Interview Coaching: A Home-Based Business on the Cutting Edge

Who would believe that someone with a home-based business
can reach out to a far away country and work with a client
via a Blackberry and a cell phone? That is exactly what I
did last month with a man in Israel who was going to
interview there. And, he not only got the job, but he was
able to negotiate a higher salary after our work together.

The business of coaching in general is quietly taking over
the $427 Billion home-business sector by storm. If you are
interested in getting in on this wave you will first need
to find a niche. A niche that will satisfy your needs –
where you can make a difference and some good money at the
same time.

My niche is Interview Coaching, which is my way to connect
with people all over the United States and beyond. To be
able to reach out and help someone – and to be appreciated
is what my business is about. Can you think of a better way
to make a living? You might think that just anyone could
hang advertise themselves as an Interview Coach. In reality
they can do that, but that doesn't mean they have what it
takes to do a good job for their clients or themselves.

Here's a little quiz to determine if this might be a niche
for you to explore further.

__ I am an excellent listener

You should be able to really "hear" people when they talk.
You can pick up on hidden things they're saying if you read
between the lines.

__ I am good at "reading" people –

Some people say they are "people persons" but they don't
know how to look beyond what is on the surface. That's a
special gift that will make you very successful at this
business.

__ I have great communication skills

Good communication skills begin with listening and then
letting the person know that they have been heard. It is
also adjusting your communication level to match the person
you are talking to – whether it is with an executive or a
laboratory assistant.

__ I am patient and will take time to explain what needs
to change

Some people do not have the patience to listen to a long
story or to have to explain something over in several
different ways to get the point across.

__ I am capable of giving straight forward feedback

How do you tell someone that they aren't doing something
affectively? You give straight-forward facts that are
sometimes difficult to say. Not giving honest advice will
take away from the value of your coaching.

__ I would make a great teacher/coach

If you are starting out, you have to determine if you want
to spend time with people teaching them new skills and
techniques that will make a difference in their lives.

__ I have patience and good customer service skills

Sometimes people change their minds, cancel appointments,
don't show up for appointments. It's all part of having a
business. Your customer service policy will be of your own
choosing and values.

__ I'm good at figuring out problems

This is the most exciting part of interview coaching. To
ask the questions and find out what is going on. Asking
many questions and listening and reading between the lines
will give you clues to helping the person succeed.

__ I want to make a difference

You've come to the right place. You can help people change
their lives. You can help them to be more competitive in
the job market. You can show them that they have power in
the interview process.

__ I'm good at giving motivational reinforcement

After you've given them the straight-forward feedback you
will have to work to build their esteem back to a place
where they will appreciate they have something to offer.

How many checks were you able to put on the list? If you
have six out of the ten skills required – or higher – this
may be a place for you to explore.

Being an interview coach offers new challenges and the
chance to play many roles during a single day. The roles
may vary with each client. The clients are all different
–people in transition, or up for an internal promotion, or
changing fields, or young people entering the work force.
And, don't forget the "walking wounded" – who have been
laid off, or fired.. These people need help – they need
encouragement – they need caring for.

What is life after all if it isn't about making a
difference? You can make a difference in your own life as
well as other peoples' lives - over, and over, and over –
extending all over the world. You can make a difference as
an Interview Coach.

----------------------------------------------------
Carole Martin, America's #1 Interview Coach and author is
telling her interview business coaching secrets; how to
become an Interview Coach. Learn more at
http://www.interviewcoachingbusiness.com

Micromanagement: Killing Employee Morale

Employee morale is something that no business can ignore.
It is something that greatly impacts employee performance,
especially in a sales environment. Sales environments can,
by their very nature, be very stressful and it falls to the
managers to ensure that morale is kept up and performance
optimized. Many managers are aware of this and create
performance related incentives to their sales staff,
including bonuses, nights out or even weekends away. While
this can be a very positive way of improving employee
morale, many managers are unaware how their day to day
behaviour impacts their sales staff, thereby effectively
nullifying the positive boost the incentives create.

The reason for this is that many sales managers still use
micromanagement as what they perceive to be an effective
management tool. This is a method that just does not work.
Contrary to what the managers are attempting to do, their
micromanagement results in poor morale and disheartened
employees.

It is all too common for sales staff to be faced with
managers who will lean over their shoulder every morning to
pick apart their daily activities, frequently commenting
and criticising on the lack of sales made before bombarding
the salesperson with phrases like, "You need to make more
calls". Following this, salespeople are confronted with
requests for hourly updates on their activities and
criticism when they have not completed certain tasks.

Micromanaging employees in this way leaves them feeling
pressured and demotivated, causing them to become less
involved in their work and distance themselves from their
manager. In the worst case this leads to staff solely
working for their pay check, leaving their enthusiasm at
the door resulting in little or no productivity.

To avoid this situation, managers need to change their
attitudes and rethink their techniques. Setting goals for
your sales staff and encouraging them to work under their
own initiative should help make your staff feel empowered
and more positive in their work. Providing positive
reinforcement and encouraging them to come to you for
advice rather than just bombarding them with it will make
your staff feel more confident in your abilities as a
manager. With this confidence they will be more inclined to
approach you with any problems they may be facing rather
than stay silent and become more demoralized.

By feeling less restricted and more empowered, staff will
be less stressed and employee morale should remain high. In
this situation, the incentives you originally put forward
will have their desired effect and your sales staff should
become a more productive, cohesive team.

----------------------------------------------------
Mandy Leonard is a co-founder of Enabled IT, which
specializes in working in partnership with clients to
provide a customer centric recruitment solution. With
experience in both the recruitment and technical sector,
she has specialized in sales and management training to
optimize the abilities of sales forces.
For more information please visit
http://www.mandyleonard.com or e-mail
contact@mandyleonard.com

Brand Your Consulting Brilliance

Today's competitive marketplace for consulting services is
no longer responsive to the marketing strategies that
worked in the past. The services you provide should speak
volumes about your consulting business. Think about what
happens when you hear phrases such as "the ultimate driving
machine," "Don't leave home without it," and "Just do it."
Chances are good that you can immediately associate them
with BMW, American Express, and Nike. These companies have
mastered "brand brilliance." Brand your consulting
brilliance because the future of your business depends on
it.

There's an old adage, "Perception is reality." Simply
stated, the perception of a brand lies in its ability to
influence a client's behavior. When you have successfully
branded your business, in the client's eye there is no
service in the marketplace quite like your service.

All consulting businesses should have a distinct,
sustainable, and competitive advantage to differentiate
their services from the competition. I call this process of
identifying your advantage "Brand Your Consulting
Brilliance."

Here are six simple steps to brand and differentiate your
services in the current business environment.

1. Think client focus first.

The client's reality: Consulting businesses exist to serve
clients. Develop a client visitation calendar and schedule
in-person visits. Look the client in the eye and say, "I am
here to serve you." Follow up and follow through on all
client related matters in a timely manner.

Create a client questionnaire so clients can rate the
performance of your services. You want them to tell you how
you're doing and what you can do to serve them better. It's
also a way to discover what challenges they are currently
facing. Be relentless in your client retention efforts.

2. Discover a distinct advantage that will set you apart
from competitors.

Start by articulating your "unique marketing proposition,"
a statement of all of the qualities and characteristics
that set your services apart in the marketplace. Analyze
your services: What skills and services do we provide that
are distinctive, measurable, and add value? Which of our
past successes can we leverage in the marketplace? And
don't forget to ask colleagues what they see as your
competitive strengths.

Communicate these messages reinforcing your unique
marketing proposition anytime you have an opportunity to
write or speak about your consulting firm and what you have
to offer to prospective clients.

3. Generate publicity.

What others say about your brand is much more powerful and
credible than what you can say about it yourself.

When it comes to branding your consulting brilliance,
favorable publicity in the media or word of mouth is far
superior to advertising. So how do you generate the
publicity "buzz"? Create a buzz about your brand by being
visible: speaking at seminars, publishing a newsletter on
your website, participating as a host or guest on
television or radio talk shows, writing a column in a
reputable trade journal, and networking.

4. Promote a powerful perception of quality in the client's
mind.

What is quality if not a perception that resides in the
mind of the client? You build quality intangibles around
trust, reliability, excellent people, and innovative client
services. Show clients that you can interpret and process
their information to convert it to results oriented
solutions. What you say is important, but what you do is
even more important for reinforcing their perception of
your brand quality.

Keep the lines of communication open. The goal of branding
your consulting brilliance is to convince the client that
your brand is worth their trust and worth a premium price.

5. Establish your credentials as an industry leader in the
field.

Clients like to know they are doing business with an
industry leader. Make clients aware of your consulting
acumen, presence, and commitment. Know your clients'
businesses inside out – what they do, why they do it, how
they do it. Tout your firm's successful track record of
accomplishment in working with companies like theirs.

Build and sustain credibility with clients by strengthening
your client relationships, developing a client retention
strategy, demonstrating that you value your new clients,
and going the extra mile for them.

6. Practice consistency in building your consulting
brilliance.

Stay focused on implementing the branding of your
consulting brilliance. Keep abreast of marketing trends in
your profession and position yourself as a recognized
expert. Make the most of your unique marketing proposition.
Accelerate and elevate the perceived value of your brand in
the marketplace.

In short, to brand your consulting brilliance, know what
you have to offer, know how to differentiate it, and know
how to market it.

----------------------------------------------------
Robert Moment is an innovative small business coach ,
speaker and author. Robert specializes in teaching
entrepreneurs how to start a small business that profits
and grow. Visit http://www.howtostartyoursmallbusiness.com
and sign-up for the FREE Small Business Coaching 7 day
e-course, "Turn Passion into Profit: Small Business
Startup."

Marketing Strategies For Your Business / Building Strategic Referral Partnerships.

Now that you know your Vision, your Ideal Client, how to
Build Authentic Relationships, create Strategic Referral
Partnerships and Promotional Events, you can effectively
create and Build Strategic Referral Partnerships.

As you may recall, I mentioned in last month's article that
there are several marketing strategies to fundamentally
build a business. The strategies are simple but not always
easy, however if they are coupled with vision, vigor and a
little tenacity, both business and life can be enjoyed with
ease and results produced with velocity.

Remember as these strategies unfold in your reading each
month, I never said it would be easy, however I am saying,
it "can" be done with ease AND velocity with the right
energy going in the right direction.

And you must keep in mind that you will have to address
what I call the "human condition."

The thing that will come between you and success is the
"human condition"; your self imposed barriers, road blocks,
and what you think you already know. Be aware of the
barriers and road blocks as you read these.

Yes, I'm repeating this each month intentionally. Why? The
two most prominent reasons are: to shift how you think in a
way that builds your muscles to understand the fundamentals
of marketing AND to address the human condition that could
stop you from implementing the strategies and creating
extreme success.

Keep in mind that Vision must be first.… You've heard me
say time and time again that vision is the foundation and
basis from which you will operate. I say it again. It is
the foundation for your every move, your every action. The
vision you create is also uniquely yours, therefore
bringing a competitive edge to the market place.
Communicating your vision and tying your product and
service together effectively are vitally important.

Another critical part of effective marketing is "strategic
alliances". Not only is it effective, it can be lucrative.
Let's go back for a moment to a previous article about
Strategic Referral Partners.

A referral partner is someone who sees value in your
services and chooses to refer business to you. When a
referral partner meets someone whom they feel can benefit
from your services, they will most likely contact you to
give you the name of the prospect to call them. In some
cases, the referral partner will give the potential client
your information and ask them to call you. If they are so
bold, they will call you while in the presence of the
potential client to set up an introduction, but the latter
is typically the exception.

That's usually how that works, right?

Most people wish their referral partner would call them and
give an introduction, but typically that does not happen.
I'd say, if you create a "strategic referral partnership"
then this process is much more effective and results
oriented.

Let's look at the word "strategic". Strategic comes from
the word, "strategy" which Webster defines as skilled in
managing and planning. I like to refer to this concept of
Strategy Referral Partnerships as a direct, deliberate and
"on purpose" creation. It is planned and managed. It is
with focused intention and it's direct and deliberate.

Now, it is important to insert here from my last article
that "building authentic relationships" is also key. You
may recall in that article I spoke of bringing focused
attention to "who" you want to build relationships with.
You determine the " who" by having your vision direct and
guide your choices. Read that article again to gain
insights into "authentic" relationships, for being
"authentic" and true are also critical.

A Strategic Referral Partner is someone or entity who
currently serves your client. It is also someone whom you
can build an authentic relationship with. Once you identify
a strategic partner you will then have three intentions
which you will directly and deliberately focus your
attention. They are:

1. Sharing your vision.
2. Building an authentic relationship with them.
3. Creating an opportunity for them to refer business to
you and you to refer business to them.

Note: If you have trouble with this part, keep reading
future articles. Remember everything is win/win. You must
be interested in referring business to them.

Let's further discuss how to identify a "Strategic Referral
Partner".

First, study your "ideal client". Become intimately related
with your ideal client. Know what they like, know what they
don't like, and know where they go, shop and play. If
you're clear about your ideal client, then you know who you
serve.

You then might look into your circle of "authentic
relationships" to determine who else serves your ideal
client. If you know of another business owner who does,
they would classify as a "strategy referral partner".

The key is to find and create as many strategic referral
partners as possible.I mentioned earlier that strategic
referral partners are created directly, deliberately and on
purpose.

With that said, always remember the third intention. The
third intention is to create an opportunity for them to
refer business to you and you to refer business to them.

Some questions to ask your self regarding strategic
referral partnerships:

Who is my ideal client? Who do I want to build a strategic
partnership with? Who would support my vision that I don't
already personally know? Who do I want to support in their
vision which is synergistic.These are just a "few"
questions to begin uncovering "who" to build relationships
with.

Critical points of this article!

• Know your vision
• Know your ideal client
• Build authentic relationships
• Build Strategic Referral Partnerships.
• Remember, you also must "implement" the strategies
channeling the right energy in the right direction to have
them be most effective and reflect success in your business.

Remember, you don't have to be in business alone or
struggle to make it successful.

----------------------------------------------------
The Power, Passion & Purpose Group, brings over twenty
years experience in business, relationship and individual
life coaching. Join the P3groups mailing list to receive
their online magazine - The P3 Power Boost Magazine for
Women at http://www.TheP3Group.com .

Customer Service: A Missing Skill?

You have to make more sales! This is the message that is
drilled into every salesperson's mind on a daily basis.
Usually they're expected to achieve this through cold
calling and other age-old techniques in a hope that they
will be able to make a sale. However, this single-minded
focus on sales figures tends to leave the customer unhappy
and unwilling to buy from the salesperson a second time.
How is this possible since they successfully sold the first
time?

The answer is not, as you may think, in the product or
service. The reason for this customer dissatisfaction is
that many salespeople are excellent at selling, promising
unparalleled service but are unable to meet customer
expectations. There is such a single-minded focus on making
a minimum of 50+ calls per day, but how much time does that
really leave for a salesperson to deliver? The need to make
so many calls in a day leads to an ineffective use of a
salespersons time. Yes, they may make a sale but it is
vital for salespeople to adapt their methods to focus on
long term client relationships.

Put yourself in the position of a decision maker. With such
a huge amount of choice when it comes to service providers,
each selling the same service, what will make you stand
out? Very simply it's the level of customer service that
you provide. This may seem obvious but very few salespeople
provide effective service to their customers. There are a
number of simple techniques which will allow you to not
only improve the service that you provide, but also
increase the number of sales you will make with your
clients.

Firstly, understand exactly what it is that your client
does and where your services would best work in conjunction
with that. Move the focus away from the quick sale and
towards working with the client as a partner. By doing this
you will be working as an extension of the client's
business and with your unique and in-depth understanding of
that business, you will be able to tailor your solutions
and make more sales by providing services that your clients
really needs. By being able to tailor your solutions to the
client it will increase the opportunities you will have to
make a sale. This is because you will stop wasting you and
your client's time trying to sell products and services
which are inappropriate or unnecessary.

Make yourself the single point of contact. Whatever it is
that you are selling, clients will quickly become
dissatisfied if after a sale they are constantly speaking
to other salespeople for information. By taking
responsibility for the service and by being the single
point of contact, not only are you helping to build the
relationship and improving your sales opportunities, you
are providing the client with a better service because they
can always speak to the same person who understands their
business and will be able to provide quick information on
the services being provided.

Be honest about the services that you can provide. Taking
on work that you are not in a position to complete will be
detrimental to the relationship. By being upfront and
honest about your capabilities to provide services to the
client, your level of service will improve because it will
create trust. If the client trusts you, they are more
likely to buy from you as they will believe that you are
working to their benefit as well, rather than just your own.

With this in mind, consider what Value Added Services you
can provide to your clients. It can be anything from simple
notifications about changes to legislation or technologies
which impacts your services or industry to new services
which may provide solutions to your client that they were
unaware of. Simple things like this cost you nothing as a
salesperson but opens up a large number of opportunities
that simple cold calling will not accomplish.

By improving the level of customer service that is
provided, you can move away from one-off sales and the
constant need for new clients and focus on developing
accounts and having clients continuously return to you for
the products and services. This will make you a more
successful salesperson who is able to adapt to the changing
business environment.

----------------------------------------------------
Mandy Leonard is a co-founder of Enabled IT, which
specializes in working in partnership with clients to
provide a customer centric recruitment solution. With
experience in both the recruitment and technical sector,
she has specialized in sales and management training to
optimize the abilities of sales forces.
For more information please visit
http://www.mandyleonard.com or e-mail
contact@mandyleonard.com

The Right Way To Start A Tanning Salon

If started and operated correctly a tanning salon can be a
very profitable and rewarding business. Although these are
becoming more common there is still plenty of room for
successful salons provided the business is ran correctly.

Just as when starting any business, a tanning salon can be
a difficult if you don't plan correctly. The first step is
creating a business plan. This will detail every aspect
from the marketing of your business infrastructure. If
financing is required for your salon the business plan will
have to be a very convincing path to success to minimize
the risk for your lenders. Depending on whether you decide
on the path of a franchise or start an independent tanning
business will be your choice. Franchises offer many
benefits but also can cost a great deal more to start.
Advantages of a franchise often include a set business
plan, advertising, product distribution discounts, and
shared clientele. Disadvantages can include cost and not
having the ability to run exactly things the way you want
to as business guidelines are often included with
franchising agreements. With the right research and a
solid business plan it is very common for an enterpernuer
to be able to succeed in this business on their own.

After you have your business plan prepared you will want to
find a cost effective location. In this business, it will
be best to find a visible spot within a small shopping
plaza in a mid to upscale neighborhood. By finding a
location in a plaza you will take advantage of the walking
and driving traffic that the surrounding businesses
currently have. You will also want to make sure that
people in the area can afford the luxuries of tanning and
that the building lease is affordable enough where you can
keep the tanning rates low while maintaining a reasonable
margin on your products and services. Local competition
must also be considered. Unless you plan on greatly
undercutting another salon in your area you will want to
make sure that there isn't any competition within at least
a square mile of your location. Undercutting is not
recommended do to the stress it will place on your margins
and should only be done if in competition with another
salon or done during promotional periods.

The products you carry are also a very important aspect of
your business. Tanning lotions, beverages, and other
products you decide on often carry a high margin and are
can be sold with ease to most customers. These items
should be easily seen with recommendations based on what
results the customers should expect. It also helps to have
a staff that is trained on such items.

It is also important to consider the environment. If you
make sure your customers experience one to remember they
will be sure to come back. Professional service and a
convenient layout will win them over. Be sure to have a
cozy waiting are for when the tanning rooms are full with a
variety of magazines to read and perhaps a TV. People
tanning often enjoy listening to their own music as lying
in a bed for ten to twenty minutes can often be boring.
Such small investments can improve customer's satisfaction
and improve the rate of returning customers.

People who look good feel good and having a nice tan surely
can improve anyone's looks. With a solid business
structure and high margin products and services it is very
easily for even an inexperienced entrepreneur to fail at
this business.

----------------------------------------------------
Be sure to purchase your tanning beds at
http://www.tanningonline.com . Article written and
distributed by Steve Cancel, IT Manager of Secure Link -
http://www.slwebsolutions.com .

Is Your Business Card Useless or Is It Client Attractive?

You can have a business card that's useless or one that
gets you clients. Which do you want? Your business card
should be considered a serious sales tool, something that
someone will look at and get a very good idea not only at
what you do, but what you can do for them.

If you've got just one chance to make an impression (in
person or not) and you've got the space, use it well. Make
sure people know what you do, really DO, when they read
your business card. Give them a compelling reason to call
you to talk about working together. Or perhaps you want
them to visit your website or sign up for your ezine
(e-mail newsletter). The idea is to get prospects in
ACTION, just by using your card.

Here's an example for you: I got a call from a prospect a
while back, saying she was ready to work with me to help
her attract new paying clients. She wanted to talk to me
because she needed to see exactly how I worked and what my
rates were. She had her credit card in hand and was ready
to start.

The funny thing is, we'd never met. She wasn't referred by
any of my clients or colleagues. Instead, she had found my
card in a doctor's office close to 50 miles away. Now, I
can ASSURE you I had never been to that doctor's office and
I hadn't gone to that part of the state in over a year, but
somehow my card found her and compelled her to want to work
with me. That card probably cost me no more than 10 cents.
Not bad for a return on investment on a marketing piece and
the fact that I wasn't even there in the first place!

OK, so what should you put on your business card to make it
Client Attractive in a networking situation? It should
obviously have your phone number(s), every way to reach
you, and can even have a set of PULL marketing questions on
the back that invite the reader of the card to consider
working with you. It's recommended that you add your
tagline to the card. And use the back of it if you can!

My business card also prompts colleagues to refer potential
clients to me even though we'd only met once at a workshop
I've given or at a networking meeting. The information on
the back allows the people holding the card to self-qualify
or screen themselves as to whether or not they are an ideal
client for me. It gives referral sources ways of describing
what you do clearly and effectively when talking to others
about you. It has an invitation to call, which can make all
the difference between getting new clients from your card
and not.

The objective should be to have a business card that has
your ideal prospect say, "Wow! I need you!" when they've
read your card. The key is to keep it legible, but to have
real Client Attractive information there, so that it works
as part of your sales force, even when you're not there to
sell for yourself.

Your Assignment: Ask yourself: What does my business card
say to my prospects? How do I differentiate myself from all
of my competitors with my business card alone? Am I
actually attracting new business because of it? Is there a
call to action, an invitation to do something specific, a
compelling offer, or a point of differentiation that makes
me stand out?

Also ask yourself: What are people I network with REALLY
doing with my business card once they go home from where
they met me? Is it going in the circular file (i.e., the
garbage) because they can't tell what I really do for a
living and what I can do for them?

Business cards are an underestimated marketing tool, one
that you will use most often to get new business. Instead
of using a basic (boring) card that's essentially useless,
it's time to create one that gets clients to call YOU.

----------------------------------------------------
If you need help with this, get a copy of the Client
Attraction Home Study System™. It's everything you need to
know to create a marketing message that will appeal to the
best clients for you. It gives you the most important
things to do to set up simple, solid marketing systems, so
that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually
get new clients. You can get it at
http://www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com .

Choosing Your Best Home Business Idea - Take Two Steps Forward And One Back

Finding their best home business idea is something many
people find extremely difficult. This is not surprising:
for most people it is a choice they only make once in a
lifetime. If you have never owned your own business, how
can you know what would be right for you? Will you be
capable of starting up a home based business, let alone
running one successfully? Will you be happy as a business
proprietor? Your mind will be full of doubts and questions
both big and small, right down to where to get advice about
paying taxes and the best place to go to buy office
supplies. To choosing the best home business idea for you
will be easier if you take two steps forward and one step
back.

Step 1

You commit yourself to the decision that you definitely
want to start your own home based business.

Step 2

Next you have to decide what type of business would be best
for you. Some people are able to see great business
opportunities at every turn, others struggle to think up
even one viable home business idea. Whether you are full
of ideas for your new business or desperately trying to
think of just one, the next step will get you on the right
track.

Step Back

Put logic and financial considerations on one side and try
to think like a child. Remember when you were a kid? What
did you want to be when you were grown up? Kids get very
strong ideas about what they want to do when they grow up
and the variety of ambitions is staggering. A small group
of children will have ambitions in all directions: nurse,
pop star, farmer, airline pilot, football star, soldier,
movie star, astronaut, bus driver, big crane operator,
police officer, scientist etc.

What all those ideas share in common is the way the kids
arrived at them. Did they start out thinking about salary,
pension benefits, long term security, qualifications,
natural ability? No way! Those kids picked their future
dream occupation because they thought it would be
interesting, exciting, fun or they'd get to wear a great
uniform. In short, they had a passion for the subject.

If you could canvass a class of school kids, or even a
whole school's worth, I bet not one child would have chosen
a future occupation for which he had no passion. No normal
child fixes his sights on spending his working life in a
dull office doing boring tasks just to get enough money to
get by on, but that is what many of us do. No normal child
would consider it a good idea to get paid a pittance to put
tons of cash in his boss's pockets, but many of us do just
that. A normal child would think you were insane to
suggest giving up his life from 9-5 (plus commuting time)
for five days of every week for 40 or so years and then
retiring into a lifestyle where making ends meet will be a
real challenge. Sadly, many of us do exactly that even
though it sounds a ludicrous choice. We spend our best
years "working for the man" and our golden years worrying
about every penny we spend.

By deciding to start your own home based business, you have
given yourself a second chance. You have given yourself
the chance to ensure that your financial future is secure
because, when you are your own boss, there is nobody
skimming off the majority of the money you make. Most
importantly, by deciding to start your own home based
business, you have given yourself a second chance to make
money doing something you will enjoy.

It can't be said enough times in enough different ways: the
key to finding the best home based business idea for you is
to choose something you will love doing. Running your own
business will take time, hard work and determination on
your part. If you love what you do, you will be happy to
invest the necessary time and effort. The determination
necessary to make a success of your home business will
follow the passion naturally.

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Visit Elaine Currie's Work At Home Directory
http://www.huntingvenus.com for help with finding the best
home based business for you.

Get Your Customers Talking About You: Three Tips To Increase Referral Business

The most reliable revenue growth comes in two forms:
repeat sales and referral business. The better your skills
for generating referral business, the faster your customer
base will grow. The best strategy for building referrals
is simply to get your customers talking about you. As your
clients talk to potential new customers, more and more
business will come right back to you.

The following three skills will get your customers talking
about you-and building your business for you. Turn your
client base into a network of enthusiastic sales
representatives (who work for free!) eager to pass along
your message and reputation.

Here are the three "B's" that will get your customers
talking about you and your business:

1. Be Memorable

No matter your business type, competition for consumer
dollars has never been tougher. Don't make the mistake of
looking, acting or sounding exactly like the crowd. Think
of a forest of evergreen trees. The bright red fruit of an
apple tree stands out in that forest, saying, "Pick me!"

There are many ways to be memorable. For example:

* Incorporate marketing strategies that are different from
your competition

* Dress to be remembered-wear an interesting tie or unique
accessories

* Ask thought-provoking, insightful questions

2. Be Personable

In today's ever more impersonal world, people crave being
heard and understood. Differentiate yourself from the
crowd by making an effort to know your customers and to let
them know you. Take time to find out what is important to
them in their buying decision. Cultivate a genuine care
for the satisfaction level of those you serve. Always
remember that friends recommend friends to their friends-so
be friendly!

Taking a personable approach is easy when you:

* Work at remembering names

* Let them hear you smile by your positive attitude

* Ask open-ended questions that get your clients talking
about themselves

3. Be Excellent

Bottom line, your clients need expert information, advice
and guidance in their buying decisions. To earn the
reputation as the "go-to guy" in your field, learn more
about your product or service than anyone else in your
market. Stay ahead of the curve for your industry's
trends. Add credibility to your expertise by obtaining the
appropriate credentials and certifications. If you take
the time to build your reputation as an expert in your
field, new clients won't need to be convinced; they'll
already be sold.

Being excellent is also about delivery of promises and
quality of performance. Your customers will recommend you
to others with confidence when they know you will live up
to their praise. The reputation for excellence is hard to
earn, but easy to lose. Let one referred client down, and
your original client will never refer new business to you
again.

You'll earn "excellent" customer ratings when you:

* Continue to improve your product or service

* Consistently provide on-time deliverables

* Never make promises you can't keep

Once you have put into practice these strategies for being
memorable, personable and excellent in all you do, your
clients will begin talking about you and your business.
With time and consistent effort, your referred business
will outgrow new sales from any other marketing source.
The added bonus is that referred clients will also refer
other new clients-and all of them will remain your loyal
customers.

----------------------------------------------------
Deborah Walker is a Small Business Coach specializing in
revenue growth strategies. Her career-long experience as
small business owner provides insight to the do's and don't
of starting and building a sustainable business and revenue
stream. To learn more, click to:
http://www.RevenueQueen.com