Today’s post is an interview with Ling Valentine, she was the 2006 North East Entrepreneur of the year and owns and runs the super successful website LINGsCARS.
Ling became a legend when she pitched for investment on Dragons Den and famously turned down 2 different offers from the Dragons, you can see a video of her pitch over on the Dragons’ Den site which includes the classic line “Chinese eats dragons for breakfast”.
Like herself, Ling’s website and blog are exceedingly unique and it proves that if you have the passion and give your customers what they want with excellent service that you can succeed. So without further ado here’s what Ling had to share with us.
1/ Can you give us specifics as to the traffic you generated through your website through being on BBC2 Dragons Den especially on the night it was aired.
On the Dragons’ Den night - 14th Feb 2006, after the first minute of the programme, my website activity went mental. I use “WhosOn” (www.whoson.com - fantastic British software) to monitor LINGsCARS.com and live visitors went up to over 550 concurrent. The “clicks” of arriving visitors sounded like a machine-gun! My server was disk-swapping like hell. At one stage the server that monitors the live visitors crashed, too, it was overloaded. On that first night, I had over 5000 unique visitors (between 8pm and midnight). The next day, I had over 10,000 visitors. This volume settled to a doubling of pre-DD levels and has stayed pretty constant since then. All the Google links and stories posted on the web about me helped enormously, of course. I’m always surprised that many other businesses on Dragons’ Den don’t have a website to promote to give instant gratification to the 2m TV viewers.
***if you want technical*** My webserver is an AMD-powered unix dedicated server and runs 4GB of RAM. LINGsCARS is programmed mainly in php and ajax and runs a MySQL database.
2/ You used to sell over £1 million worth of cars a month, can you tell us how much car sales you managed to achieve in 2007 and your targets for ’08?
In 2006, I was selling just over £1m of new cars a month, at retail prices. My turnover in 2006 was £125,000 which is finance commission income. In 2007, I have moved over £28m of new cars (£2.3m per month), my commission income reaching over £280,000 (£282,986 to be precise). I am targeting over £40m of new car sales in 2008, to generate a gross income of over £400,000. This seems steep, but I think I can achieve it. Matter of fact, £1m of income would be possible but I am not brave enough to gamble on that much marketing. Plus, I have to cope with the work I generate. I have moved into my new office I bought - “LINGsCARS World Headquarters”. I am planning TV advertising later this year.
3/ You say the website should be an extension of yourself, do you till update the site yourself or have you managed to delegate and let others take more responsibility, do you still change your website everyday?
I do live inside my website. I am constantly updating it; I really enjoy to do this. Most of my time is spent modifying or changing and adding cars and prices. I also spend a lot of time monitoring who is visiting the site, using “Who’s On”. For instance, as I type this I can see 30 visitors online, 16 from random Google searches (not AdWords). Often I spend 30 minutes just watching customers navigate around LINGsCARS. I do my best to add some customer letters every day, add news articles and every week I modify at least one form. I employ two part-time IT students from Sunderland University and pay them very good money and feed them free doughnuts. We work on long-term projects such as a customer management side to the website, as well as new features, fun stuff and operational improvements. I have developed 9 extra videos to accompany emails at various stages of my sales process. This means I can take a more hands-off approach, yet customers get “Lingged” more than they ever did before.
4/ Your website is something on the busy side, is this intentional and do you think it may confuse some of your visitors?
Yes, it’s intentional. In this World, you generally have just one chance to grab a visitor, and I try to do this by being different. Often visitors can spend a whole hour inside my site. I try to engage with them emotionally instead of the standard about>contact us>home>order approach most companies use. My professionalism is in my service to the customers, but my shop (my website) is as unique in my industry as I can make it. I give customers so much information, treat them like adults not idiots, and allow them to pick and choose what they need. It may confuse some people, but most customers are ABC123 and are quite intelligent enough to find their way around. Most other car sites seem to want to bore people to death instead of entertaining them. Google also seems to like my approach.
5/ Do you feel your blog helps greatly with traffic flow and sales of cars through to the main part of your website?
Yes. My blog is mainly auto-updated from my customer letters and my added car deals. Google loves to index it, of course it pings out every time it updates. As well as the blog, a great tool is the live chat. I have dozens of live chats with website visitors each day and have webcams in my office during office hours. I simply try to give the best experience to any website visitor. I can’t work miracles, I’m Chinese - not Catholic; but customers can see I am doing my best for them.
6/ You are something of a master at offline marketing and promotion can you give us some examples of your must successful offline marketing campaigns?
Well, they all have an online side to them, my whole purpose is to attract the maximum number of intelligent, credit worthy users to my website.
I have my nuclear missile truck which brings in loads of visits every time I park it next to a motorway. Unfortunately the town planners don’t like that rocket. Also, I make movies of everything I get up to. I have over 140,000 views of my movies on You Tube. These include my rescue” of Northern Rock, my adventures sponsoring UK Rallycross and photo-shoot for the Financial Times. I offer “free lunch” for 10 visitors every day, and post out “FUKU” brand noodles and Chinese coffee.
7/ You’ve made a fantastic success with Lings Cars, do you have any other business ideas and plans for the future?
I would like to start another business, but LINGsCARS takes up all my time. I am really not even scratching the surface; I market to the whole of the UK. This way of financing cars is so popular in America, it takes over 20% of the market. In the UK it takes less than 1%, so you can see the potential.
I would encourage anyone to have a go at running a business website, it can be lots of fun. As long as you get loads of visitors, that’s the key. I would advise to talk to customers in personal terms, for example to show them who is behind the website and manage email enquiries in double-fast time. In the motor industry (for example) email replies can take between 24-48 hours, that’s not unusual. I speed that up to 24 minutes at the outside. Often I grab customers when they are still logged into to Outlook and they commit after a few ping-pong questions. It’s all common sense really, but very few other businesses in my business sector take the web seriously. Go for it!
Thank you very much Ling for taking the time to share your answer with our us and our readers, we all wish you every success for the future. If you would like to ask Ling any other questions check out Lings Cars and feel free to drop her a question via a comment.
Ling has done a fantastic job with that business even if the website does look a little crazy. However, with sales figures like that, how can anyone complain
I expect lingscars to move ahead quite quickly this year. I have been hearing a lot about Ling over the last few months.
great story, but the site arghhhh it hurts my brain! information overload or what! But it works so maybe i should use a similar presentation on one of my sites………..
Could someone explain the details of this business? I mean: how do you earn money, where does she find cars offer?, the cars are all new or new and used?…Sure i visited the site but didn’t understand some things.
She leases cars as an affiliate earning commission on each lease, the cars would be new.
Thanks… I am interested because I think it could work in my country…also nobody is doing this here…
hmm… I thought she buys NEW cars…
If only it were easier to cut the salesrooms out …
That is HILARIOUS!
I’ve heard quite a bit about this Dragons Den, but haven’t seen it yet. I wonder if it will come to South Africa. It sounds like an interesting show.
And Ling sounds like a HARD worker!!!
I don’t watch that much telly but Dragons Den is a must see, you can view previous episodes on the BBC
That is a phenomenal turnover and rich reward for her efforts, all the more impressive seeing as its affiliate sales, Ling has certainly created her own brand.
Hat’s off to her, she obviously knows what she’s doing. But jeez. That website is awful. Where am I supposed to click on it?
Gadgets, click anywhere
—
Wow! Thanks for all the comments, everyone (especially as they are intelligent contributions, from fellow have-a-go people, not the usual rubbish). And thanks to SMM, what a fantastic website this is! You should understand that I operate in a saturated market and the quality of other “lease” car sites in the Uk ranges from boring to awful. Very few others are online businesses, they are simply businesses with a website. So they are often out of date, static, and do not provide much real info to customers. For instance, very few offer a full level-playing-field price list like this and no one else provides full environmental info or NCAP safety info (I even scrape the NCAP crash films, which is more than ANY uk site does, even the official NCAP partners; the AA or Which? I need to compete with proper franchised dealers, how on earth am I supposed to manage that without being totally different? Remamber I am “just” a Chinese bird in a massive established business with “brand” attitudes. Some manufacturers (eg Mazda UK) and dealers hate me with a vengence because I impact their businesses. Mazda blacklist me from product supply, which IMHO verges on the illegal.
I need to stand out, but also entertain customers; this is about a car, cars are enjoyable (if massive) purchases. So, I am trying to polarise visitors, either they will love me or hate me. I don’t want to be just “OK”. It is not really about cars, I think it about emotion. I would love more feedback, I am always ready to take suggestions on board.
One thing I am proud of is the effort I put into customer testimonials. Currently, I publish over 800 customer letters here with full addresses (with consent) and a nice reply to each. Very few businesses take the trouble to do that. It really helps new customers.
Suggestions????? I would REALLY love to hear them, please.
Thanks again… - Ling!
Wow, that’s one heck of an interview and she has a great blog. I agree with what others said about the site though, it needs a total revamp. Congratulations Ling, job well done!
I would disagree and say that although the website looks insanely messy it actually does it’s job very well and would be pretty sticky to an end user, I would suspect that Ling converts her traffic as good if not much better than the more traditional ‘clean’ business leasing sites do.
Very nice read, I’d never heard of this site before.
By the way, you have a spelling mistake here:
“Yes, it’s intentional. I this World, y”
I think you meant “In this world”
Thanks Justin, corrected now. The error was probably mine when I was doing the editing. Cheers.
it was good to hear someone putting the dragons in their place. i stopped watching it a while ago, as i thought it was getting more about the dragons and less about the people trying to get their projects off the ground. Anyway, first reaction of Ling’s site, whoa! Although after the initial shock, it does draw you in, with so much going on there is a lot to look at. Ling - can you see me on your site at the moment?? I wonder what this interview has done to your traffic.
In my country is a show like that but the difference is the name: “lions cage”…good luck ling
Can I post this long comment? To help other people understand and see potential, I have made a quick page (I cannot code the date field that well to make it perfect) which shows the quote requests that come into me here:
I need to find ways of monetising (ugh word) the people I do not convert into cars (roughly 30/35 per day)
Also, for your info (some may find it interesting/useful), I detail below the last 100 cars I “sold”, and the last 95 “personal” customers’ (as opposed to businesses who had cars) job info:
Make and Model
Mercedes C-Class Sports Coupe 2.0 CDI 16v (120bhp) C200 SE Coupe 2148cc Manual
Mazda BT-50 2.5 (140bhp) TS DoubleCab Pickup 2499cc (140bhp) Manual Diesel
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch 1.7 CDTi (100bhp) SRi Sport Hatch Hatchback 3dr 1686cc Manual Diesel
Citroen C4 1.6 HDi (92bhp) SX Hatchback 5dr 1560cc Manual Diesel
Lexus IS 2.2 (220d) (177bhp) Saloon 4dr 2231cc Manual Diesel
Vauxhall Corsa (New Shape) 1.2 i 16v (80bhp) Life A/C Hatchback 5dr 1229cc Manual
Smart fortwo coupe (New Shape) 1.0 i 12v (61bhp) Pure Hatchback (2-seat) 3dr 999cc Auto Petrol
Volkswagen Transporter 1.9 TDi (85bhp) T26 SWB Van 1896cc TDi (85bhp) T26 SWB Van 1896cc Manual Diesel
Mercedes E-Class Saloon 2.2 CDi (167bhp) E220 Special Edition Executive Saloon 4dr 2148cc Auto Diesel
Toyota Corolla Verso 2.2 D4D T2 5dr Manual Metallic
Mitsubishi L200 (New Shape) 2.5 DI-D (138bhp) Warrior Double Cab 4WD Pickup 4dr 2477cc Manual Diesel
Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon 1.9 JTDM (150bhp) Lusso Estate 5dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic
SAAB 9-3 Convertible 2.0 16v (210bhp) 2.0t Aero Convertible 2dr 1998cc Manual Petrol
Peugeot 207 Gti 1.6 16v (175bhp) GTi THP Hatchback 3dr 1598cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Mercedes A Class A150 Classic SE 5dr Hatch Metallic
Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon 1.9 JTDM (150bhp) Lusso Estate 5dr 1910cc Manual Diesel
Lexus IS 2.2 (220d) (177bhp) Saloon 4dr 2231cc Manual Diesel
Kia Magentis 2.7 V6 (186bhp) LS Saloon 4dr 2656cc Auto Petrol
Audi A3 1.6 (102bhp) Special Edition Hatchback 5dr 1595cc Manual Petrol Solid Paint
Mini Cooper (New Shape) 1.6 (120bhp) Hatchback 3dr 1598cc Manual Petrol
Nissan Qashqai 1.6 16v (113bhp) Visia 2WD Hatchback 5dr 1598cc Manual Petrol
SAAB 9-3 Convertible 2.0 16v (210bhp) 2.0t Aero Convertible 2dr 1998cc Manual Petrol
Suzuki Swift 1.3 16v (91bhp) GL Hatchback 5dr 1328cc Manual Petrol
Kia Magentis 2.7 V6 (186bhp) LS Saloon 4dr 2656cc Auto Petrol
Toyota Corolla Verso 2.2 D-4D (136bhp) T2 MPV (7-seat) 5dr 2231cc Manual Diesel
Honda CR-V (New Shape) 2.2 i-CTDi (138bhp) SE 4WD Station Wagon 5dr 2204cc Manual Diesel
SAAB 9-3 Convertible 2.0 16v (210bhp) 2.0t Aero Convertible 2dr 1998cc Manual Petrol
Audi A3 1.6 (102bhp) Special Edition Hatchback 5dr 1595cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Volkswagen Golf 2.0 SDI S Hatch 5dr Metallic
Toyota Corolla Verso 1.6 VVT-i (109bhp) T2 MPV (7-seat) 5dr 1598cc Manual Petrol
Audi A6 Saloon 2.7 TDI V6 (177bhp) Le Mans Saloon 4dr 2698cc Auto Diesel Metallic
Nissan X-Trail (New Shape) 2.0 dCi (147bhp) Trek 4WD Station Wagon 5dr 1995cc Manual Metallic
Toyota Corolla Verso 1.6 VVTi Petrol T2 MPV (7-seat) 5dr 2231cc Manual
Land Rover Freelander 2 (New Shape) 2.2 TD4 (158bhp) GS 4WD Station Wagon 5dr 2179cc Manual Diesel Metallic (full size spare wheel)
TOYOTA VERSO ESTATE 1.6 VVT-i T2 5dr Petrol Metallic
Citroen C4 1.6 Hdi SX Hatch 5dr Manual Metallic
TOYOTA VERSO DIESEL ESTATE 2.2 D-4D T2 5dr Metallic
TOYOTA VERSO DIESEL ESTATE 2.2 D-4D T2 5dr Metallic
Honda CR-V (New Shape) 2.2 i-CTDi (138bhp) SE 4WD Station Wagon 5dr 2204cc Manual Diesel
Mini Cooper (New Shape) 1.6 (120bhp) Hatchback 3dr 1598cc Manual Petrol Metallic
SAAB 9-3 Convertible 2.0 16v (210bhp) 2.0t Aero Convertible 2dr 1998cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Mini One (New Shape) 1.4 16v (93bhp) One Hatchback 3dr 1397cc Manual Petrol Metallic
TOYOTA VERSO DIESEL ESTATE 2.2 D-4D SR 5dr Metallic
Audi A3 5Dr Sportback 1.9 TDI Sport 08 Solid Paint
Nissan X-Trail (New Shape) 2.0 dCi (147bhp) Aventura 4WD Station Wagon 5dr 1995cc Metallic Manual Parking Sensors
Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 CDTi (148bhp) LT 4WD Station Wagon (7-seat) 5dr 1991cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Mini Cooper Convertible (New Shape) 1.6 (116bhp) Convertible 2dr 1598cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch 1.9 CDTi (150bhp) SRi Hatchback 3dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Chevrolet Captiva 2.4 i (133bhp) LS 2WD Station Wagon (5-seat) 5dr 2405cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Lexus IS 2.2 (220d) (177bhp) Saloon 4dr 2231cc Manual Diesel Metallic
SAAB 9-3 Convertible 2.0 16v (210bhp) 2.0t Aero Convertible 2dr 1998cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch 1.9 CDTi (150bhp) SRi Hatchback 3dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Citroen Xsara Picasso 1.6 i (110bhp) Desire MPV 5dr 1587cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Nissan Navara 2.5 DCi (171bhp) Trek Doublecab 4WD Pickup 4dr 2488cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Mini One Convertible 1.6 (93bhp) One Convertible 2dr 1598cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Ford Mondeo (New Shape) 2.0 TDCi (138bhp) Edge Hatchback 5dr 1997cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 (65bhp) Active Hatchback 3dr 1242cc Manual Petrol Metallic (Air Con)
SAAB 9-3 Convertible 2.0 16v (210bhp) 2.0t Aero Convertible 2dr 1998cc Manual Petrol Metallic Heated seats
Nissan Micra 1.2 (64bhp) Acenta Hatchback 3dr 1240cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Chevrolet Matiz 1.0 i (65bhp) SE+ Hatchback 5dr 995cc Manual Petrol Solid Paint
Nissan Navara 2.5 DCi (171bhp) Adventura Doublecab 4WD Pickup 4dr 2488cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 (65bhp) Active Hatchback 3dr 1242cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Honda CR-V (New Shape) 2.2 i-CTDi (138bhp) SE 4WD Station Wagon 5dr 2204cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Volvo V50 Sportswagon 1.6 D (109bhp) S Estate 5dr 1560cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Ford Galaxy 1.8 TDCi (100bhp) LX MPV (7-seat) 5dr 1753cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Nissan Navara 2.5 DCi (171bhp) Outlaw Doublecab 4WD Auto Pickup 4dr 2488cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Citroen C2 1.6 16v (125bhp) Code (full leather) Hatchback 3dr 1587cc Manual Petrol Non-Metallic
Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 CDTi (148bhp) LT 4WD Station Wagon (7-seat) 5dr 1991cc Auto Diesel Metallic
Citroen C1 1.0i (68bhp) Vibe Hatchback 3dr 998cc Non-Metallic paint
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch 1.7 CDTi (100bhp) SRi Sport Hatch Hatchback 3dr 1686cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch 1.9 CDTi (150bhp) SRi Hatchback 3dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 CDTi (150bhp) SRi MPV (7-seat) 5dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Nissan Qashqai 2.0 16v (139bhp) Visia 2WD Hatchback 5dr 1997cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Citroen C2 Code 1.6 16v Full Leather Hatch 3dr
Audi A3 1.9 TDI (103bhp) Special Edition Hatchback 3dr 1896cc Manual Diesel Non-Metallic
Audi A3 1.9 TDI (103bhp) Special Edition Hatchback 5dr 1896cc Manual Diesel Non-metallic
Ford Mondeo (New Shape) 2.0 TDCi (138bhp) Edge Hatchback 5dr 1997cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Kia Picanto 1.1 (64bhp) LS (A/C) Hatchback 5dr 1086cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Citroen Berlingo 1.6 HDi (75bhp) Enterprise Van 1560cc HDi (75bhp) Enterprise Van 1560cc Manual Diesel Non-Metallic
Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 (65bhp) Active Hatchback 3dr 1242cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Ford Galaxy 1.8 TDCi (125bhp) Zetec (5-speed) MPV (7-seat) 5dr 1753cc Manual Diesel Metallic
“Mini Cooper S (new model) Hatchback 1.6 3dr petrol manual metallic ((17″” Flame spoke light alloy wheels&run flat tyres) (smokers pack) (Bluetooth)”
Mercedes C-Class Saloon (New Shape) 2.2 CDi (134bhp) C200 SE Saloon 4dr 2148cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Nissan Qashqai 1.6 16v (113bhp) Acenta 2WD Hatchback 5dr 1598cc Manual Petrol Metallic
SAAB 9-3 Sport Saloon 1.9 TiD (120bhp) Linear SE (08) Saloon 4dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch 1.9 CDTi (150bhp) SRi Hatchback 3dr 1910cc Manual Diesel Metallic Maintenance
Chevrolet Captiva 2.0 CDTi (148bhp) LT 4WD Station Wagon (7-seat) 5dr 1991cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Chevrolet Matiz 1.0 i (65bhp) SE+ Hatchback 5dr 995cc Manual Petrol Non metallic
Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 (65bhp) Active Hatchback 3dr Petrol Manual metallic
Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 16v Life A/C 5dr Metallic
Audi A6 Saloon 2.0 Tdi TDV SE Multi Metallic with Milano Leather, DVD Sat Nav, GSM Phone Prep, CD Changer, Bose
Renault Clio 1.2 16v (75bhp) Expression Hatchback 3dr 1149cc Manual Petrol Metallic air con
Mini One (New Shape) 1.4 16v (93bhp) One Hatchback 3dr 1397cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Volkswagen Touareg TDI Altitude 225PS 6spd Automatic Diesel Metallic
Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 (65bhp) Active Hatchback 3dr 1242cc Manual Petrol Metallic
Citroen Xsara Picasso 1.6 HDi (92bhp) Desire MPV 5dr 1560cc Manual Diesel Metallic
Citroen Berlingo 1.6 HDi (75bhp) 600 D LX Van 1560cc HDi (75bhp) 600 D LX Van 1560cc Manual Diesel Non Metallic
Honda Civic Type-R 2.0 i-VTEC (198bhp) Hatchback 3dr 1998cc Manual Petrol Non metallic
My last batch of “personal” customers (who are employed) as opposed to “business” rentals have been:
emp_nature emp_title
Sales Business Manager
Analyst Business Analyst
IT Manger Deputy Systems Editor
Construction Package Manger
Sales Manger Telesales Manger
Service Manger Community Safety Manager
Advisory Teacher Childrens Centre Teacher
Admin Administrator
IT Project Manager Project Manager
Building Surveyor Contract Management
Habour Master Habour Master
IT Consultant Managing Director
Caravan Manufacture Joiner
Electrical Jointer
Sales Sales Manager
Healthcare Training Officer
IT Senior Systems Analyst
Quantity Surveyor Project Surveyor
Police Officer Police Officer
IT Operations Shift Manager
Accountant Partner
Train Engineer Technician T3
Networks Network Architect
Management Training Director
Agency Accountant
Property Valuation Surveyor
Pub Group Proprietor
Teacher Head of Maths
Account Manager European Manager
Teaching Senior Lecturer
PC Repairs & Tuition Computer Engineer
Medical Distribution Senior Patient Service Rep
Mortgage Broker Area Sales Manger
Construction Site Manager
Internet Development Development
Coffee Wholesale Sales Manager
Tour Guide Driver Guide
Ops Manager Funding Manager
Heathcare Director of Business Development
Sales Sales Manager
Pig Farm Assistant Manager
Director Business Development
Builders Contracts Manager
Sole Trader Propoerty Maintenance
Internet Café Proprietor
HR HR Manager
Recruitment Recruitment Manager
Technician C3 Grade
Marketing Marketing Assistant
Electricain Foreman
Audiologist Paediatric Audiologist
Computer Analyst Operations Manager
Account Manager Business Development Manager
Advertising Proprietor
Boat Building Manager
Technical Author Intergrated Support Engineer
Management Assistant Management Assistant
Marketing Manager Marketing Manager
Air Conditioning Sales Director
Air Traffic Sevices Air Traffic Controller
Software Sales Manger
Senior Manager Management Consultant
Accountant Owner
Director Sales Director
Managing Director Managing Director
IT Project manager Project Manager
IT Engineer System Admin
Education Teaching Assistant
Construction Owner
IT Manager IT Manager
Support Rep Support Rep
IT Business Process Consultant
HR & Payroll Personell Admin
Programmer programmer
Sales Manager Sales Manager
Production Production Controller
Computer Engineer Owner
Precision Copponents Engineering Manager
Dental Lab Manager
IT Consultant Director
Audio Visual Sales Southern Sales Manager
Franchise Auditor Qaulity Auditor
Day Nursery Nursery Teacher
Direct Sales Sales Advisor
Quality Manager Quality Manager
Law Senior Practice Manager
Office Admin Office Admin
School Teacher of Science
Construction Quantity Surveyor
Director Director
Joiner Joiner
Medicine and Surgery Veterinary Surgeon
Property Property Buyer
Accountant Accountant
I missed off the link in the top paragraph showing the “quote requests”. Page is here: http://www.lingscars.com/quote_view.php
Wow, had never heard of this before. Very interesting … Ling obviously knows what she is doing. This serves as great motivation to keep working hard.
I saw that Dragons Den episode.
That lady has heart!
Andy
Hey, thanks to everyone. This is an old blog post but a good one. I am trying so hard, 2-years since DD my turnover in 2008 increased to £355k (from circa £120k 2006). So something is working Me! I am knackered. hahaha. But with a new office, new online systems and new white label websites coming soon for people who want to affiliate (I do all admin etc), I am a busy bunny.
Thanks again!
- Ling!
Ling Valentine’s last blog post..New Toyota Avensis Hatchback, £263.99+VAT
Thanks for the update Ling, you’re doing great. Have you ever considered using Twitter to keep in contact with customers and another marketing channel, it could work well for you.
Al’s last blog post..Sometimes it Pays to Bite thy Tongue
The 2006 Dragon’s Den episode with Ling appeared on BBC America recently. I was blown away by Ling and her business. I’d like to start a similar one here. Any advise? Want to be my partner?
Tis a very clever business money and extremely shrewd online marketing campaign. The fact that she seems to run it all herself is equally impressive - that’s a whole lot of work and busting your chops, but evidently well worth it.
also the fact that there is still 19% of the market still left to capture is quite incredible
Telesales is actually good for promoting your affiliate products both online and offline situations.;**