Articles

At Sole Traders United we believe that knowledge and experience is to be shared. We hold a bank of business articles, on a range of topics, written by business people known to us.

If you would like to submit an article, or a series of articles, on your business topic do please contact us and we will give it every consideration. In return you will receive direct links to your web site or contact details.

How To Develop Category Marketing Strategies for Your Small Business

December 23rd, 2008 | guest contributor

by Stephen C Campbell

Structure and strategy are the main things which are missing from most small and home businesses. The majority of businesses do things according to industry norms and never seek to set themselves apart from the competition. Failure to develop a structured approach to your business strategy will ensure that the business does not grow to a level where it otherwise could have.

Channel marketing is the path or medium through which your product or service must pass through to reach your end user customer. Large corporations have whole departments dedicated to channel marketing and it is critical to the structure of any business. Read the rest of this article »

How To Develop Sales and Marketing Strategies

December 1st, 2008 | guest contributor

by Stephen C Campbell

Every company exists for the sole purpose of providing a product or service to the end user. No matter how fantastic a product or service is, you will never be able to sell and generate revenue unless the end user knows that it exists. Also if you are a small or home business owner with a set customer base and you only service those customers, and yet you have no active and ongoing marketing strategy, your business will not grow as much as it otherwise could have.

Of course, your existing customers may increase their orders, but without a constant stream of new customers, your business will not grow beyond you and your current circumstance. Here are a few steps you can take to structure your sales and marketing strategies. Read the rest of this article »

Advertising Gifts

November 28th, 2008 | guest contributor

by David Faulkner of Advertising Gift Consultancy

Promotional merchandise is one of the most cost effective of all promotional media. The goodwill created far exceeds the actual cost of the merchandise itself, plus your brand/message gets promoted time and again whenever the products are seen or used.

Case Study 1

Many years ago an organisation took 250 customers and staff for a day at the races; each was given a printed promotional umbrella and told they must be at a selected point of the race track at 2pm with the umbrellas up, come rain or shine. Read the rest of this article »

Prospecting with a Plan

June 3rd, 2008 | guest contributor

From Jo Partington at the Sandler Sales Institute

A good pool of prospects is one of the keys to a successful selling career. Knowing how to prospect effectively keeps a career vital, and is truly the lifeblood of sales. Yet, so many sales professionals overlook the crucial element of having a prospecting plan. With a plan to follow, you can measure your efforts and results. Read the rest of this article »

The importance of presentation and prototypes at the marketing stage

May 23rd, 2008 | guest contributor

Article written by Alastair Swanwick, Proprietor of Innovate Design.
Innovate Design: Patent and Invention Help

Many people who have come up with a great new idea find themselves presenting their idea either to a potential investor to raise capital or to a company in order to get a licensing agreement. It is likely that a lot of time and effort has gone into the idea and organising the meeting but what about the presentation and should you have a prototype? Read the rest of this article »