How To Increase The Chances A Prospect Contacts You By 50%

 

by: Dana Williams

Do You Really Need a Toll-Free Number for Your Business? The answer is YES! If you run a home business, whether it's a direct sales business, a part-time venture, or if you work full-time from home, if you don't have a toll-free number, you could be leaving money on the table.
Studies show that a potential client is 50% more likely to contact a business who has a toll-free number. Marketing via the internet draws potential clients from all over the globe. That's what makes the internet such a powerful money-making vessel.

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A lot of businesses just starting out try to cut corners and may assume that a toll-free number is too expensive. This could not be farther from the truth. These days, you don't have to spend a fortune for toll-free service.
When I started my business, I found out about a very reasonable toll-free service provider called Kall8. With Kall8, there is only a $2.00 set up fee. You get to choose your phone number from a list of available numbers. Once you do this, there is a low $2.00/month base charge and 6.9 cents per minute. You will have instant access and can set up your account the way you want. They offer tons of services such as:
Instant Activation
Secure Web Account Management
Detailed Call Reporting
Interactive Voice Response
Custom Call Routing
Voicemail
Caller ID
Conferencing
Inbound Fax

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These are only a few of the many features included in the flat $2.00/month fee. With the custom call routing feature, I have my calls set up to go directly to my cell phone so that I can still receive my business calls while I am away from home. When my cell phone rings, I know it's a business call because it will show my toll free number, then I can answer it in a professional way. I have been using Kall8 for over 2 years and never had a problem with their service. Their competitors charge 5 times more for less calling features.
Direct sales representatives, work at home moms, new and experienced internet entrepreneurs can take their business to new heights with toll-free service. Couldn't your business use a boost?

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10 Things You Can Do For Your Small Business Online

How To Make The Most of Public Domain and Private Label Content?

by: Deepak Walia

There�s so much public domain content available all over the internet, with Master Resale Rights available and sites springing up left and right with Private Label articles you can use to create your own products, but what do you need to bear in mind, what is the best way to use all this content and what can you create with it?

What to Look Out For:

Copyright - you absolutely must check on this - violating someone�s copyright is not clever and can be a really expensive mistake not to mention seriously damaging your reputation. Is it really public domain? All those lawyers fees can really mount up when checking into all this but believe me, you really don�t want to end up in court over it.

Public Domain Content -

If you have the money to have a lawyer look at copyright for you then fine, go ahead and get started. Where can you find this type of content? It can be difficult to find content that is free to use but here are a few links to get you started:

http://www.gutenberg.org/
http://www.wikimedia.org/
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html

Master Resale Rights -

If you can�t afford expensive lawyers what else can you do? One rather less pricey way is to buy Master Resale Rights to a product - this gives you the opportunity to name yourself as the author, use the content in another product, rewrite the whole thing - the possibilities are endless. Just be aware with this that you will need to look at the terms and conditions of what you are allowed to do with the product before you buy.

On a budget? - not to worry, there are still many ways you can find great content without spending a fortune or worrying about whether you can legally use it. Look for membership sites that provide private label and/or guaranteed public domain content. You could also sign up to some of the well known internet marketer�s newsletters. Why? Well if you�re serious about internet marketing you should be checking out all the latest happenings anyway, but a lot of newsletter owners will have free ebooks, giveaways and articles to download - some of which you will be able to use as your own.

So you�ve got your content ready to go and you�ve checked your rights and permissions but there is one more thing to think about - sites such as http://www.copyscape.com can check for duplicate content on the internet and of course so can the search engines. This could mean anything from the search engines deciding they won�t rate your site as highly because the exact same content is available elsewhere to some smarty pants asking you if you really did write that incredibly good article because they�ve seen someone else claiming that they wrote it too, so you do need to be aware of this when looking to use content you haven�t personally created, but that doesn�t mean you shouldn�t go ahead and make the most of all that wonderful information.

What Can You Do?

You could just read the information to learn from it yourself; you could read it to get ideas for businesses, more articles, content, the list is limited only by your imagination.

How about:

Ebooks
Print Books
Presentations
Membership Sites
Face to face courses
Mini courses
Teleclass content
Webcast content
Podcast content
Blog content
Content for your Autoresponder
Ezine content
Articles for your site to build AdSense income pages
Viral Reports
Tips Lists

When it comes to using all the content you have gathered, you need to look through it all and decide what you want to produce. If you plan to use content from more than one source, such as 2 or 3 articles by different authors to be combined into a report, you will need to go through and change the content into a similar style, check that it is all written in the same tense, make sure the formatting is the same throughout, check for spelling and grammar (for example - spelling for some words is different in the US than the UK) and look through all the articles to see if any of the points made are duplicated.

Once you�ve done this, make a list of points you want to make in your report, read the articles through again and start combining them together to fit what you want to say - cut and paste to copy sections into the right place.

Next, look at the way your draft reads now and see if it fits your style of writing, your personality and your business. Reword it to fit with this - there�s no point in producing a very formally written, stiff sounding report for a hobby site.

At this point you could just tweak it, proof read it,and then go ahead and publish it but to take it a step further and make it really unique, why not look at how you might rewrite it so that all of the content is yours - now you�ve got the basic idea down and laid out, it shouldn�t take you long to reword things, add in some of your own ideas and keywords that fit your site, and maybe a few quotes and suddenly you�re looking at something that no-one else has got, that the search engines will love and that no-one can claim you copied.

Time to start creating!

Documenting Partnerships in Your Business Plan

by: Dave Lavinsky

Forging partnerships to improve market penetration has become commonplace, particularly for �new economy� businesses. And, most companies proudly mention their many partnerships in their business plans.

The fact is that, regardless of whom the partnership is with, partnerships by themselves are meaningless. What are meaningful are the terms of the partnership. For instance, while it sounds great to have a partnership with a Fortune 500 company, the details of the partnership are what investors find important. For instance, investors will look poorly upon a partnership in which the Fortune 500 company earns 90% commissions on customers it refers. On the other hand, investors would look favorably upon a more equitable partnership.

As such, be sure to detail the specifics of the partnerships. This includes factors such as how the partnership will work, payment terms, contract length, minimum and/or maximum guarantees, the type of customer leads expected from each partner, timing of payments, etc. In addition, if partnerships are a key part of the business plan, expect prudent investors to interview the partners and scrutinize partnership contracts.

Partnerships can be a major factor in the success of growing companies, providing leads, sales, capital and/or other critical benefits. However, ventures should be careful not to place too much emphasis on any one partner in their business plan. Partnership agreements, like other legal agreements, can be breached, and if the venture positions any one partner as critical to its success, this will become a risk factor to investors.

Overall, partners can provide a great boost to growing ventures. Business plans should not only discuss who the partners are, but detail the terms of the partnerships and how they will benefit the company. Finally, the business plan must not place too much emphasis on any one partner in order to convince investors that the business is capable of success even without it.

Entrepreneurs - You Might Want To Drop Out Of College

by: Mason Hipp

Young entrepreneurs and business owners are often times faced with the choice of which road to take. On one hand, there is the more conservative route of staying in college and getting a degree. On the other hand, many have thriving businesses that are making more money than their degree will ever get for them. Is college simply a hindrance? Or is it a valuable resource that should be continued at all costs. Many college business owners don't even realize they have the choice of dropping out. Knowing this option is there could be vital to the success of their future business. If you are in college and are an entrepreneur or business owner you must ask your self this question: should I drop out of college?

The answer to this question often comes in many forms from many different people. I was recently at an entrepreneurial conference and had the opportunity to discuss this matter with many rich entrepreneurs. The answers I was getting from them were vastly different from those that my family had given me. On the one side I was being told that college is only useful if you are getting something out of it, and that if I was serious my businesses should take priority over schooling. From the family side I was being told to stay in school no matter what, put schooling at the forefront - there will always be time for business and it will be good to have a safe backup. Both of these answers have their merits, but which one is right?. It became clear to me that it was my decision- not the other wealthy entrepreneurs, and not your family.

Why are you in college?
This question is the fundamental element in the decision to drop out of college. Entrepreneurs must figure out the reality of why they are in college before making a decision to drop out. Some business owners are in college because their parents told them to go there, or because they didn't realize they had the choice. Other young entrepreneurs are in college because they find the information valuable and want to continue learning while they expand their business. Even more still had childhood dreams of one day being an engineer or architect and want to follow through with their early ideals. You must answer this question truthfully and honestly if you are going to make a choice about running your business full time or staying in college.

Why Do You Want to Drop Out?
It is very important to understand exactly why you want to drop out. Many business owners and entrepreneurs have vastly different reasons for dropping out of college and it is key that you understand yours. I have often fielded this question in conversation, and many times a young entrepreneur will want to drop out of college on pure speculation. This is never a good idea without a solid business plan. I recommend having a solid business plan and some backups in the least, as well as some plans for continued learning of business skills. Dropping out is a risky decision - entrepreneurs will understand and easily accept this fact. Understanding and accepting risk is part of being an entrepreneur and starting new businesses. I have also talked with many entrepreneurs who already have million dollar plus income, and are thinking about dropping out in order to focus more on their business. This instance presents an entirely new set of questions. Whatever your reasoning make sure that you understand and research your position.

Here is the Secret to Making the Decision
It all comes down to balancing the two sides of the argument. If you've figured out both your reasons for being in college and your reasons for dropping out and starting a business, then you can easily make a decision. The trick is to look at a list of both sides: your reasons for being in college and your reasons for going out and becoming an entrepreneur. If either side has reasons that aren't your own, or that have doubt in them, then you will most likely pick the other side. Here is an example situation, look at the two lists and decide what the student should do.

Student A - Reasons to Stay in College:
- My parents are paying for it, and they would flip if I left
- Everyone I know is in college, it would be weird to leave.
- A degree might give me some security later on.

Student A - Reasons to Drop Out and Pursue Business
- I have a solid business plan and have been working on it for months
- My income is almost half of my parents already
- Having more time to work on business would let me expand faster

I think it is fairly clear in this setup that we have an entrepreneur at heart. There is doubt in the reasoning behind college, and he also doubts that he will even need the security of a degree. The second list is much more profound and certain. This student knows he will be successful as an entrepreneur and he only wants to build his business more. There is certainty and understanding in his tone. With this situation it seems very likely that the student would be far better off dropping out of college and pursuing his business goals.

The case is almost never as cut and dry as the situation above, most young businessmen have far more complicated setups. Even with the complications, the end result is always the same. Follow the path that you are sure of in your heart. If you are an entrepreneur in the right position then you will know exactly why you want to drop out and that it will be better for you. Or, you will know that staying in college will teach you more about business and let you grow faster out of college. I will leave you with one last thing.

Listen to your own thoughts, and pick the path that you know is better for you.

Convert Leads Into Customers, And Customers Into Super-customers!

by: Kirsten Hawkins

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A simple definition of marketing is "the getting and keeping of customers." To sell your product or service, you must have customers. To increase your revenues, you must have customers, and you must turn those customers into repeat super-customers.

The easiest way to do this, both on- and off-line, is through a content newsletter. There is no doubt that content sells. Useful content builds trust and credibility, and over time turns your customer from a stranger to a friend.

An online newsletter is easy to begin--all you need is an autoresponder. I use Aweber for my newsletter (http://aweber.com/?203081). You can advertise your newsletter on your website, on forums, on your business card, in articles you write, on traffic exchanges, and in your email signature. If you faithfully do these marketing tasks, your email list will grow over time.

You must provide useful and informative content in your newsletter. If you want subscribers to read it and (eventually) buy from you, do not offer them junk. I define "junk" as opt-in spam. Don't fall into the habit of sending out advertisements veiled as "articles." Don't send only solo ads. Instead, research topics for your newsletter and write quality articles. Subscribers who are impressed with your newsletter will buy from you. But it will take time to build trust. Trust is not built through junk.

There are three phases to this process: 1) Get a lead; 2) Convert that lead into a customer; and 3) Convert that customer into a super-customer. Your newsletter will help you accomplish all three tasks.

If you sell or market a product or service, and you are driving traffic to your website, you typically have only one shot at capturing the interest of a prospect. If I go to your site and click away, I may never come back. You need some sort of follow-up system. A newsletter is the perfect vehicle for follow-up.

If you are sending targeted traffic to your site (any other type of traffic is a waste), visitors will be interested in the content of what you are offering. To keep their interest, and to keep your name in front of them, offer a f-re-e newsletter. Even a simple, once-a-month newsletter will do.

If they sign up, you then have a chance to build a relationship. This is done through your content. Many people don't buy something the first time they see it, but as they come to know you and your product through your newsletter, they become more willing to purchase. Over time, just by offering a newsletter, you can convert more leads into customers.

You turn those customers into super-customers also through your newsletter. If the product or service they bought from you was quality, you have built even more credibility with them. Perhaps now they will make repeat purchases, or join a membership site you offer, or even become an affiliate for your product or service.

But the key is to offer useful, informative content. If the premier issue of your newsletter is nothing but an ad similar to your site, you will lose that lead. Build relationships through high-quality content, and you will convert leads into paying customers into paying super-customers.

Remember - no list, no money.

Avoiding Common Work at Home Business Pitfalls

by: Charles Fuchs

Not everything works for everyone, everytime, so understanding how to avoid certain work at home business pitfalls can keep you from relying too heavily on methods used by other companies that may not work for you. Know your own business needs to avoid certain work at home business pitfalls that so many other organizations fall into. First, understand that how and where you advertise make a difference in how effective it will be for your business. One of the most common work at home business pitfalls is to assume that any advertising will work for your business. However, you need to target your advertising to bring in the right consumers. Define your market, and create advertising to target that market. Another one of the common work at home business pitfalls is to believe if you start a business people will flock to it. Starting and maintaining a business takes a lot of work. You will need to advertise and network to build your work at home business. Making personal contact with potential clients will bring in significantly more business than advertising alone. Customer service is key to building and maintaining your business. So you want to make sure you treat your clients well. However, another one of the most common work at home business pitfalls is believing that you need to hold onto every business relationship, no matter what. Make sure you weigh out some of your problematic clients with what they are costing you and your business. It is not all about the bottom line, either. If you have a client that is keeping you up at night, you may want to consider breaking off the relationship. Of the common work at home business pitfalls, believing that if something works, it works for everyone or in every situation will cause your business to have slow to little growth. Yes, you may have done it that way since you started your work at home business, but the method may need to change for your growing business. It is always good to keep an open mind. You can try, but as your business grows you won�t be able to do it all anymore. Starting your business from your home may have been a way to get away from the rat race, another of the common work at home business pitfalls is to try to do it all alone. If something is not your strength or you no longer have the time to complete common tasks, you need to see if it is within your budget to get someone to help you out. Remember, you want your business to be successful. Avoiding these common work at home business pitfalls to help you maintain flexibility to create a successful business environment. About the author: Copyright � Charles Fuchs is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Home Based Business. He specializes in showing people the best way to Make Money at Home. Download the Free Work at Home Manual (Free $97 Value!). Circulated by Article Emporium

 

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10 Things Every Home Based Business Owner Needs

by: David A. Bailey, Jr

When you make the decision to earn income from the internet you will need to go through a set up process to be ready for business. Following are the basic steps in setting up for home business success. 1. Attitude The key to your business success is your attitude. Treat your business like a business. This is critical whether you are working part-time or full-time. One of my colleagues is a mother who works from home around her family. She has always put her family first whilst at the same time developing her business. She says, "I work part-time, but I have a full-time attitude." Put another way, "If you have a hobby attitude you will have a hobby income, if you have a business attitude you will have a business income." You can be successful working part-time and you can be successful working full-time but it is highly unlikely that you will be successful working in your "spare time". 2. Working Environment A space that you can call your own, free from distractions for your scheduled time. A comfortable chair and organized desk. Stationery supplies as required. For example: - pens - highlighters - stapler - hole punch - sticky tape - note book(s) - a simple filing system - ring binders - manilla folders Consider the value of a broadband connection. Your time is valuable and a broadband connection can allow you to get more done in a given time frame. 3. Schedule Develop a schedule that works for you, your family (or "significant others") and your business. When you allot a block of time for work then use that time for work. Equally important is to schedule time for your other commitments - family time, self education ( reading, listening and viewing), "health time" (exercise, cooking and eating), and leisure time. During these other times don't work. After all if one of the reasons to work from home is to spend more time with your family then you don't want your working at home time to consume your family time. You are working for yourself and your schedule (by your choice) is your "boss". When you have people calling you or dropping around unexpectedly or maybe out-of-town visitors may want to catch up with you then you need to make a choice. Are you committed to your own business success? What will be your choice in these situations? Only you can decide what is important to you. In a family environment you may need to negotiate with your partner and children to have your business time agreed upon, during which you will not be interrupted. Put this schedule prominently somewhere so all family members are aware of your work schedule. 4. Describe Your Business Be able to describe your business concisely; a powerful one or two sentence description that someone can repeat in describing your business to others. A unique and memorable tag line can also be invaluable for promoting your business. 5. Know Your Product or Service Once you have selected your product or service to sell, it may or may not be something that you use yourself but you need to know your product intimately. If you are selling ebooks then know the content and its value. If you are selling software then use it know it "inside out". You will develop a reputation of providing quality information and because of your product knowledge you can become the preferred supplier. It is not practical to use certain products (for example a woman may choose to sell man's shoes or vice versa) in which case the seller won't be a product user, however the seller can still know the benefits and features of the product intimately. 6. Administration Use good record keeping practices. This may involve a consultation with a tax advisor who can let you know about the optimal way to set up your financial records and what records need to be kept. Your advisor will also recommend record keeping systems and you can find out what software may simplify this aspect of your business. Additionally your obtain advice on the best arrangement for your bank accounts. You will most likely be advised to have a separate bank account. You will also need to keep track of your various logins, usernames and passwords. A very handy little software tool for this is Treepad available as either the free Lite version (without password protection) or the commercial Plus or Biz versions. http://www.treepad.com There are other useful tools for this also from a simple paper notebook to free and commercial password keepers. One popular solution is Roboform that will remember your login details and can automatically fill out your login and other registration forms. http://www.roboform.com 7. Computer Protection Your computer is the lifeline to your business dealings and must be protected including the data that is stored. You need a virus scanner, personal firewall, anti-spyware and anti-adware and preferably an email scanner with the ability to delete suspect of spam email from the server before it is downloaded to your computer. Some suggestions are: AVG Anti-Virus: http://www.grisoft.com Spybot S&D: http://www.safer-networking.org Microsoft Anti-Spyware: www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx Adaware: http://www.lavasoft.com/ Mailwasher Email Scanner: http://www.mailwasher.net 8. A Domain Name You will most likely need a domain name for your business and one cost effective registrar is GoDaddy, http://www.godaddy.com. 9. Payment Processing You will need a way to process credit cards; that may be using services such as: - PayPal https://www.paypal.com - Storm Pay http://www.stormpay.com - 2 Checkout http://www.2checkout.com - Clickbank http://www.clickbank.com or others. This is the most economical way to get started. Once your business picks up you may need to look into your own merchant account for credit card transactions. Consideration may also be given to other forms of online currency such as eGold http://www.egold.com 10. Email accounts Once you have your own domain you can use an associated email account. This can further assist in the promotion of your business and promotes a more professional business image. As a final comment on continuing in your internet business, conduct your business ethically, provide extraordinary service and be proud to put your name to the products or services that you are selling and you will be on track to developing a sustainable long term internet business. [ Submitted with ArticleSubmitter Pro - http://www.articlesubmitterpro.com] About the author: Are you an internet marketer looking to better your English speaking skills? David A. Bailey, Jr shares his top-secret, little-known tricks, tips, and ideas to learn English FAST in four easy steps from the comfort of your own home. Join the English Club and meet other ESL students just like yourself. SERIOUS ONLY! Learn English NOW! Circulated by Article Emporium

 

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7 Tips for Product Enhancement to Increase your Sales

by: Abe Cherian

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as the byline is included and the article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you activate any html links found in the article and in the byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com 7 Tips for Product Enhancement to Increase your Sales By Abe Cherian Copyright ? 2005 Everyone needs to know what business they're in and they need to be able to express that purpose in a few sentences in their USA. Using product enhancement towards helping with your current mission statement, should help determine your business as a leading provider. For ex; if you're a plumber, you're not in the business of plumbing. If you're a carpet cleaner, you're not in the business of carpet cleaning. You're in the business of marketing plumbing or marketing carpet cleaning services. Your mission statement is what is best for you. You can constantly measure all of your activities then to the mission of your company. You can further measure the success by the success of your clients or customers. The more successful your customers are in getting the benefits from you, the more successful you will be in growing your business. If you're currently not generating the volume of business you want, your customers aren't purchasing as much as you want them to. Here's an exercise that you should go through periodically to evaluate ways you can make your product or service better, and thereby either increase sales or extend your product or service life cycle. Get out a piece of paper and answer the following questions. 1. Write down not what your product or service is, but the need or desire of your target market that you have perceived. 2. Brainstorm other ways to fulfill that need in ways other than through the use of your current product or service. 3. List all the obvious and not so-obvious features of your product or service. 4. Enhance your product or service with alternative ways to fulfill your customer's needs based on the ways you Brainstormed in #2. 5. Identify your USA versus your competitor's and any other alternative products or services. 6. Create five different front and back-end up sell scenarios for each product and service you intend to offer. You can encompass one of these attributes in each sale scenario that you come up with. 7. Determine how best to incorporate incentives for getting your prospects to buy. You want them to buy, buy now, and buy from you. Don't limit yourself to the list below, but here are some additional ways you can begin. These are reasons customers typically patronize a certain business. Identify major sales advantages that you have over your competition. Low price Top quality convenient location Friendly employees Knowledgeable employees Nice business surroundings Fair credit or return policy Good selection Convenient hours The important thing about running a small business is to know the direction in which you're heading; to know on a day-to-day basis your progress in that very direction; to be aware of what your competitors are doing and to practice good money management at all times. All this will prepare you to recognize potential problems before they arise. In order to survive with a small business, regardless of the economic climate, it is essential to surround yourself with smart people, and practice sound business management at all times. About the author: Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media, a company that helps online businesses find new leads and more customers without spending a fortune. http://www.multiplestreammktg.com Circulated by Article Emporium

 

7 Reasons You Should Be Using The World Wide Web To Leverage Your Local Business

by: Anita van Wyk

More and more, potential customers are not letting their "fingers do the walking." To find what they need, they are using their fingers to click at Google, Yahoo! or MSN . If you do not have a website � you are loosing them before you even have a change to tell them about your product or service. Think of a Web site as multiple, full-page Yellow Page ads that gets 100 times more results for your local business. Cover every business category and geographic region for a fraction of the cost of a single Yellow Pages ad. A Web site that works is the most cost-and-time efficient way to: 1. Build loyal lifetime customers 2. Grow Your Client Base 3. Build Trust With Potential Customers 4. Get the Jump on Competitors 5. Develop and Stay "Top of Mind" 6. Extend Your Reach - Attract new local (and global!) customers 7. Diversify: Open up new revenue streams. But where do you start? Well, you need to register a domain name, host your new site, build the site pages, submit your site to the directories and them promote it. You�ll need other people to link to your site and you�d want to send your customers emails. Perhaps most important of all you�d need to know how many people are visiting your site and how many of those are buying from you. It might seem like a lot at first glance and it can be, but not if you choose a company that gives you all the tools, in one place, with a straightforward, integrated, step-by-step process to support you every step of the way. Site Build It! (SBI!) is the only product in the world that combines site-building, site-hosting, and site-marketing and that makes it easy for you to build a professional, popular, and profitable business. You don�t need any technical experience (html, ftp, etc.) either, they handle all that for you. Sites built using SBI! consistently get high traffic, as a recent Alexa.com survey shows. - 62% of SBI! sites fall within the top 3% most popular sites on the Internet - 53% fall within the 2% most popular - 35% fall within the 1% most popular. If you can use e-mail and surf the Web, you can create a professional-looking, traffic-generating, sales-producing site. Real estate agent, landscaper, restaurant owner, health practitioner, artist, alarm system distributor, boutique owner...whoever you are and whatever you do... Site Build It! (SBI!) is the affordable, all-tools-in-one-place solution you need to build and host a Web site that WORKS. There is no better time than now to get your business on the World Wide Web... before you competition does. This article may be freely reprinted as long as all links and author information remain. About the author: ** To learn more about SBI visit � http://www.small-biz-web-solution.comtoday. ** To download your 28 page booklet, telling you more about SBI and how they help Small Business to get on the Internet � please send a blank email to sbibooklet@getresponse.com Circulated by Article Emporium

 

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7 No Cost Tips to Market Your Business

by: Kathleen Gage

7 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market Your Business by Kathleen Gage Marketing a business can be fun, exciting and creative. It can also be very frustrating and expensive if one doesn�t know what outcome they are looking for or how to evaluate cost effective methods of marketing. Over the years people have come to know me for my unique ability to develop low cost and no cost strategies to market and promote a business, product or service. Strategies that have realized incredible returns. Some of my successes have included: - Before my last book was published I pre-sold over $8,000 in books - Over 250 people registered for a recent seminar in less than 2 weeks and the cost to promote was under $25 - One company used my strategies for a career expo and made over $180,000 in consulting fees - One speaker sold over $23,000 in product sales back of the room at a two hour seminar with strategies outlined in my program I don�t share this to impress anyone, rather to impress upon you when using the right strategies for your market, you can realize some incredible results. People have also come to know me as someone who is a stickler when it comes to putting systems in place. My marketing successes are a direct result of the systems I have implemented. With a bit of forethought, planning and desire, you can successfully market your business in a very effective manner. Below are seven proven strategies sure to increase visibility, leads and sales. 1. Business Cards Business cards are often one of the most underutilized tools in one�s marketing. Use the front and back of your business card to gain full benefit. Depending on your market you can put some very valuable information on the back such as a sports schedule, emergency numbers, or special dates people want to remember. Keep some in your wallet, your automobile, on your desk, and some at home. Be sure to carry them with you wherever you go and be willing to hand them out as opportunity presents itself. Creatively distribute your card. When you eat out you can leave one with the tip. If you borrow a library book, use one as a book mark. Hand them to clerks in stores who may know other people who could use your product or service. When someone gives you their business card be sure to enter their information in your database. Send them a short note or email within 48 hours of meeting them to keep your name fresh in their mind. 2. Send a picture A great way to keep your name fresh in a customer�s mind is to send them a picture of when they purchased a product or service from you. Put a picture of a buyer�s auto purchase in a beautiful calendar. Likely, the proud owner of the vehicle will display the calendar for the next 365 days. For specialty gift shops, when a customer makes a substantial purchase, have a picture taken with the shop owner. Frame the picture and send it to the customer. Chances are very good the picture will be displayed proudly for friends and family to see. A dentist who specializes in smile makeovers can easily arrange to have a professional makeup artist and photographer capture the patient�s beautiful new smile. No doubt the patient will be more than happy to show others their new look. 3. Associations Associations particular to your market are a great resource for marketing. There are associations specific to virtually any industry, job type or business. A quick web search will likely show you how much is available. A major opportunity within many organizations is the chance to network. Additionally, to make presentations. Along with presentations come publications. Often, when you do a presentation, you will get a mention in the association newsletter, their Ezine and/or on their website. In many cases, when an organization has a newsletter or Ezine, they welcome the presenter writing a press announcement for them. It saves them time and often assures you have a better chance of the information making it into the publication. They may also welcome you writing an article for their publication or website. This lends itself to pre-presentation visibility. Additionally, you will position yourself as an expert and increase credibility. Most organizations have the following opportunities that can help you to gain visibility and do some very effective marketing: -Newsletters -Internet listings -Links to you website -Discounted advertising rates -Networking opportunities -Business referral services -Special recognition events -Education seminars -Business and membership directories In many cases you will need to be a member of the association to take advantage of the multiple marketing opportunities. In other cases membership is not necessary. 4. Committee Involvement Committee involvement is a great way to give back to the association or community while building visibility for you and your business. In some cases, you may even want to get involved in a committee where you have little experience or knowledge. This will give you an opportunity to stretch yourself and meet and network with individuals you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet. 5. Contests and drawings Contests are a favorite for many businesses such as restaurants or those that have high foot traffic. Contests are a great way to build your database quickly. You are generating very hot leads when you have a contest with people who have already frequented your place of business. The key though is to do back -end marketing. Far too many businesses hold contests, get lots of names and do nothing with them. In this case, it is a complete waste of time to hold a contest. You can advertise a contest to gain new foot traffic in your place of business. Trade show booths are a great place to hold a contest. Pre-show marketing helps to generate traffic at your booth. Invite people to stop by booth # _____ (whatever your booth is) to enter to win. Creative contests can also generate free publicity. 6. Cross-promoting Join with other companies who have products or services that compliment yours and promote each other. Let�s say you have a massage business. You could partner with a candle company to sell their candles to your massage clients. They can give out coupons for your massage business. Or the candle company can partner with a gift basket company. Cross-promoting is only limited by your imagination. This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion and allow each business to use promotion techniques that might be too expensive to implement alone. 7. Bonuses Secure special offers from various businesses who want to share a similar market as you. When a customer buys a minimum amount they receive a bonus packet with the various offers from the other vendors. This is a win/win all the way around. The other vendors gain visibility, you have something extra to offer you customers and the customers get incredible value for their purchase. Be aware of who you cross-promote and joint venture with. You want someone who will be equally committed to a campaign. About the author: About the author Kathleen Gage is a business advisor specializing in marketing and promotions for small and home based businesses. She is a keynote speaker and the author of -101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door - and - 101 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market and Promote a Product, Service or Business. To access her FREE report, Learn How One Salt Lake City Consultant made Over $100,000 from One Idea, visit www.streetsmartsmarketing.com Circulated by Article Emporium

 

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7 Keys to Internet Business Success

by: Bina Omar

Starting an internet business can be as simple as opening a Yahoo Store. And as complicated as building your own dynamic e-commerce web site. But no matter how you go about it, you need 7 key ingredients to ensure the success of your internet business. 1. Demand You can have the most awesome product and the most hi-tech web site, but if you can�t generate demand for your product, your business is doomed from the start. There are many ways to generate demand in the online world. You could advertise in ezines, start an affiliate program, encourage word of mouth, referrals, do joint ventures. Remember, without demand, there will be no sales. And without sales, where does that leave you? 2. Order When you start getting visitors to your web site, it�s now just a matter of turning them into your customers. Okay, maybe it�s not as easy as it sounds. This is why, once your visitor has decided to become a customer, you have to make sure that it is easy for them to do so. Make sure that your ordering process is easy and straightforward. The less clicks to secure an order, the better. 3. Payment This is one process of your internet business that you�d definitely not want to get wrong - how money is actually transferred from your customer to you. The most popular means of doing this online is through credit card transactions. Credit cards makes full use of a person�s �buy now think later� attitude. So, your sales would be a lot higher if you accepted credit cards than if you didn�t. This doesn�t mean you shouldn�t have alternative methods. The more payment methods you offer, the easier your customer will find it to pay for your product. 4. Fulfillment After payment has been made, don�t make the mistake of thinking that the coast is clear. There�s still the matter of delivering your products. If you sell digital products, it is now normal standard to have it delivered instantly. People now expect this, so make sure you set this up. If you sell physical products that needs physical delivery, make sure that you communicate with your customer every step of the way. Ensure them that their goods are on the way. If possible, send them a means to track the movement of their package. Your customers should never feel insecure. 5. Service and Support Once the sale has been made, it doesn�t stop there. You have to provide excellent customer support. Your internet business customer support will determine, to some extent, whether your customer will request a refund and whether or not they will make repeat purchases. Support abilities of an internet business is getting more and more efficient. So don�t get caught behind. The least you should do is provide timely e-mail support. If you have a busier site, then consider other support methods - online helpdesk, FAQs, live chats, ticket system, knowledge base �. 6. Security The Internet community is getting more aware of what to look out for in order to protect themselves from many of the net�s less desirable activities. One of which is e-commerce frauds. It is, therefore, up to you to prove to your visitors that they can trust you. Things like using secured server to process payments, can go a long way. Purchase a digital certificate, if you can. Add a physical mail address or a phone number where they can contact you. Anything at all, to give your visitors some peace of mind. 7. Community Once you�ve received more than just a handful of sales, you should think about starting a community. Making your customers a part of a community, gives them a sense of belonging. Have your community be a part of your product development. Listen to their suggestions. Not only will you get product ideas for your internet business, your sales ratio will increase with every new product release and you will have a loyal customer base. There you go. Work on these seven keys and you�ll be way ahead of most internet businesses out there on the net today. About the author: Bina runs the WebBriefcase at http://WebBriefcase.comau,a site filled with web building tips, tools and tutorials for home business owners. Sign up now for your free video enhanced course on "How to Make Your Own Web Site in 7 Easy Steps" mailto:subscribe@webbriefcase.comau Circulated by Article Emporium

 

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7 Easy Ways to Make More Money in Network Marketing

by: Daegan Smith

Hit a snag lately? Haven�t been able to recruit any new agents? Is you network marketing job paying less and less because you can�t generate any sales? You don�t have to fret! With these easy network marketing tips, you can revitalize your sales pitch and methods in no time at all!

1. Contacts
Remember that your contacts are your most valuable asset. Who are your contacts? The people you see on the streets? Your next door neighbor?

When considering whom to invite, try those closest to you first. This is because they are most likely to be more open to your suggestions and will be willing to do you a few favors (such as buying that detergent you are hawking). The great thing about this is that they will really mind plunking a few bucks to help jumpstart your business. And when they see that you are doing well, they could very well join you as well.

When you run through the whole list of you clan, what will that leave you with? You will of course have to go to those people that next in line with regards to closeness or affinity to you. And what if that gives out too?

You can always adopt a friendlier stance and chat up that neighbor you never talked to. You could meet new people on the bus and on the train. But remember, you have to like them as people first. Don�t go about and look at them like walking piggy banks. People will know if they are being looked upon as �things.� Always regard them highly and get to know them. Build their trust. The truth is, the friendships you build will be the true reward, and the sales will be just a side dish.

Always ask for referrals from your contacts. This is another sure way to increase your prospects.

2. Believe
If you yourself do not believe in your product, chances are you won�t be able to sell it to others. Remember, nothing promotes a product better that a satisfied customer. Let others see you using the product. Say glowing things about it. And most of all, let all that you say be true. If your customer finds out you weren�t being honest, you could ruin your business relationship.

When you choose a network business, take into consideration their product. See if you can believe in it and pitch for it effectively.

3. Recruit the right people
Don�t just recruit anybody. Make sure the people you recruit share an unbridled passion, and tireless work ethic with like you. If you don�t chances are, they will drop out of the networking business and you will not be able to build your downline.

4. Don�t force the issue
When trying to close a sale, don�t force the issue. If you do, people will get suspicious as to why you are doing so. Are selling them counterfeit items? Are you only interested in your profit and not in your customer�s satisfaction? Always keep this in mind: the customer always comes first. Please them, and the profits and windfall from these relationships will follow.

5. Look the part
When recruiting others, you can�t say, �You will get rich with network marketing,� and look shabby all the while. They�d say, �I thought you got rich from this thing, why do you look like you didn�t.� People will want to see a visible sign of success. You are their only reference point. If you are not convincing as a successful networking agent,

6. Hang in there
Perseverance is a virtue. If money grew on trees, you�d still have to wait for them to grow. Remember the old adage: try and try, until you succeed. Remember that your goal is not to just to get money, but to build upon a good income generating business.

7. Evolve
Don�t be satisfied thinking that your techniques at recruiting will forever be effective. Although there are basic principles that should be followed, you can forever improve on your techniques. Today�s society is constantly evolving. If you want to catch up with them, you have to evolve in your marketing strategies as well.

Try �Em
Try these tips. They are sure to give you more confidence in your network marketing strategy!

About the author:
Daegan Smith is the leader of the fastest growing team of successful home business enterpernuers on the net. Find out how we're creating financial freedom all across the globe and how to get in on the action FREE =>http://www.comlev.com Team Blog: http://www.turnkeyinternetbusiness.blogspot.com

5 Powerful Rules for Writing Advertising That Sells!

by: Scott Wilson

As you begin to write your sales copy for your advertisement keep one thing in your mind�Everything you put into the must point out a specific benefit to your prospect.

Ask yourself as you write, �How will this help to get my prospect to act now?�

Always focus on the prospect, no matter what everyone else says or thinks. Tell them you�ve got a solution to their wants, needs desires, RIGHT NOW! The purpose is to get them to act.

1. Identify the prospect pain. (Research your target prospect to understand this)

2. Make them really feel it (they will do more to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure�so really hit them between the eyes)

3. Let them know you can take it away right now. (Go into absolute detail here)

4. Let him know the pain will stay unless they act now. (Remind them of the pain they are currently feeling. Go into detail here as well)

5. Remove the risk of taking action for them. (make it so simple and risk free, they would feel silly not using your product or service)


Write your ad as though they are sitting beside you. You know their needs, wants and desires intimately because you have now done your research thoroughly.

Write the same way, as you would have a conversation. Use a friendly, matter of fact manner, (Don�t beat around the bush! This is serious)

Read it back to yourself out loud, putting yourself in their shoes.

Do you feel the pain? Can you truly empathise with him? Use short sharp spunky words. These will get more reaction from them.

Tell them exactly what you mean and what they need to do in a step-by-step way. Make it as simple as possible.

Take the risk out of it with a very strong guarantee. This will earn their trust for your product or service. They�ll feel like they got absolutely nothing to lose.

Make it as easy for them!

Make it interesting. If they get bored by what you have to say�so will lots of other prospects. Make the phone number, e-mail address, coupon, or whatever it is, easy to see and simple to use!

Make this information plain as day. Make them feel special, important and worthwhile.

You will win their loyalty.


About the author:
Smarter Business Leads specialize in using Low Cost Advertising & Marketing Ideas that will explode your businesses cash register. Check them out at www.smarterbusinessleads.comif you hurry they may even send you a free report go to www.smarterbusinessleads.comnow


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3 Crucial Elements For Jumping Sales Numbers

by: Allyn Cutts
Marketers from every niche have common ground when it comes to bills. Yeah, every month there�s a new stack of bills demanding to be paid. Will there be enough profit to slide right through bill paying time without a flinch? Or do you find yourself fretting about whether you�ll even break even? You don�t have to be victimized by envelopes and 8x10 sheets of paper. Implement these 3 techniques to boost your sales.

1. Find More Customers
The first thing that comes to mind when we think of making more money is getting more customers through our doors. In fact, the majority of advertising focuses on doing just that. There are several things you can do to entice more customers to buy from you.

Implement Follow-Ups
Marketing gurus have discovered that follow ups can increase your customer conversion rates by as much as 50%. Now, that�s a whopping improvement! Don�t let potential customers fade away. Keep the doors for future communication open, and watch the drastic growth in your profits.

Encourage Referrals
Every satisfied customer will tell 3 friends or family members about your business - without encouragement. Imagine what would happen if you start rewarding their efforts.

Get Free Publicity
Nearly everyone keeps a sharp eye on the local news. Hey, it�s funner to know what�s going on when you personally recognize the names and faces in print! Find ways to make your business newsworthy and catch the attention of potential customers without even paying advertising fees.


2. Sell More Per Customer
Think about it... how can you get every customer that walks through your doors to spend more money before walking back out the doors? Here are 3 sure-fire, profit increasing tips:

Increase your prices.
Hey, that might not be as bad as you think. Along with the price increase, focus on increasing the perceived value of your product. Yeah, we all expect to pay a little more for high quality stuff. Not everyone is bent on finding the absolute cheapest price in town... they may be more interested in lasting quality.

Add some higher end products or services to your business.
It�s never wise to put all of your eggs in one basket. That�s why wise marketers diversify their products and services. Think of it this way... higher priced products may not make as many sales, but each sale will bring in a much greater profit. You don�t need to make as many sales to come out on the best end of the deal.

Upsell
Offer every customer an additional product that accents his current purchase at the register. Hey, maybe they forgot they�d need batteries to go with the toy they're getting for their niece's birthday gift! You can be a hero... a richer hero.

3. Sell More Often
The fact that it�s easier to sell to the people who know and trust you is obvious. Sometimes we get so focused on new customers that we miss the gold mine in our own back yard. Take advantage of the hard work you�ve invested in winning the loyal customers you already have with these ideas:

Create a Special Deal
Show your customers you appreciate them and understand their needs with a special offer catered just for them. You�ll be thanking them, and selling more in the process.

Add New Products
Increase the number of products you already have available - especially products that your customers have asked for. They�ll know that you�re looking out for them, and you�ll take their thanks to the bank.

Communicate
Resell yourself on a regular basis. Don�t forget to let them know about upcoming specials that they�ll appreciate. Most of all... keep selling them on the benefits of the products or services you offer.


About the author:
Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.comand you can call between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.


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1 Business Building Tool in Network Marketing

by: Jerry Olthoff

Ever wonder why one person succeeds and another fails in MLM? Or why someone has massive success in a company, then leaves, goes someplace else, and never, ever again duplicates that success? Or why some people spend 5, 10, even 20 years in network marketing with NO success...

Yet they never quit!

Or how an industry that does so many things so wrong can still be so popular ...

This Tool Can Change Your Life

On December 12, 2004, our team released the ebook "Success In 10 Steps", the story of what we have learned from 26 years in MLM.

The feedback has been astonishing.

People say, "I could have written that book!

That was my story.

Why did you steal my story? How could you know exactly what I went through?"

Back in 1991, my mentor was making full-time income from MLM.

He retired from that company and actually joined over 100 network marketing companies in the next few years, to figure out how this industry really works: the good, the bad, the ugly.

Here's what he did:
1. Got on dozens of company conference calls
2. Organized & categorized companies, products, compensation plans, distributor kits, & marketing materials to compare each company with all the others
3. Studied their business models, to understand what kind of behavior certain business models drove
4. Studied how different "upline gurus" trained (or did not train) their people

This process answered all the mysteries. It also revealed some valuable, valuable secrets about network marketing.

Example #1:

The hard-driving, closing salesperson is about 8% of the population. And those 8% have convinced the other 92% that the 8% are right and the 92% are wrong.

How did they do that?

Because that is what THEY do. It works for them, so they have total confidence they are right, and when you feel their confidence, you KNOW they must be right, so you do what they tell you.

92% of the world's population is sales-resistant.

They do not like to be sold, and they do not want to become that pushy, aggressive salesperson nobody likes. Yet when they join MLM, some upline leader tells them,

"Make a list of your friends and family. Call them up. Get 'em into the business. You need to hear 100 'No's for every 'Yes'.

Guess what?

It still only works for the 8%.

If you let them mesmerize you, you can wander aimlessly in the "failure" desert for years...

Maybe forever.

The Choice Is Yours

You can't become something you hate in order to be successful. This model works for the 8% who are real salespeople.

It's a disaster for the rest of us...

A very bad business model.

Example #2:

Every person on the planet has to be educated in the skills of what they're doing.

Whether you're a doctor, carpenter, plumber, ditch digger ... whatever you are... You've got to be taught the skills of that business.

And what "Success In 10 Steps" does for people is, it gets them to realize,

It's not your fault! The people teaching you didn't know any better.

They weren't bad people. They weren't lying to you intentionally. They just didn't know any other way to do the business.

Do you think you can wake up one morning and say, "I'm going to be a doctor!"

And you go down and join a company, get a distributor kit for 50 bucks, and you're a doctor?

Of course not. That's ludicrous.

How about a carpenter?

No way. You have to learn pitches and square and level and plumb.

You have to be taught the skills. Yet people get in network marketing, and they're told,

"Call your friends & family." It's the biggest fallacy in the industry.

Network marketing is not a sales business.

It's a teaching & mentoring business.

When you build people, people will build your business. Those upline guru leaders will tell you,

"Well, you didn't make enough phone calls. You're a loser. If it's to be, it's up to me." Have you heard all that stuff?

I bet you believed it, too, haven't you?

Why This Ebook Is Such a Hot Tool For Building Your Business

So the ebook really opens people's eyes to the fact that they've been lied to. You must do your business with people who WANT to be in business with you. You have to sell product to people who LOVE the product and want to buy it. That only comes through target marketing.

We learned early-on about targeted marketing.

Only talk to people who have raised their hand and want what you have.

Well, guess what? EVERY person who downloads "Success In 10 Steps" is trying to figure out why MLM is not working for them. When you call them up, they could be in a company already. They could be working the business a year or 2 or 5, 7, 10 years. But why would they download that ebook?

They're divulging some critical information. The business is not working for them.

They want to figure out what the problem is. And they're looking to you for help. THAT is the basis of a long-term relationship, and THAT is the effect you can create with "Success In 10 Steps."

See for yourself. Download your copy now.

About the author:
Jerry Olthoff lives in Apache Junction, AZ, with his wife, Dr. Nancy Olthoff, and their 2 mini-dachshunds. For years he owned an insurance agency. Now he helps people achieve success in network marketing. Get your complimentary copy of "Success in 10 Steps" at http://drolthoff.bigmlmlies.com/?mad=2823


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