tunes to people I know on my Iphone so if it isn't ska music then I'll know it's likely a potential client (or someone has saw my advertising and wants to sell me more advertising).
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
It was me without the landline on my website, and I must admit this has now got me thinking.
I was talking this morning to my web developer and he uses www.virtuallylocal.co.uk where you can buy a number for as little as a tenner up front then just pay for any calls received.
I must admit this may be the answer I am looking for, the number of calls for me would be minimal but gives me a 'real' presence.
Also a good point about I or we - as Peasie has said I refer to my business as we.......anyone with a family knows that while I may be a sole trader my wife gives invaluable support and my 11 year old helps with the shredding (hence the 3 in K3) so 'we' are a business, hence my use of the word.
Interesting debate.
-- Edited by K3 Accounting on Friday 5th of August 2011 11:40:07 AM
Two sites is probably a good idea. I have a friend who is a plumber who does that.
I think from my experience with ICB members (and personally), people who set up self employed sometimes undervalue themselves.
What I mean is people tend to think 'I can't charge that much', or 'no one will want to work with little old me'. So they use the 'we' and 'us' to hide the sole trader aspect.
The problem is that clients looking for the 'bigger and established' would like the 'we' and 'us' on your website, but might be put off when you walk through the door and they realise your just a sole trader.
On the other hand, those who want a sole trader or small 1 person business for the 'small and personal' might skip over your website, so you could be shooting yourself in the foot.
I think the thing to remember is there are many out there who would love to work with/use a local sole trader, the thought of supporting local community is strong these days (not as much as it used to be, but getting better).
Also a lot of your potential clients may be sole traders or small businesses.
I know when I was self employed I made my website look like I was a larger company. I would get calls from larger companies, go and introduce myself, only for the work to be given to much larger companies than me. Most of the time they said it was because they wanted a large company for the contract, and I wasn't what they were looking for.
However, probably at the same time, clients who would love to work with an individual would not call me as my website made me look too big a company.
It is a tough call to make, I think the two sites is a good idea, although people do 'Google' companies now and might be confused if they find your two sites that slightly contradict themselves. So just be aware that someone might find both.
This is in reply to a post up a bit (or down a bit if you sorth your posts that way) as others have replied since I started.
I don't think I will be competing with you. I'm the most northerly of north Ayrshire and you're South Ayrshire. I don't know how far north you go - in this internet day and age there is really no barrier anyway, but personally I don't think I'd venture much farther south than Ardrossan or Saltcoats and north (into Renfrewshire) I'd go up to Greenock.
Timescale, hopefully I will sit my level III manual mock by Monday and depending on how I do in that as soon as I get an exam booked after that. Then it will be business cards printed, website done a bit better, advertising in local paper, postcards in shops and then see what happens. I'd rather things happened slowly than everything at once. I will need to get my level III computerised done before the end of September. I've just a couple of mock exams to try out then book the real thing.
So I'm looking at mid-September really.
-- Edited by Peasie on Friday 5th of August 2011 11:55:08 AM
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I cover Ayrshire, but tend not to do much north of Saltcoats, although just got one client from Glasgow there.
Mid September, you nervous? I can't see me doing level 3 right now, with college it'd be too much, but I was told when I complete my HNC I can get exemption from level 3 for it.
Peasie - I did this six months ago and £400 on local paper advertising was wasted - spent over a 3 month period.
As mentioned in a previous post, in my opinion talking to people face to face, via linkedin and twitter and real networking groups........building relationships, and being mentioned in conversations when someone asks 'do you know any bookkeepers' is the way forward.
My business has taken off since becoming a member of Network North. Just don't try and sell to the room and it is amazing who knows who and who knows who needs what..............I won a client from Twitter a couple of weeks ago, but it came from an initial face to face networking lunch. The opticians where the networking contact (an IFA) gets his contact lenses (which is why he follows them) tweeted that she was looking for a bookkeeper. He liked the cut of my jib so tweeted back to her to follow me with his recommendation. She did, we then met up, and I took 12 months files away to do a catch up job on then a couple of hours a month gig to follow.
Press the flesh - it's the only way!
As to competition I think there is enough business out there, it just takes time to build those relationships and find it. I actually made contact with a direct competitor in the same Town as me and we have formed a good working relationship. She is a quickbooks expert and doesn't touch Sage, I am the other way around - easy to see how that can work for both of us. Also good to talk with others in the same business from time to time (as we do on here) but in real life.
It really is simple and cheap to have a dedicated landline number, with a voip phone. I use Vonage and you can choose any exchange number you like. I target mostly local businesses so chose a local exchange number but if I was to go national, then I could have had a major city dialing code (or any other dialling code). You can also add other, virtual numbers for about £2.99 a month, and fax lines if you want
Outlay was about £40 for a pair of voip cordless phones plus £5.99 a month. You get voice mail emailed, as well as stored in your account plus inclusive calls (1 hour) for geographic numbers (bit of a beech when I mostly call HMRC and wait!). Don't think my phone bill has exceded £7 yet! and clients do not know my home number, so i can switch off.
Just a thought for any one thinking it is expensive to add a dedicated landline phone.
I agree with James that it's a tough call regarding websites. If you chose to operate through a limited company and advertise that fact, then I don't think it makes sense to write your website in the first person.
I'm not sure it's about trying to make yourself look bigger to potential clients either. To my mind it's' more about presenting your business in the most professional way you can. But I can see the dilemma.
The same goes for landline and mobile numbers. Like a few others I use a voip landline number but I use a "softphone" app on my smarphone because I'm out and about so much.
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Tony
Responses are intended as outline only. Formal advice should be sort from your Institutes Technical Department or a suitably qualified Accountant.
I also use www.voipfone.co.uk, really easy to set up. I have the softfone on my laptop. Call costs are really cheap and even when I have been on holiday abroad and taken laptop with me the call costs back to the UK are still at the standard UK rate (which I think is about 2p per minute)
And to ensure that I don't miss any calls I use Answer which is on a pay as you go basis and can be found from this link here http://www.answer.co.uk/?refid=C8PGWRMS1 and for the benefit of transparency if you were to click on this link and proceed with setting up an account then I would receive a referral fee however I am not employed by them, I just use the service, have been very happy with it and am pleased to be able to refer them and if I get a few pennies for doing it then great but if not so be it.
I also used answer.co.uk for about 8 months, but recently cancelled as the service deteriorated. They were passing call to me intended for other companies, the stopped weeding out sales calls, passed incorrect details and really just started to annoy me.
Having said that, there are plenty of answering services out there.
