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When Amazon crossed the $1 trillion valuation mark in 2018, it wasn’t luck. Jeff Bezos built Amazon into a global powerhouse by developing a disciplined approach to decision-making, one he explained in his 2015 shareholder letter.

According to Bezos, leaders face two fundamentally different types of decisions, and confusing one for the other can slow a company down or sink it entirely.

Type 1 Decisions: The Irreversibles

Bezos calls Type 1 decisions “one-way doors.” Once you step through, you cannot easily reverse course.
Examples include:

• Quitting a stable, well-paying job to launch your company

• Entering a new business line

• Making a major long-term financial commitment

In Amazon’s case, the launch of Amazon Web Services (AWS) was a massive, risky Type 1 decision, one that eventually grew into a business worth more than $190 billion.

“These decisions must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great deliberation and consultation,” Bezos wrote.

Because the stakes are high, you should approach Type 1 decisions when you are clear-headed, calm, and not driven by emotion. Feeling angry, exhausted, lonely, or impulsive is a recipe for regret. A Monday morning slump is not a good reason to quit your job.

Ideally, devote up to 10% of your workweek to thinking through Type 1 decisions. They’re energy-intensive, but they shape your future.

Type 2 Decisions: The Reversibles

Type 2 decisions are “two-way doors.” You can try something, evaluate the results, and easily step back if it doesn’t work.

Examples include:

• Testing a new product with a small beta group

• Experimenting with a new website design

• Adjusting workflow, packaging, or messaging

• Trying a new software tool

These decisions don’t require heavy bureaucracy or endless meetings. Bezos encourages leaders to make Type 2 decisions quickly, often by delegating them to trusted team members or small groups. If you make a poor Type 2 decision, you aren’t stuck with the consequences. You can simply reopen the door, adjust course, and move on.

Expect and Manage Unexpected Outcomes

Even well-reasoned choices can create ripple effects you didn’t anticipate. You might launch a product customers love, only to discover you’re suddenly overwhelmed with customer service issues or fulfillment demands.

These side effects are usually addressed with more Type 2 decisions:

• Delegating tasks

• Outsourcing certain functions

• Tweaking systems or processes

The key is agility. When consequences arise, respond quickly and adjust without overthinking.

Use Outside Perspectives for Big Decisions

For significant decisions, gather insight from experts who see the problem differently than you do. Investor Ray Dalio calls this “triangulating” a decision – comparing multiple perspectives to challenge your assumptions and sharpen your thinking.

This helps prevent blind spots and emotional decision-making.

Take Smart Risks

Bezos has always been willing to make bets that defy conventional wisdom:

• Would readers really choose digital books over paperbacks?

• Should an online store attempt to dominate cloud computing?

• Will people trust drones to deliver their packages?

Some bets seem crazy until they reshape entire industries.

“Given a 10% chance of a 100-times payoff, you should take that bet every time,” Bezos wrote.

Calculated risks are part of innovation. The biggest breakthroughs come from ideas most people initially dismiss.

Accept That Failure Is Built Into the Process

Amazon’s history is filled with spectacular wins – like the Kindle and AWS – and equally spectacular losses, such as the Amazon Fire Phone and Amazon Webstore. The Fire Phone alone cost the company more than $170 million.

Bezos sees failure as an unavoidable cost of invention.

“You’re still going to be wrong nine times out of ten,” he said. “In business, every once in a while, when you step up to the plate, you can score 1,000 runs. Big winners pay for the many previous experiments.”

Great leaders and entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who avoid mistakes – they’re the ones who learn, adjust, and continue taking intelligent risks.

The Bottom Line

Jeff Bezos’s decision-making framework is simple but powerful:

• Protect your energy for Type 1 decisions – the ones that shape your future.

• Move fast on Type 2 decisions – the ones that are reversible and low-risk.

• Expect surprises, take bold but calculated risks, and embrace the lessons from failure.

Those who adopt this mindset make better choices, create more innovation, and build the kind of resilience that separates extraordinary businesses from average ones.

The post High Performers Master Two Types of Decisions first appeared on Bert Martinez.

• Google disables &num=100, breaking rank tracking and inflating SEO costs.

• Chrome omnibox AI delivers instant answers, increasing zero-click searches.

• 87.7% of sites saw impression drops in GSC after bot traffic was filtered.

• Spam update fallout shows need for proactive audits and quality signals.

• SEO strategy must shift toward natural questions, not isolated keywords.

Google has shaken the search world with two moves in quick succession: killing the &num=100 parameter that allowed SEO tools to pull full-page search results efficiently, and rolling out AI-powered answers directly in Chrome’s omnibox. Together, these shifts signal a clear direction: more answers delivered inside Google, fewer clicks to websites, and higher barriers for SEO tracking.

At the same time, fallout from Google’s latest spam update continues to ripple through search rankings, while data discrepancies in Google Search Console (GSC) raise new doubts about the accuracy of impression reporting. For marketers and SEOs, the message is simple: adapt now, or risk invisibility.

Google’s New AI Era: No Keywords, No Clicks

For years, SEO has revolved around keywords and the SERP (search engine results page). That foundation is eroding fast. With “AI in the omnibox” now active in Chrome, users can type full questions—or even personal notes—directly into the browser bar. Google’s AI generates instant answers, summaries, and shopping suggestions without sending users to websites.

This represents a massive zero-click shift: websites may never get the traffic they once relied on, even if they rank. Meanwhile, short-tail keywords aren’t dead, but they are fading, replaced by conversational, natural-language queries. To stay competitive, businesses must pivot toward content that answers complete questions rather than targeting isolated keywords.

The &num=100 Shutdown: SEO Tools Hit a Wall

On September 12, 2025, Google disabled the &num=100 parameter, which had long been used by SEO tools to display 100 results per page instead of the default 10. The immediate impact was brutal: rank tracking became 10 times more resource-intensive, increasing costs and breaking data pipelines across the industry.

Why It Matters:

• Rank trackers like Semrush, Ahrefs, and SerpApi have scrambled to adjust.

• GSC impressions plunged for many sites—by as much as 25% in a single week—suggesting that bot-driven impressions had been inflating metrics all along.

• Studies show 87.7% of properties saw declines in impressions, especially in positions beyond page one.

Google’s official stance is that the parameter “was never formally supported.” But the timing—aligned with impression data shifts and outages in tools like Semrush Sensor—suggests this was a deliberate anti-scraping move, likely aimed at both SEO trackers and AI companies piggybacking on SERP data.

The broader implication: Google is tightening control of its data ecosystem, leaving third-party SEO platforms with fewer options and higher costs.

Spam Update Fallout: Winners and Losers

While the &num=100 debacle dominated headlines, Google’s recent spam update has quietly reshuffled rankings. Some sites are experiencing sudden losses in impressions, while others remain untouched.

Key red flags include:

• Pages vanishing from rankings while others hold steady.

• Spikes in backlinks from suspicious sources.

• Drops in clicks or impressions without clear cause.

For affected sites, the fix is clear: clean up toxic backlinks, merge or delete thin pages, and eliminate low-quality AI-generated content. For unaffected sites, the advice is proactive: audit anyway, reinforce trust signals, and monitor server logs. Spam updates are targeted, but complacency is risky.

Search Console’s Bot Problem

The sudden collapse in GSC impressions after September 10 has fueled debate in the SEO community. For months, many believed the so-called “Great Decoupling”—where impressions rose sharply while clicks stagnated—was due to AI overviews cannibalizing traffic.

But new evidence suggests a different story: much of the inflated impression data may have come from SEO bots scraping SERPs at scale. Once Google shut off &num=100, those bot impressions vanished, taking with them hundreds of thousands of “phantom” impressions from GSC reports.

This revelation shakes trust in GSC as a reliable dataset. If impressions were bot-heavy, many conclusions drawn about AI’s traffic impact may need to be revisited. Still, the long-term reality remains: AI overviews are here to stay, and they do absorb clicks that once went to websites.

The Practical Takeaways for SEOs

1. Shift content strategy: Optimize for full questions, not just short-tail keywords.

2. Audit regularly: Spam updates hit fast—clean backlinks, prune thin content, and improve UX.

3. Don’t rely solely on GSC: Impressions may not tell the whole story. Build independent data pipelines.

4. Expect rising SEO tool costs: Without &num=100, rank tracking is more expensive and less comprehensive.

5. Embrace adaptability: Google is changing its ecosystem to favor AI answers. Sites must offer real value to stay visible.

Conclusion: A Permanent Shift

Google’s recent moves show a clear pattern: discourage scraping, reduce external dependency, and funnel users into AI-driven, zero-click experiences. For SEOs, this means higher costs, murkier data, and tougher competition for dwindling organic clicks.

Yet opportunity remains. Those who pivot early—creating content that directly answers user intent, maintaining clean technical health, and diversifying data sources—can still thrive. The SEO landscape isn’t dead, but the old playbook is.

The post Google’s AI Push and Why SEO Just Got Harder first appeared on Bert Martinez.

But this combat approach is exhausting—for both salesperson and prospect. It creates a cycle of false confidence in the morning and discouragement by evening, as every sales call feels like a battle of wills.

Dan Kennedy’s Zero Resistance Selling flips this old-school model on its head. Instead of overcoming objections, the goal is to erase resistance before it appears. By positioning yourself differently and reshaping the buyer’s experience, you can make the sales process smoother, faster, and far more enjoyable—for both sides.

The Core Idea: Erase Resistance, Don’t Overcome It

Traditional selling treats objections as obstacles to fight through. Zero Resistance Selling treats them as avoidable altogether. Instead of waiting for the prospect to raise concerns at the end of a presentation, you preemptively address and dissolve them throughout the process.

This requires a shift in attitude and positioning:

• No more chasing prospects for approval.

• No more “sales combat.”

• Instead, you position yourself as a wise advisor, not another salesperson.

When you do this well, the prospect leans in instead of pushing back.

Four Practical Tactics of Zero Resistance Selling

Kennedy outlines four tactical levers that dramatically reduce sales friction:

1. Positioning and Takeaway Selling

The fastest way to trigger resistance is to show up as “just another salesperson.” People don’t trust salespeople—and worse, they don’t trust themselves around salespeople.

To eliminate this resistance, you must reposition yourself as an authority and trusted advisor. Better yet, create a sense of exclusivity where the prospect feels like they must qualify to work with you. This is the essence of takeaway selling: the buyer applies for acceptance, not the other way around.

Think of a college admissions process—limited seats, exclusivity, and the thrill of being accepted. That same psychology applies in sales.

2. The Advanced Man Strategy

Before you ever enter the sales conversation, have something—or someone—represent you. This could be marketing materials, media appearances, referrals, or testimonials that “set the stage” and establish your authority before you arrive.

By the time the prospect meets you, resistance is already lowered because they’ve been pre-sold.

3. Selective Prospect Qualification

Zero resistance selling depends heavily on who you choose to engage with. Not everyone is a fit, and the more selective you are, the less resistance you’ll face.

When a prospect feels like they’ve been chosen, not just pitched, the power dynamic shifts. They lean forward, wanting to prove themselves as qualified to do business with you.

4. Diagnostic-Prescriptive Model

Instead of delivering a generic sales pitch, use a diagnostic approach: ask questions, uncover problems, and prescribe solutions like a doctor.

This shifts the perception from “salesperson trying to sell me something” to “advisor helping me solve something.” And nobody resists help from a trusted expert.

The Attitude Shift: From Combatant to Wise Advisor

Zero Resistance Selling isn’t just about tactics—it’s about mindset. Salespeople must abandon the identity of the aggressive closer and adopt the posture of the wise elder at the top of the mountain.

As Kennedy says, “There’s no line to see the wise man at the bottom of the mountain.” People naturally seek advice from those positioned as authorities, mentors, or respected advisors.

Why Zero Resistance Selling Works Today

Today’s buyers—especially Gen X and younger—are more resistant than ever to traditional sales tactics. They’ve been burned, pressured, and manipulated. They crave authenticity, authority, and transparency.

By adopting the Zero Resistance model, you:

• Build trust faster.

• Avoid exhausting objection battles.

• Increase close rates with less effort.

• Position yourself as the go-to authority in your space.

Final Thought

Sales no longer has to be about grinding through objections and wearing down prospects. The smarter goal is to never need combat skills in the first place.

When you position yourself as an authority, preempt objections, and shift the dynamic so prospects qualify for you, selling becomes effortless. That’s the power of Zero Resistance Selling—better for you, better for them.

The post Zero Resistance Selling: How to Erase Buyer Objections first appeared on Bert Martinez.

10 Emotional Triggers That Sell: How to Influence Buyers with Psychology

People don’t buy products. They buy feelings. Whether it’s peace of mind, status, or belonging, every purchase decision is driven by emotions first and logic second. If you want to influence, persuade, or close sales consistently, you need to speak directly to those emotions.

This post breaks down the 10 most desired emotional states ranked by their persuasive power in sales — and gives you practical phrases you can start using today.

Key Takeaway

If you want to persuade effectively:

• Lead with Peace of Mind, Status, and Belonging — the fastest motivators.
• Back it up with Relief, Freedom, Love, and Achievement — the emotional buy-in.
• Sustain with Hope, Joy, and Fulfillment — the long-term loyalty drivers.
• Logic is Myth
  
• Emotions are a way of thinking.
• It’s all emotional all the time!

Introduction

People don’t buy products. They buy feelings.
Whether it’s peace of mind, status, or belonging, every purchase decision is driven by emotions first and logic second. If you want to influence, persuade, or close sales consistently, you need to speak directly to those emotions.

This post breaks down the 10 most desired emotional states ranked by their persuasive power in sales — and gives you practical phrases you can start using today.

1. Peace of Mind (Safety & Security)

At the top of the list: people will pay almost anything to avoid risk, fear, or uncertainty. That’s why insurance, guarantees, and warranties are such powerful offers.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Finally feel at ease knowing this is handled for you.”

• “Never worry about ___ again.”

Tip: Always frame your solution as the safe choice that removes stress.

2. Status & Significance

Humans are wired to seek recognition. People want to feel important, admired, and respected — and they buy products and services that elevate their social standing.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Reserved for leaders like you.”

• “Join the ranks of top performers.”

Tip: Position your offer as the path to standing out and being recognized.

3. Belonging & Connection

We are tribal beings. No one wants to feel left out. Whether it’s a mastermind group, a brand community, or a social platform, people buy when they feel included.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Be part of something bigger.”

• “Join 10,000+ others already succeeding.”

Tip: Highlight community, FOMO, and shared success.

4. Relief & Comfort

Sometimes the best sale you can make is just removing pain, stress, or frustration. People buy solutions more than features.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Imagine the relief of knowing it’s already done for you.”

• “Take the weight off your shoulders.”

Tip: Sell time, ease, and relief more than speed or features.

5. Freedom & Autonomy

The desire for independence is universal. From being your own boss to breaking free from restrictions, people love products that promise freedom.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Your life, your rules.”

• “Unlock the freedom to choose.”

Tip: Frame your offer as removing limits and giving options.

6. Love & Intimacy

We are motivated by love — whether it’s romance, attraction, or simply deep human connection. Products that promise closeness or confidence sell powerfully.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Feel more confident and attractive instantly.”

• “Build the relationships you deserve.”

Tip: Highlight self-image and the impact on relationships.

7. Achievement & Mastery

Humans thrive on progress and pride. People buy tools, courses, and coaching not just to learn — but to prove they can.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Prove to yourself you can.”

• “Celebrate your wins along the way.”

Tip: Show measurable milestones and clear steps to success.

8. Hope & Optimism

Sometimes, what you’re selling is simply the belief that things can get better. Hope motivates people to act when logic alone wouldn’t.

Sales Language to Use:

• “A brighter tomorrow starts today.”

• “This is your turning point.”

Tip: Anchor your solution as the beginning of a new chapter.

9. Joy & Excitement

Fun, novelty, and adventure trigger impulse buys. People love experiences that break the routine and spark excitement.

Sales Language to Use:

• “This will make your day.”

• “Make every moment an adventure.”

Tip: Use playful, upbeat language and emphasize the experience.

10. Growth & Fulfillment

At the deepest level, people want meaning. They want to grow, contribute, and leave a mark. Products that promise purpose resonate strongly, especially with long-term buyers.

Sales Language to Use:

• “Live with greater purpose.”

• “Make your mark on the world.”

Tip: Frame your offer as part of their legacy or higher calling.

The Myth of Logic in Buying Decisions

There’s a popular saying in sales: “People buy emotionally and justify logically.” But here’s the truth — that’s a myth. People buy emotionally, always.

Human psychology proves that we are irrational, impulsive, and emotionally driven creatures. All the raw intelligence and logic in the world can’t outmuscle the shifting, emotional dance that happens when your ideal audience is thinking about buying your offer.

Daniel Kahneman, world-famous psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, wrote in his 2011 bestseller Thinking, Fast and Slow that we operate with two systems of thought. System One — our animal brain — is fast, instinctive, and emotional. System Two is slow, deliberate, and “logical”. But System One is far more influential: it actually guides and steers the “rational” thinking in System Two.

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio made a groundbreaking discovery when studying people with damage in the part of the brain that generates emotions. They all had something in common: they couldn’t make decisions. They could describe what they should do, but they found it impossible to choose, even in simple scenarios. In other words, decision-making itself is governed by emotions.

Here’s the deal: logic itself is an emotion. Logic is the emotion of certainty. What most people do when they believe they’re “thinking logically” is really an emotional need to feel secure or certain in their choice. They’ll go through a series of steps, on paper or in their mind, weighing the pros and cons. But what’s actually happening is not pure rational analysis. It’s the emotional drive for certainty, safety, and confidence steering the process.

This is why logic can never be separated from emotion in buying decisions — it’s not logic versus emotion; logic is simply one more form of emotion at work.

Here are a few examples to drive the idea home:

• Have you ever bought something you couldn’t really afford — with money you didn’t even have? That wasn’t logic. That was emotion.

• Have you ever fallen in love with a car, house, or piece of clothing and then scrambled to justify it after? That wasn’t logic. That was emotion.

• Have you ever stayed loyal to a brand even though there were cheaper or “better” options available? Again — pure emotion at work.

• We all know that a top-quality leather purse goes for about $300, so why do women buy $10,000 leather purse?

These are proof that decisions don’t start with logic. They start with feelings — and the so-called “logic” that follows is usually just a story we tell ourselves to feel certain and comfortable with the choice we’ve already made emotionally.

Remember: Buyers don’t actually want what you make — they want what it will do for them. More specifically, they want the way it will make them feel. When you understand this, you stop selling features and start selling transformation.

The post The 10 Emotional Triggers That Sell: How to Influence Buying Decisions With Emotions first appeared on Bert Martinez.

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a sweeping final rule banning nearly all post‑employment non‑compete agreements nationwide, aimed at freeing up job mobility, boosting wages, and sparking innovation. The rule was published and scheduled to take effect on September 4, 2024.

However, before it could go into effect, multiple federal courts, including in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere, blocked the enforcement through injunctions—finding that the FTC lacked clear statutory authority and that the rule may be unconstitutional under the major‑questions doctrine.

By early 2025, with the FTC’s appeals stayed through mid‑July 2025 and the agency reportedly reevaluating its position under new leadership, the nationwide ban remained unenforceable.

In the meantime, state legislatures stepped into the void. States like Arizona moved to fully ban non‑competes, while others—such as New York, Illinois, and North Carolina—proposed income‑based thresholds limiting their use. Wyoming enacted SF 107, effective July 1, 2025, banning non‑competes except in narrowly defined cases for trade‑secret protection or higher‑level personnel.

The national picture in mid‑2025: four states fully ban non‑competes, 34 plus D.C. impose restrictions, and only a minority remain unregulated or loosely governed.

Why it matters:

• Poorly regulated non-competes are seen as suppressing wages, limiting worker mobility, and dampening innovation.
• The FTC’s dramatic—but currently suspended—ban opened the door for aggressive state-level reform.
• The outcome will reshape employer strategies and reshape power dynamics in the labor market.

Bullet Highlights

• FTC final rule banned most non-competes, effective September 4, 2024
• Courts blocked enforcement, citing FTC lacked authority and rule raised constitutional issues
• FTC appeal stayed until July 2025; enforcement remains halted
• States rapidly advancing reform—full bans (Arizona), income thresholds, and exceptions (Wyoming)
• By mid-2025, majority of U.S. states restrict non-competes; only handful remain hands-off

Outlet: Frost Brown Todd LLP – The Non-Compete Agreement Landscape in 2025 – Published February 3, 2025
Outlet: Seyfarth Shaw LLP – FTC Non-Compete Ban: What You Need to Know – Originally published June 11, 2024

The post Non-Competes, Yes or No! first appeared on Bert Martinez.

They don’t want delays, they don’t want confusion, and they don’t want any hassle. Businesses that understand these expectations and meet them will continue to stand out for the last half of the year. Those who don’t may not be there by the end of the year. Here are some of the things that customers want from checkout experiences in 2025.

Customers want speed and simplicity.

The days of long forms and confusing buttons are gone. Today’s customers want to check out in seconds, not minutes. This is where tools like credit card processing APIs clearly shine. They allow businesses to offer a quick, secure way to pay without sending users to another site or making them jump through hoops. With the correct setup, customers can save their payment information, autofill their details, and confirm their purchase in just a few clicks. The smoother you make this process, the more likely they are to complete that purchase.

Customers want multiple payment options.

Credit cards are still popular, but they no longer are the only way people want to pay. We’re in 2025, which means customers expect to see a variety of payment choices. They want to shop with their digital wallets with Apple Pay and Google Pay. They want access to buy now, pay later services, and they want to be able to bank transfer or even use crypto in some cases. With flexibility on offer at the checkout, your store feels modern and it gives customers the freedom to pay the way that they prefer.
​

Customers want mobile first.

More and more shopping is happening on phones, so your checkout process needs to work beautifully on smaller screens. If users have to zoom in, scroll too much or deal with ads and pop ups on screen, they will not stick around. A mobile optimised checkout should be clean, touch friendly and lightning quick. People expect to shop from anywhere, anytime and your checkout process needs to keep up.

Customers look for trust and transparency.

People are cautious about where they enter their payment details and for good reason. To earn their trust, your site needs to be clearly showing its security badges using HTTPS and avoid redirecting them to unknown third party pages. You need to be upfront about taxes, shipping costs and return policies. There should not be any surprises at the last step. When people feel safe and informed, they are more likely to hit that buy now button.

Checkouts are more than just the end of a transaction in 2025. It’s a key part of the customer experience. And if your digital checkout is fast, flexible, as well as being secure, you’re going to build trust and increase your conversion rate. So ask yourself whether your checkout experience is what your customers would expect or what they tolerate. Make it smooth, make it smart, and you’ll always win. 

The post The Digital Checkout Experience: What Customers Expect in 2025 first appeared on Bert Martinez.

To stop this being an issue, you want to continuously pitch to new companies so you can always keep new business coming in and ensure you’re making a good, profitable income. In this article, we take a look at some top tips for pitching to new clients that will help you with this. Keep reading to get inspired.

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Showcase your ability to solve a problem

When pitching to the client, make sure your pitch includes real-life examples of how you are going to solve problems that you think they may have.

For example, if you are pitching to a new cleaning company that struggles with estimates, you could suggest a cleaning estimate software available here that they could use to fix their issue.

This shows you have done your research and are willing to use your initiative, which is very important and clients will be looking for this.

Practise your pitch

Go over your pitch as many times as you can until you remember it like it’s the back of your hand. The more you practise your pitch, the more you will remember it, which will help it flow when presenting to new clients.

When practising, try pitching in front of a mirror so that you can see your body language and how you look during a pitch. It’s also useful to go through the pitch to your friends, employees and family members so that they can give you some constructive criticism.

Follow up

The follow-up after the pitch is just as important as the pitch itself. Never go to a pitch and not follow up after, otherwise you are risking losing the client straight away. By following up, you show you are keen to work with the client, it shows you are tentative and it puts you to the top of their thoughts when trying to narrow down the people they would like to work with.

Plus, it gives them an opportunity to ask you some more questions in the follow-up, which may be the difference between a sale or no sale. Following-up should be done after interviews as well.

These are just a few top tips that should help you when it comes to pitching to new clients. While pitching for business can be nerve-wracking, once you have done it a few times, it will feel easier and a lot more natural.

You will soon be on track to get a lot more business through your doors, which will improve your confidence and help your company to grow. If you need any additional help, look into podcasts as these can be very useful. What are some top tips you have for pitching to new clients? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.

The post Tips For Pitching To New Clients first appeared on Bert Martinez.

Get a Federal EIN for Tax Purposes

An FEIN or Federal EIN is a unique number for your business that is for the purposes of IRS identification during tax time. EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. Several types of businesses require this number, including any that hire employees. Some examples are non-profits, LLCs, and non-profits. The last thing you want is to break tax law unknowingly by missing getting a FEIN. Thankfully, an online ein application service makes the process easier.

Secure A Business Name (One Not Already Taken)

While you might have the best name in your head for the startup and even already have it in your email signature, there is a reason to pause. Ensure that the name is not already taken first. Do an extensive online search to see if you can find the name already in use by another organization, as it very well could be. If so, you could land yourself in some hot water, potentially getting sued, by using that name, so it is time to think of a new one. Also, check if a domain name is available for it with “.com” at the end and, if not, whether a different extension would work for your future website.

Research What Insurance You Will Need

While this topic can make for some less-than-exciting reading, the research is necessary as you want to cover the new business properly from an insurance standpoint before opening the doors. If you have employees, specific insurance is likely necessary. The same holds for some industries. Begin by getting the legally-required insurance and add what insurance will cover particular business risks. There are many types, from professional liability to home-based insurance.

Do a Reality Check

This one is perhaps the most important! A new business takes time to grow and see sales; it is not often an overnight success. Understanding this will help prevent frustration on your end, instead keeping patient and focused. It is also important to realize that there will continue to be challenges over time, especially in the first five years, so think of it as an exciting journey rather than a smooth, stress-free venture. With time and hard work, you can move from home to a new business premises and continue to grow.

Concluding Words for You as a New Owner

Your new business is about to launch, and it is an exciting time! Making sure you think through what is necessary and cover everything beforehand is important for the startup to be on the best footing. Wishing you all the best with your venture!

The post What Your New Business Needs (That You Haven’t Thought of Yet) first appeared on Bert Martinez.

A successful business must rely on several key factors. However, satisfying customer expectations should be an ongoing priority. Without this, the success of other metrics will be futile.

While getting them through the doors of your business is a positive step, it counts for little if they do not complete a purchase. So, what are the steps you can take to improve the experience and win more conversions? Here’s all you need to know.

Make The Most Of Your Online Presence

It may seem a little odd to start enhancing the in-store experience with online efforts. Still, it is very likely that your visitors will research the company online either before their visit or while in store. Therefore, it makes sense to invest in your SEO strategy and the mobile optimization of your website. Blogging can be another useful tool, not least because it provides some insight into the personality of your brand. The sense of familiarity can put customers at ease.

Helping new visitors remove any sense of anxiety through simple research can only have a positive impact. With this in mind, it should be the starting point of your strategy.

Invest In Your Point-Of-Sale Systems

There would be no greater tragedy than losing a sale due to a poor transaction. Consumers have high expectations for smooth transactions while they may wish to use a range of payment types. This payment processing company can help you accept multiple payment types. This includes all major cards and online currencies. It can also connect with your eCommerce tools to provide a single solution that follows across all interactions with your brand,

A convenient and secure transaction will streamline the process. Meanwhile, mobile POS terminals allow employees to serve customers on the shop floor away from the cashier area.

Use Modern Tech Features

As well as POS systems, your in-store experiences may be improved by various tools. This guide on using VR and AR to support customers is ideal. From providing an added source of entertainment to helping them make informed decisions, the value of the tech won’t go unnoticed. It helps your venture stand out as a modern and customer-centric company. When combined with the added insights, there’s no doubt that your hopes of conversions will grow.

Whichever area of the retail sector you’re in, this should make a noticeable impact. Consumers will love it while it empowers employees to provide a better in-store experience too. 

Invest In Your Staff

Consumer experiences powered by advanced tech systems will provide a solid foundation to build upon. Ultimately, though, people still buy people. It is one of the reasons that your customers have visited a store rather than make an online purchase. However, your direct interactions with consumers will be limited. So, it’s vital that your sales employees are given the tools and education to thrive. Their selling techniques can make all the difference.

Aside from introducing upselling opportunities, guests remember positive experiences. If you want them to come back and spend money in your store again, human interactions are key.

The post How To Give Your Customers A Better In-Store Experience first appeared on Bert Martinez.