Author: Complete Controller

To emphasize the importance of an effective lead generation strategy, we must first go back a little. Are you aware of the teacher’s analogy who challenged his pupils to fill a pot of stones, pebbles, sand, and water as efficiently as possible?

By prioritizing the larger elements and placing them first in the pot, the teacher could optimize its volume. Your company needs a similar mindset when having lead generation tactics implemented in its inbound marketing strategy.

An inbound marketing strategy consists of stones, pebbles, and sand. Which big stones are the most indispensable to your strategy? What pebbles are secondary tools that support your business? And what small elements or distractions represent the sand? All of these come down to defining a successful strategy. And companies who fail to develop a successful strategy do so because they fail to recognize five crucial elements. And neglecting these elements turn into mistakes that lead to failure. Here are five lead generation mistakes made by small businesses and how to avoid them.

Neglecting the Importance of Good Content

Strong content plays a significant role in lead generation. It includes the tools used to drive traffic, like your blog, SEO strategy, the PPC, and social networks. Creating compelling content is the key to help you emerge as the leading informational leader in the industry.

As the saying goes, it’s easier to catch flies with honey. Honey is the content, and it is even better when the honey is fresh; that is when the content is new and topical. Businesses neglect the importance of good content and start applying unnecessary SEO techniques beforehand.

Not Capitalizing on All Leads

If information about your website’s visitors isn’t properly captured likely, almost half of them will never come back to your site. A valid e-mail address is the best thing a marketer can expect, but visitors are not always inclined to share this type of personal information. Call-to-action buttons such as “Sign Up Here” have almost become synonymous with “We’re going to spam you,” and that’s what most companies adopt as a strategy that leads to failure.

Not Using the Right Lead Generation Tools

A successful customer lifecycle requires optimizing the process to convert visitors into leads. Unfortunately, there is a gap between the traffic generation and lead generation phases, which often gives rise to unique visitors who neglect attempts to obtain their information and will never hear from you again.

Lead generation tools like free trials, webinars, video tutorials, etc., fill this gap and provide value to visitors in exchange for their contact information. Most companies today ignore the importance of using the right tools and fail to deliver to their clients.

Not Using the Landing Page Effectively

Landing pages are another important asset that converts visitors to leads. This can be any page an individual reaches after clicking on an ad or other online marketing item. 

Note that landing pages are independent of the company’s website and are typically used as a single marketing campaign tool. Landing pages serve two purposes: capturing leads and attracting potential buyers and taking essential steps before moving a customer into your sales funnel. Using false information on the landing page’s advertising source leads to disasters in the marketing campaigns and tends to cause a poor lead conversion.

Not Prioritizing the Leads

It’s also important to prioritize leads based on how engaged they are with the inbound marketing content and ready to make a purchase. Well-defined lead scoring helps in identifying the interests of your leads. This technique quantifies prospects’ interactions with your content by assigning points to different engagement types. If leads are prioritized correctly, it becomes easier to differentiate those ready to make the purchase.

Conclusion

All of these mistakes can be overcome if you add a little effort and be smarter. And the smartest choice is to outsource your lead generation activities to a qualified online marketing service that can make you a strategy that fits all your needs. Good luck!

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

If you are purchasing a home, you should put at least 20% of the value down, or the mortgage lender may require you to carry private mortgage insurance. Most lenders will require this on a private mortgage because it is considered a higher risk.

The loan/ value ratio of the mortgage exceeds 80% (the greater the LTV ratio), the higher the risk of the mortgage). Private mortgage loans allow borrowers to obtain financing if they can only pay (or prefer) to pay only 5 to 19.99 percent of the cost of the residence but have extra monthly costs.

Private mortgage loan costs can range between 0.25% and 2% (but usually between 0.5% and 1%) of the loan balance each year. This depends on the size of the mortgage and the down payment—the term of the loan and your credit score.

The higher the risk factors, the greater the rate you pay. Also, since the Private mortgage loan is only a percentage of the loan amount, the more borrowed, the more PMI will pay. There are six essential PMI companies in the US. These companies charge similar rates, which are adjusted annually.

Once the LTV of the mortgage falls to 78%, your initial payment plus the capital of the loan paid is equal to 22% of the house’s purchase price. The lender must cancel PMI automatically as required by Law federal homeowner’s protection, even if the market value of your home has decreased if you are not defaulted or late on your mortgage.

Private Mortgage Insurance Types

There are three basic types of private mortgage insurance mentioned below:

• PMI Paid by the Borrower (BPMI): You pay a premium each month until your Private Mortgage Insurance is terminated (when your LTV balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value of your home) or when it is canceled at your request. When a borrower has achieved 20% equity in the home, he can notify the lender in writing that it is time to discontinue PMI premiums.

The lenders must present the buyer with a written statement at the close notifying how many years and months it will take them to pay 20% of the capital of the mortgage. Still, it could happen earlier, due to the appreciation of the price of the home (verified by an appraisal) or because you have made additional payments on the principal.

The lender has to comply as long as the value of your house has not decreased, you have a history of timely payments, and you certify that you do not have a second mortgage or subordinate lien on the property. You can also request cancellation or when you reach the midpoint of the repayment period (a 30-year loan, for example, would reach the midpoint after 15 years).

• Premium Single PMI: You pay mortgage insurance in advance in one lump sum, eliminating the need for a monthly PMI payment. The single premium can be paid in full at closing or financed on the mortgage. While it requires more than one initial outlay, this option can save money for long-term owners.
• PMI paid by the lender (LPMI): the lender pays the private mortgage insurance on behalf of the borrower. This may result in a lower monthly payment of the mortgage but may end up paying more in interest over the life of the loan, especially since the rates are generally higher for this type of PMI. Mortgage for the life of the loan). Unlike BPMI, you cannot cancel LPMI because it is a permanent part of the loan.

Cancellation of PMI

With BPMI, it is essential to track your mortgage payments and your capital accumulation. That 78% threshold for automatic termination is based on the date that the LTV is programmed to reach 78%, according to its amortization schedule, not on its actual payments.

That means that if you made additional payments and reached the 78% threshold earlier than expected, your lender does not have to complete the PMI until the initially scheduled date, which could leave months, or even years, of unnecessary PMI payments.

 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Owning and operating any business can be a challenge. This challenge is especially true for small business entrepreneurs. Because most small business owners are either sole-proprietors or have a small staff, most of the operations will fall on the owner’s shoulders.

There are many experts on running a business. However, though you can receive excellent business advice from other business owners, consultants, or business articles, it is often trial and error once you start the business. Before you start your business, here are ten steps that will help you to run a successful small business.

Find Your Inner Entrepreneur

A successful entrepreneur is, above all, a dreamer, a person who awakens energy in themself and takes the necessary work to win in the market in which they will compete. When you head into the business, you need to let your entrepreneurial side come to the surface.

You are responsible for the company, and you need to assume the position with all your burdens and burden. Have a broad, holistic view and no preconceived concepts. Read a lot, look for good blogs about your industry. Magazines and books are great too! The great advantage of blogging is to always keep up to date with market trends.

In addition to following blogs specific to your industry, follow blogs about business management. They tend to give you tips on financial management, inventory management, sales, HR, etc. The entrepreneur should know a little of each thing because often, in small businesses, he performs several functions at the same time.

Plan your business strategically and set goals

It is indispensable to do strategic planning for any business to succeed. Through it, you will achieve the purpose or goal that you have determined over a certain period, aiming for the best outcomes.

They must come from the analysis of opportunities and resources made in a focused and realistic way, avoiding unattainable desires or numbers. They should derive from the organization’s mission and vision for more specific purposes and character and then guide actions more accurately.

Set the goals you want to achieve this year and divide them into smaller goals. For example, if you want to sell $500,000 this year, you should sell $42,000 per month. To accomplish this goal, you will need to make $1,900 in profit daily.

Is it an achievable goal? How many salespeople do you have in your business today? Everything influences when it comes to setting goals—your average ticket, the number of sellers, etc. If you have a medium high ticket and ten sellers, it is quite possible to reach a sale of $1,900 daily, already, in most small businesses, a goal of this would be very bold.

Adopt a management system

Technology is a reality in our world, and using it to your advantage is a brilliant attitude. Developing a management system is essential to put your planning into practice and get the best results on the hard way of knowing how to run a small business.

Among its various functionalities, some allow the user to perfect payments and receipts, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), the registry with general information of the client, extracts and movements, the issuance of invoices, and stock control.

Look for a simple-to-use system that has been made to facilitate the work of entrepreneurs by integrating financial, inventory, sales, and purchasing systems. It will be a tremendous differential in your business. How about trying the How Much?

Create an internal communication plan

Your business does not work by itself. It needs effective integration and communication between employers and employees. There are many levels as this can be elaborated, but the essential thing is to have clarity in this process to have no flaws.

And that goes for both large and small businesses. Much of the problem occurs because people cannot tell what they want. It is necessary to adopt the proper methods for whom messages arrive safely to the right person.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

When it comes to taxes, taxpayers can take advantage of many deductions that will lower what they owe, getting them a higher refund or reducing how much they will have to pay additionally. While there are multiple areas an individual or household can make deductions, here are three areas where tax deductions can be significant.

Housing Account Tax Deductions

A Housing Account is a deposit where regular contributions are made that are deductible if it is specified that its goal is to acquire the habitual residence, which must be purchased within four years of the formation of the account. Otherwise, the IRS will demand the return of the tax benefits plus their related interest.

One way to maximize your capital would be to invest the money in another financial product with greater interest than the Housing Account and at the end of the year, before December 31, enter the amount in the Housing Account, since the deductions are calculated on balance to the end of December.

Therefore, the fact that it is a deposit to acquire the habitual residence makes this product usually suitable for young people who plan to become independent. It is also often used by couples starting.

Mortgage Tax Deductions

Once the home is acquired, it is usually mortgaged to guarantee payment of the credit contracted with the entity to meet the purchase. All the expenses for purchasing the house, such as Notary, Land Registry, and other fees included in the closing, are eligible to be counted towards the deductions. Also included is the amount of principal and interest payment for the period. Consult a professional tax preparer or the IRS to determine other deductions with the mortgage.

Pension Plan Tax Deductions

The most significant amount of tax deductions is found in an individual’s pension plan. A Pension Plan is a contribution that the management entity typically makes in an investment fund to dispose of the capital invested with its revaluation at the time of retirement. If there is a disability, a severe illness, or unemployment dragged on.

In case of death, it will be the beneficiary chosen by the owner who pays it. That capital will vary in value daily, according to the evolution of the fund, and its value is calculated by dividing the total value of that fund among the existing shares.

When the time to recover the investment, it can be made in the form of an immediate income from a single payment, deferred income from monthly or quarterly payments, or a mixed-income of an initial payment followed by periodic payments.

The most significant advantage of pension plans is their fiscal reduction. They allow a fiscal saving of up to 43%. Up to 50 years, the limit of annual contribution to the plan is $10,000. After 50 years, the contribution limit is $12,500.

Therefore, the tax benefits are those that favor that we have a pension plan. Another option is to find financial investment products that, although they do not deduct, offer some returns, discounted taxes, higher than the tax deduction of the plan plus the expected value of its revaluation.

Conclusion

The three products that we have analyzed are not mutually exclusive. You could take the maximum fiscal advantage by making a housing account, acquiring the house through a mortgage, and developing a pension plan.

Taxpayers are not limited to one kind of deduction. The smartest taxpayers will pay the minimum and get the maximum return by taking advantage of every possible tax deduction. These three deductions are the most profitable to the taxpayer. However, you should hire a tax professional or research every possible tax deduction you can take.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

There is no doubt that one of the most important decisions of our finances is to decide how we manage savings for retirement. Investment funds represent one of the many financial products that help those building their retirement savings account.

There are as many types of investment funds as there are investment strategies. When considering savings for your retirement, you risk your retirement fund when you choose to invest as a savings strategy. Here is how to choose an investment fund that is right for you.

Determine Retirement Savings Goals

The purpose of all investments is to increase wealth. We must keep in mind what sense is given to both saving and investment. Associating these concepts with your retirement goals will help motivate you to choose the best investment fund.

Your retirement savings objectives need to be concrete and obtainable. You will have to decide what you want to do in your retirement years when setting goals and making them happen. The investment term is an essential factor in selecting the type of investment fund most adapted to our financial needs. Both the objective and the deadline are two critical aspects of any investment.

Set the maximum risk to assume

Establishing the risk profile involves introspective work since it depends mainly on a psychological factor inherent to each saver.

Concepts such as age, income, family situation, and other personal issues influence when defining our profile as an investor. But in short, every saver knows where he has their psychological cap. If not, there is a trick that works very well:

When we are clear about the maximum level of risk, we can assume without suffering severe economic and emotional damage. We can choose the objective of profitability.

Profitability and risk are two concepts that are intimately and related. The higher the return, the greater the risk. There will always be the case in the investment world. Beware of those who promise high profitability with little risk.

Therefore, the level of risk is established first, and then the best return adapted to that level will be sought. Doing it in reverse is a severe mistake.

Pre-select investment funds related to you

After the introspection work, we will have to carry out the research work. Luckily, some fundraisers make their tasks much more accessible. In addition, as soon as the saver is clear about the objective, the time horizon, and the risk, it will be much easier to find the ideal savings product.

Now is when the star question comes, fixed income, equities, or a mixed fund?

Neither fixed income, nor variable income, nor the combination of both types is good or bad by themselves; everything depends on the economic situation and our profitability and risk objectives.

We must inform ourselves how much the fixed income performs in general terms and if their profitability is consistent with our objective. That being the case, we would not have to assume a more significant risk unnecessarily.

Unfortunately, the fixed income in recent times is not giving a good return, thus being necessary to include a percentage of variable income to the portfolio to achieve the monetary objectives in the marked horizon.

One thing that should be clear, the variable income is not suitable for short-term objectives. Due to the volatility it presents, it can ruin our investment strategy. As we get closer to the end of the savings period, we must choose a more conservative investment philosophy.

If the variable income can lose 10% in a year and our time horizon is two years, will there be material time for the investment to recover? It is unlikely. Their type of asset works very well for longer horizons; however, you can incorporate a percentage into any portfolio to give it an extra return without losing sight of the risk profile.

In short, we must inform ourselves of the risk and profitability of each category of investment funds. In their way, we can limit the universe of these products to the preselection of funds related to our strategy.

Read the DFI of the pre-selected fund carefully

The Document of Fundamental Data for the Investor (DFI), formerly called a simplified informative brochure of the fund, is mandatory delivery to the investor before subscribing to the investment fund’s participation.

Their document summarizes all the relevant background information, which the saver must know to make an informed investment decision. Once an investment fund has been pre-selected, it is necessary to make sure that it fits our needs through their document.

When the saver has their information in their knowledge, they can decide to manage their savings and choose the right investment fund. The next step is to execute the subscription of shares in the selected investment fund.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Whether your business is just starting or has been around for decades, strategic planning is essential to the success of your business. A strategic plan helps to set business goals along with the steps necessary to meet these goals.

Strategic planning gives the business direction, helps in decision making, and establishes a structure to coordinate activities. It also helps with the distribution of time and resources and improves communication between team members. Here are five steps to creating the perfect strategic plan for your business.

Step 1: Gather your team and create a timeline

For this step, it is essential to gather the right people that should be involved. The leader of the strategic planning team will be in charge of aligning the team’s objectives with the process that the business can use to execute the strategy.

The team will translate the objectives into clear and achievable actions. The team will need to include members from every department, including finance, human resources, and sales. Every team member needs to understand the goals and objectives and their roles.

Once a strategic planning team is established, they will need to create a reasonable timeline. This timeline has to consider the abilities of those on the team and the maturity of the company. It can take more or less time to implement a strategic plan, depending on how well the team works together to achieve its goals.

Step 2: Understand your company and the market

Before creating a strategic plan, you have to gather data internally and externally to establish the parameters of the business. You will also need to gather data regarding the industry you have chosen and the market it is in. Research is critical for any strategic plan to work. You have to understand the business and the market thoroughly.

Step 3: Confirm your mission and your vision

You should always keep in mind that the mission and vision of your business are what define all your Strategic Planning, strategic objectives, action plans, and others. Remember that your mission establishes what your business does and what makes it different from other businesses that are your competence. Your vision describes what your business aspires to be in the future, what you expect to achieve with the step weather.

The mission is timeless, while the vision is subject to deadlines and is much more tangible. In this step, it may be functional to consider the strategic pyramid that we show below. The order of the elements is not so important. What is essential is that you contemplate each of them when creating your strategic plan, ensuring that these will help you achieve success.

Step 4: Build your five-year plan

For this step, it will be essential that you choose and develop a Strategic Planning model. Why is it important? Because through this, you can define your priorities and objectives, and most importantly, you can manage them easily. Many of the business do not get results simply because of disorganization. Here you will find some of the most popular planning models, such as the Balanced Scorecard. 

As mentioned, a Strategic Planning model will help you manage your objectives, indicators, and initiatives. First of all, it will be essential to have these three well-defined within your business.

Objectives: Are goals or goals developed at a strategic level and achievable in a given period. Usually, they must be clear, coherent, measurable, and achievable. Learn more about them here.

Indicators: They are a measurement tool that allows monitoring the business’s objectives. Ideally, they should be actionable, quantifiable, understandable, repeatable, and timely. Learn more about them here.

Initiatives: Are action plans or projects designed to achieve the objectives proposed by the strategy. Learn more about them here.

Step 5: Create your strategic map

Having a visual representation of your Strategic Planning will be of great help. Remember that if you are not using the Balanced Scorecard method, a strategic map will help you better understand how the elements of your strategy work, as well as helping your team understand your plan.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

After graduation from high school, every person will be contemplating the next steps in life. Many will opt to go to college and pursue higher education. College can be expensive for those students who do not receive scholarships. Therefore, financial support will be necessary to go after their degree.

Although getting financial support will take time, it will not impede going to college. You can decide your degree of study immediately, or you can take the first few years of college to declare your major because the first year or two classes will be basic classes all students must take. Here is everything you need to know about getting financial support to go to college.

Financial institutions

These for-profit companies provide financial services to society, such as caring for goods and services that have custody or lend money.

In the case of financing, they generate plans based on your needs to pay for your college expenses. For the most part, they allow you to pay the loan between your college years and the first years of your professional life. This ensures that your monthly payment is much less than you would have without the help.

Scholarships

There are several ways to accredit this type of support, but the main ones are sports ability, artistic talent, and academic skills. In sports, usually, all sports are included, but more commonly football, volleyball and basketball.

To acquire it, it is necessary to go through a group of physical and skill tests and accept certain conditions, such as availability to attend matches and training throughout the race. The cultural ones refer, above all, to music, theatre, and dance in their different styles. A series of evaluations are also carried out to obtain it, and a certain number of test hours are required.

Finally, academic scholarships are awarded to students with high academic performance who have excelled in their grades. Also, they are usually offered to applicants who take their entrance examination to the race, which turn out to have results much higher than the average. Most of the time, it is also required to have proof of good behavior.

It is essential to mention that regardless of their origin, you must maintain a good performance in scholarships because, in general, these have to be renewed every semester.

Define your plan

Although financing is a fast and straightforward procedure, a scholarship is not always so. Taking this into consideration, it is essential to have different action plans to pay for college. Of course, you must ensure that no matter what the method, always be something that fits your needs and that you can solve.

Luckily, in some colleges, it is possible to combine different types of scholarships. If you learn to organize yourself, it will be possible for you to study and attend training and rehearsals and even have a job to gain more experience in your work area.

Also, do not forget to ask for personalized advice at the college where you would like to study, as there are always new opportunities for scholarships or supports that can help you. In addition, you will solve all your doubts, and your plans will be more effective.

Meet the requirements

Once your plan is defined, it is time to start with the procedures. To begin, you will have to gather all the paperwork that each economic support requires. You will usually be asked for an official ID and a duly completed application.

However, depending on your chosen option, they can also ask you for proof of income, an endorsement, your academic record, a letter of reasons, and recommendations.

Try to deliver your documents in advance because time becomes a decisive factor for the allocation of scholarships on many occasions. In addition, taking your process in advance will talk about your studies’ commitment to your studies and allow you to react in case of any inconvenience.

Track your process

This last step is one of the most important because, although it may not seem so important, it can make the difference between getting support or not. Many students have lost their funding because they ignore registration deadlines, delivery of documents, or acceptance signatures for support.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

“The customer what’s, what he wants.” This phrase reflects that understanding the consumer from their needs and meeting or exceeding them makes your company valuable to consumers and will contribute to its success.

In exchange for attention and solutions, a brand will obtain the loyalty of its customers. It is human nature to continue purchasing or using products and services we like. So understanding the customer, their desires, and their creatures of habit nature can be an advantage when it comes to marketing strategies.

Eight of ten companies expect to compete based on the experience they offer their customers. However, that experience does not necessarily have to be “super original” or “super technological.”

To be more than excellent and achieve customer loyalty only requires an attitude of attention. As the leader in business development, John Maxwell, says: “Taking an interest in people has the power to change lives.”

Creating customer loyalty is within every business owner’s reach. The key is to understand and seek to solve a customer’s problems today, with today’s procedures, considering “business as usual.” We are all more demanding and impatient in reality. The suggestion is to achieve customer loyalty, considering what they desire. Here are seven ways to create customer loyalty and lead to the success of your business.

Give them the information they need

The plan is to understand the most basic needs of potential clients. Why does it enter your facilities or your website? The starting point is to give you clear information about where you are located, your contact, what you offer, and how you offer it.

Solve their problems should they arise

“Excuse me, but the system is not working.” We often take the client to suffer our shortcomings. You need to fix things as it is and give solutions. Otherwise, they will make your company guilty.

Understand their needs and provide solutions

As a customer, you will always be happy if they make you feel unique. Being called by your name when you enter makes you feel recognized. Allow today that delivery is somewhat out of your normal distribution, accept a refund even if you have spent a few days of the limit. Making exceptions is something that automated platforms such as Booking or Amazon cannot do. Consider it and focus on customizing your service.

Take the initiative to meet needs without them asking

Reaching this step is to initiate an emotional relationship with your clients since reading between the lines to understand beyond their needs will generate a “crush.” To start, your company needs to record data, saving only what is useful. A more interactive website or digital elements in your facilities, such as offering free Wi-Fi to your customers, is a good touch.

Make them feel like a million bucks

To make interactions that make you a fan of a company, there are no recipes but essential ingredients. Finding your personality as a company makes you stand out. Maintaining communication with the customer by email or social media earns their loyalty.

Understand that the loyalty of satisfied customers equals higher profitability

Capturing new customers is essential. But you should know that it is more important to maintain those that your company already has.

Those satisfied customers know that your products meet their needs. They do not need a festival of publicity lights to be captured. That is the main reason to seek to keep them. However, as new customers, we must consider personal, family, and economic factors to better serve them.

Most companies recognize that customer loyalty is much more profitable than attracting new customers, but they admit that they invest more resources in the attraction.

Know the KPIs of loyalty

To know how to manage and analyze a loyalty plan, we present the metrics or KPIs you can consider as an owner or company director. Through these indicators, you will know with certainty if your loyalty plan is succeeding or not.

Focus on retention rate and dropout rate

The first one lets you know the percentage of clients who repeat with your company year after year. The result helps you to set goals for the following years in your loyalty plan.

To calculate this rate, it is necessary to know beforehand the dropout rate, that is, the number of clients that leave the mark every year for every 100. Knowing the dropout rate and in the hypothetical case of not capturing new clients, you will have information on how long customers will last at that rate of abandonment. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Every person generally dreams of owning a vehicle. Some will purchase a vehicle that will be practical, while others will go for looks or features. No matter how you choose the vehicle you will purchase, you may need to obtain a loan or other financing to purchase the vehicle. Here are ten ways to finance a vehicle that every buyer should know.

Secured Financing

The vehicle acts as security for the debt so. If the borrower cannot make payments, the moneylender can repossess and resell the vehicle to recoup the losses. The legal arrangement for this type of loan is known as a lien.

The lender is registered as a lienholder on the car’s title, giving them the right to own the vehicle until the loan is repaid. This type of loan is how a lender can ensure they will get their money back, whether from the borrower or the resell of the car if it is repossessed.

Unsecured Financing

Unsecured car loans are almost unheard of as most lenders will not issue a vehicle loan without collateral or a lien. However, some lenders will do this for buyers with excellent credit or who have proven trustworthy borrowers in the past.

Simple Interest Financing

A simple interest loan will have interest calculated on the money owed. Therefore, if you put a sizeable down payment or make larger payments than the minimum, you will owe far less because the interest is calculated on the amount of debt left.

For example, if a person paid a $30,000 loan down to $20,000, their interest will only be based on the outstanding $20K. In other words, a simple interest loan is a loan that is offered by lenders that allows a borrower to pay off their debt early to save cash.

Precomputed Interest Financing

Interest is calculated with a precomputed interest loan according to the loan duration and then divided into equal amounts spread over monthly payments. This way of calculating interest is considered more rigid as compared to simple interest.

If a borrower-paid half of their $30,000 loan, they will still pay the same interest every month. Therefore, there is no financial advantage to early payoff or paying more than the monthly minimum.

Direct Financing

Credit unions, banks, and other finance companies give loans to their customers to purchase from a private party or a dealership. Direct financing loans allow the borrower to get pre-approved for the loan before going car shopping, generally with terms better than they can get through the dealership.

Direct financing is the best way to get a vehicle loan because you go shopping already knowing what your payments are and what type of vehicle you can afford.

Indirect Financing

Indirect financing is when the dealership obtains financing for a person looking to buy a car by requesting a loan from a potential lender. Indirect financing is more expensive because the dealership will add to the interest rate to make more profit on the sale.

These lenders are companies linked to a specific automaker or dealership and are not looking out for the best deal for the customer. However, sometimes you can better deal with these companies because they can offer attractive incentives like zero percent interest and rebates.

In-House Financing

In-house financing is a simple method of financing but can sometimes carry higher interest rates. In-house financing is based on a “buy here, pay here” concept. Therefore, the same dealership selling you the car will finance it.

While this type of financing is more expensive, generally, those with bad or no credit can get a loan and purchase a car. Most dealerships with in-house financing are second (or more) chance financing dealers with a target customer who needs a vehicle without good credit.

Used and New Car Financing

Loans for new and used vehicles usually have different characteristics based on the type and condition of the car and other factors. New vehicles are costlier as compared to the used ones because they have no wear and tear. New auto loans are usually longer than those for used vehicles because the used car’s life is less than a new car.

Auto loans for new cars often offer lower interest rates even though the vehicle is more expensive than a used car. That’s mainly because new vehicles are easier for lenders to value if they need to be re-claimed, though the risk of repossession is much lower.

Private Party Financing

Private party loans are for buyers looking to purchase a car from an individual seller instead of a dealership. These types of loans can vary depending on if the owner still owes money to the vehicle or not.

If the owner still owes money but is looking to profit, they will generally raise the monthly payments above what they are paying each month. If the vehicle is paid off, the owner can set any terms they would like. Most individual sellers are reluctant to do this type of lending because it is hard to recover payments or the vehicle if they default.

Leasing

A lease buyout is when a person who is leasing a vehicle will opt to buy it. Generally, the payments made on the lease will be factored into the sale price. However, this will be dependent upon the dealership leasing out the vehicle.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

When it comes to your monthly income and paying bills, many families struggle to get to the end of the month. Commonly, the average family does not have a lot of excess income and, in some cases, carries over bills to the next month.

Financial struggles for families are not uncommon, yet most people don’t know how to improve their financial situation to pay bills on time and have money left to save at the end of each month. While increasing your income would be the obvious way to pay bills and have money to spare, this is not generally possible for most to accomplish.

Though it would not be discouraged to find ways to increase your income, the pursuit of building savings and paying bills on time can be accomplished by taking steps to be better with your income. Here is how you can build savings and pay your monthly bills without increasing your income.

Make a monthly budget

Although most believe they are in control of their expenses, most are not totally in control. The average American does not save and loves to spend outside their means. Making a monthly budget will help to gain control of your finances.

Every budget will include fixed expenses, including electricity, water, and mortgage or rent. In addition to those fixed expenses, there are phone bills, loans, food, transport to work or schools, and more. These bills are fixed in that they are there every month and generally do not vary in the amount, though they can fluctuate.

Most monthly budgets will include variable expenses. These are expenses that are not present every month and can vary in amount. Variable expenses can include medical expenses, school supplies, wardrobe budgets, and many other expenses.

The budget that is the most in your control is the non-essential expenses such as entertainment and any other spending on items you don’t need to live. Non-essential expenses are generally where most people spend outside their means.

Non-essential expenses can also include overuse of electricity, water, or other controllable expenditures where the expense could be cut down with a bit of concentration. In some cases, you can make permanent changes to non-essential expenses by learning to be thriftier. However, it is not suggested that you not enjoy life.

Non-essential expenses can be an area you can cut out or down on to pursue financial stability or savings, and once those are achieved can add back into your monthly spending. You can put a monthly cap overall non-essential spending or cut things out completely (or both.)

The most significant expense in most people’s budget is the mortgage or rent. In most cases, this cost is about one-third of the monthly expenditures. While this expense is the most significant monthly expense and less controllable, you can save by selling your home, purchasing a lower mortgage, or renting a less-rent property.

The main idea is that you balance your budget and keep it under control where you can. You can cut non-essential spending, cut back on usage, and pursue economic options. When trying to pay your bills on time and build a savings account for your future, the most important thing is that you stay focused and be willing to make sacrifices.

These sacrifices can be temporary or permanent, but they must be made if you don’t want to be behind on bills or in insurmountable debt. It is possible to live the American dream and stay within a budget. The American dream should be the pursuit of financial freedom.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.