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Endeleza  is a nonprofit organization that provides affordable and quality education and encourages community empowerment and sustainable development in Buri, Kenya.  Why Endeleza Matters  By law primary education in Kenya is free, but in practice it does not happen: teachers don’t get paid in schools and families have to compensate their salaries. Children who do not have financial means to pay their school fees are deprived of access to education. As about half of the population lives below the poverty line in Kenya, a significant portion of citizens has no access to basic sanitation, medical treatment, regular food and live in precarious conditions, which further impairs the quality of education and perpetuates the cycle of poverty across generations.  At the moment Endeleza provides education and meals for 300 local children in Kenya. This association is growing, attracting new members who believe that much more can be done for local children.  How Bitrix24 ...

Christine K. Clifford , CSP is the author of nine books including  Let’s Close a Deal! Turn Contacts Into Paying Customers for Your Company, Product, Service or Cause  and   YOU, Inc. The Art of Selling Yourself.  She is CEO/President of Christine Clifford Enterprises and  The Cancer Club , helping companies and individuals craft their story and designs “knock your socks off” Media Kits for companies, individuals and entertainers.  Let’s start with a basic question – what are the biggest negotiation mistakes that novices make?   The biggest mistake made by most sales people—both new and old—is thinking of a sale in terms of “What’s in it for you, and what’s in it for me?” I call this the typical “Win-Win” situation. Rather, a sale always has a third party beneficiary: your company, your family, a charitable organizations, etc. So instead, look at the sale as, “What’s in it for three?” I call this the Win-Win-Win. If you keep in mind all parties in...

Money is frequently the biggest issue for startups. You have to spend money to make money, but there isn’t much to begin with. Don’t despair with a little bit of common sense and a bootstrapping mindset, you can stretch your hard earned dollar a long way. Here are five tips to get you started. 1. Take advantage of the SaaS wars. Software as a service is a multibillion dollar industry with new companies trying to get a piece of the pie every month. In order to gain market share, some companies provide free plans which could easily compete with competitors’ paid versions. For example,  Bitrix24  offers a free CRM that’s better than 95% of paid CRMs.  Asana  (of ex-Facebook fame) is a terrific project management service that’s free for any company with 20 employees or fewer.  Wave Accounting  has an extremely generous free plan that can save you thousands. Any business tool you can think of (invoicing, conference calling, benefit management, time sheets)...

Being ready with a few prepared questions can make the sales process easier for you and more comfortable for your customers. Review these questions and have them ready so you can move those conversations forward to closing ground.  Question 1: Name Your Problem  What’s your biggest project right now?  What’s the biggest problem you face right now?  What’s causing you the most stress right now?  Phrasing your question in an open-ended way–one which doesn’t allow for Yes or No answers–helps your customers to share what’s really on their minds. And that’s exactly what you want.  Honest conversations build rapport and trust. They also help you to understand what your customers really need and which obstacles keep them up at night. When you can pinpoint their projects and their problems, you can start introducing the best solutions.  Question 2: Name Your Change  If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?  If you could change on...