Welcome to my blog – hopefully you have found the site that will answer all your questions re all things web. If you don’t find a topic listed that you would like information on please contact me and if I know the subject I will give you my thoughts on it.

All information on this site is given from real world experience from 13 years in the Web Development and Internet Marketing arena. Read on…

I suppose my aim is to break down a lot of the misinformation and preconceptions about what the Internet is, how it can be used for your business advantage and many other avenues that will expand your knowledge of what is and isn’t possible online.

My primary aim is to help businesses understand in laymans terms what they need to do to understand the component parts that make up this Internet world that we at Toltech live, breathe and sleep on every day

My angle is very simple I am going to run a series of articles defined as “a man down the pub said…” based on years of experience of watching good business people being swayed from doing the right thing because of an interjection of a non expert (the man down the pub) telling them he knew someone who could do it cheaper etc.

I find it incredible in these situations which I myself have also been swayed, and to realise later the power a non professional in a field can have over you with nothing but his own take on a subject. He has the ability to sway a smart thinking person from dealing with a professional company.

How can this ‘Man down the pub” be so powerful? What is it that he says that makes him more believable than the expert.

After studying this over many years I have come to the conclusion that it is so complex with so many reasons it is hard to define a single cause. However the one statement which rings true is usually this:- “How much? – Oh No! I know someone who can do that for you at half the price! You would be a MUG to pay that. Leave it with me, I’ll see my mate – his son is a whizz with these things and we’ll save you a fortune.”

That in it’s simplest terms is the swaying point to the savvy business person making a poor buying decision.

Firstly, no one wants to consider being called a mug. They also don’t want to go back and say I decided it was good value and I paid £2000. This leads to them agreeing to see the ‘whizz’ of a boy and because they are now surrounded by people they know the emotion of the situation doesn’t allow them to back out easily . Hence we now have a poor buying decision – poor product and/or service delivered – leaving nothing but a trail of disaster.

There is a law called the Pareto law which means :

The 80/20 Law – Maximum results with Minimum time. Many people understand the 80/20 rule and understand it can be applied at most situations. I beieve that this is a major factor in these situations. Whether it is building fences, painting and decorating, servicing a car or building a website the reality seems to be that most of us if we apply ourselves can do 80% of most things properly. However the other 20% is what defines the expert in their field from the amateur.

When the guy down the pub sees a friend build a fence or the whizz of a boy build a website he believes that the boy can actually do, however this is mainly borne out of his own lack of knowledge on the subject. Therefore he recommends happy amateurs on a regular basis until it all goes wrong.

When it does go wrong and you go to the man in the pub re the whizz kid he will easily sidestep it by saying Ah! I never thought he was any good – he’s let a few people down that boy! I’ll not be recommending him again! and that’s it – he has no guilt, shame he just orders his next pint.

It comes down to a simple fact of referral by non qualification.

Don’t be caught out – Don’t be fooled that the cheap option is the best – don’t be forced emotionally into what is a bad deal for your business. Make the right choice – you and your company will pay for it. You will pay even more for the wrong choice.

Next time you are down the pub and someone says “How much? Don’t ne a mug! ”

You now know don’t listen to that person.

Always buy from existing quality businesses – it is more expensive for a reason.