Semi Auto mail Chimp

Using MailChimp to manage your sales funnel

Save valuable time by having sales leads followed up on a semi-automated basis. The follow ups, the reminders, the request for feedback and for referral… the  reminder for a repeat session/sale.. Below we explain how we do it using a set of predetermined “lists” using MailChimp (though it will work with other providers too). This technique is good for lower volume businesses where you are getting swamped with the number of emails (and so losing leads by not following up!) but not at such a volume that you need to invest in an off the shelf automation package.

To make this all a bit clearer we have included a flow chart to show how a sales lead can move through the system.  

As always, please get in contact to learn how we can help you to make your business work harder for you. If you want more content on using MailChimp, please email us. 

 

First contact List. Use a contact form on the website and social channels to pull in enquiries. This could be for a specific offer or general enquiries. When an enquiry comes in (dependent on volume), contact them with an individual email based on a template but tailored to make it current and “alive”.
If you get into a proposal situation with them move to another list, ie your “Main List”.

Second Contact List. At the end of the week/month copy the First contact list into this list. This will be the people who haven’t got back to you; people you need to follow up on. Use MailChimp to send that follow up. Maybe it’s as simple as “your free session expires in 30 days”, an additional offer to encourage a reply or maybe it’s a fuller detail of your original service/product proposal. Either way, you are reminding and giving a call to action. As before, when you get into a proposal situation with them move to another list, ie your “Main List”.

Third/Fourth Contact etc List. Some people may have more follow ups. It all depends on the product and how much you want to push it. Three is four is what we see with clients. After that move the clients to the “Main List” and hope that something will come from the routine communications you send out.

Month Win List. When you sign a client, make a sale etc, duplicate/copy them to a list for that month ie “Wins May 2017”. You can use that in the future to target them for follow up, for example 3 months after a nutrition consultation to check in on results and further sessions.

Main List. This is where everyone ends up. Use it for product updates, offers, new staff and other such news.  

Note: Trello can be used throughout this and especially when in proposal to ensure you follow up with contacts. It’s great to automate this too with tools such as IFTTT and Trello Butler.

Sales funnel flow chart

Sales funnel flow chart

 

Go on… get in touch! This is just a taster of what we can bring to your business.

sole-proprietorship

Setting up as a Sole Proprietor in Hong Kong

Setting up as a Sole Proprietor in Hong Kong is easy, and you do not need to pay someone to do this for you. You will save on the annual compliance costs of a Limited Company (for example: Company Secretary, Audit up to HKD2 million revenue) but you won’t have the liability protection a Company gives.

 

The way to set up as a Sole Proprietor yourself is as below:

 

1) Choose a name for the Business

This can be in English and/or Chinese, but shouldn’t imply it has limited liability or linked to the government etc. Naturally, you can’t infringe on trademarks etc either.

 

2) Take everything you need

Take your passport, HKID and any immigration documents you have with you. I always take copies too, just in case.

 

3) Go and fill in the form.

It’s easiest to go to Wanchai and fill the form in (black ink!) at the Inland Revenue office. Their address is: Revenue Tower, 4th Floor, 5 Gloucester Road. There is a Starbucks nearby and the Computer Centre is close too.

An example form is here – http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/br_form1a_e.pdf

 

4) Hand in the form and pay the fee.  

This changes dependent on the Budget, but is very affordable. There are cash machines nearby, but they will accept PPS cards.

 

5) Wait for your certificate to be ready!

The staff are really helpful and will often give you an idea of how long it will take.

 

That’s it. You can now legally do business in Hong Kong. Many Companies will ask to see your certificate so it’s good to scan it in and have it saved to make sending it easier. You should also quote the number on your invoices. The Inland Revenue will send you a tax return at the end of the year, and you will also have to renew your registration annually.

Do you want to talk more about setting up in business? Worried about cashflows or business plans? Get in touch using the form below!

limited-company

Avoiding audit costs for a dormant Hong Kong company

Avoiding audit costs for a dormant Hong Kong company – use our free downloadable form.

 

Annual Audit is a must for a Hong Kong company, even if you have had no transactions. That’s an annoying cost (and time hassle!) when your Company isn’t doing anything ie is dormant. It’s best practice to make your Company dormant and then you can avoid the audit requirement. This is a simple process and we are always surprised that more people don’t take advantage of it. 

It’s not just the Audit requirement you can remove. Whilst you need to submit the annual return for the year in which the Company becomes dormant, you don’t for future years.  You will need to keep paying the annual business registration fee, so don’t forget to do that.

You need to make sure you can say “no” to the below:

  • Have you any accounting transactions? An accounting transaction is anything but a payment the company is required to make under the Ordinance.

You should ask your Company Secretary to prepare this and have all shareholders sign it. They will then file it for you with the registry. Alternatively if you’d like to do this yourself then please drop your email in the box below and we will email you a template for you to fill in and do yourself if you want.

As always if you need help then please contact us and we can be your Company Secretary and do it for you; as part of the annual retainer fee with no extra charges. We will do everything for you in one package, changes of director, addresses etc etc.  Our fixed fees make sure you don’t get surprises.


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