We’re celebrating the end of the credit crunch, and to mark the occasion, we’re giving you a chance to win one or two laptops.

What? Don’t believe us? Which bit - the end of the crunch or the laptops?

We’re growing and we celebrated by buying two extra laptops when we ordered PCs for our new staff. ….why not share our optimism and win one or both of them?.

Entries are accepted from businesses based on Merseyside. And I’ve got two to give away, so those with a sense of fun could feasibly win both:

>> The First Laptop Will Be Drawn From All The Entrants At Random

So all you have to do is enter (see below).

>> The Second, Will Be Chosen By Marketing Legend Drayton Bird

Technically, you double your chances if you accompany your entry with a reason for optimism.

That’s right, the end of the crunch can become as much a self-fulfilling prophecy if we defy it, as the inevitable knock-on of effect of contagious and continued pessimism.

It can be a humorous reason, e.g. “my tea-leaf readings this morning indicate an immediate and wholesale end to the credit crunch” (well perhaps funnier than that).

Or perhaps more factual, e.g. “the micro reductions in mortgage rates, coupled with a growing population, slow-down in construction, and continued housing supply problem indicate the crunch cannot be sustained for long before property sales and prices bounce back”.

N.B. We will actually choose the winner before the draw, and all names will go in the hat - including the winner of the second laptop - so you have two chances if you decide to give a reason with your entry.

Marketing Legend Drayton Bird started a business in a deep recession, grew it, and sold it 8 years later for millions.

After the competition closes on 31st August, he will judge the winner from all the entries.

Will your name be in the hat?

Easy To Enter, Just Two Steps:

Step 1:

Select the following text, right-click and copy it:

I’ve entered a draw to win a laptop, and thought you may like to as well. This is all I had to do to enter:

http://www.multisolutions.co.uk/index.php/uncategorized/receive-a-laptop-for-your-business-no-catch/

Step 2:

Now, please paste that into an email and add in your name and entry. Because we want to spread a little optimism, entries will only be accepted if you’ve told at least one friend by including them in the cc field.

Sharing it with at least one other person is essential. You get a chance to win a laptop, and at the same time, we spread a little cheer and hope. Including colleagues is fine, but only one entry per person is allowed, so think of people other than your colleagues too.

So enter using this email address info@multisolutions.co.uk with your entry.

Laptop Specification:

Lenovo 3000 N200 0769 - Core 2 Duo T5550 / 1.83 GHz - Centrino Duo - RAM 1 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVD-Writer - GMA X3100 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 - WLAN : Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g - TPM - fingerprint reader - Win XP Pro - 15.4″ Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) VibrantView

Never has it been more important to keep your clients.

In troubled times, it’s easy to panic in such a way that you could lose them. You start frantically looking for new clients, or, slash budgets and “dig-in” to survive.

But could you thrive by keeping more clients than ever before?

It’s so very easy to panic and forget the most important asset you have - your current clients.

The trouble is, the pace of a typical office day is frantic. You’d love to keep in touch with all of your clients but you haven’t got time. It’s false economy at the worst possible time though.

You could maybe squeeze a little time to write a letter to them. Perhaps telling them about improvements to your service. Or sharing some good news or a quick story about a brilliant piece of work you did which showcases your amazing service.

But you don’t. Why? It isn’t just the cost of sending them all a letter. It’s the hassle. Even if you don’t fold and stuff envelopes yourself, everyone else is suddenly too busy if you dare suggest it. So the false economy threatens your very existence.

Nothing happens. Consequently, it niggles at the back of your mind. You know you need to keep in touch. But that niggle turns to worry.

Perhaps when you’ve just lost a client you didn’t keep in touch with. Or when you hear a client used someone else for a service you deliver, purely because they didn’t know you offered it.

Because you neglected to tell them you did.

Are You The Victim Of This Simple Fact That Most Businesses Just Don’t See?

It’s a secret growing businesses keep to themselves. It costs more to win a new client than it does to keep an existing one. But you know that.

What you may not know is the blindingly obvious. So obvious, you’ll kick yourself. And so easy to do, you may put off tackling it because the phone rings, or an email hits your inbox that you have to respond to.

Yet there you are, spending nearly all of your marketing budget on winning new clients. With only a fraction, less, or even nothing spent on keeping them.

The clients you lose each year become almost invisible. The joy of winning a new client softens the blow of those you lose. Purely because you put the blinkers on and ignore the losses at the other end.

You may lose 5-10% of your client base each year, but don’t notice because you add 5-10% as a result of marketing efforts and the real money you spend on acquiring them.

The problem is these 5-10% figures are completely made up. What if the loss is 15%, 20% or even 30%? Or is it higher? Here’s a question I know you’re unlikely to be able to answer.

Because the majority of business people I’ve asked don’t know. What percentage do you lose each year? And how is it that you don’t really notice? Even when a loss of 1% equates to an awful lot of money?

The savvy small business people know it costs far less to keep customers. Just a simple letter, keeping in touch, and showing you care, can slash the client losses. Compare that to the glossy brochures, advertising and sales/marketing personnel costs.

Instead, what if you could get 10, 100 or 10,000 letters straight in the post within about 60 seconds? Would you sit down and write a letter to them? Would you like to wipe out the client losses you invisibly experience each year?

Now you can. The Electronic Postroom is a revolution that removes these barriers. When you hit print, the magic of the Internet sends your letter to a secure print production facility in Warrington.

The excuses you make up to justify why you don’t keep in touch magically vanish too. Now, you’ve only yourself to blame if you can’t spare 60 minutes a month to think of something to say to the people who keep your business alive - your customers.

Your letter (and any attachments, like a newsletter for example) are machine printed, folded, stuffed into an envelope and posted. Not only does it take less than a couple of minutes to do, it costs less.

Compare that to the stony looks you get when asking for a volunteer to pack and post a few hundred letters.

So put aside just 60 minutes (or less if you write fast) each month to write a short letter to your customers. Share some news. Tell them you’re still there. Make them an exclusive special offer that only valued clients like them receive. And spend a further minute or two getting them posted for less than ever before with the magic of the Internet.

Want to try it without any risk? Give me a call. 0151 236 4444 and ask for Lee or Ian. Or email us: info@multisolutions.co.uk

Or get your free demo now:

It’s hard giving a little of yourself in what should be a professional web-site. But should I care?

You see we are a mere tick on the clock of eternity. And as the electricity builds to power that second-hand to the next click, our life passes us by as it prepares to…TICK.

And as it clicks to the next sixtieth, we die.

Feel as though you want to leave? A bit morbid perhaps?

Why not hear the positive truth instead of going? You see my biggest personal fear is mediocrity. Living a dull and meaningless life. And wow! At times it’s been dull.

It gets worse though for a moment, I work in IT. A unique place to be - when it works, it takes away drudgery and gets stuff done quicker. But when it doesn’t you need someone to shout at.

And that’s me. Or my colleagues.

Why death scares me, and why a life in IT - a world unsuited to optimism - makes me feel very much alive

I am afraid of death for a number of reasons. Firstly, my daughter. I want her to develop with me there at every step to guide and love her. And my wife equally.

That sense of responsibility makes me fear death.

So how do you achieve something a little more than avoiding death? Quite frankly, you can’t. Death will come at some point.

So the ticking clock is all we have. Something that gives us a choice. Do we wait for the final tick, or make something of ourselves in the meantime?

If you have a passion, why not pursue it while that second-hand is contemplating ticking away to your demise? Smiling, enjoying, experiencing, living.

Is it better to go out with a bang, or sit there moping, knowing you’re a goner?

You get no prizes whatsoever for doing nothing but accept your fate.

Me? I’m doing everything in my power to enjoy those final decades before my demise.

And that means denying mediocrity a chance to get a grip of me. You see mediocrity is no fun at all. Being better brings a smile to your face. Those milliseconds on the clock of eternity can be spent moping or having fun.

Now I have another blog where people speak freely. Deny your own mediocrity by speaking on this one - personally or professionally. Tell me I’m wrong. Or right?

This isn’t a reverse psychology statement - I get stats that show people visit, and I know people read them, but don’t say anything.

But why not make a comment below? Tell everyone how you’re going to make the most of every moment you have before that second-hand ticks. Or just say I am talkng out my backside.

Don’t forget, you can do so anonymously if you’re clever enough to get your comment published below.

If you’re a typical business, then maybe lazy is a little unfair on you. Let’s re-phrase that.

The headlines of today are screaming at you to tighten your belt. You want to cut costs, but you want absolutely no hassle whatsoever. You’re not lazy, you’re just too busy.

Let’s take someone who is incredibly busy. Nigel Wallis of law firm O’Connors LLP. When he isn’t thundering around a tennis court, he is burning the midnight oil as part of a specialist team advising “Corporate UK” on corporate finance and corporate insurance projects.

He and his partners are very busy. From senior positions in major regional and national law firms, time has long been a commodity they value.

So why did Nigel invest 38 minutes of his time? Quite simply to look at a unique way of saving time and money.

The Electronic Postroom is such a service. For the same price as a stamp you can have your letters, invoices or mailings printed, enveloped and posted.

Here’s what we did. We scheduled a time to call Nigel. We remotely connected to his PC and installed the software (it’s free by the way). And we showed him the ropes. Let’s hear a little from Nigel:

Me: How easy was this to use?
Nigel: Posting a letter is as easy as clicking print. I was impressed with the convenience. I’m often working out of the office, so I like the idea that I can get the odd letter out with ease.

Me: Cost savings - how much would it save you?
Nigel: To be frank, our routine volumes of outgoing post are very low. But, and this is a big but, I could see the savings on a regular circular to clients being substantial. The fact that I can personalise a letter to several hundred people and not have valuable staff time wasted on printing, folding and envelope stuffing is worth it without the cost savings.

Me: Does security or confidentiality concern you?
Nigel: Assuming everything you tell me is true, then no. Because I can have a private account, it’s password protected. And I could see the encryption process in action as the letter was being sent. And what you tell me about the security at the print-production centre in Warrington gives me confidence.

Me: Having seen it in action, would you recommend others take a look at it?
Nigel: Without a doubt yes. I can see that sending volumes of routine correspondence such as invoices, statements and reminders will save people immediately.

Chamber Newsletter Readers Can Have It Installed Free (Usually £50 installation)

But this is a one-week promotion, so it’s only open to those who apply by close of business on Friday 4th July.

In return for your comments afterwards, I’ll gladly install it for you over the phone, or if you prefer, I’ll visit (as long as you’re in the North West!).

It’s one of those things you wonder how you coped without. And apart from that, the average UK business sends out 134 invoices a month. That alone will save you £892.44 a year.

Companies who send out statements, reminders, circulars to their clients quickly churn out 1000 or more postal items. At that level you can save £6,660 a year.

If you were paying for the installation, a typical 10 items a day person recovers the £50 cost in just 9 days.

You on the other hand will start saving the minute it’s installed. Why not enquire as the very next thing you do?

The only catch is that you’ll be asked for a comment for our web-site. And please note that this is strictly limited to those who enquire before Friday 4th July.

Arrange it now by calling Ian Denny on 0151 236 4444, or leave your email address below and tell us if you want it installing remotely or by visiting you, or email info@multisolutions.co.uk.

Target Met? Yes

Average Fix Time: 59 minutes

Percentage of incidents signed off within 1 hour: 70%

Percentage of incidents signed off within 4 hours: 90%

Comments:

Back on target and a strong performance dipping under the 1 hour average level.