Savvy Tips for Effective Collaborative Marketing

Savvy Tips for Effective Collaborative Marketing
Traditional marketing techniques focus the center of
attention on the seller and put the business owner in the
position of power. Rather than owning the customer as is
the strategy in most marketing schemes, collaboration
marketing seeks to give the customer the perception that he
is in the position of power - that the customer, in fact,
owns the vendor

Strategies for "owning the vendor"

To give customers the sense that they are in charge,
businesses will need to learn how to gather and analyze
detailed information about their customer base. This
knowledge requires a specialized skill set, and businesses
often hire third party marketing companies to assist with
this aspect of their business. However, this is by no means
necessary, and it is possible to be the steward of your own
collaborative marketing platform.

Collaborative marketers know how to orchestrate and
facilitate relationships between customers and businesses.
At first this sounds like it may be giving away your
customer base, but it is a key marketing strategy. Helping
customers to connect with other entities that they are
interested in is a twofold strategy: you will gain valuable
insight into the interests and spending habits of these
customers, and you will validate yourself and your business
as a needed and trustworthy source. This type of data leads
to powerful new platforms and marketing tools, creating a
loyal customer base and gathering valuable information on
clients at the same time.

The Customer Centered Premise

In order to woo and maintain new clients, you have to offer
them something they feel that they currently cannot get
anywhere else. Focus on the customers wants and needs for
your marketing strategy, rather than focusing solely on how
to sell your products and services.

Ask yourself several questions. What can I provide my
customers with that they need? What are my customers
looking for? These are a couple of examples of customer
centered questions, rather than the more typical business
centered marketing of asking: How do I get people to buy my
product? And "How do I attract business to my website?"

The Ultimate Goal

The ultimate goal of collaborative marketing is the same as
other types of traditional and strategic marketing: you
want to get your products and services sold. But shifting
the focus and intent of how to do this may give you an edge
you didn't previously have.

Collaborative marketing can open avenues and resources that
remained previously unexplored by your company. By doing
this, you foster trust among your customer base, and
provide a service that other companies in your business may
not be—personalized understanding of client needs,
making the customer feel important and like the focus of
your efforts. It is a great way to better understand your
client base by focusing on what the customer is looking
for, and may ultimately lead your business in an exciting
new direction. Collaborative marketing is a creative way to
gain a new perspective to help you maximize the marketing
possibilities for the utmost success of your business.

----------------------------------------------------
Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A strategic
Collaboration Marketing consulting firm. He empowers
business owners to discover and implement Integration,
Alliance, and Joint Ventures marketing tactics to solve
specific business challenges. He demonstrates how to create
your own Collaboration Marketing Strategy to increase your
sales, conversation rates, and repeat business.
Contact: christian@christianfea.com
http://www.christianfea.com

Top Ten Tips for Good Client Relations

Top Ten Tips for Good Client Relations
Want to have the best relationships with your clients?
Here are ten fun tips to help you establish a great working
relationship:

Tip #1 - Come Again? It's critical to establish right
from the beginning how you will handle the communications
with your clients. If e-mailing, what is the standard
turnaround time that you respond back to emails. If
phoning, what are your hours? Once a client knows when
they will hear from you, then they can plan their day and
work accordingly.

Tip #2 - No Surprises - Nothing is worse for a client than
to discover four hours before you leave that you are
heading out on a week-long vacation. That's stretching it
a bit and you probably wouldn't do that, but think about
other ways you might be surprising your client and not
giving them the advance notice they need. Keep in mind
that they are probably under pressure too to get their work
done. Always give as much advance notice as you can when
things will disrupt the business flow.

Tip #3 - Where'd She Go? For building good client
relationships, try not to disappear off the radar screen.
Check in with your clients often. When a client writes and
they don't hear back from you for days (or weeks), they
fear the worst. Even if you are working on a large project
and the deadline is weeks away, e-mail them and let them
know "All is going well." That builds confidence and
security.

Tip #4 - OOPS, Where Did That Come From? We've all been
there. You get the email from the client saying they found
a typo or typos. Ouch. We can't be perfect, but try and
be as close as you can. Proof and reproof your work.
Also, if possible wait until the material is fresh and
reread it again. Determine the time when you are at your
best, and use that time to do your proofing.

Tip #5 - Super Size It Please - Always give your clients
more than they ask for. You will be rewarded with not only
more work, but lots of word of mouth referrals too. And
there are so many ways to do it. For example, 1) Set up an
Autoresponder for them so they can sell more products; 2)
Set up Google Alerts under their topic or target audience
so you can find websites or blogs that will help them
spread their message; 3) Help them produce a newsletter or
blog; 4) Send them more clients or referrals; 5) Ask them
directly what you can do to better the relationship; and 6)
Most importantly, listen to what they say. It's so easy to
get busy and listen with half an ear, or try and talk too
much about your business. Being a good listener is a
valuable asset.

Tip #6 - Short and Sweet - Make sure that all e-mail
correspondence is typed accurately and is short and to the
point. With everyone having busy schedules, this helps
your clients save valuable time. One thing you'll discover
is if you write too long of an e-mail often your main
points will be missed. This isn't to say that you
shouldn't strive to get the answers you need, but keep in
mind that their time is valuable and to use it wisely.

Tip #7 - You Need it WHEN? - Determine exactly when work is
to be completed or when the order is to go out. This will
save a tremendous amount of problems down the road if
everyone is in agreement. It's also good to have a written
contract. Be specific. Once everyone knows what is
expected, things run so much more smoothly.

Tip #8 - My Dog Ate It - One thing you want to do is always
try and make your deadlines and avoid excuses. We all know
that things come up and that's okay if it happens
occasionally. However, if you make it a habit of needing
additional time or not finishing projects, that client will
fear sending you more work. Not a good thing.

Tip #9 - Saved by the Bell - Make it a point to back-up
your work on a regular basis. And test those backups. Can
you imagine even losing a week's worth of work? Your
clients are counting on you to protect their work so you
want to make sure it is.

Tip #10 - Howdy Partner - Remember that you are
establishing a partnership relationship with your clients.
You want to help their business grow because as you do,
your business grows too. Let them know you value them as a
client and are glad that they have entrusted you with their
work. In other words, you appreciate them. Also, let them
know that you appreciate referrals so that they can help in
your success. It can be a two-way street with this
partnership.

And finally, enjoy. Start a friendship with your clients
and let them know that you care about them. Most of my
clients today are good friends. This isn't to say that I'm
not professional and don't conduct myself professionally,
as I do. However, I let them know that I'm also interested
in them personally and how they are doing. I take time to
know their birthdays, their kid's names, etc. Think how
you feel when something lets you know they care about you.

Hope you enjoyed these 'fun" tips. As our Industry
continues to thrive, it's important to earn the respect and
trust of our clients and also fellow Virtual Assistants.
When you set up your business with the goal of doing a
fabulous job, you'll end up with fabulous clients, and
fabulous friends. It's a win/win for all.

----------------------------------------------------
Diana Ennen is the President of Virtual Word Publishing,
http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and the author of
numerous books on starting a virtual assistant business
including Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly
Successful Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook and
also Corel WordPerfect's Office Ready Virtual Assistant
Solution pack. E-mail her at
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.

How to Choose a Proven Home Based Business Opportunity

How to Choose a Proven Home Based Business Opportunity
Online auctions always sell better with photos of the items
being listed and there are some folks who would like to
sell their used household items but do not have a camera
with which to take the pictures. You can offer to go to
their house, take pictures of the items and download the
images onto their computer so they can use them on the
auction sites. Online work at home income has never been
easier.

Starting out is sometimes a slow process, so a person needs
to focus on their goals and keep them in mind. Starting
home based business in a huge and expanding market is the
starting point. You will also need to ensure that market
trends are in a direction that supports your business.
Start your own business that gives you the chance to set
your own schedule, from the comfort of your home office.

Network marketing has proven itself to be a viable and
rewarding source of income, and the challenges could be
just right for you. There have been some remarkable
examples of success, and those successes have been earned
through diligence, enthusiasm and the right product
combined with timing. Network marketing is great because
anyone, regardless of education or business experience can
make as much money as they want. This business provides an
opportunity for average people to achieve extraordinary
financial results, which allows for ownership of your life.

We've done our homework and picked some of the best work at
home business opportunities available today. Most of these
programs are the exact same one's we've used to work
full-time from our home since 1995.

Perhaps you would rather teach others to make pies or toys!
Teaching requires a totally different set of skills and
interests than doing the actual work yourself. Perhaps it
is that for you too. If you are like us, you believe that
everything happens for a reason, you are here reading this
for a reason, the question is will you act on it? Perhaps
you are talented enough to produce your own jewelry. If the
talent just isn't there, learning the craft can be as
simple as taking an art class that focuses on design or
acting as an apprentice for an experienced jewelry maker.

The key for continued home business success is to plug into
a PROVEN system that you can follow to the top! If you are
looking for an opportunity to work from home and don't have
a great deal of money to start a home business, you can
search most any search engine for home based success
stories and get free information on the subject.

Choose direct targeted KEYWORD advertising OR choose
targeted category advertising delivered via pop-under -
that cannot be stopped by pop-up killers! This is quality,
targeted, web site traffic that can grow as your business
grows. I suggest you select five keywords from your area of
interest. Make sure they are down the list a bit to ensure
you can get to the top of search engine rankings with them
quickly. Here are some Internet marketing secrets to help
get your site noticed and sell your product.

----------------------------------------------------
Dock J. Murphy is owner of Plug in Profit Site.com and
writes on a variety on a variety of subjects. To find the
best work at home business online opportunity and ideas so
you can work at home visit:
http://www.globalwealthdjm.com

5 Easy Ways to Market Client Reviews

5 Easy Ways to Market Client Reviews
Your law firm's best marketing tool is your client base.
"Reality-based" marketing is taking the lead over campaigns
that once dedicated millions to hiring paid celebrities to
promote your services. Why? Clients are "real" people who
can tell "real" stories about how your business helped
them, inspired them or offers the most desirable services.

Adopt a system for ongoing interviews with past and present
clients that will help you shape your marketing message,
personalize it and win your firm new business.

In addition to creating a powerful marketing tool, you also
will have established a system to continually improve or
expand your services. Don't just ask clients what they like
about the firm; ask what they don't like about the firm and
how you can improve or expand services offered to clients.

Major law firms will spend tens of thousands of dollars
each year on full-time or outside personnel to create and
conduct client reviews, and much more incorporating
findings into marketing tools. However, even solo
practitioners and small firms can capitalize on successful
client review/marketing strategies with a little "sweat
equity" investment versus a big budget.

5 Easy Steps to Market Client Reviews

1. Adopt a client interview system. The 500-lawyer firm
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll (www.ballardspahr.com) in
Philadelphia hired a full-time "client interviewer" this
year, utilizing the services of a veteran journalist to
conduct regular interviews of existing clients to learn how
to improve services. The goal was to capture unbiased
results. Solo entrepreneurs and small law firms can use
this approach without incurring the additional expense of
hiring another full-time staff member by taking steps to
ensure that a client questionnaire is unbiased in the
questions asked, and open-ended to allow clients to
volunteer comments.

2. Integrate positive client responses into your marketing
campaign. Personal testimonials are a powerful marketing
tool, and clients you interview can become your chief
selling point. Don't just ask clients if what they like and
don't like about your firm; ask them how your firm solved a
problem for them. With their permission, fine-tune their
response into two to five paragraphs, and post this
information with a photograph (to further personalize your
client testimonial) on your Web site and in your brochures
and other handouts.

3. Integrate client testimonials into your advertising
campaign. The 13-office firm Sedgwick, Detert Moran &
Arnold (www.sdma.com) was a first-place winner this year at
the Legal Marketing Association's annual award ceremonies
in Boston for its promotional series of internal posters
that became external marketing materials. The "Women's
Forum" campaign featured on client and attorney
relationships with breezy copy and attention-getting
photographs of lawyers and clients.

4. Make client reviews part of your long-term marketing
mix. The time you invest in capturing client reviews and
using them as marketing tools can also become a strong
addition to your annual reports and to permanent features
of your Web site with special sections designed to focus on
client testimonials.

5. Update client reviews every year. Every year, update
client reviews. Your goal is to seek additional reviews
from new clients, and also to revisit clients already
interviewed for new comments and new insights on how to
make your client interview process better. This ongoing
system will allow you to continually review your operations
to ensure you are delivering services that clients desire,
while continuing to actively engage your clients' feedback,
which will build trust and loyalty while marketing your law
firm for new business.

----------------------------------------------------
Ruth Klein is an award-winning business owner, best-selling
author and marketing and time management consultant whose
clients range from solo entrepreneurs to the Fortune 500.
Sign up to receive Ruth's 7 Part Mini-Course on Branding
and Productivity. http://tinyurl.com/25tqo5

Internet Fax - Do You Really Need It?

Internet Fax - Do You Really Need It?
In business, as in life, habits are very hard to break.
Over the years, the reliable old fax machine has become the
standard way of sending faxes in most offices and
workplaces. Despite a few paper jams or the occasional
missed fax because of a busy signal, the old fax machine
has worked out quite well.

There's no denying that fact, but is there a more efficient
way to fax?

Everything changes, including the way we fax. Now, there is
a new method of faxing called Internet Fax or Email Faxing.
It simply means you use the web and your email system to
send and receive your faxes. You sign up to an online fax
service provider which handles all your faxes. There is no
need for a second phone line and you can access your faxes
anywhere, anytime. And yes, you can still send your faxes
via the old fax machine.

Trying a new way of doing things takes some effort on the
part of everyone. And like anything new, not everyone or
every business has embraced this new technology. Is this a
crucial mistake? Do you or your company really need
Internet Fax?

The answer to that question probably lies in a topic that's
familiar to all businesses: competition. If you're in a
competitive business, will you be at the top of your game
without Internet Fax? That's probably the real question you
have to ask?

Internet Fax gives you the advantage of accessing your
faxes 24/7, anywhere you have Internet access so you are
not tied down to your office fax machine. This can be a
great benefit to those working on the road or in the field
such as traveling salespeople, managers, real estate
agents, engineers, onsite building contractors... and the
list goes on.

Having access to your faxes at all times can make you more
competitive in a very competitive world. It will give you
that slight edge that can make all the difference in a
crucial deal or transaction. It's probably your call or
business decision whether or not you go with Internet Fax.

Keep in mind, an Internet Fax service is relatively
inexpensive and there is no need for a second phone line.
There are many fax providers you can choose from such as
MyFax, eFax, RapidFax, TrustFax, and Send2Fax. You should
also look at some lesser known fax providers such as Faxage
out of Denver and Metrofax out of Seattle; many times
choosing a relatively smaller company can give you better
individual service in that you or your company don't get
lost in the crowd.

In addition, many companies and individuals like to
consolidate all their phone/fax services into one provider.
RingCentral is a popular choice since it gives you virtual
phone and fax services all rolled into one.

Like choosing any business service, it pays to shop around.
You must find the service plan that suits your needs and
budget. Internet Fax service plans range from the very
modest $20 a year to around $10-$15 a month. Each plan will
have a different number of faxes that you can send and
receive. Rates are usually based on minutes with 5 cents
per minute being the average cost. Multiple page faxes and
International faxes will usually cost you more.

The question still remains, do you really need Internet Fax?

Since computers and the Internet are the wave of the future
can your company or business remain truly competitive
without Internet Fax? Again, this is your call or decision
you have to make. It would mainly depend on how crucial
faxing is to your business? Is faxing a vital element of
your company? Does it play a part in generating new
business or making sales? If so, then you may need Internet
Fax just to stay in the game and remain competitive.

Many companies are switching over to Internet Fax or using
it in addition to their current fax system. Considering the
relatively inexpensive cost, this gives them the option of
having access to their faxes at all times. For them going
forward with Internet Fax is a wise business move on their
part, one that will keep their company truly competitive in
a very competitive world.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information on Internet Fax Services try this
handy online Comparison Guide: http://www.onlinefaxguide.com
Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing
try here: http://www.internetfaxingonline.com
Titus Hoskins 2008. This article may be freely distributed
if this resource box stays attached.

Cash Flow Is King!

Cash Flow Is King!
There are alot of definitions as to what exactly cash flow
means which can cause a little confusion. This is how I
explain cash flow. It is the amount of money you have left
during a given period of time once all your bills are paid.
But lets not confuse this with profit and loss statements.
Cash flow is a physical thing, how much actual cash is left
in the bank, while profit and loss statements are
recordings in your financial statements but don't reflect
physically held money.

Now if you run a retail business that generates immediate
cash from each sale then cash flow and profit and loss
statments will more closely reflect each other. But if you
are in the business of billing people and waiting to get
paid then cash flow becomes the more important of the two.

To further explain the concept of cash flow we'll compare
it to a basic profit and loss statement. Over the course of
a month or year you'll make sales to customers and you'll
bill them at either the time of the sale or once the order
is filled depending on the business you're in and the
accounting methods you use. When you buy something or pay
someone you account for the money right away even if you
have thirty days to pay them. Again this depends on your
accounting methods but for many small businesses this is
the simplest method of accounting to use. Once a bill comes
due you pay it.

With cash flow we don't worry about what is billed but
instead we worry about how much money is actually
collected. On the other end we worry about how much money
we actually give to our vendors, employees and other people
we owe money to. To stay in business we have to keep paying
them. We may be late on occassion but that bill isn't going
anywhere till we pay it. So cash flow in it's most basic
form is how much money we collect and how much money we
send out. For any business that has to give credit to it's
customers this is where we can have a problem. Not all your
customers are going to pay on time.

It is totally possible for a company to show a profit while
in fact losing it's shirt. Inevitably your going to have
customers that can't pay their bills on time. This of
course can be for any number of reasons. The one you'll
need to be most aware of is they don't have the money to
pay you. That's the one you could end up facing yourself if
you're not careful.

Ideally the amount billed in a given month and the amount
collected will be virtually the same or you'll have
collected more than you sent out. Then it's a simple matter
of managing your expenses. In a perfect world that would be
the way it goes but we know better don't we. What needs to
happen is that you start to manage your cash flow. You need
to make sure that what you are spending isn't exceeding
what you are collecting not what you're billing. Hopefully
you have a credit line with your bank that can help
alleviate the problem but if not you need to be very
careful or you might wind up using something like your
credit cards to help cover the bills. That is only a short
term fix that will just compound the problem later.

So while your profit and loss statements are in themselves
just as important as ever the real gauge of your companies
immediate health might better be found in your cash flow
statement. Because ending up with a negative number on that
balance could eventually leave your bank account empty.

----------------------------------------------------
Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who
has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His
years of experience in small business cover such topics as
planning, management, marketing, human resources,
ecommerce, and taxation. If you are looking for more
information on this subject and others related to starting
and running a small business you can visit his website at
http://www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com

A Different Approach to Workforce Management

A Different Approach to Workforce Management
Day after day I talk with clients and with business
leaders. I often ask, "What is the most challenging issue
your organization is facing?" The top answer to my
question is "workforce management." My second question is,
"What is the most difficult part of workforce management?"
The top answer to this question is "workforce planning."

Most of us are familiar with the budget-based process of
workforce planning in which we look at future resource need
and project how much manpower we will need to meet the
needs of the future. This can become an intricate and
cumbersome process, particularly for line managers who are
busy managing their teams and achieving their strategic
goals. The result is that it is often extremely difficult
(if not impossible) for the HR staff to get from them the
information they need.

The challenge organizations are facing today is not simply
using the budget-based process to project future talent
needs. The challenge most organizations face today is
twofold. First, projecting how many of the organization's
human resources will be leaving with the Great Boomer
Exodus. The second challenge is really talent acquisition.
We might know that over the next five years we are likely
to lose a certain part of our people to retirement. We
don't, however, know exactly how many and we don't know
when. Further, in many industries, we don't know where we
will acquire people with the skills and talent we need.

This is not news to those in leadership and Human Resources
ranks. It is just becoming more real every day as people
actually declare their intention to retire, and some are
actually walking out the door.

The planning process is further impacted by the fact that
many industries have had such low attrition over so many
years that the common practice of using past attrition
history to project future attrition is no longer viable.
So, we can analyze when people will reach "retirement age"
and have enough years with the company to collect full
retirement, but most leaders and analysts I've talked with
still can only narrow their numbers down to a three-year
window. Add to this mix the fact that many people are
choosing to work beyond age 65 and that the structure of
Social Security payments in fact encourages people to work
until age 70 or 72 in order to receive larger monthly
payments after retirement. Given the need to run "lean and
mean," many companies are reluctant to fill positions in
anticipation of retirements until people have signed on the
bottom line that they are really leaving and when that
might be.

Human Resources professionals with whom I've interacted
recently report that they can do the number crunching. The
challenge is getting line management to come to the
analysis table with all of the competing demands on their
time. Line management input, however, is crucial to the
process. So the question becomes, "How do we bring
together all of this information to make informed decisions
about what talent will be needed, when it will be needed,
and where we will find it?"

I had a recent conversation with some clients who are
facing these issues. I heard of a concept that is certainly
not very "scientific" but seems to use the art vs. the
science of management very well. They call it the "back of
the napkin approach" to workforce planning. The basic
premise of the approach is this: most managers, if given a
short time, could take a napkin (of course, this
conversation occurred over lunch) and sketch out who is
likely to be leaving, and when, based on their knowledge of
the person and what they've observed over the last several
months. This information from line management, combined
with the more formal analysis can provide a basis for
decision-making that uses the strategic thinking and
decision-making skills of the management team as well as
the miracles of Information Technology.

I like the "back of the napkin approach" for another
reason. While all of the managers with whom I work bring
strengths to the table, when using the Natural
Effectiveness™ Philosophy at its best, it is clear to
me that not all of them will have highly-honed analytical
skills or be inclined to put together the structure
required by most formal workforce plans. Most line
managers are more intuitive, and many are creative and
innovative - great qualities for a leader, but they might
not play out well in the analytical process. This new
approach challenges the thinking and gets the necessary
input from Line Management that would otherwise not enter
the process.

Those members of the team can then compile the formal and
informal feedback and bring it back to the Management Team
as a whole to take the next steps of strategic workforce
planning. I believe this method can and will actually
accelerate the planning process while honoring and
leveraging all of the skills of your management and support
teams.

Whether you take your line management to lunch and actually
give them a napkin and a pen, or you use the principle of
the approach in another setting, I think you will find that
line management will be far more inclined and comfortable
providing the information you need and less distracted from
other responsibilities. I think you will also find the
input from line management more insightful and precise than
you might think initially. In the end, I think you will
find that this different approach will both streamline the
process and provide better data for your analysis and
planning.

----------------------------------------------------
About Gayla Hodges
Gayla Hodges is the President Change Agents, Inc., a
company that specializes in energizing workforces to
achieve strategic goals. She coaches executives and
managers on leading corporate change, facilitating the
development and implementation of organizational
effectiveness strategies. For more information, visit
http://www.changeagentsinc.com or call 623-362-3876.

How to Make Your Income Soar Using a Simple 3-Step Marketing Tool

How to Make Your Income Soar Using a Simple 3-Step Marketing Tool
The "Pie in the Sky" Marketing Tool and method consists of
using a combination of four active and four passive
marketing techniques to create a very powerful, yet
easy-to-implement promotional campaign system.

These days, whether you have predominantly an offline or
online business, it makes good sense to use both online and
offline promotional strategies. Combining online and
offline activities will enable you reach more people; some
of them whom you would never have reached online, and
vice-versa. However, it is entirely up to you what mix of
active and passive techniques you use in your promotional
campaign.

So, what is an "active" promotional technique? It means:

1. You are personally involved in marketing activities.

2. You are physically interacting with a potential customer.

3. There exists a 2-way conversation. Examples of active
techniques are:

* Networking

* Talking on phone

* Conducting speeches/Teaching classes

* Writing emails or letters

* Product demonstrations

* Trade shows

* Grass roots marketing

Passive promotional techniques means there exists one-way
communication, and there is no physical interaction.

Examples of passive techniques are:

* Web site

* Direct mail

* Email newsletters/e-Zine

* Advertising

* Pay-per-Click

* Brochure/flyer distribution

* Publish an article or book

* Public relations

* TV appearance or radio talk show

Ideally, you will want to use a combination of active and
passive promotional techniques in your business.

The method I teach my clients to use to help them easily
identify which techniques they will use to promote their
business is called the "Pie in the Sky Marketing Method".
Each "slice" of the pie represents one type of marketing
tactic. You can create your own "pie" by following these 3
easy steps:

1. Brainstorm and write down a list of tactics you can use
to reach your market niche. Keep in mind the:

- Cost

- Ease of implementation, and

- Potential success of each tactic you write down

Narrow the list to the most feasible marketing tactics,
using the above-listed criteria. Choose eight marketing
tactics.

2. Take out a sheet of paper, and draw a large circle in
the center. Draw 4 lines to create 8 slices.

3. Write one marketing tactic in each slice of the pie.

When you fill in each of your pie slices with a tactic, be
sure to include tactics (marketing programs) that speak to
your strengths. In other words, if you don't like public
speaking, perhaps instead you can interview important
people and write about what they said.

Once you have identified the chosen marketing tactics you
will use to reach your market niche, you will then attach
an implementation schedule to them.

For example, if you want to publish an e-Zine, you may
decide to send it out bi-weekly. Or, maybe you decide to
give a free talk one time per month to your market niche.
Get the picture?

The key to marketing success is consistency. You can't
expect to do something once or twice and achieve results.
Implement your chosen promotional techniques on a daily and
weekly basis, and watch your income soar!

Copyright 2008, Bonita L. Richter

----------------------------------------------------
Bonita L. Richter, MBA, teaches coaches, consultants, and
solo profesisonals how to market their businesses to
increase sales, sustain business success, and generate
wealth. To download her popular and FREE marketing
spreadsheet tools visit ===>
http://www.Profit-Strategies.biz/Templates.html

The Three Secrets to Profitable Email Marketing

The Three Secrets to Profitable Email Marketing
Legitimate email marketing is a great way to stay in touch
with your customers and prospects. It's inexpensive, fast,
efficient, and environmentally friendly. Email marketing
allows you to target your customers and prospects by their
particular interests, it allows you quickly announce
special promotions (either planned promotions or impromptu
promotions based on changing conditions). Email is the
perfect way to send a monthly newsletter. Email
marketing's efficiency was underscored in a study by the
Direct Marketing Association which found that in 2005 email
marketing returned an amazing $57.25 in revenue per dollar
spent on it!

How can you get started with email marketing? Start by
collecting your customers' email addresses. Even if you
don't currently do email marketing, gather your customers'
email addresses now so that, when you decide to start
communicating with your customers via email, you'll already
have a good list. Have a sign-up sheet at each of your
checkout counters or at your reception desk. Be sure to
include a sign-up form on your website. Offer an incentive
such as a monthly drawing from the collected email
addresses. Be sure to include a privacy statement on your
forms and sign-up sheets such as, "Privacy notice: We don't
share your information with anyone." (Of course, that means
you can't share that information ever.) Remember, email
addresses are free (or very inexpensive) to gather.

Now, the three secrets to making email marketing a winner
for your business.

Secret number one: Do only "permission-based" email
marketing. In other words, only send email to people who
have requested your email messages and make it easy to
opt-out of future emails. There is a slimy side to email
marketing thanks to spammers. Obviously, you want to be
associated with the reputable side of email marketing. If
a customer, a prospect, or a site visitor willingly
provides their email address, you're not spamming. If you
get it any other way, you're spamming. A commonly used
technique for dealing with subscription requests from your
website is called a "double-opt-in". A double-opt-in
requires the individual to first request your email
marketing, then a confirmation request is sent to their
email address. They must click a link in the confirmation
email or otherwise confirm their desire to receive your
email before they're added to your list. The rule is
simple: If in doubt, don't send it out.

Secret number two: Make your email marketing messages
compelling for the reader. Keep them short and to-the-point
and ensure that the recipient will see the value in
whatever you're saying. Increasingly, people are becoming
distrustful of "hypie" messages that sound like they were
written by an advertising copy writer. Make your message
real, make it personal, and make it deliver a benefit from
the readers' perspective. If there's nothing in it for
them, they'll just delete your message or possibly even
report it as spam.

Secret number three: Be consistent. Whether you choose to
send an email campaign every week, every month, or every
quarter, be consistent. One very successful email marketer
even includes these words at the top of every email he
sends: "Sent the third Tuesday of every month..." Your
consistency in your marketing efforts reflects your
dependability as a company.

What about the mechanics of email marketing? Many very
small businesses just use their regular email accounts.
Such a solution can work, but it doesn't scale well as your
email list and business grow. It also requires you to
manage your new subscribers and unsubscribe requests. A
better solution is to use a commercial email marketing
service. Such companies provide templates to make your
messages look professional. They also provide tracking
information on how many messages were actually opened and
read, automatic opt-out links on your marketing messages,
tutorials, assistance in complying with the CAN-SPAM act,
and more. Costs start at about $10 per month and go up
from there based on various criteria such as the size of
your list and the frequency with which you send messages.
Most such companies provide a free trial period so you can
get familiar with their service. There are many email
marketing companies, but here are three for you to
consider: iContact (www.icontact.com), GetResponse
(www.getresponse.com), and Constant Contact
(www.constantcontact.com).

Make sure you're compliant with the CAN-SPAM act. Of
course, this is not legal advice (I'm no lawyer!), but
compliance means being honest in your subject lines about
the content of the message, including an easy opt-out
method in every message, and including your complete
contact information in every message.

Regardless of how you decide to do your email marketing,
now is the time to start gathering email addresses. Email
marketing, done properly, is flexible, affordable,
efficient, and potentially very profitable for your
business.

----------------------------------------------------
President and chief technologist at Seattle,
Washington-based IT training firm soundtraining.net, Don R.
Crawley is a speaker, writer, and veteran IT guy with over
35 years experience in technology for the workplace. Today,
he delivers keynote speeches and seminars to business
people on how to go digital without going postal. Call him
at 206.988.5858. He's online at http://www.doncrawley.com
and blogs at http://www.digitalnotpostal.com .

Business Franchise Opportunities - What To Look Out For

Business Franchise Opportunities - What To Look Out For
If you are seriously considering going into business for
yourself but have limited experience, your best option may
be a franchise business. Franchises are everywhere and they
are a wonderful way to duplicate a great business idea
without carrying all the cost.

One of the most successful franchises is McDonald's and it
costs quite a lot to buy in. From the point of view of the
franchisee, a good franchise opportunity can give them a
framework upon which to build a successful business. If the
business is well marketed there will already be brand
awareness that you can capitalize on.

Best of all good franchises will provide tried and proven
recipes for success. You don't have to worry about the
nitty gritty of product development, marketing, or
developing a business plan. It is already done for you. You
just have to run an efficient and effective business,
providing a quality product and quality service.

It's that easy; but only if you buy into the right
franchise opportunity. Unfortunately, there are many
franchise operations that are someone's get rich quick
dream and they haven't built a viable and known business
first.

The first rule of selecting a franchise business
opportunity is to choose one with a track record of
success. You want to see steadily increasing profitability
due to good management, growing demand for the product or
service and excellent service. However, that is not enough
on its own. It takes skill, organization and excellent
communication skills to transform a successful and well run
business into a franchise.

You also need to have a keen sense of timing. For example,
with growing health consciousness, it is probably not a
good time to buy into a fatty fast food franchise. However,
with people so busy with work and other commitments that
they can't find the time to clean the dog, wash the car or
clean the house, personal service franchises are booming.

Just wanting to have your own business is not a good enough
reason to buy a franchise or start a business. You need to
give it a bit of thought; after all, for the first five
years your new business is going to require a lot of love
and attention.

Start by asking yourself what you are good at. What do you
love to do? If you don't like dealing with people then a
retail franchise is probably not a good idea. Try to match
your personality and abilities with the franchise
opportunities available and see if you are compatible. Once
you have narrowed down your possibilities to a few of the
best ones contact the franchisers and ask for an
information package. Read it very carefully.

You need to know what level of advertising and marketing
they will commit to, what training they will give you, what
help is available, the terms and conditions of the
franchise and the business model. Don't take any of this
information at face value. Make sure you get it evaluated
by an expert and don't sign any contracts until you have
received legal advice.

Good franchise opportunities will have a good reputation
and you should be able to discover it by contacting your
national franchise business association and possibly by
doing an online search. You do have to be careful with Web
endorsements though. A common internet marketing strategy
is to post comments in forums, write blogs and create an
'expert' persona to gain credibility.

The problem is, you don't know what's genuine and what
isn't. A franchise association website such as that of the
British Franchise Association can often provide a balanced
presentation of franchise opportunities. Legitimate
associations will only present viable franchises for your
consideration. They will also usually provide a lot of
information that will help you choose a franchise and run
it successfully.

A good rule of thumb when it comes to choosing a franchise
business opportunity is to choose one that has a history
and a good reputation offline. It is also advisable to seek
expert guidance before making a committed decision. The
internet can facilitate your initial research but it is up
to you to do your due diligence and become truly informed
about any franchise business you are considering. If you
start out right, franchising can make business success easy.

----------------------------------------------------
Franchising still provides the best opportunity for
business success worldwide, to find out more about
franchise opportunities in the UK visit
http://www.thefranchisebusiness.co.uk

Five Ways to Find The Best Employment Agency

Five Ways to Find The Best Employment Agency
People around the globe consistently rate two things in
their lives as the most important: their families and their
jobs. When something goes wrong in either of these areas,
it's always a serious problem.

In addition, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, England,
Australia and New Zealand, the number one cause for divorce
is job-related financial problems.

Using an employment agency to find the right job for your
skills and salary requirements can make your career search
much easier and faster.

All employee agencies are not created equal. As in every
field of business, some are very good and some have a low
success rate. When making your decision about which
employment agency is best for you, consider these five
points:

1. How long has the employment agency been in business?

Agencies that have been in existence for five or more years
have usually established a good reputation for success with
both employers who seek qualified applicants, and for
clients who register with the agency to aid in their job
search.

2. Does the agency's prospective employers coincide your
skill level?

If you're seeking a position as an executive administrative
assistant in a large company but don't have the necessary
skills for this high-level job, the agency should inform
you of this problem right away and refer you to another
employment agency with a prospectus of employers more
suitable for your skills.

3. How did you find the employment agency?

In a matter as important as your career and financial
stability, picking up the telephone book and picking an
agency at random isn't a good idea. Word of mouth is an
excellent way to choose an agency; ask friends, current
co-workers or anyone else you know if they have used a
particular agency with good results.

Primarily, audition the employment agency! Since your
career depends upon the qualifications and procedures of
the agency, you have the right to ask questions such as
their percentage success rate and an honest appraisal of
how an agency can best help you.

4. What's your first impression of the agency personnel?

Jobs seem more scarce these days, and there is more
competition for some specialty areas. When you first meet
with the personnel manager assigned to you, pay attention
to his/her demeanor towards you - are you viewed as just
another case file, or does your manager take a serious
interest in your job search?

5 Ask specific questions about the employment agency's
policies.

Before you register with an agency, ask about how many
interviews you can expect per week, and exactly how the
agency intends to advocate for you in your job search.

If you don't like what you hear or see about the agency,
don't settle for less! Keep looking until the "feel" of the
agency is right for you.

----------------------------------------------------
CONNEX Recruitment Ltd is an Auckland Employment Agency
specializing in full service, white collar recruitment over
a broad range of industry sectors. Our aim is to make the
process and experience of recruiting staff simple and
painless for everyone involved. Check us out:
http://www.ConnexRecruitment.co.nz

They Laughed After I Innovated a Niche - - Then I Showed Them How I Was Growing Rich!

They Laughed After I Innovated a Niche - - Then I Showed Them How I Was Growing Rich!
Quote: "All ideas are a new combination of old ideas, and
that the only way to get ideas is to study the principles
and basis behind current happenings." - Jay Abraham

If I were to make an educated guess, I bet I would find
lots of professionals around the globe who consider
themselves "shoulda" experts. As in, "I shoulda done that".

As a Global Client Communication Mentor, I hear this
message from clients all the time. Self-Employed
professionals feel that they need to copy what their
competitors are doing, they feel that they should be doing
the same thing. After all, I need to keep up with my
competition right? Well, not exactly.

My standard answer is: True, the ability to model you
business after another business that has a niche is your
fastest path to cash. However, your clients still want to
know how your unique talents will solve their problem. Your
clients buy your products or services because of Y-O-U.
And, people who are unique and specialized, get paid the
most and are sought after more often.

I never try to convince my clients to be all things to all
people. No way. It takes too much time and money to get
that marketing message across. Anyway, your clients aren't
looking for a generalist. They're looking for a mentor, or
an expert who will solve their problem and bring them the
result that their looking for, quickly.

Let me try to be specific about the easiest way to innovate
a current niche. Start by creating a simple list of
questions to ask yourself daily. You can write the answers
to these questions in your journal, or you can think about
them in your mind. Either way, the questions might be:

- What is it about this line of work, that could be made
more effective?

- What is it my business provides locally, that could
easily be done globally?

- What is it about my competition, that I could be doing
better, more profitably, or more successfully?

- What is it that my business is doing right now, that my
clients are looking to benefit from over the next 5 years?

Now, do not spin your wheels trying to create a niche. Not
in this soft economy. You will analyze, and analyze and
analyze while your prospects get their needs met by your
competition. Instead work with a mentor who can help you
innovate a current niche, and determine the real results
you bring your local and global clientele.

----------------------------------------------------
Kim Schott, your Global Client Communication Mentor, is the
author of the Keys to Client Communication System™,
the step-by-step, paint by numbers client communication
program help self-employed service professionals to attract
more clients in less time. To receive your weekly how-to
articles on consistently attracting more local and global
clients in less time, visit
http://www.SchottCulturalConsulting.com

The Professional Touch: Gourmet Catering for Your Meetings

The Professional Touch: Gourmet Catering for Your Meetings
Some of the largest Fortune 500 companies pride themselves
in novel ways to motivate and improve their personnel. Do
you know what the best motivator can be during a long
business meeting? Good food!

Catering can motivate and improve any business meeting, and
add that "extra" professional touch that will distinguish
your company apart from the rest. Business catering becomes
especially important when you have to entertain new
business partners and professionals. The first impression
of your new associate is always the most important.

Some may argue that catering is expensive, inappropriate,
or ineffective. So why provide catering for your business
meetings? Is it really important to business success to
cater a meeting every now and then? Yes, it is - even more
so when you have especially important meetings that can
affect major decisions of your business. You can increase
your business efficiency by providing lunch or breakfast
for your employees and associates. Your employees have an
incentive to stay focused on the meeting. They feel secure
and don't need to worry about that one hour break where
they need to run out in traffic to get lunch. With your
employees at ease you have successfully created a
worry-free environment and all you had to do was provide
food and drink. Your benefit now is that you can work
without scheduling delays. With your mind free, you can
focus more of your energy on your meeting and leave the
food business to your caterers.

As stated before, first impressions are always most
important when you're working with new business partners.
Business catering distinguishes your company in front of
your new associates and shows your dedication to
professional success. While you may have to invest initial
money into a business catering plan, you will get your
money back (and more) with the increased efficiency and
professional image of your company. You wouldn't write
your name and number on a napkin in lieu of handing over a
business card upon meeting a potential client, would you?
So why would you simply offer a cup of coffee at an
important meeting? You need to represent your company with
the professionalism that it deserves, and catering is just
one of those ways to do this.

Catering will also help retain your employees in your
company and increase business continuity. Catering your
important meetings shows that that your company truly cares
about the personal success of each employee. Your employees
will thank you as well. They will more time to prepare for
their own business at the meeting without having to worry
about their breakfast or lunch. Their personal success will
increase their self-esteem and they will be more confident
at their work. In essence, food motivates!

----------------------------------------------------
Gourmet Caterers is a full service fine catering and event
planning services in the Southern California area. For
more information about planning corporate events, please
visit our website.
http://gourmetcaterers.net

7 Powerful Small Business Marketing Tips Guaranteed to Increase your Profits

7 Powerful Small Business Marketing Tips Guaranteed to Increase your Profits
These Powerful Small Business Marketing Tips Are Guaranteed
to Dramatically Increase Your Sales!

If you are like many entrepreneurs, you are looking for
small business marketing tips that not only work, but work
consistently. If you're ready to take the your small
business to the next level, you need to look at marketing
differently.

This may seem obvious but, over 97% of the time, your small
business marketing should have one of two goals: 1. Result
in a sale. 2. Result in a lead or prospect.

The other 3% of the cases include your community service
marketing like memberships in Rotary, Kiwanis and
organizations to which you belong.

Marketing Shouldn't be a Mystery!

Small business owners often see marketing as a mystery and
don't know what works for their business. Not knowing what
to do leads to either copying competitor's poor marketing
or their falling prey to media and agency reps who often
know less about marketing than them! The reps are taught to
tell you, the small business owner, the goal of your
marketing is to build your brand.

The ground is littered with failed small businesses who
fell for this brand-building fallacy. Don't misunderstand
me here. I strongly believe in advertising as a pillar of
your marketing system but you must view all your marketing
as an investment, not as a trial to see what works if
people know your name.

Another Small Business Marketing Tip:

Look at advertising as you would a sales ep. Would you
hire a sales rep to build your brand and "get your name out
there?" If they never close and sale and you're losing
money, do you keep them on board? Of course not! You don't
keep them around longer or pay them more money. You make a
change.

Do you see the analogy? Your sales people and advertising
are both marketing investments. Why continue advertising
that doesn't generate profits?

Remember that everything in your business is part of your
marketing. You either move clients and prospects towards or
away from a buying decision. When you look at everything
you do as part of your marketing investment, you begin to
consider how to leverage it in every possible way to
increase profits.

7 Powerful Small Business Marketing Strategies That Will
Grow YOUR Business!

1. Develop a powerful (USP) that gives prospects a
compelling reason to buy from you now. Your USP must scream
a powerful reason to do business with you. It motivates
your clients to send friends in droves to buy your product
or service! This small business marketing tip has built
small companies into empires! Remember the little pizza
company that guaranteed fresh hot pizza in 30 minutes or
less - Or it's free?

Make an outrageous and exciting claim that shows that you
are better than anybody else and the best thing for a
prospect can do is buy from you now!

2. Learn selling and customer service skills. Advertising
legend Clyde Bedell taught us "That all good selling is
service." Service and sales go tightly together. When you
cross-sell, you provide a tremendous service. You save
clients the time and aggravation of having to search
elsewhere to complete the purchase.

Marketing legend Dan Kennedy sums up this concept
beautifully by saying "People are walking around holding an
umbilical cord and saying, "Tell me what to do." Your
clients and prospects need and value your recommendations
and will follow them so make a habit of providing them!

3. Capture client and prospect information and create a
database. Take a moment to ask yourself the last time a
retailer or restaurant asked you name or asked you to
return. In general, it is NEVER! Think of how far ahead of
your competition you can be by capturing this information
to build a relationship with your clients.

4. Use your database to keep in touch. Send thank you
notes. (Super car salesman Joe Girardi is in the Guinness
book of records for selling more cars than anybody. His
secret? he sent all of his clients monthly greeting cards
and thank you notes.) Send special offers, discount gift
cards, birthday cards and invitations to "special client
days." Always thank them for their past business and give
them a special offer as a reason to return and always have
a deadline for your offer. 5. Start a newsletter,
which is THE most powerful small business marketing tip to
build a fence around your clients. The added advantage is
that you are marketing to those most likely to buy -
Current and past clients!

6. Create a referral and reward program. Unfortunately,
most people are afraid to ask for referrals even thought
clients are happy to give them. The easiest strategy is
to simply ask for them and reward people who send you new
clients. It can be as simple as giving coded coupons to a
client in your store. For each one that is redeemed, the
referring client gets a gift. It can also be as involved as
asking a good client to lunch or dinner for the sole
purpose of asking for referrals. If you are living up to
your USP, clients will gladly refer others! Don't be shy
about asking for them.

7. The final small business marketing tip is so powerful
that you must insure you have the capacity to handle the
additional business! It's called a Joint Venture or
Strategic Alliance.

Identify non-competing businesses that serve a client base
similar to yours. Approach the owner and propose a joint
venture or strategic alliance in which you are going to
endorse their business to your list and vise-versa. As
mentioned earlier, consumers are constantly asking "Who
should I buy this product or service from?'

This powerful small business marketing tool leverages the
trust you and your alliance partner(s) have built with
their clients and, when properly structured between two
good companies with quality products and services, is as
close to a guaranteed success as you will ever get.

----------------------------------------------------
For information on a guaranteed system to gain exponential
sales increases in your small business in as little as 90
days or to view a powerful online marketing seminar, visit
http://www.paulfloodmarketing.com

Security Measures To Be Checked While Shopping Online

Security Measures To Be Checked While Shopping Online
Shopping has always been an interesting activity for
people, especially for women. With new and attractive
shopping malls coming up along with alluring offers on its
product, shopping enthusiasts do not even mind flocking to
different countries so as to gorge for their favorite
products or necessities. Nevertheless, it is great visiting
to different places, it may be for shopping only, but the
added expenses and lack of sufficient time, at times avert
many of us from doing so. Introduction of the Internet has
thereby become a platform that has made available the
shopping items from world over at your fingertips within
seconds. This also helps shoppers to overcome the
limitations of time and distance along with other hassles
such as booking air tickets, parking problems at the
shopping malls and many others.

Though online shopping has immense benefits for
shopaholics, but security has always been an utmost
consideration for many among them due to which they are
reluctant about shopping online. No wonder with so many
scams and malicious intruders always on a look out to deter
shoppers from their hard earned earnings, their concern is
a genuine one. Still, what they did not realize is that
there is a solution to every problem and so is the security
on the web space secured.

Following a few cautious and precautionary measures will
surely help them strike the right deal over the Internet,
without any threat of intruders or loss of personal
information or money. Some of these precautions are listed
below:

1. Analyze the information of the seller
Look for the complaint records with the local or state
better business bureau and consumer protection agency. See
for the offline phone number or physical address of the
seller. If this isn't available, it probably is time to
move on to the next seller.

2. Payments by credit cards
This is probably the safest method to make the payment
online. This provides you with a legal right for an
argument over the services or goods that have not been
ordered for, misrepresented or not received.

3. 'Single use' or 'substitute' credit card numbers This is
a new technology that can be asked for from the credit card
provider. This technology permits you to make the purchase
without providing your number of the real account online,
which protects you from any misuse due to hackers or any
other malicious intruders.

4. Security clues
As the payment is made, the 'http' displayed in the address
bar, must change to 'https'. The browser may also
demonstrate if your information has been encrypted,
scrambled or has been sent. Have a look at the privacy
policy of the website being dealt with and check their
security measures that are being employed by them for
storage and transmission of your information. Do not
provide any sensitive information via email.

5. A handy proof
Take a print out of the deposit made and store it with you
in order to deal with any hassles at a later stage.

----------------------------------------------------
The article is written by Nor Nan. If you want to find out
more useful articles about shopping, please visit:
http://www.bestbuytop.com
http://www.softwarehyper.com/

Minimize Your Failure by Strategic Planning

Minimize Your Failure by Strategic Planning
Life is unpredictable.Sometimes things take a completely
unexpected course that defies all expectations and results
in failure.

In such situations all our strategic planning comes to
naught and we are left perplexed and, quite often,
desperate. What did we do wrong?

What if, after a lot of introspection, you find that there
were no flaws in the way you approached and executed your
task?

These are questions that will haunt you, more so because
the answer is extremely hard, if at all possible, to arrive
at.

How do you overcome these apparent failures? The key is in
understanding that these so called failures are as
important, if not more, in our progress in life, as are our
successes.

Failures are essential, but, given human nature, not the
easiest thing to get over. And while we are never going to
get around to actually enjoying the process of failing,
there are a few things we can do to appreciate the
positives that arise from a failure.

1 Always remember that there are multiple ways to perform a
task. We pick one based on our understanding of the task,
our skills and experience, and our planning. Most of the
time, applying our knowledge and planning efficiently will
ensure we pick the most optimal path, but it is important
to remember, that at the end of the day, it is a choice
based on limited information and prone to rapidly evolving
external, environmental factors. It can go wrong! When it
does, it is important to remember that there were multiple
ways from which you picked one. Which means that there are
other ways to handle the task. It is far from the end of
the road. Go back and revisit those options given the new
experience and information available with you.

If, for some reason, you believe that experimenting with
different approaches signifies that you don't have a
focused plan of work, please put your work down for now and
spend some time getting rid of that notion!

There cannot be anything more detrimental to your overall
progress and growth as an individual. Read about any of the
great inventors and thinkers that the world has known and
you will realize that the one consistent lesson that most,
if not all of them, thought necessary to pass on, is the
virtue of experimenting and failing.

Success never comes knocking with an 'Instruction Manual'
in hand. It takes planning, persistence and failures -
failures which are the cause for the eventual success.

2 It is in our nature to be impatient.

Everyone wants to complete a task at one go. But that
rarely works. Break your task down into smaller, simpler
units.

Prioritize and take on the smaller tasks one at a time.
Just doing this will ensure that you are able to track and
manage your progress much more efficiently.

You will be able to quickly identify which part of your
overall approach did not work or yield the expected results
and rectify that specific aspect of your work.

Compare this with the situation wherein you attempted the
task as a whole, spent a lot of time working with the wrong
approach, did not achieve the desired result, once again
spent a whole lot of time trying to analyze where exactly
you went wrong, and finally started once again from scratch.

3 Finally, understand that failures are necessary.

They are a part and parcel of our lives and can be a great
learning tool if we handle them wisely.

Most management gurus, including Tom Peters, have for long
been advocating that organizations need to encourage their
employees to fail and should reward these failures that
arise not out of bad planning or bad execution, but by
virtue of evolving circumstances and the effort to find
improved, more efficient solutions.

If you don't find yourself reaping any rewards for these
failures, reward yourself - you've just learnt something no
book can teach you and you may have just started on the
path to discovering something new.

Like one the brightest minds the world has known, Thomas
Alva Edison once said, "Results! Why, man, I have gotten a
lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't
work."

----------------------------------------------------
Barry Share is the Founder and Editorial Director of "The
New Lifestyle Programme" Where you can get your copy of the
amazing..."Design for your Success" a 7 step plan to
achieving wealth health and happiness
=> http://newlifestylepro.com/design-for-success.html

3 Steps to Magnetizing Your Ideal Clients Instantly

3 Steps to Magnetizing Your Ideal Clients Instantly
To prepare yourself to magnetize your ideal clients you
want to first pre-pave the way for connecting with your
ideal clients by having two strong, legs to stand on. These
are:

1 - Manage your fears and doubts about being able to
actually have more clients and make more money. I know this
might sound strange, but I've literally had clients email
me after experiencing the power of Client Magnetizing
FREAKED OUT because they have so many prospects.

2 - Have a strong, clear message. You want to know to the
bottom of your soul what you are here to offer. No vague,
"I help people", but real strong clarity of the purpose of
your business and the reason why folks need what you have.

These two essence pieces (the inner AND the outer) are the
foundation of your business and your marketing. Yes, they
will take some energy and effort to create. But once you've
got them, you have the launching pad for magnetizing your
ideal clients instantly.

Next the way you pull these clients in is a step-by-step
energetically aligned and practical system using at least
three avenues of marketing such as referral marketing,
networking, or speaking (these are only examples and can be
any avenues that work for you).

When I started my first business this is exactly what I
did. I had transitioned from being a high school drama
teacher to being a self-employed Nutrition and Wellness
Coach.

I had 6 months to "make it in business." That was it.

After getting clear about the above two foundation pieces I
contacted every networking organization in New York City
(this is a lot). I plugged in at least 2 events per week. I
managed my energy before I went to every single one. I met
several people. I followed up with everyone I met and every
referral I received. I set up a time to connect with them
sooner rather than later - and I energetically set myself
up for success before each and every meeting.

I filled my practice in 9 months (and had enough income at
the magic 6 month mark to keep going.)

I've expanded on this same model and use it even today.
Always by first putting those first two foundation pieces
in place, now I mostly connect with folks by email. I then
hold an introductory teleclass. Those who attend get
special access to the my Business Boot Camp and I even set
up individual appointments with folks.

My client, Fia Crandall, put her two foundation pieces in
place (really getting how important it is to manage her
energy the whole way) and then shared her new coaching
program in personal invitations and emails that spoke
directly to her ideal client. Those who responded were
prepped to be energetic matches and then were immediately
funneled by scheduling what Fia calls a "Light Up Your
Potential" Call.

Fia's new monthly base sales are almost 3 times as high as
they were last year. Yay!

It's about the energetically aligned step-by-step system.

The mistakes I've see so many entrepreneurs make is that,
first, they have no connection to their energy whatsoever.
They are just hoping all those fears and doubts will go
away if they ignore them. They don't believe they can do
it. Second, they do not conduct their marketing as a
step-by-step system. Instead, it's done from a place of
disconnection and panic and a bunch of random actions
thrown together. You close your eyes do a little
networking, a little emailing, some on-line stuff and,
again, hope, but not a whole lot happens.

What's missing is the energetically aligned step-by-step
system. You want every action to connect and you want every
action aligned with who you are and what you believe is
possible. When you intend, implement and commit to this
method, it's like turning on a magnet. Prospects will be
drawn to you and convert into clients!

So let's break down the main pieces of this step-by-step
system:

Step One - Manage your fears and doubts.

Step Two - Craft a message that has you extremely at ease
with speaking about what you do. For instance, you want to
communicate your value to the people that need your
services in a way that is honest, authentic to you.

Step Three - Have at least three ways of connecting with
potential clients, consistently.

Step Four - Have a clear call-to-action, not to immediately
buy from you necessarily, but simply to connect with you to
learn more. This is important. It might sound like this,
"I'd be happy to set up a time to chat so I can hear more
about what you'd like to see happening for yourself and we
can see if my service is a match for you."

Step Five - Learn about their needs and desires and what's
keeping this from happening, share how your service can get
them where they want to go, and gain the commitment with
ease.

Repeat this step-by-step system enough times and gaining
new clients will be like brushing your teeth - something
you do every day, right? (Please say, yes!)

Your Call To Action:

1 - Strengthen your foundation by making sure you have two
legs to stand on: your managed energy and your marketing
message.

2 - Set up your step-by-step client magnetizing system.

3 - Move into action!

----------------------------------------------------
If you're having difficulty managing your fears and doubts
about being able to actually have more clients and make
more money please do not beat yourself up. No one ever
really taught you how to do this "self-employed" thing. Use
this step-by-step audio and action-book "How to Move
Through Fear For Money" to create this strong, confident
foundation step for yourself right away. Get yours here:
http://www.MoveFear4Money.com

How to Make Your Mark in the Office with Personal Branding

How to Make Your Mark in the Office with Personal Branding
Consider that most people want to interact with people they
like. Therefore to succeed in your career, it's critical to
establish strong personal and professional relationships.
One way of building relationships is through personal
branding.

But what is personal branding? I believe it covers three
areas...

1. Personality - communicating the inner essence of you -
your uniqueness, qualities, strengths, skills and passions
2. Package - your visual communication. How you appear
through dress and personal presence
3. Promotion - building recognition and reputation

Before you set off on the path of building your career it's
a good idea to really think about who you are - work out
what your stand for. As an executive or manager at work,
you are an integral part of the team. But wouldn't it be a
good idea if you really matched the CEO's you work with to
your own personal style. How can you do this?

Do a personal audit to determine your values and vision,
your strengths, look at your goals. Does your vision align
with that of your company? Do you need to acquire new
skills to contribute more value? By understanding your
values, life and work skills and how to apply them to your
role, you will have a strong foundation for exhilarating
work.

Consider also that YOU are a package. What does your
package look like? How are your design, colour and look?
What message does your personal image send? Your clothes,
appearance and grooming are the external image of your
brand.

At the office, every email, voice mail or phone call you
make creates impressions that build your business brand. In
person how you shake hands, make eye contact and how you
conduct yourself in social situations all go toward your
personal brand. You need to take care of the details. High
standards of personal presentation and presence will help
you stand out as a well regarded employee.

Some organisations have a uniform that reflects the company
brand and image, but even if your company does not, there
is definitely an underlying code of dressing particularly
in a business environment which is smart, polished and
professional. By understanding the brand qualities you
want to project with the work you do, you can create a look
that is suitable, creative and stylish to help make your
mark.

Write down some adjectives of the type of person or brand
you would like to be or project. Think of yourself as the
product you are designing a package for. Cut out and
collect some words, images and colours from magazines. Cut
out images of clothes and shapes that appeal to you and
reflect the words you have chosen for yourself. Create a
brand portfolio of ideas and visual examples. As you do
this exercise you will begin to discover your style and
what appeals to you. This is your logo - your own personal
brand.

Time now to think about how to promote yourself - get
noticed. First and foremost we need to be good at what we
do. But what else can give us that extra edge?

Volunteer to help or organise a special event such as lunch
or after work drinks to help build relationships with
colleagues. Network either formally through business or
industry associations or informally by meeting someone face
to face. Have lunch with colleagues in the canteen or meet
for coffee rather than email all the time. It is important
to network and get to know our peers. Send thank you notes
or items of interest internally or perhaps to suppliers
that have gone out of their way to help you.

Being actively involved in your work community will help
you make an impression and build those all important
relationships to ensure your career success.

----------------------------------------------------
Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications
Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace - your
inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business
educator and speaker on personal branding through image and
media. To learn more about how you can achieve recognition,
enhance your image and shine, sign up for free monthly tips
at http://www.shinecomms.com.au/subscriber.html

Marketing for Small Business - Find Your USP (Unique Selling Point)

Marketing for Small Business - Find Your USP (Unique Selling Point)
When looking for your USP (Unique Selling Point) you will
need to ask your self a few questions, one of them being
"Why did I go into business?" Truly, this is a very good
question to ask yourself if you are a small business owner.
There are so many reasons: you have a niche that you
liked, a product that you liked, you wanted freedom of
decision making, freedom of hours of work, to show off to
all your friends!! And there are a myriad of other reasons
too.

But whether you are a single operator or employing 6 or so
staff, then there is one thing that all small business
owners must do and that is successfully MARKET YOUR
BUSINESS.

Back to that question again, "Why did I go into business?"
When you can answer that question you may be able to answer
the next question "What is my Unique Selling Point?"

If you have a unique service or product then it is an easy
question to answer, but in reality it is not very often
that this occurs and if it does it probably wont be long
before there is someone else doing the same thing. So if
you have a service or product that other people nearby are
selling then you have to look for a USP (Unique Selling
Point) that sets you apart from your competitors.

Unless you can answer what your USP is, there is a pretty
good chance that your marketing is being wasted because you
are not differentiating your product or service enough to
want people to come and buy from you.

To find out what your USP is you many need to do intensive
market research on your competitors and find out what
attracts clients to them and not to you. You may need to
chat up a few of your customers to find out why they come
to you, but not necessarily why they don't go to your
competitors. Once you have found out you will need to
differentiate your products or service.

If you honestly just cannot find one then you will need to
set one up and this may be in the form of an extra service,
an add on bonus or whatever you decide. Once you have
created a USP then you can use this to focus your marketing
and bring clients to you.

USP's are what get customers talking. If you are adding a
USP make sure that it is something that is going to strike
a cord in a positive way with not only your existing
customers but also bring in new customers.

You may even decide to run a new USP every couple of months
(as in a different bonus) and use this as your marketing
tool so that your marketing is not seen as repetitive and
boring. Add-ons and bonuses don't always have to cost a
lot and if they are bringing in new customers it is well
worth while.

These points should all be part of your marketing plan. If
you have not got a marketing plan I would suggest you rough
sketch up the next 12 months (taking into account seasonal
changes if they affect you) and detail the next 3 months.
It is not too difficult once you put your mind to it but
like most small business owners finding the time seems
almost impossible. Without doing this though, you may be
spending a lot more money than you realise on ineffective
marketing.

----------------------------------------------------
Kaye has been a small business owner for over 25 years and
understands the problem faced when trying to market a small
business. It is often hard for a small business owner to
sit down and read about marketing so when purchasing our
Marketing Must Do's for Every Small Business you will also
get a free bonus audio CD. For your copy just go to
http://www.ebooksnowonline.com/internet-marketing/marketing/

Red Hot Ways To Build A Profitable List

Red Hot Ways To Build A Profitable List
After reading countless articles and success stories of
people creating wealth you decide you need to create your
own list. You need a good opt-in list to be successful in
internet-marketing. After countless failing attempts to
building a profitable list, you realize you still weren't
able to make any money.

After a few months you may be losing your shirt. Maybe you
have considered hiring writers to help you out. Even if you
have a huge list and a small percent of the people buy from
you, you're still losing money. You ask yourself, what am I
doing wrong? Why do other people make money in this
business and I don't?

Maybe you've made the most common mistake. Maybe you chose
a popular topic you thought would earn you money but it
hasn't. Just by writing to people in your list doesn't sell
anything instantly. Here are some great suggestions for
those who are starting to build and opt-in list and have
not been successful.

(1) USING FORUMS TO BUILD YOUR LIST

Join Forums and begin posting and gain the knowledge of
your customer's wants and needs. Join Forums from other
sites that are relative to what you are promoting or
selling. Give expert advice and recommendations to build a
base with other Forum users. After you gain some trust, you
can ask them to join your list. Put up a link to your site
so they can see what you are all about. You need to make at
least 5 posts per day to be successful.

(2) USING ARTICLES TO BUILD YOUR LIST

Put as many articles as you can first before you start an
opt-in list. Write about the topic you know about and have
started and used for your site. Locate products or services
that people want and need. Make sure it is a product or
service you have researched and learned about. It is best
to sell something that interests you as well. There are not
many people who have the same interest as you do. So do
your research and invest your time. Recommend products will
not be sold if people don't know you.

(3) USING JV TO BUILD YOUR LIST

Seek out to be friends with other opt-in list users. This
will be very beneficial especially if they have launched a
successful opt-in list as well. These are people who are
well experienced and can help you build your list. There
are many articles available you on the internet to use,
there is nothing like getting a first hand account from
someone you trust. Experience users can tell you what to do
and what not to do while different situations due occur.
Relative opt-in list users will often help you build you
list with auto-responder swap.

(4) BUILDING THE OPT-IN LIST

Building a profitable list does not happen overnight. There
is a substantial amount of effort required to build a
successful opt-in list. So it is be to start from scratch,
as your list grows maintain the quality and keep it
organized and manageable. But make sure your subscribers
are happy and they will buy from you. Provide your
subscriber of your opt-in lists with promotional material
they can use and spread and you will see the profits start
coming in.

----------------------------------------------------
Every successful marketer needs a good opt-in list to be
successful in internet-marketing. After countless failing
attempts to building a profitable list, you realize you
still weren't able to make any money. Find out how to grow
a huge list and make money.
http://www.make2500weekly.com

Become the Tarzan of the Google Jungle...

Become the Tarzan of the Google Jungle...
It is human nature to defend your position... That said,
our hard outer shell defends our inner weak emotional self.
The one that one minute may hate someone and the next say
that they love them.

Yes there is a truth that some people have a stronger
emotional sturdiness, but they are few are far between.

Google Adwords and Google Adsense are an integral part of
the Google jungle. The jungle itself is amazing to look at
and equally exciting to visit; but if you are not careful
you'll get slapped, stung and leave the jungle penniless,
as if robbed.

The image I am trying to create here is do we become the
Tarzan of the Jungle, and become 'one' with the jungle.
Or... do we get the hell out of the jungle and look for
safety in our own ready built concrete haven? As we look
back at that jungle of rivers and foliage, I may suggest we
exaggerate with a little more intensity ever time we
describe our experience. Instead of getting out of the
jungle to save our sanity, we say we fought off lions and
tigers and we could have been the king of that jungle. As
with Google Adwords and Adsense, we walked through the
rivers of the campaigns and systems... but ran away before
we could conquer; to be overpowered by the foliage.

Using Google as the example in this study, they appear at
times as the opposition. Enough I may say to swear at,
curse, point a finger or two and even write to your friends
about. So they are everything that is bad about the jungle.

Let me explain the rules of the jungle. Respect the nature
of the jungle and you can live in harmony. Ignore the rules
and you'll get stung, poisoned and live a life in true pain
and confusion.

Allow me also to explain how 'rules' mean greater freedom.
Rather than get too political, I'll complete this
explanation in one paragraph. Visit the US, the UK and most
of the developed world, and you'll see millions of rules.
You may hate several of the rules but nonetheless you feel
relatively safe living with them. Now visit a third world
country with few rules. You feel anxious, frightened and
unwilling to return.

So Google create their own jungle and if you want to earn
money from Google you need to follow their rules. There is
freedom within the rules. You may dislike a few, but
without respect for the jungle you'll get stung.

Now here is the crux of this article... I gather
information from both psychological and philosophical
methodology. As a human we perform best and function at our
peak when we are happy. When we are annoyed and frustrated
we can only expect 50 to 60% excellence.

So the question to remind you is... Do we become the Tarzan
of the Jungle, become the king; or do we fight the rules
and shout aloud, but only from the mouth of an insect?

If you are trying to earn a living from Google, using
adwords or adsense, and are frustrated with their jungle
you are not open to learn anything. Any journey starts with
a single step, but when you are cursing all you do is walk
around in circles.

For you to earn a 'good' living from using the services
that Google offer you need to be operating at your peak
performance. Working from a position of hatred will only
limit your possibilities.

Google has a million rules and regulations to follow so the
task of understanding their jungle is a big one. Don't
expect to understand it in a week. It may take 10 years,
but the first step is to 'open up' and begin to learn.

Allocate 30 minutes a day to rest in reading about their
services and how best to use them. Tarzan may swing through
the jungle on a vine, but he does check the vine first. So
it may be prudent not to just learn about Google from
Google.

This article will test your skill of 'intuition'; do you
get a 'gut' feeling that becoming the Tarzan is naturally
the right course to travel. Or, are you the radical and
want to challenge everything?

Challenging will use up more energy than conforming. Enjoy
the Google Jungle and you will see beauty in motion...
challenge it and you'll never maximize your performance,
you'll never peak at your tasks and you'll eventually turn
into a bitter person. You'll not be meant to live in a
Jungle but an 'underworld'.

Did you know that smiling uses fewer muscles than frowning?
Take it easy and the bounty is within reach.

----------------------------------------------------
Mr. P. Booker
http://www.Adwords-and-Adsense.com
Action Speaks Louder than Words... Quietly Confident!
(He who claims he knows, knows nothing. He who claims
nothing, knows)

Guaranteed Sign ups

Guaranteed Sign ups
Did you join an online MLM program? Ever wondered how you
can success fast?? However, is there really a fast way to
succeed? Well, there is actually a way, and many top MLM
guys are holding on to this secret. The secret is that they
use guaranteed sign ups.

If you search the Internet, there are many companies
providing guaranteed sign ups services and you may be
wondering if they are all legitimate companies.

I can help you. Here are 3 pointers that can help you out:

1) Guaranteed sign ups should be expensive
Sounds a little surprising right? It is true. If a sign up
costs you only $0.50 - $0.80, be on your guard. How could
it be possible that sign up be so cheap? A simple thought
process would answer that: If the company decides to make
$0.40 profit out of every sign up sent to you, that means
that their cost of sign up is only $0.10 - $0.40. That is
totally illogical right? $0.10 per sign up???

Medical and insurance leads are already at $3 - $5 per lead
(and that is NOT even sign up), how can your sign up be at
just a few cents? I'm sure you are smarter to know about
that.

A typical price should be at least $1.20 - $1.50 per sign
up. Remember: Quality is #1!

2) Guaranteed sign ups should not be worldwide
If you buy 100 worldwide sign ups, you will get 100 sign
ups coming from Chile, Iran, China, Argentina, Malaysia,
etc. Sorry to be insulting, but I am NOT looking down on
them but are you sure that you can get them to your
business? As a general rule, always demand for sign ups
from USA, UK and/or Australia

3) They should have good customer feedback
Ever seen a website that has wonderful website design,
promises the sky but hey! If they are so good, where's the
feedback? They are either new companies with no track
records, or are just... scammers. A good way to know if the
company is real is to look for testimonials, any seal of
trust, etc.

Based on the above 3 points, you can start looking for a
company that will provide sign ups that you want. You
should also test their services if you found a potential
company.

Buy a small package, track and test it out.

Assume that you have 50 sign ups ordered and you get only
one sign up who wants to upgrade to paid membership, is
that a good result?

Quite frankly, I think it is a good result. You see, that
is a 2% conversion, which is a market average. Of course,
it really depends on many other factors like your program
and how convincing the upline (that's you) is.

So here's my sharing. Now let your quest begin... Look for
a guaranteed sign ups company!

----------------------------------------------------
Find the right company to deliver your sign ups! Visit this
company as they fulfill all the requirements of delivering
guaranteed sign ups. Visit them here ==>
http://www.goodmlmsignups.com