Get Comfortably Ready to Grow Your Sales by Exponential Leaps and Bounds

Get Comfortably Ready to Grow Your Sales by Exponential Leaps and Bounds
My first trip on a German autobahn was an experience I'll
never forget. There's no speed limit on these
well-engineered and flawlessly maintained roads. Many
people drive high-powered Porsches, BMWs, and Mercedes that
are designed to almost fly over these routes.

The CEO of a prominent German company loaned me his
personal car and driver for a quick jaunt to the airport.
Thank God for that favor: Otherwise, I would have been
driving and I had never driven faster than 120 m.p.h.
before. On the autobahn driving at 120 is like poking along
at 55 m.p.h. on an American freeway. We passed that speed
within a few seconds. Before long, the speedometer topped
250 kilometers an hour (roughly 160 m.p.h.). It was
exciting, but that initial reaction began to turn into fear.

Fortunately, the driver glanced back and noticed a slightly
green passenger . . . and the car slowed. At 140 m.p.h. I
relaxed. That lower speed then felt comfortably slow even
though it was much faster than prior experiences. This trip
proved that you can get used to anything pretty quickly.
And the faster you adjust, the sooner you make more
progress and enjoy the process.

Some people experience the same sense of combined
excitement and fear when they first think about making
benefits available to 21 times as many people or increasing
sales by a similar amount. Let's start at a slow pace and
accelerate gradually past your current experience to make
it easier for you to adjust to this faster journey.

Let's think about scale for a moment. The average business
serving individuals has fewer than 1,000 customers. The
average business addressing the needs of companies has
fewer than 30 customers. If you compare those numbers to
the world's population (over 6 billion) and the number of
businesses (many millions), you quickly appreciate the
untapped potential for the average business to expand. By
comparison, many schools, hospitals, local charities, and
town government departments directly serve no more than a
few hundred people a week. Even if one of these
organizations suddenly expanded its scope by 2,000 percent
(20 times), the resulting scale would still be small
compared to global potential.

Similarly, the largest companies and nonprofit
organizations are serving considerably less than 1 percent
of the world's population at any moment. Clearly, these
larger organizations also have substantial opportunities to
expand their delivery of goods and services.

For now, just enjoy thinking about how much delight you
will gain from providing your own offerings in 21 times
greater volume . . . especially if you can reach that level
at your own comfortable pace.

At the beginning of your journey, you need to decide what
kind of performance you want to expand by 21 times.
Sometimes the answer is obvious. Other times, you have to
look beyond the obvious. For instance if you currently sell
furnaces, you could decide to sell furnaces to 21 times
more people to reach 21 times greater volume. That's fine.
But if you look around, you may find a better choice. Since
people buy your furnaces to make their homes warmer, you
may choose to also help them improve their warmth in other
ways as well (such as by installing needed insulation) and
gain some of your increased volume from your expanded scope
of offerings.

Likewise, a nonprofit organization may be providing food to
poor people who are looking for work. You could decide to
feed 21 times as many people. Or you could also decide to
help unemployed poor people find jobs. Even better, you can
help the unemployed find great jobs serving other
unemployed people to find great jobs as well. You need to
consider whether you want to deliver more of the same
benefits or a better combination of benefits.

Why do some people refrain from buying or using your
offerings? These limiting factors may include personal
stalls (harmful habits based on poor ways of thinking) such
as being comfortable with ignorance, misconceptions,
disbelief, sloth, lack of time, being short of money and
emotional discomfort with what you offer. You can uncover
the hidden barriers to expansion by asking this question:
"How much would I have to pay you to take and use my
offering?" Yes, even many free products and services are so
unattractive to potential users that you would have to pay
them a significant amount to take and use the offering. By
asking how much and why people want to be paid, you'll find
powerful flaws with what you're offering.

How can you eliminate the barriers to expanded usage that
you found by asking that important question? First,
brainstorm with others to accumulate as many ideas as
possible. Second, thrash those idea grain stacks to
separate out just the choicest seeds of potential
improvement. Third, compare those best barrier-busting
opportunities to select the methods that match your
resources.

How can you implement barrier-busting plans to expand
usage? By anticipating what could go wrong and preparing
for those issues, you will finish paving your faster route
sooner so you can begin serving more people.

You can make faster progress by applying some 2,000 percent
solutions (ways of accomplishing 20 times more with the
same time, effort, and resources) for expanding awareness
and usage of your offerings. You also need to ensure that
everyone will be delighted with your expanded availability.

With that preparation, you're all set to make a huge leap
forward in growing your sales by exponential leaps and
bounds.

Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of six books including The 2,000 Percent Squared
Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The 2,000 Percent
Solution Workbook. You can find free tips for accomplishing
20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .

How to Survive a Background Check

How to Survive a Background Check
Sooner or later the time will probably come that you have
to undergo a background check. To most people, the prospect
of subjecting yourself to scrutiny by an unknown
organization is little cause for concern. For others,
however it can be an agonizing ordeal that could affect
their livelihood and the future course of their lives. So
if you're one of those people who is anxious about the fact
that you will have to undergo a background check as a
prerequisite to being hired at the job of your choice; what
do you do? How should you approach the subject?

RULE # 1: PLAN AHEAD. If you have a criminal record that
you think may prevent you from getting the job you want
look into having the record expunged. When a local court
expunges a record it is just like it never happened. It
should not show up again on your criminal record. HOWEVER,
it is possible that it will show up in a statewide or NCIC
(FBI) check because the records are already in that system
and it may be a while before they are purged. Do a Google
search on 'criminal records expungement' and you will find
a wealth of information including firms that will do it for
you and ones that will provide all the paperwork so that
you can do it yourself and save money. Note that this is
not a quick fix. The process could take a while. Do a
preemptive background check on yourself if needed. Go down
to the court clerk's office and ask to get a copy of your
criminal record in that county. This is something that you
should address before you start sending out
résumés.

If your problem is a poor performance record at a previous
job try to make it right with the previous employer. Just
about everyone has had a boss that they did not get along
with for whatever reason. You know that if this person is
contacted by a prospective employer that he/she will paint
a picture of you as an inept idiot. One suggestion is to
swallow your pride and admit your problems and try to
convince them that you have changed so that if he is called
on for a reference you at least have a shot at a positive
response. Have a friend call your previous employer and
find out what they are saying about you when asked about
your competency, character or performance. Be preemptive
in your résumé. Address the problem where you can
describe it on your own terms.

Try volunteering to help charities with your particular
skill. A positive reference goes a long way to balancing
out a negative one.

RULE # 2: TELL THE TRUTH. Let's say that you had a "minor
indiscretion" on your record such as shoplifting. If your
job application asks if you've ever been convicted of a
crime you should tell the truth and answer correctly. If
you don't, and you are found out, in the mind of the Human
Resources person you are not only a thief, but a liar as
well. It is much better for you to tell them than for them
to find out about your record later. You may want to
rehearse this with someone before you are interviewed. Be
prepared to tell them why the 'incident' happened and how
you learned from that experience and how you are a changed
person now.

Also, you should know that background checkers are people
too. When a person at a background checking company is
working on your file and they find out that you did not
tell the truth about your criminal or job history, they are
going to approach the rest of your report with a higher
degree of skepticism. That's just human nature. Your
report then tends gets reexamined with a fine tooth comb.

RULE # 3: ANSWER QUESTIONS AS THEY ARE ASKED. Don't
volunteer any information that is not asked for. Example:
if the questionnaire asks you if you have been convicted of
a crime in the last 7 years and your conviction was 7 years
and one week ago, you answer "No." If the question asks
you if you have ever been convicted of a felony, don't
volunteer any information about a misdemeanor. Be prepared
for these questions in an interview and on an application.
If at all possible have an application e-mailed to you so
that you can fill it out at your leisure.

RULE # 4: LEARN WHAT YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS ARE. Law
books are full of the rights of individuals and nowhere is
this more true than in the employment arena. Again, do your
homework. Learn what recourse you have if a potential
employer denies you employment based on a negative
background check finding. For instance, did you know that
you have the right to actually see the background check
report and to challenge its findings if they are incorrect?
Nothing in that report should come as a surprise to you.
You know where you worked, where you went to school what
degrees and accolades you earned.

Conversely, you need to be aware of the rights of the
employer to know about your past. For example most people
believe that there are certain questions that an employer
cannot ask of a previous employer. THAT IS SIMPLY NOT
TRUE. It's one of those urban legends that people think is
true. A previous employer may refuse to answer the
question, but a prospective employer can ask anything they
want to.

I could write a whole article just on this question of what
can be asked. Let me explain it simply. And employer can
ask any question about your competency, character, work
habits, attitude, etc. Most employers stopped answering
those kinds of questions years ago, but that doesn't mean
they can't be asked. In fact, a smart background checker
will get those questions answered in some form even though
a person has been instructed not to answer those type of
questions. I always say that those 'rules' were started by
lazy attorneys (you know, the ones who get paid the same if
they work or not). They tell people at their company not
to answer those questions because they don't want a
potential lawsuit from an ex-employee. Well, what has
happened is that more aggressive attorneys on the other
side of the issue started suing companies that refused to
give negative (but true) information on a previous
employee, believing that by not answering a direct question
they have, in fact, shifted liability to themselves.
Another myth that virtually everyone believes is that an
employer cannot ask your date of birth. NOT TRUE. They
cannot discriminate based on your age (for that reason many
don't ask) but it is usually required for a criminal
history report. Any employer that believes that date of
birth cannot be asked probably also believes that their
interviewer needs to be blindfolded so that, God forbid, he
can't tell a person's sex or race.

We always suggest that a previous employer tell
DOCUMENTABLE TRUTH. Example: If I ask a previous employer
if there is anything that they can tell me about an
applicant's competency or character and they answer by
saying, "He was a real bum. He was always late for work
and didn't care about his job." That could get them sued,
but if they answer with documentable truth such as, "We
have a policy here that if you are late three times you are
written-up. He was written-up three times in two years."
That can be documented.

What do you do if you have a major negative on your record
such as a felony conviction for embezzlement and you are
looking for work as an accountant? One suggestion is that
you look into having yourself bonded at your own expense.
That takes away the risk from the employer. It may be
somewhat expensive for you, but that may be what it takes
for you to work in your chosen profession.

In summary, plan ahead, do your homework and know and
understand your rights and the rights of your prospective
employer.

----------------------------------------------------
Kit Fremin is the owner and founder of Background Check
International. Since 1994 BCI has served clients a varied
as: the LA Times, Department of Defense, Mars, Inc., the
UN, the NTSB and Calvary Chapels nationwide. His website
is: http://www.bcint.com and he can be e-mailed at
kit@bcint.com.

Paper Guillotines - A Helpful Guide

Paper Guillotines - A Helpful Guide
There are very few office environments that do not need to
make use of a paper guillotine during their day-to-day
work. A guillotine can be used for everything, from cutting
down a large piece of paper to the required size, to
creating custom-sized paper for presentations, invitations,
flyers and other promotional and display materials.

Some companies need to invest in a high-volume guillotine
for frequent usage, while smaller businesses may be looking
for a simple, reliable desktop guillotine for occasional
use. Those in the printing, paper-handling, or advertising
areas of business may, for example, be looking for a paper
guillotine that will be in more or less constant use.

Whatever, your particular requirements, you can be sure
there will be a guillotine available on the market to suit
your needs. An established and reputable supplier will be
able to offer you a selection of guillotines to choose
from, so you can find the one that will offer the most to
your business. Purchasing the most suitable paper
guillotine will save you time and money, as well as helping
to create a professional image for your company's printed
products.

There are three basic ways to narrow down your choice of
paper guillotine ' by type, by manufacturer or by cutting
size. Desktop guillotines are the ideal choice for those
looking for a guillotine for occasional use that can be
easily stored in any office. There is a massive range of
desktop paper guillotines available from manufacturers,
including Dahle, Ideal, Intimus, GBC and HSM.

A4 desktop guillotines can be extremely good value for
money and even top-of-the-range models, designed to cut up
to paper sizes A2 and A1, still only cost just a few
hundred pounds. The most basic, entry-level guillotines are
compact and easy to use and very competitively priced,
while still being efficiently designed and meeting all
safety standards.

Heavy duty guillotines require more storage space and are a
safe manual option for a business looking to accurately and
quickly cut large piles of print-outs or to aid in the
precision sizing of a large stack of paper. Heavy duty
guillotines can cut large numbers of sheets simultaneously
and accurately and are generally easy to operate. Despite
their higher costs in comparison to desktop guillotines,
heavy duty guillotines still represent a great return on
your investment, enabling you to accurately cut large
quantities of paper on a machine that is built to last.

Electronic guillotines are an impressive high-tech, high
volume solution for all your paper-cutting needs and are
particularly useful to those in the printing and paper
handling business, or perhaps design and media companies,
who need to produce large quantities of professionally-cut
paper for a range of business purposes.

Ideal and EBA are leading manufacturers in the field of
electronic guillotines. The Ideal 3915-95 electronic
guillotine would make a great value-for-money addition to
any printing company or busy reprographics department. It
has a 390mm cutting length, a 40mm cutting height and can
be purchased as a stand-alone guillotine, on a stand or as
cabinet, depending on your individual requirements and
storage space. The Ideal 7228-06 LT electronic guillotine
is the ultimate electronic guillotine and comes with an
according array of features that include a 720mm cutting
length, an 80mm cutting height, a hydraulic clamp drive, 40
different electronic programmes and an HSS steel blade.

----------------------------------------------------
Vincent Woodall is the sales and marketing manager of AB
Technology (London) Ltd (ABT) an award-winning office
equipment supplier and has been employed in the industry
since 1985. ABT's guillotine website can be found at
http://www.print-finishing-paper-handling.co.uk/guillotines/
index.htm

Five Characteristics of Great Business Names and Five Popular Trends to Avoid

Five Characteristics of Great Business Names and Five Popular Trends to Avoid
Deciding on a name is one of the most exciting parts of
starting up a business.

The only problem with choosing the name of your business is
that so much rides on your business name. It's a little
like choosing a name for your baby. A little like? Make
that a lot like! It's no easier choosing a name for your
business than it is choosing a name for your baby.

What's in a business name? You want it to be everything.
Sadly, many business names are nothing. Deciding on a great
business name takes time. It takes thought. Moreover,
getting it wrong could spell disaster for your business.
Getting it right, however, will give customers a reason to
hire you, connect you to your niche market, and save you
thousands of marketing dollars.

You want your business name to have a big impact on people.
This, in turn, will have a big effect on your market. A
name that's too far out may make it difficult to brand. A
name that's too generic and common is easily ignored.
Naming your business "Sarah's Cookies" may make all the
sense in the world to you. In most cases, however, your own
name means very little to your customers because it says
nothing memorable or of distinction.

The key to picking a great name for your business is to
make it memorable. Make it distinctive. Don't make it silly
or cute. Your name should reflect your market niche and
identity and be able to reach your customer base easily. So
don't mess it up!

Top Five Characteristics of a Great Business Name

1. It's short.

2. It's specific and reflects a specialized business: Jiffy
Lube, Home Depot.

3. It's unique. Consider using words that are not in the
dictionary: Alkamae, Google, Squidoo.

4. It's creative. Don't copy, borrow, or modify existing
famous brand names. Got Milk? has its own branding. Leave
Victoria's Secret to Victoria.

5. It's an easy name to say, spell, and remember. Use
proper English construction so that when put in a sentence,
it will work: "I just purchased a book from Amazon."

Five Popular Business Naming Trends to Avoid

1. Don't abbreviate your business name. Though it may make
communication and correspondence easier, acronyms are
sterile.

2. Avoid anything that ends in "global", enterprise", or
"Inc." They're passé.

3. Avoid using your own name. Build your brand on your
company, not on your name. That way, if you decide to sell
your company one day, it will be easier to sell.

4. Don't hyphenate your business name. It makes remembering
and writing it difficult. Plus, a hyphenated web name is
hard to read.

5. Avoid geographical names unless you're trying to create
a strong local affinity. The name "Willow Oak Center for
Arts and Learning at Robertson County" works because this
is a business targeted specifically for Robertson County in
Tennessee.

Once you've found your name, consider trademarking it
through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and
registering it through the Secretary of State offices. If
your business operates on the Internet, be aware that
domain names are not registered through state or local
government, so just registering them at domain registration
sites is not enough to protect your great business name.

There is more to naming your business than just coming up
with something that sounds good, is clever, or you just
happen to like. Naming your business is a serious matter.
Your business name reflects your image, your brand, and
your position in the marketplace. Because your business
name is crucial to your overall branding success and
marketing efforts, make your business name count.

Make it great!

----------------------------------------------------
Susan L Reid, DMA, Small Business Start Up Coach &
Consultant is the author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai:
The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success.
Hailed as The Secret for business, Susan is known for
taking the fear out of small business start-ups for
entrepreneurial women. For
intuitive small business solutions, powerful attraction
marketing tools, inspiration and direction, visit
http://SuccessfulSmallBizOwners.com

7 Steps To Increase Your Profits 300% or More - Guaranteed! -- Part 2

7 Steps To Increase Your Profits 300% or More - Guaranteed! -- Part 2
Step 3

Write a compelling headline.

Now, I can give you some incredible statistic like changing
just a headline produced 700% more sales without any other
changes to a website, but I'm pretty sure you already know
how powerful headlines really are.

So, here are two ways to write powerful headlines that make
your website sell like crazy.

You've probably heard this one before but here's a twist on
it. "Don't break what aint' broke!"

You see, there are thousands of powerful headlines that
have converted well for tons of different industries in the
past. You probably already know quite a few of them.

All you have to do is "swipe" the headline and edit it to
suit your product or service.

The second way is...

You can use my "A.C.E.S. method" for writing headlines that
sell!

Here's the short and sweet explanation of A.C.E.S...

A compelling headline has these four elements in it almost
ALL of the time.

A - Attention C - Curiosity E - Excitement S - Specific

In other words a compelling headline...

1. Grabs the attention of your visitor.

2. Builds curiosity about your product or service.

3. Builds excitement through the use of powerful 'news
type' words.

4. Is specific to your target market's needs and your
product or service.

For example...

A long-time client of mine created a software that slows
down video training material so that the user can learn
specific moves or techniques faster.

Here's the headline we came up with in only five minutes
and STILL it can be improved but the sales results have
been astounding to say the least.

"Amazing Software That Manipulates Video So That Anyone Can
Learn At Least 3 Times Faster Than Normal . . . Watching
The Same Video . . .In A Completely Different Way!"

Do you see the A.C.E.S. in there? Great!

Write 10 to 20 of these headlines and save them all.

Step 4

Write down a list of your key benefits and turn them into
bullet points.

There are really only two main kinds of benefits.

The first one is a "functional benefit." Often called a
feature, the functional benefit can easily be identified as
something like, the fast, overnight delivery from a company
like FedEx or all the office supplies you need under one
roof at your local Staples.

The second type of benefit is the "emotional benefit." An
emotional benefit can be identified as the ease and comfort
you experience knowing that your package will arrive by the
next business day at your desired destination or the
reduced stress and feelings of happiness when you get
everything you need for your office in one location and
without stress.

When you look at billion dollar corporations like FedEx,
Microsoft, Home Depot, Best Buy, Staples or any number of
the big players in any industry, you'll find that they have
an firm grasp and a perfect mix of functional and emotional
benefits inherent in their product or service and in their
marketing.

Once you have your emotional and functional benefits
written, your next step is to add the Zeirgarnik effect
into them.

"The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember
uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed
ones." - Wikipedia.org

Basically, you're forcing your prospects into a state of
curiosity and the only way to satisfy this curiosity is to
buy your product.

Infusing the Zeigarnik effect into your benefits will
transform them into persuasive bullets.

Here's an example using the software product I mentioned
earlier if you were targeting dancers or martial artists...

Emotional Benefit: Feeling of achievement. Functional
Benefit: Learn difficult moves twice as fast.

Bullet: Experience the overwhelming joy of achievement
when you learn difficult moves twice as fast...using this
one secret feature.

OR

Bullet: How to learn complex moves twice as fast with a
single click of your mouse!

See the curiosity built into the benefit?

Step 5

Line up the social proof...testimonials and statistics.

Social proof is a very powerful form of persuasion, and
after all, copywriting is persuasion in print.

In every sales letter or direct response advertisement
you'll find the element of social proof.

Social proof in the form of testimonials, provides your
prospect with both the reassurance that your product is
good and it also triggers the "herd mentality," inherent in
all human beings.

Having social proof easily provides your copy with the much
needed impulse buying triggers because both real statistics
and personal testimonials have the power to get past your
prospects defenses and deeper into their minds.

But you know what?

Another powerful form of testimonial exists.

It holds the persuasive power of "authority."

Getting testimonials from well known experts and/or
celebrities can and will make your testimonials even more
powerful.

The persuasion principle of "authority" or rather
compliance with an authority figure can immediately and
many times drastically boost your sales.

I highly recommend you read, "Influence - The Psychology of
Persuasion" by Dr. Robert Cialdini to learn more about the
principles of persuasion.

Step 6

Write your lead.

This is where you begin to address your prospect directly.

It is where you set the stage for the rest of your sales
copy.

To address your prospect directly, you should begin a sales
letter with...

"Dear Friend," or better yet "Dear Fellow Dancer,"

The next thing you write after that should be a opening
sentence that makes a "big promise" of the ultimate benefit
they will receive from reading your sales copy.

A classic example of this is the "If...Then" opener.

For example using the software example...

If you've been trying to learn a new skill using
'Windows' compatible video on your computer, then you
already know the value of what I am going to tell you.

OR

If you've been trying to learn a new skill using
'Windows' compatible video on your computer, and want
to learn faster, then this may be the most important
letter you have ever read on learning a new skill with
video.

You see the big promise in those?

You're setting the stage for the copy to follow.

Nothing more.

Step 7

Write out your copy.

Funny that this is the last step but remember each step is
a tactic and adding them together with your copy will form
your entire sales letter strategy.

To get pat your prospects objections and close the sale!

Now, once you have all of the above elements in line, you
should sit down, pretend you are speaking to your best
friend and just write out an explanation of why they should
purchase your product.

Write as if you are speaking to your friend directly.

Answer the following questions within your copy and add
your bullets and testimonials throughout your copy.

The questions you should answer are...

Who Are YOU?

Why should I listen to you?

What is it?

What's so great about it?

What's in it for me?

How much does it cost?

How do I get it?

Remember those headline that you didn't use?

Well throughout your copy, you can place those headlines as
subheads.

Subheads break up your copy so that a person does not get
tired or bored reading all your sales copy.

It's what I call "Optical Appeal" and subheads are your
first line of defense against boredom and increasing
optical appeal.

It also prevents "page scanners," people who quickly scan
through your page, from scanning your sales page and
leaving, by drawing their attention with your subheads.

As a rule of thumb I use one subhead, at least, per printed
page of sales copy.

Another trick to keeping people glued to your sales copy is
to use short sentences or very brief paragraphs to increase
the white space on your page.

Finally, remember this...

Write as if you are "speaking" to a friend, NOT writing a
college essay. If you use somewhat broken language, write
it, don't leave it out or make it proper.

Just refrain from using too many bad words.

That's it.

The only other advice I have is go out and read, read, read
as many sales letters as you can, and then apply what works
in each of them to your copy.

Pretty soon, you'll be a master at writing copy for your
market!

----------------------------------------------------
==> Rasheed Ali is a direct response copywriter who has
written powerful sales copy -- generating millions of
dollars in annual sales for his clients. Discover how
Rasheed and his team can help you and your company
dramatically increase your sales and boost profits.
http://www.CombatCopywriter.com