Sage Training in the workplace

Copyright 2006 Anthony Fallon

Sage Training - A helpful guide for anyone that has had the task of company accounting dumped on them using Sage Software without the investment in training. If you need to have Sage training because you are not sure of what you are doing then conveniently place this article on the bosses chair to bring it to their attention.

Sage Accounting software programs are great for recording business transactions and providing management data instantly when it's required. But why do so many business owners believe that buying a piece of software will transform their business overnight without the in-house skills to use it? And this doesn't just apply to accounting software! "Oh well, you can use a keyboard, so you can do the accounts" this is usually a major part of the decision making process when small businesses buy accounting software.

The person that can use the keyboard is struck with paralysis because they don't know anything about accounts and are too frightened to say "well if I’m going to do the accounts using Sage I'm going to need Sage training because it takes three years to become qualified as an accountant and I don’t know anything about it and your expecting me to knock out management accounts for you at the end of the month." "Oh just read the manual" comes the reply

Manuals only make sense when you've been shown how to do it   Is it me or do manuals only make sense when you know how to do something? Manuals tell us how the programs work they are not very good at how do I process this credit note because the goods have been returned and we need our money back. There just isn't enough room in the book to cover every possible human encounter. About 80% of the transactions require only about 20% of the effort because they are straightforward and obvious to a book-keeper, once the rules are learned. The other 20% or so of transactions require 80% of the intellectual effort. Trawling through a manual without any accounting experience or Sage training is definitely a non starter.

Sage training in the classroom This is the next step up from reading the manual. There are many Sage training organisations you can visit, including Sage Software PLC, who can provide you with excellent training facilities and guide you through the software. Sage training in the classroom usually takes the form of a fictitious company with a training manual that has preset tasks for entering various transactions. Those preset tasks don't always match your business transactions.

The Sage classroom training is very good for learning how to put the data in but it doesn't teach you the accounting that goes on in the background. You need to understand what goes on in the background if you are to produce accurate management reports and correct any input errors. There's one thing that's annoying about classroom training and it's that person that sits at the front and asks all the questions they already know the answer to so they can impress others. Hogging the limelight and the tutor's time. It's in that instance when you wish you weren't so gentlemanly or lady like so you could get up and punch them on the nose. Sage training in the classroom is recommended if all you want to do is input data.

Sage training in the workplace One to one Sage training is by far the best way to learn how to use the program but be wary, the person training you should be a qualified book-keeper or Accountant. Make sure you see their credentials One to one Sage training by a qualified person means you will learn more than how to process transactions, you will learn how to get out what you put in and apart from statutory information you will be able to handle any question your boss wants to throw at you. Funnily enough they all seem to ask the same questions, How much do we owe, how much do they owe us, how much have we spent on, etc.

Sage training at your desk means it’s your data you're working on; the invoices, credits, customer receipts and purchase payments that you are familiar with on a daily basis. Sage training in the workplace is less expensive than classroom based training: In a classroom environment there is more than you being trained and you have to share the instructor with other learners who will have had to pay the same amount as you. Workplace Sage training is more efficient in that the instructor spends more time with you on specific issues relevant to your business and what you need to know Specific written training procedures for how you use the Sage software in your business can be created so that anyone can process data consistently with management needs.

Software is just a tool, and without an experienced person behind a tool usually leads to disaster - Education is often considered expensive but it lasts a lifetime (which is more than can be said for software) If your boss wants to go to bed at night comforted by the fact that the accounting function of the business is in safe hands then suggest some investment in training. But don't waste their time, if you really don't want to learn the accounts tell them so - You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink! And if you really want to become fully conversant with accounting procedures then contact anyone of the worldwide accounting bodies for more information.

Building a Strong Business Relationship

When it comes to business and sales, building a strong relationship is critical. The stronger your relationship is with your customer, the more likely they will be to refer you business. Every day, make an attempt to build on the relationships you have with your customer. Don’t just say hi as they walk in and goodbye as they leave. The last thing you want to do is make your customer feel like a statistic. Let them know that their business with you is appreciated. Talk to them, strike up a non-business conversation with them. It could involve just about anything, such as the weather, sports, a movie, pets, etc. Non-business conversation puts your customer at ease and gets them talking. The more they talk to you, the more they will open up to you, opening the door for more sales opportunities. Or, you can keep it simple. For starters, get to know you customers by name, than address them by name. Say things such as, “how’s it going today?” Or “how was your weekend?” Or “is there anything I can help you with today?” Make your presence known and felt. Your customer wants to be appreciated, so take a few minutes of your time to show them that you care about them as a customer. Another way to strengthen your relationship with your customer is to keep a Rolodex handy with a list of all of your customers birthday’s, anniversaries, and special events. Keep your eyes and ears open for when customers talk about up coming events in their lives. Such as children’s birthdays and graduations. When the appropriate date approaches, send your customer a card, wether it is a holiday card, a birthday card, a graduation card, or a congratulatory card. Just send it. Your customers will appreciate the fact that you remembered them on their special day. This will only strengthen the relationship you already have with them. There are many reasons to build a strong relationship with your customer, but two of the reasons remain to be key. One main reason is that customers value and appreciate good customer service. They want the piece of mind of knowing that if something ever happened with their product or service, that they would have you to turn to as their go to person. This is extremely important because your customer will have this in mind when your competition moves in to take them away. And believe me, your competition will try to take them away. As long as you provide excellent customer service, your customer will stick with you. There is no substitute for excellent customer service. Customer service is the most important thing to a customer, even more important than fees’. The second reason building relationships are so important is because of the referral process. A customer that is treated with respect and provided excellent customer service will most assuredly refer their family and friends to you. Why wouldn’t they? Your most important asset is your customer, so build and strengthen the foundations you have with them. Buy building strong relationships, you will be building your sales. Good luck. This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active. .

Delivering "The Right Stuff"

The following is an excerpt from the book Creating Competitive Advantage
by Jaynie L. Smith with William G. Flanagan
Published by Currency; April 2006;$19.95US/$26.95CAN; 0-385-51709-2
Copyright © 2006 Jaynie L. Smith and William G. Flanagan


Your customers, or would-be customers, need to be informed and reminded of what added values you provide them -- extras that can save them money, time, and aggravation. Yet too many business owners and managers can be ignorant of what those competitive advantages are. The seafood supplier didn’t communicate that he was selling fresher salmon with longer shelf life, and thus enhancing his customers’ bottom lines, until a competitor threatened his market share.

You could be providing a lot of extras to your customers without realizing how much you are actually saving them. Or, if you do not provide meaningful extras now, you might consider adopting them. They can be critical competitive advantages. Consider the following:

Terms. If you are a small or medium-size company up against a category killer, you might have flexible financing terms that the big guys can’t match. For example, a lumber company in the Northeast enjoyed a robust business with little substantial competition until Home Depot began to close in. One Home Depot box opened twenty miles away, and then another just ten miles down the road. Observers predicted that the lumber company would soon be bulldozed out of business.

Surely, it couldn’t compete on price, not against Home Depot's buying power. Lumber is lumber. So it concentrated on hitting Home Depot where it was vulnerable. It offered more -- flexible credit arrangements for its most important customers -- small contractors who often lack lines of credit from banks. The lumber company didn’t have to drop its prices to stay in business. It adopted new competitive advantages.

Guarantees. It is common for attendees at my seminars to tell me that their companies are “the only ones in our industry offering multi-year guarantees” on their products. But when I ask if they make a big deal about the guarantee to prospective buyers, most admit they do not.

The reason is usually the same: “If we emphasize the guarantee, too many customers may take advantage of it.”

That’s a pretty lame excuse. Either you offer a guarantee or you don’t. If you are confident enough in the product to guarantee it in the first place, make a selling point of it. Statistics show that a very small percentage of customers in any business actually use the guarantee. But the guarantee takes a lot of risk out of the buying decision and clinches a lot of deals.

Inventory turns. One of my favorite stories about inventory turns involves a clothing manufacturer who sold women’s clothes to boutiques around the country. When I asked him what differentiated him from his competitors, he said he thought his clothes were “wearable.”

“As opposed to what?” I asked, trying not to laugh. He began to talk about design, fabric, cut, and so on. When I queried what his competitors we're saying, he shrugged and said, “I suppose the same thing . . . but I know my stuff sells much better.”

I asked him what his customer, the boutique owner, cares about most. “Whether or not it sells,” he said. So I asked if his shop owners measured inventory turns. He answered that some did, some did not. I suggested that he teach them how to measure inventory turns and then he could prove to the shop owners his clothes sold better. My point was that he should stop selling “wearable clothes” like everyone else and start selling inventory turns. Moving the goods is what matters.

Note: Be sure you can back up your boast. Your buyers will know soon enough if you can’t. As with any competitive advantage you claim, make sure you deliver.

Materials. One client in the home-improvement business who sold siding knew his product was “stronger and better” because of the materials he used. But he didn’t know how to convey that without sounding biased and subjective. Upon asking his employees a series of questions I learned from one of his engineers that the company’s product has a higher wind load rating than any competitive product. In many geographic markets, the higher load rating influences buying decisions. So if your materials are stronger and provide customers with a benefit, shout about it in a way that is measurable.

Delivery. If you provide the same product as your competitors but you offer better delivery service, you have a competitive advantage. But how important is it? The Compleat Company, which sells promotional products, decided to find out. The Seattle-based company polled its customers about the importance of its on-time delivery. It found that its customers not only valued that service highly, they had a pretty low tolerance for being late.

Eighty-eight percent of its customers defined “on-time delivery” as being on schedule 97 percent of the time or better. Only 4 percent of its customers would accept an on-schedule rate of less than 93 percent. A manager from Compleat told me that the company is now focusing its energy and resources to make sure it meets that expectation. When Compleat’s customers want their deliveries, they will get them.

Information. In business as in war, intelligence can be priceless. In Business @ the Speed of Thought (Warner, 1999), Bill Gates writes: “The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition, the best way to put distance between you and the crowd, is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose.”

Knowing what your competitors are doing, and keeping up with trends in your industry, are basic forms of intelligence, and essential if you are going to run a successful business. So is listening to your customers. (Your own and your competitors’.)

The more competitive the business you are in, the more important the role of intelligence. You can’t afford to get caught flat footed if, say, a labor strike shuts off deliveries of critically needed material. Or if commodity prices suddenly spike or drop. Or consumer confidence sinks. Or if new products being developed by your competitors threaten your markets.

No matter what business you are in, failing to keep a weather eye on changes in your industry can be fatal. A lot of this “intelligence” is hardly proprietary. It simply amounts to smart business practices born out of experience. If you are a B-to-B supplier who sells to retailers, your customers’ success determines how well you do, too. Your experience can help your clients avoid common mistakes.

Small and medium-size businesses are often in the dark about key developments in their industries. They lack the time, money, and expertise to gather and evaluate that information. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. Consider the prices they pay for the goods or services they buy. Advance word of radical price shifts, or new products that will make others obsolete, can save them from missing a buying opportunity, or from laying in inventory that will soon become obsolete.

Keeping your customers informed of trends can only make them healthier, and in turn create more business for you. Word of mouth from your sales force is one time-honored way to accomplish this. But in this age of the Internet there are other effective ways, too, from e-mail to Web sites that keep clients posted on prices and other industry developments.

One of my former clients, the Institute for Trend Research, in Concord, New Hampshire, analyzes market and economic trends and makes accurate predictions as to when those trends will change. Its business is its forecasting expertise in a wide range of sectors, from industrial construction and agricultural market movement to interest rates, commodity prices, and inflation.

Subscribers to the company’s publication EcoTrends get an important bonus: a discount on EcoCharts. EcoCharts, using raw data that the subscribers provide themselves, tells them which indicators included in EcoTrends correlate best to their specific businesses. ITR has defined four phases of economic movement; if the trends that affect your industry are in Phase C, then you are expecting a downturn. Your actions might include a reduction in inventory and training, an avoidance of long-term purchase commitments, and deeper concentration on your cash and balance sheet. On the other hand, during Phase B, an upward trend, you would accelerate training, increase prices, consider outside manufacturing, and open distribution centers. This kind of information can provide companies with powerful competitive advantages.

Training. Many large companies offer specialized training for their customers, free or at cost, so they can run their business better. McDonald’s runs its own academy for new franchise owners, for example, so they can learn to avoid common pitfalls and maximize the return on their investments. The company draws on the experiences of thousands of other franchise owners and shares that knowledge, because it is vital to their own business. I often recommend to clients that if they invest heavily in training they should make a competitive point of it. For example, “We invest half a million dollars each year training our employees” or “. . . training our customers.”

Excerpted from Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie L. Smith with William G. Flanagan Copyright © 2006 by Jaynie L. Smith with William G. Flanagan. Excerpted by permission of Currency, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Author
Jaynie L. Smith is the founder of ICS Marketing and president of Smart Advantage, Inc., a management consultancy whose clients include hundreds of middle-market businesses. She also serves as the Florida chair for The Executive Committee (TEC), an international organization of over 11,000 CEOs. She resides in Hollywood, Florida. Visit her website at  www.smartadvantage.com .

Best practices for eService

Preparation
On your WEB site, the internautes can ask assistance from an agent by clicking on the "chat" button, for instance. From that moment, the agent invites the client to a private demonstration by e-mailing or sending via Skype an invitation by a click or simply by showing an icon for a direct connection to a meeting room. Voice is broadcasted by telephone or even through Skype. As usual, the meeting room's customization with your logo and an adapted screen saver creates a friendly environment. When the agents are absent or outside the working hours, clients might consult, in broadcast, pre recorded assistance capsules. In fact, the list of available video clips might be displayed on the WEB page, in the main entrance to the meeting room.

Progress
When doing a private demonstration, Conferenceware's mainly used functionality is the screen sharing. It is used to make a software demonstration or sharing documents. Also, the presenter may send files and even a WEB page. If the need arises, another presenter, like a specialized technician, could join the WEBconference. Even more, a participant that may download on his/hers PC the Conferenceware trial software, could share his/hers own screen with an agent that could detect an error while manipulating it. At the end of a session, the client might be asked to share his/hers level of satisfaction by the means of a question addressed on that regard.

Follow up
The systematic recording of service WEBconferences and the possibility of editing its contents, with the objective of only saving the relevant segments, contributes to the constitution of an audio visual knowledge base. This is the first material of a training program in eLearning for your own agents along with a contextual help capsules library, on self-service. Thanks to the reports, the person responsible for the service might follow, daily, the client's level and mobilize his/hers team on a continuing improvement dynamics.

Best practices for eSales

Preparation
eSales profits from personalizing the viewer meaning the entrance or lobby of the meeting room with a PowerPoint conceptual model which illustrates the client’s activity sector. A large array is offered among the Resources under SERVICE. In fact, the same model could be use for the presentation to a prospect. Depending upon the number of participants, you could decide between a telephone conversation or an audioconference service. The invitation is transmitted by e-mail with integration with most CRM applications. In the case of coworkers, the invitation could be done via Skype, followed by an attendance indication.

Progress
Many Conferenceware functionnalities help to the success of eSale. First, a PowerPoint presentation and the screen sharing to hold a demonstration or display Word or Excel documents, for instance. Also, many presenters could intervene under the guidance of a conference master and each participant could be authorized to draw or write on a presentation. The presenter might transmit to the participants a screen saver with notes or any file or image, such as a proposal. Finally, the prospect’s opinion, but usually of his/hers circle of ‘influence’, could be requested through a mini questionnaire like one for the importance they give to your differentials in order to detect their buying criteria.

Follow up
Conferenceware provides a detailed report of the participants to a WEBconference and their answers to the different questions. In another matter, the integral recording of a WEBconference, voice and images, can be imported to your local disc and saved in the client’s file of your CRM software like an attached file to a contact. Replayed, it could be considered as a tool to review opportunities by a sales director or as a pedagogical material to train representatives, mainly to share better practices.

Best practices for eMeeting

Preparation
According to the number of participants, you will decide to broadcast the voice through a normal telephone call or through an audioconference. In this regard, we offer a free audioconference service in which the participants make a usual long distance call with access points in Europe and America as well as in a passage via Skype, with the necessary password to join in. The meeting’s WEB page is edited to display the order du jour. Other resources are offered, under SERVICE, specially to detect the opening of an invitation e-mail ensure the automatic resend to those whom have not confirmed their participation as well as to convert an Excel file into an interactive board.

Progress
Several Conferenceware functionnalities can be used to profit from the efficiency of an eMeeting. The same apply to the PowerPoint presentation and screen sharing in order to be able to display Word or Excel documents, for example. Also, several presenters may intervene under the guidance of a conference master or president of the assembly and each of the participants might be authorized to write on an interactive board or to make notes on a presentation. The presenter can transmit to the participants any screen saver or image or file, such as a report. While in meeting, a participant can virtual raise his/her hand to show the intention to share something publicly or communicate privately with the presenter, just like whispering. Finally, a question might be submitted to consideration by vote and the results may be displayed or not, as wished by the presenter.

Follow up
The meeting’s report indicates not only the participants but also the answers given to questions asked or votes taken. Moreover, by recording a meeting, in which voice and image are synchronized, the absentees could see it any time by getting the hyperlink and password required to replay it.

Best practices for eLearning

Preparation
The eLearning is held live or on-line in which what we would correctly call a virtual class or recorded, in self training. In the case of a virtual class, voice is broadcasted through an audioconference or via Skype and for a broadcast only, it would be done through WEBcast directly on the WEB. The WEB page of a training center could display a list of courses for the registered WEBconferences that in fact constitutes the resume of the programs for the customized training. In the chapter regarding the personalized coaching, the presence indicator with Skype allows to be informed of the accessibility of a colleague, to ask for the opinion and to ask, by clicking, to share with the person your screen, to consult over a document.

Progress
The array of Conferenceware functionalities can contribute to help the training and sharing. The PowerPoint presentation and the screen sharing to make a demonstration or display Word or Excel documents are the privileged tools. Several presenters may interact while on a training, like a pedagogue accompanied by a contents specialist, no matter where they might be. The presenter might transmit to the participants an image or a file, such as a reference document finally, to make it more dynamic, the presenter may propose a quiz that the participants answer and to which he/she could display the results.

Follow up
As a follow-up for a WEBconference course, the participants might be subjected to an exhaustive exam. To do so, we offer a poll service in order to easily configure a multiple choice questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge acquired. The display report allows, in itself, the supervision of the completion of the self training program for each employee. In fact, the recording of the courses, actually meaning their edition to eliminate the superfluous segments, allows the conservation and the timely broadcasting.

Best practices for eCRM

Preparation
Make the difference between the development of current clientele and market prospecting. In the first case, contacts are identified and are established in the client’s account. Therefore, is convenient to organize a presentation since Conferenceware automatically generates the information required for an invitation, the description, schedule and the mode for voice broadcasting within the format of a new message. From there, you just have to select the persons you want to invite among your contacts. Consequently, a copy of the invitation is saved in each of your contact’s file, in your CRM software. In the case of prospecting by WEBinar, the list of registered persons is imported in CSV format in order to automatically build contact information in your CRM software.

Progress
The objective of commercial presentations is usually to get information regarding the prospect’s business problematic and to identify the persons with power among the organization that have the weight to make the buying decision making. Is through the interactive questionnaire that is possible to evaluate the preoccupations in terms of problems along with the buying criteria of each of the persons influencing the process. While meeting with them, you are able to identify each person’s role within the acquisition, user, evaluator, and their level of knowledge, beginner or expert as well as their attitude: ally, neutral or hostile. In the case of acquired clients, the interactive questionnaire is precious to evaluate their loyalty particularly their disposition to make referrals.

Follow up
The report of a reunion indicates not only the participants but also the answers they have provided to the questions submitted: problems, retained buying criteria, loyalty index. From there, you should be able to prepare a differential proposal, showing by the grade of pertinence, your understanding of the client’s needs. Moreover, by recording a meeting, in which voice and image are synchronized, it can be replayed to check the fine tuning and be kept in the file as an attachment to opportunity.

Evaluating Your Customer

It is one thing to make a sales presentation, but it is another thing to make a sales presentation without first evaluating your customer. For all you know, you could be selling your customer something that they already have, or something they don’t want, don’t need, or can’t afford.

This is why it is so very important to take your customer in, sit them down, make them feel comfortable, and get to know them and what their needs are. Once you have done this, you can then sell them a product based on what their needs are and not what you think they are.

On a personal note . . .

I learned the importance of evaluating your customer the hard way. A few years ago, I was a branch manager working in a bank branch. One particular customer of the bank approached me in my office about opening a savings account for her daughter.

Once I explained to her the process of opening a savings account, I proceeded to tell her all about a current promotion we were having on our home equity loans. She sat there and listened very politely and patiently as I very proudly went down the list of all the benefits, features, and tax breaks that come with a home equity loan.

Once I had finished my rehearsed presentation, she said to me;

That all sounds very nice, and it is something that I will consider in the near to distant future. She than went on to tell me that she and her husband rented the house they lived in.

So there you have it, I tried to sell a home equity loan to someone without a house.

Needless to say, my face turned a deeper shade of scarlet, and I felt like an idiot.

But hey, I learned from my mistake. Had I asked some simple probing questions before I went straight for the sale, I would have saved myself a lot of embarrassment.

You will be amazed at what you can find out from people just by asking them a few simple questions about themselves. Remember, people love to talk about themselves. Their jobs, their pets, their kids, just about everything.

I once had a friend who owned a shoe store, and his inventory was made up mostly of sneakers. One day a man walked into his store to buy a pair of sneakers. As my friend assisted him with his decision, he struck up a friendly conversation with him. As it turned out, this customer ran a basketball camp during the summer and he loved to talk about it. A few minutes into the conversation, my friend and his customer had come to an agreement. All of the boys and girls that attended the customers basketball camp would receive a 10% discount on their sneakers if they purchased them at my friend’s store.

So, as you can see, my friend increased his sales that summer simply by striking up a conversation with his random customer and asking a few questions.

Imagine going to your doctors office with an ailment and having him prescribe you a medication without asking what your symptoms were. Would you take the medication?

The same principal applies.

It really isn’t rocket science, it’s just friendly conversation, get to know your customer and watch one sale turn into many.

Why service only one of your customers needs when you can service them all.

Change Your Career and Change Your Life By Starting Your Own Business

Even if you're not a born entrepreneur, at some point in your life you've probably toyed with the idea of starting your own business. Perhaps you've even opted out of your mainstream career to strike out on your own. If you have, you're among the legions of men and women who have made the choice to start their own businesses. Unfortunately, many dreams of self-employment turn into nightmares, primarily because many of those who start businesses don't know how to critically assess business opportunities, how to create a business plan, how to read a financial report, or how to design and implement a marketing plan. Truly, the difference between those who succeed and those who fail most often boils down to whether or not the person has acquired the knowledge necessary to launch and operate a business. What most aspiring entrepreneurs don't realize is that the skill set necessary to start a business isn't out of reach. It's simply a matter of finding the right tools and using them to your best advantage. These tools can be found in books, through online college courses, through training, or through the mentorship of a successful businessperson. In a nutshell, these are the steps you need to take in order to change your career and change your life through starting your own business: 1. Identify and build on your strengths. If you are a creative person who thrives on the unexpected, starting a bookkeeping business that requires endless hours of number crunching is a recipe for disaster. You need to assess your talents and interests, and then discover how you can use them to create a niche and demand for your product or service. 2. Create a business plan. A business plan is both your vision for your business and your roadmap to achieve your goals. It must include defining your product or service, identifying your competitors and differentiating yourself from them, and pinpointing funding and financial opportunities. 3. Lay the groundwork. Businesses aren't built in a day, and you have to go through the mundane tasks of setting up bank accounts, securing business licenses, and jumping through the necessary regulatory hoops. 4. Create a marketing plan. Whether or not your business includes e-commerce, you can be sure that the Internet will play a major role in marketing your new business. But there are many other ways of garnering low cost or free advertising and marketing, and you need to make it your business to learn about them. You must also identify your target market and come up with a strategy to bring your product or service to that market. 5. Pay attention to the details. Many businesses fail because of a lack of attention to details - whether that means sloppy accounting practices, poor inventory control, or missing the deadline for a funding source. Launching a business is a balancing act, and you and your team must walk the high wire with aplomb. 6. Acknowledge and dismiss fear. Fear is what often holds us back from achieving our dreams. There's no doubt that leaving your career to start your own business is a downright frightening proposition. But with the right tools, you can acknowledge your fears for what they are, and then boldly move forward on your new career path of self-employment.

5 Ways to Stay Motivated in Your Work at Home Business

Whether you're just starting out with your work at home business or you've had a home business for many years, you'll need to stay motivated if you're going to see continual success. Everyone goes through a home business slump occasionally, but it's those who stay motivated who will reach their goals. Here are five simple ways you can stay motivated in your work at home business.

1. Work from a List

Create a daily, weekly and even monthly list of things to do in your business. This sounds so simple, but yet a "to do" list is a powerful tool in helping you accomplish home business tasks. Prioritize your list each day so you can do those things that are most important first. If you have tasks that you absolutely dread, then put those tasks at the very top of the list if possible. This will give you a free mind for the remainder of the day to concentrate on the tasks you enjoy.

A list can consist of many things, from promotion steps to phone calls to make, and even a stack of papers that must be organized on your desk. Most successful business people create a list and then check off items as they are completed. This gives a sense of accomplishment throughout the day as you complete tasks.

2. Search for New Opportunities during Slow Business Times

Having a slow time in your work at home business? Don't despair. And, whatever you do, don't go apply for a job at the local fast food chain - just yet! Stay motivated by seeking out other home business opportunities that may tie into your current business.

Perhaps you offer a product or service that sells very slowly during the spring months. You could seek out related products or services that would be popular during those months to offset the other in profits. This will give you a chance to make money and enjoy multiple streams of income year round!

3. Take an Online Training Course for Better Education

Educate yourself through online training courses related to your field so you can learn how to maximize your skills and profits. There are many training courses available online today in the fields of web design, graphic design, online marketing, real estate, travel, office skills, medical, insurance, and finance.

With online training, you choose only those courses that will benefit you and your work at home business. You can usually take the courses at your own leisure from home, and will pay far less than you would for a college course.

4. Expand Marketing Avenues

Don't settle for less. Use the wisdom and experience of others who have been in business a while to expand your marketing avenues. You might consider reading after top marketers to get Internet marketing ideas. Also, there are many ways to promote your work at home business off-line.

To stay motivated, always test your efforts to see what results they bring. This is far more exciting than paying for ads and never knowing if they work or not!

5. Network with Others

Another way to stay motivated during a business slump is to network with others. Find others in related fields who can offer advice and encouragement about your business. A work at home business can be lonely at times because you never leave the house! Finding others online and off-line who do the same thing will give you an outlet for those lonely days.

Use these tips to stay motivated in your work at home business. You deserve success, so don't give up!