Have you ever thought about the impact of how you appear on a search engine? The statistics show that quite often it’s the first point of contact for another person – such as a potential client or employer – to find you, making it all the more important you have put your best online foot forward.

Suppose you meet someone at a networking event, or your information is a passed along through your network as a referral. Chances are they will head straight to an online search engine to do their due diligence in researching who you are and what you do. So what will they find?

An online reputation is essentially the sum of how you are viewed on all of the touch points on the Internet. As an individual brand or a business (or both), it’s critical to pay close attention to what comes up on the search results for your name in order to control and shape your online reputation.

Consider all of your touch points online and what comes up in a search. Is your personal website on the first page, and what does it represent about you? Are your social media platforms – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ – represented in the search results, and do they accurately reflect your brand image and professional expertise? Do the comments, feedback and reviews throughout social media or on consumer sites such as Yelp cast you in a positive light?

Here are five tips to ensure you are putting your best foot forward when it comes to your online reputation:

Claim your brand name. Optimize your website for search engines through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and whether your brand is your name or a business, make sure no one else is controlling or misrepresenting a piece of your brand.

Manage your website design and layout. Ideally, this is on the first page of results. If your website is outdated or sloppy, it may lead others to think that about you.

Control perception on social media. Not only should you establish and build an online presence, but what you post on social media can shape your reputation. Post relevant, informative content on your industry on all channels to establish a positive presence.

Interact, engage but don’t overreact.  Be consistently polite and courteous with everyone with your brand in mind. Be reachable for your clients and customers, respond promptly and don’t overreact to negative comments or feedback.

Monitor the flow of information. People talk, so it’s important to know what others are saying about you. Utilize alert tools to monitor your brand and when you are mentioned online. Ask happy customers to post reviews, and feature them on your channels.

If you’re a business owner or manager, there is no hiding the impact Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software can have on streamlining your sales functions and customer management, thus positively affecting your bottom line.

For any business, cultivating and maintaining relationships with current and potential customers is the core of doing business. It’s difficult to thrive, in any business, without those sustainable, long-term relationships.

The benefits of customer relationship management are numerous. CRM software employs many tools to streamline sales functions, including client management, profitability tracking, managing contracts, customer service, scheduling, client tracking, sales rep management, and more.  CRM software utilizes dashboard, analytics and reporting tools to provide businesses with an all-encompassing vantage point of operations and thus more control to create increased efficiency.

That’s why it is advantageous, if not critical, to implement CRM software into your business operations. Here are five of the CRM software options on the market that are most commonly the highest-rated in product reviews.

SalesForce.com is the market leader among cloud-based CRM providers for a reason. It serves a wide base of industries and business sizes, has more options than the competition, and several unique features.

Oncontact was No. 2 on a product review list by Toptenreviews.com.  User-friendly and intuitive, it offers a full range of services as a customizable application suite that automates the sales, marketing and customer service areas.

Sage is a good option for small- and mid-sized companies and features a familiar navigation system, interactive dashboard and detailed marketing campaign creation. This cost-effective option allows businesses to perform basic sales, marketing and customer support automation.

SugarCRM is geared toward small- and mid-sized companies in any industry. It excels in sales force automation, customer support automation as well as reporting and analytics, earning a full five stars from Reviews.com.

Microsoft Dynamics is both user-friendly and affordable, offering guided dialogue scripts, powerful reporting capabilities, great online support and organized data management.

One of the simple truths of business is that even great products don’t sell themselves. Many businesses have learned that lesson the hard way.

To put it simply, the ability to sell your products is all about perceived value. The benefits of your product or service are subjective, and mean different things to different customers. You need to find out which of those benefits are perceived to be most important. In laymen’s terms, a value proposition is the difference between perceived benefits and perceived costs for the customer, which determines their motivation to purchase. If the benefits outweigh the costs, the buyer will be motivated.

Ultimately, your value proposition determines your conversion rate. It is what (the product or service) you are offering, how it is perceived by customers, and why they buy from you. So have you clearly defined your value proposition, or is there a disconnect between what you are selling and what people are buying?

It’s all about perception.

There are different methods to determining your value proposition. But, certainly, in order to sell your product or service, you will need to articulate its value. Remember, what matters most is ultimately what your customers perceive.

A Forbes.com contributor suggests that the process of developing a compelling value proposition consists of three stages:

Identify customer benefits. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and identify, from their perspective, what value your product holds. Collaborate within your organization to create an accurate list of benefits.  Be careful to distinguish between what the company believes are the benefits and what the customer perceives as the benefits.

Link benefits to mechanisms for delivering value. Businesses deliver value in some combination within three areas of differentiation – cost, technology and service. These include many value delivery mechanisms, including warranty, performance, time and accessibility. Identify which areas your product benefits fall into to differentiate from your competition.

Map value proposition. Create a chart with an axis for each of your three points of differentiation. Identify your strengths, the points of parity with your competition, what your customers desire and what you can deliver that your competition can’t. Build a value proposition statement on what you do best.

When it comes time to let your customers and clients know they are important and appreciated, there are many ways for businesses to say thank you.

But what are the best ways to say thanks? And can it be done on a budget when time and resources are limited? Here are eight easy ways to say thank you to your best clients.

A digital ‘thank you.’ What better way to thank a client or someone who refers you businesses than to do it publically? By thanking them on a social media platform, like Facebook or LinkedIn, it allows them to use it as a recommendation for their own business in a variety of ways. Referring business is the ultimate thank you. You can also thank your clients throughout the year by creating a weekly or monthly client spotlight on social media or your website to say thank you. All people like recognition and you will be showcasing their business, all while reinforcing they are important to your success.

I just called to say ‘thank you.’ A phone call to specifically say thank you, and nothing else, can leave a lasting impact. People might not remember who they got the gift card or thank you basket from, but they will remember the personal touch of a sincere phone call.

The traditional hand-written thank you card. You might not always have the time for every client, but a personalized, hand-written note or card is still a great way to let clients know they matter. The more personal, the better, and they stand out over email. Try including a discount offer, a gift card, or something unique like a $2 bill.

Just have fun with it. There are many ways to make your thank you memorable. Utilize freelance creative resources to come up with fun ways to say thanks. You could say thank you through creative videos, stage a photo holding up a big card somewhere memorable, or make a $1 million bill. You can pass along promotional items or freebies to give clients that might create a unique experience.

Remember life events and client anniversaries. Get to know your clients well enough to acknowledge when they are getting married, having a baby, or having any other major life event. A simple note will do. Also track the day your client first started doing business with you and recognize them on that day.

Donate to a charity on behalf of your client. Use the resources you would normally direct toward thanking clients and create a fund to donate to a local charity to benefit the community. Let your clients know they were an important part of doing something good to benefit others.

Host a customer appreciation event. Consider hosting a special face-to-face event for all of your clients to specifically say thank you for their business. This will also give them a chance to get to know your employees and all of the people behind the scenes. It shows your appreciation, as well as interest in long-term relationships.

Everyone likes a good deal. But, as the old adage goes, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Buying a struggling or distressed business is no different. The acquisition can prove to be very profitable for those who know what to look for and how to execute a turnaround. But a distressed business can also hide some fundamental flaws, turning a bargain into exactly the opposite.

The message is to do your homework, so you have a clear picture of what you’re looking at.

Such is why business experts suggest only buying a struggling business if you understand exactly why the business is currently in trouble, you carry expertise in how to turn it around, and you also have an exit strategy. Here is a short list of factors to consider to increase the probability of success when buying a struggling or distressed business.

Assessing the risk factor.  It’s essential to understand why the targeted business is failing, and more importantly, the potential for change. A lender will require a detailed and thorough assessment and will always be on the lookout for red flags, including inadequate business planning, debt repayment, unrealistic expectations and undercapitalization.

Understand who you are buying from. Many distressed businesses, or their assets, are partially or wholly owned by banks, which can be a different process than buying from a sole owner.  Be clear about whom the seller is and their priorities.

Consider your fundraising options. Raising capital for a distressed asset can be more complex than for one that has clear and straightforward value. The key is what is available to you. Having secured funding in place adds credibility and creates certainty for sellers. You will need more than just the purchase price – the cost of implementing a turnaround plan and covering debt or losses can be substantial.

Positioning your offer. There may be other interested buyers, so pitch your offer appropriately to be appealing to the seller. The information available is never complete, so agree on a period for due diligence to adjust your value assessment. It’s not always about the highest offer.

Know what you are purchasing. Have a solid picture of the assets that create value, but also how they fit and create synergies with your current assets. Do your due diligence in considering what parts of a business will add value, and consider “cherry picking” assets or part of a company – such as a side business – that are potentially profitable.

Understand the company’s situation. Make an immediate assessment of the company’s predicament and how long it can survive. Is the company overburdened by debt? Has it lost key management and are problems related solely to poor execution? Companies get themselves into distressed situations for a variety of reasons, so it’s essential to genuinely understand those reasons and have the right fix.

Ensure you have a turnaround plan. Every entrepreneur believes that they will be able to run the business better. Make an assessment and put serious consideration into how you can resolve the issues before purchasing. Assess, plan and forecast to be sure you have what it takes to achieve this.

Avoid costly and common management mistakes. One of the biggest risk areas surrounds management, where the impact of changes and relationships can be fundamental to value. If you seek to replace a management team, ensure that the removal of the existing team is appropriately handled and that redundancy terms and costs are clearly dealt with in your offer.