Is Making A Good First Impression On Business Clients Important?by: Dock Murphy

It has been said that it is important to always make a good first impression and you only get one chance to do that. After that opportunity passes, you will play catch-up in having your clients believe in you. You only rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression so you have to make the best of the opportunity. In business, the first impression begins with the first contact a potential client has with you. Whether it is on the telephone or in person, the first time a client has any type of dealings with you company can help him for an instant opinion. Unfortunately, for many business owners, they are not the ones holding the key to the first meeting. It could be hindered by the receptionist who answers the phone or the maintenance man who is supposed to keep the front sidewalk clear of litter. If they are not all on the same page in making your new clients feel welcome, you are fast approaching the point of being too late to make that good first impression. Even if the prospective new client gets into the office with no trouble for the first meeting, do not keep them waiting. While five minutes may not seem like a long time, but it could give the opinion that you do not think that person is important to your business. If they feel they do not matter to you, they will not believe you matter to them. It does not matter what industry you are in or what type of work you do, there are many others that can provide the same service or product. The new client wants to be comfortable knowing that you are going to say what you will do and then do what you say. If you make the client feel uncomfortable or make them wait, they will probably seek another place to park their business. If the new client feels good about doing business with your company and strikes a deal, that is only the beginning. That first impression can be ruined by bad follow up and not delivering on your promise. If you can do everything right, that first impression can translate into the best advertising you can hope for…word of mouth. It is a commonly accepted theory that if you make one client happy they will tell five others. If you do not treat them right they will tell two of their friends, who will tell two of their friends and so on, until business quits coming to you. There is no shame in doing what is right for the customer. After all, if the clients quit coming to your door, you may as well lock and stay at home.

Internet Marketing For Online Business by: Cliff Posey Jr

Internet marketing for your online business can be confusing, especially if you are not familiar with all of the different aspects of website marketing. This is why it can sometimes be hard to determine exactly which marketing method to use. Many business owners are afraid to choose a marketing strategy because they fear it will not pay off. Others don't care and are willing to try virtually anything. No matter which category you fall into, you will have to eventually make a choice. Every online business needs to advertise in some way if they want to compete. At some point, you will have to take a chance. It is only after you have developed and implemented a website marketing strategy that you will truly be able to determine whether or not it was a success. Though there are many different website marketing techniques, there is really only one way to judge the success of your online campaign. Follow-up. If you never follow-up on your marketing decisions, it will be impossible for you to determine whether or not you should continue with a specific website marketing strategy. See, a website marketing campaign is just like any other marketing campaign. Once it is over, the results need to be analyzed and measured. Follow-up is especially important when it comes to Internet marketing for online business, because there are so many methods of advertising. By tracking your results, you can determine which methods of website marketing were effective and which methods were not. You can then adjust your methods accordingly. If you have never tracked your website traffic or the results of a website marketing campaign, it may be hard to determine where to start. However, you shouldn't become frustrated and give up too soon. Results tracking is very important if you want to make sure you're not throwing your advertising money out the window. The easiest way to track your site visitors is by viewing your website's logs. These logs are a record of your site visitors and can help you determine where the traffic on your website came from. By viewing these logs, you will know whether or not the visitors were a direct result of the website marketing campaign. Just about every web hosting company provides this service to their customers. If your web host does not allow you access to these logs or if they will not send you weblog reports, you may want to consider switching web hosts. If switching hosts is not a viable option, you can also purchase one of many software programs that are specifically designed to help you track and analyze your website marketing efforts. Results tracking is an essential part of Internet marketing for online business. Without it, you will have a very hard time figuring out exactly how effective your website marketing campaign is. You would never know how a website visitor found your site and you would never know which advertising strategies were failures. Effective Internet marketing for online business brings traffic to your website and then converts that traffic into paying customers. When you can accomplish this conversion on a regular basis, you will know that your website marketing strategy is truly a success. Comprehensive Internet marketing for online business is more than just launching a campaign. You must also take an active role in market research, strategy development, campaign design, risk management, and quality control. Then, by carefully monitoring and measuring the results of your website marketing efforts, you can

The Art of Persuasive Business Writing by: Courtland Bovee

All good writing involves persuasion-getting the reader over to your side. You may be writing to persuade a colleague to take on a new project, writing a blog post trying to persuade people to accept a new idea, or writing persuasive advertising copy for a new product. In each situation, your goal is to persuade your readers that you have something to say and that it is in their best interest to take the action you have requested. Here are five elements to keep in mind when writing persuasive messages. 1. "You" attitude. Too much business writing has an "I" or "we" viewpoint, which causes the writer to sound selfish and not interested in the reader. If you want to get your point of view across, convey information, or persuade the reader, you have to talk in terms of the reader's interests, hopes, wishes, and preferences. Good writing psychology requires that you present your message in light of the reader's viewpoint rather than your own. "I" or "We" To help us process this order, we must ask for another copy of the requisition. We trust you will extend your service contract. "You" So that your order can be filled promptly, please send another copy of the requisition. By extending your service contract, you can continue to enjoy topnotch performance from your equipment. 2. Warmth. You can make all sorts of mistakes in your messages yet still leave your readers with a good feeling if you can convey the magic intangible of personal warmth. Warmth is more difficult in writing than it is in oral communications. Essentially, warmth is an aspect-possibly even the measure-of the "you" viewpoint. You should not only demonstrate concern for the audience's problems but interest in their attitudes and an appreciation of the ways in which handling the situation is going to be helpful to them. 3. Parallel experience. One way of touching the right spots with your reader is to draw on a parallel situation in your own experience. Build your writing around this experience, or use what you learned as a basis for your writing. By creating a sympathetic bond between you and your reader, you enhance the person-to-person connection and help your reader to become more open to what you are saying. 4. Good manners. If you want to persuade your reader, you must show impeccable manners. In other words, be nice. If you are rude or overly aggressive, your reader will shut down to your argument and turn elsewhere. When in doubt, put yourself on the other end of the writing and ask, "How would I feel if this was directed at me? Would I be offended, or would I be open to listening to more?" 5. Tone. The tone of your writing goes beyond the content of your words and offers the reader an overall feeling or indication of your meaning. The overall tone of your message will depend on the subject, but a general guideline is to stay positive. Suggest to your reader that you are interested in his or her problems and in solving them. A good tone is ruined by using harsh words or phrases. Some examples: Poor...........................Improved the alleged loss...............the loss you refer to you claim that.................we understand that you neglected to send..........you did not send in which you assert............you tell us if we were at fault............please accept our apologies we request that you send us....please send us Persuasion is an art, not a science-but that does not mean there is no winning formula. By incorporating these five elements into your business communication, you will have a greater chance of getting your reader to stop, listen, and take the action you want.

Tips for Starting Your Own Jewelry Business

Staring your own business can be an intimidating challenge. However, this task can be made achievable by setting up realistic goals, and following a few easy steps. If you have a passion of fashion and are an outgoing person, you can establish your own silver jewelry business. Being in the jewelry business myself, I can tell you what you will need in order to start one on your own. For the last seven years, I have been a wholesale silver jewelry supplier. I have helped close to a thousand people start small businesses of their own by providing them with excellent quality silver jewelry at honest wholesale prices along with free advice and consultancy. My first piece of advice to people who are new into the world of business is to set attainable goals and objectives, and make a business plan. As hard as it may seem, in reality there are few barriers to entry to starting your own business with low cost service providers, marketing, communication and availability of wholesale jewelry suppliers. Given below is a list of things you can do in order to start or enhance a successful jewelry business. i. Make a plan: It is very important to have a good plan. A formal business plan is not necessary unless you want to get a loan or an investor. Instead, the plan you make should be meticulous, especially on the financial side. ii. Think about whether the jewelry you want to sell is right for your intended market. Diamond jewelry is probably not the right product for a flea market! iii. You can host a home-based jewelry party yourself or have a friend host it and give her some free stuff as compensation. Ask your friend to invite her friends and relatives for the party. These people come to buy and you have no competition. iv. Buy off EBay - many people buy things at good prices and then just re-sell them. v. Search the web for other silver jewelry wholesalers. vi. Put jewelry out at your own or your friend’s garage sales. It really works! vii. Visit these sites frequently: www.paypal.com : Online payments and merchant account www.Godaddy.com : Domain registration and turn-key hosting solutions www.fetpak.com : Low-cost jewelry supplies and displays (ring boxes, findings, etc.) www.ShippingSupply.com : Low-cost shipping supplies www.jewelrysupply.com : Jewelry supplies and displays Wholesalegemshop.com : Supplier of wholesale silver jewelry http://www.festivalnet.com : Wholesale Silver Jewelry Supplier List of craft shows throughout the country Great source of low cost products Ebay.com - Wholesale Jewelry : EBay Pro-store - turn key ecommerce solution http://www.adwords.google.com : Google Adwords Program The above-mentioned points are helpful hints that will assist you in either starting a jewelry business or making your already existing jewelry business successful. I could have used this information when I started out. I enjoy helping people get started in their own businesses. Even though my business has grown substantially since I started out, I still feel truly grateful to every one of my customers who enable me to succeed and allow me to pursue the lifestyle I chose.

Protect The Merger Or Sale Value Of Your Business: What You Can Learn From The DaimlerChrysler Debacle

In the heat of summer 1997, Daimler Benz purchased Chrysler for 37 Billion Dollars in a reported business merger of equals. Now, not quite 10 years later DaimlerChrysler is selling Chrysler for a reported 7.4 billion dollars for 80% of the firm. If the loss of 30 Billion Dollars in business value is not bad enough apparently the entire purchase price being paid by the buyer Cerberus will be placed into Chrysler and not retained by Daimler. How did this happen and what lessons can you learn when planning the sale, merger, or valuation of your privately held business? When Merging Or Selling A Business, It's Business Profits Not Sales Revenues When Daimler purchased Chrysler, Chrysler was having record revenues of 61 Billion Dollars and net earnings of 2.8 Billion Dollars. Revenues and profits were growing rapidly. Exciting new product lines were eagerly accepted by the market. The resulting projected cash flow would pay for the purchase. Now, in 2007, Chrysler has revenues of 62 Billion Dollars and a 1.5 Billion Dollar loss with no projected growth and no current cash flow for financing. This proves one more time that cash flow is the basis of traditional companies' business value. To increase business value and business merger sales price, maximize your cash flow during the lead-up and sale period. The Importance Of Business Cycles When Selling Or Merging When Daimler bought Chrysler the auto industry as a whole was having record years. The three American automakers were selling cars like hotcakes. Costs had been brought down to where Chrysler was a low cost provider. Compare that to the current industry weakness with reports of overcapacity, impending layoffs and inability to compete because of health care and retirement costs. Yes, the overall industry cycles do matter in the pricing of a business at the time of sale. Sell on the up-cycle. Up-cycles provide prospective purchasers with cash to buy your business and up-cycles provide your business with profits to sell. Selling Period - Desperation Does Not Increase Price When reports that Chrysler might be sold hit the street it was clear that Daimler was having a fire sale. Great for a buyer but a very tough negotiating position for a seller. Don't wait until even the "business challenged" can tell you must sell. If you wait too long before you start the business sale or merger process the bottom feeders will win. Maintain Your Core Strengths When Looking to Merge When Daimler purchased Chrysler a new design center had been completed allowing Chrysler to bring cars on the market in three years or less. This allowed them to compete with stylish exciting cars. Daimler, in an effort to milk profits, did not bring out a new car for three years prior to 2006, destroying this design leadership position. People bought Chryslers because they were an affordable style, not because they lasted forever. So what was left when there were no new models? Protect Your Brands While some may question Chrysler's brand value no one can seriously question Jeep's value. Jeep was very close to the Marlboro Man in American mystique. Yet Daimler let Hummer take Jeeps prized position as the "American Badlands 4 Wheel Drive Experience." Daimler, in 2007, finally brought out a Hummer competitor - right in time for a spike in gas prices. Always protect your brands and the value inherent in them. Chrysler invented the minivan. Chrysler still has some very nice minivans. Yet in the day of the "crossover" or mix of SUV and Minivan, where is Chrysler's entry? What happened to the design studio again? Keep Your Talent, They Are Your Business In the name of efficiency Daimler didn't let Chrysler keep dancing the dance that got it to the ball. In a merger originally billed as a marriage of equals it very quickly became clear that the superior equal was Daimler. After all, they were the purchaser. But why chase off the talent you paid dearly for? Always keep your key people on the team if you want to maximize your sales or merger value even if you must share some of the rewards with them. Based on Chrysler's revival from death in the 1990's, someone there clearly knew what they were doing. It is a fatal mistake to lose your best people or worse yet force them to turn to your competitors. Final Thoughts On Business Value With the advantages of hindsight, it is clear that Daimler has made about every mistake possible thereby destroying the value of the Chrysler subsidiary. Chrysler lost profitability because it stopped being Chrysler. Chrysler lost its affordable style position when it lost its design edge and design speed. It lost much of the value in its key Jeep brand by not staying up with changing trends. These and many other mistakes took Chrysler from record profits to huge losses. Daimler bought in an up market cycle and sold in a down cycle. As a final insult, Daimler did not even allow a reasonable time on the market for the transaction to be negotiated. Avoid making these mistakes when looking to sell or merge your private business. In order to earn the greatest return when you sell or merge your business, make sure your profits are increasing, you are running with the business cycle and you follow a proper merger and sales process.

The Art of Persuasive Business Writing

All good writing involves persuasion-getting the reader over to your side. You may be writing to persuade a colleague to take on a new project, writing a blog post trying to persuade people to accept a new idea, or writing persuasive advertising copy for a new product. In each situation, your goal is to persuade your readers that you have something to say and that it is in their best interest to take the action you have requested. Here are five elements to keep in mind when writing persuasive messages. 1. "You" attitude. Too much business writing has an "I" or "we" viewpoint, which causes the writer to sound selfish and not interested in the reader. If you want to get your point of view across, convey information, or persuade the reader, you have to talk in terms of the reader's interests, hopes, wishes, and preferences. Good writing psychology requires that you present your message in light of the reader's viewpoint rather than your own. "I" or "We" To help us process this order, we must ask for another copy of the requisition. We trust you will extend your service contract. "You" So that your order can be filled promptly, please send another copy of the requisition. By extending your service contract, you can continue to enjoy topnotch performance from your equipment. 2. Warmth. You can make all sorts of mistakes in your messages yet still leave your readers with a good feeling if you can convey the magic intangible of personal warmth. Warmth is more difficult in writing than it is in oral communications. Essentially, warmth is an aspect-possibly even the measure-of the "you" viewpoint. You should not only demonstrate concern for the audience's problems but interest in their attitudes and an appreciation of the ways in which handling the situation is going to be helpful to them. 3. Parallel experience. One way of touching the right spots with your reader is to draw on a parallel situation in your own experience. Build your writing around this experience, or use what you learned as a basis for your writing. By creating a sympathetic bond between you and your reader, you enhance the person-to-person connection and help your reader to become more open to what you are saying. 4. Good manners. If you want to persuade your reader, you must show impeccable manners. In other words, be nice. If you are rude or overly aggressive, your reader will shut down to your argument and turn elsewhere. When in doubt, put yourself on the other end of the writing and ask, "How would I feel if this was directed at me? Would I be offended, or would I be open to listening to more?" 5. Tone. The tone of your writing goes beyond the content of your words and offers the reader an overall feeling or indication of your meaning. The overall tone of your message will depend on the subject, but a general guideline is to stay positive. Suggest to your reader that you are interested in his or her problems and in solving them. A good tone is ruined by using harsh words or phrases. Some examples: Poor the alleged loss you claim that you neglected to send in which you assert if we were at fault we request that you send us Improved the loss you refer to we understand that you did not send you tell us please accept our apologies please send us Persuasion is an art, not a science-but that does not mean there is no winning formula. By incorporating these five elements into your business communication, you will have a greater chance of getting your reader to stop, listen, and take the action you want.

How To Start Your Own Baby Food Business Part #5: Fresh, Organic, and Local

Of course, you don't have to make fresh, organic, and local underlining values of your baby food business. Perhaps these attributes are not as important to parents in your area. However, as I have already shown you, the market for products that have these qualities is growing rapidly. And the fact that your baby food is fresh, organic, and local is unlikely to turn people off. But you may loose potential customers if your food doesn't have at least one of these attributes. Why Organic Foods For Babies? -Existing regulations on the amount of pesticide residues that non-organic foods may contain are based on 'acceptable' levels for adult consumption. Babies and young children are at greater risk because the immaturity of their body systems makes them more vulnerable to toxins. -Because children's diet is often restricted to just a few types of less processed food- like apples, potatoes, carrots ' they may receive higher exposure to toxins. -From conception until one year of age, children are at their most vulnerable. During this critical stage of development cells are multiplying at their peak, yet the body has limited diet to draw upon. -A baby's digestive system is also more efficient that that of an adult at absorbing foods, enabling nutrients to be used more quickly, but also making the body more vulnerable to toxins. Immature kidneys are not as proficient at excreting harmful substances, so they may circulate in the body for a longer period of time. -No one knows what effect genetic engineering may have on food products and the health of those who consume them. So the best way to protect yourself and your baby from possible problems is to choose organic. Organic baby foods are produced without genetically modified ingredients. Why Local Foods For Babies? -Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction. -Locally grown produce is fresher. While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer's market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time. -Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be "rugged" or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine. -Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. In a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. -Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism. Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination. -Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. When you buy local, you give those with local open space - farms and pastures - an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped. Sources: -Trading places: the local economic impact of street produce and farmer's markets, New Economics Foundation, November 2005. -Farm costs and food miles: An assessment of the full cost of the weekly food basket, Food Policy, Volume 30, Issue 1, February 2005, Pages 1-19. -"New Rules to Beat Food Terrorism", Associated Press, Dec 6, 2004.

Starting Your Very Own Business

An advertising manager, tired of going to the office 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, and feeling confined in a designated space, finally decided to file for an early retirement and start her own business. Her relatives have their own businesses, and her parents are actually owners of a small sandwich deli found at the corner of her office. Being an entrepreneur runs in her blood. She is attracted to this lifestyle through years of helping her parents and seeing her relatives run their own trade. She likes to dabble a lot with graphic design. In fact, her birthday cards have been very popular among her relatives and lovedones that she has expanded her layouts to include other special events and holidays. Nowadays, she earns more than her regular pay with getting design jobs for special greeting cards and postcards. Clients usually order online and can choose from her wide range of designs for all occasions. What is really interesting about her small venture is that clients can actually put their own thoughts and words to the cards. You just have to write them in the order form. Her dream of a retail business became a reality. It took a lot of initial work, and more than enough anxiety to last her a lifetime. But with strategic planning and careful preparation, she was able to achieve her goals. So how did she start her own retail business? Here is what you need to initially set up your own shop: Legal Structure. The proper legal structure is the very first thing that you have to decide when starting your retail business. You need to choose the best for your business as future changes may mean more costs later on. Retail Business Name. When you register your retail business, you will need to record a business name. This is one of the pre-requisite of having a retail business. Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is your Federal Tax Identification Number. This is used to identify you from among the many business entities operating. Products and Services. You cannot very well start a retail business without having a product to sell or a service to offer. Before you commit to a merchandise, think carefully of what you are interested in and what appeals to you. Consider them before you decide to resell. Business Plan. Whatever retail business you decide on, you need to have a business plan to help you map out your steps. Your business plan will get you to where you want to go, and help you to be on track. Permits and Licenses. Get business licenses and permits from your city, county or state governments. You need to be informed of what laws govern your retail business niche. Location. As any experienced real estate agent would say, location matters, a lot. Your location will have a major impact on your retail business' success or failure. Shop Rules. Establish rules and policies to handle any kind of situation in your retail business. Marketing Campaign. You need to let your target clients know that you exist. Spread the word through flyers, postcards and even brochures. Use your marketing collaterals to reach out and draw your clients to your retail business.

Finding Business Leads

There are several ways to generate Business Leads both on and offline. In today’s communities we are struggling to find decent paid lead generation however it is still the easiest way to get leads online today. Also with paid Leads most companies verify and check all requests for information and sign-ups some even Double verify which will give better results! There are some offline strategies to keep you going too! Buying a bank of leads for instance will give your business a lot of leads for little work and some investment of course. Though some of the lists are not specific but more generalized you may choose to specify which types of leads you are interested in to get better results. Naming industry and type will narrow your leads down to those interested in your specific type of industry! Generating Company Employee or Membership Lists: this type of lead generating will give you an open chance to get more for your lead. If there is a company interested in your industry or product why stop with just that company chances are that the members could use the products as well. This will also give you more leads for less work and money investment. Generating Business sales leads are on the rise online. May people do their bills, shopping and general socializing online now days? The ability to speak and buy international as well as chat from state to state is cheaper and easier then ever before. Finding your catch to real the buyers to you is the key. Researching and highlighting the areas most surfed on you page will help you generate more sales leads and all this will take is a little extra time with little investment. Business to business sales is on the rise on the internet in the last few years. Business customers are finding that its convenience and easy tracking of orders is making purchasing over the net whole new realm! On the World Wide Web finding leads are rather easy the hard part is deciding how to go about it in the most effect and least costly way. Determining just how you want your potential customers to hear about you will have an impact on how you choose to do this. Whether you use Business sales leads, membership lists, buying a bank of leads, or any other form of lead generation you should make sure that your leads are specific to your target audience and are verified. This will save your many headaches and cost later down the line!

How to Choose the Perfect Network Marketing Home Business

In these uncertain economic times, many people today are looking for a solid and legitimate home business model to help create another stable stream of income in their lives. Not to mention the ability to spend more time with family, and the chance to quit their jobs and become their own boss. Rather than taking the risky path of creating their own product and then trying to create a market for the product, many entrepreneurs are choosing to get into a turnkey network marketing businesses that can be easily run from home - especially with the technology available today. The benefits of network marketing are that the market is already there - you just have to tap it to make sales. You do not need to reinvent the wheel trying to figure out if there is a market for the product. The items being sold by most network marketing companies, such as nutritional items, cleaning products or books are items that are already in demand by the public. There is no need to create a whole new market, or having to explain the value of a product that the public already knows that it wants to buy. To find the best network marketing company for a home business, there are a few key areas to pay attention to: 1. Does the company sell something that you can believe in? If you do not have a passion about the product or the concept, then you should not choose that particular network marketing company. You want this home business to be fun and something you enjoy 2. Are the items jut fads that won't be in demand for long, or are they items that the public will be interested in for years to come? You want a product or concept that will stand the test of time. 3. Are there a variety of items, or just the one product? There's a better chance of success when you can sell related items to a customer instead of just one product. And, when there are many products, there is no limit as to how many each customer might be interested in buying. The more you can offer, the more your customers will buy. 4. How difficult will it be to get customers and your "downline associates" interested in the items? Will you have to spend a long time explaining the product, or is it simple enough to attract a lot of attention? The KISS (keep it short and simple) principle really applies here. It if takes too long to describe the product or concept, people just won't buy or join. 5. Is the business so pervasive that everyone you are likely to market to has already joined it? Is it new enough that you can still introduce the idea to potential customers and plenty of downline associates? If you can find a network marketing company that meets these criteria, then you've found a company, product and concept that has tremendous potential to be a wildly successful home business. A network marketing business like the one described is one that will also be attractive to other people wanting to break into the home business arena and become part of your downline organization - which spells even great profits for you - since they will have the same excitement to grow their organizations as well. This duplication can create a huge residual income stream.

The Cool Thing About Internet Small Business

And here is the cool thing about being in an Internet small business, your competition, you can see exactly what they are doing all the time, any time you want to see what they are doing you just look. Like I said before, once the competition clicks on your ads in pay per click just to see your ad, but they want to click on it more to see what you are doing on your landing page and your lead capture page. They look to see if they need to get an edge on you or create something a little different for themselves, because you just changed what you are doing. It always pushes people forward and makes you a better person. That is how people become such good marketers because of competition. Some people would not be that good today if there was no competition. It forces you to try new things all the time, forces you to learn new things, get more courses, learn more from their mentors. Many people pay tremendous amounts of money to their mentors to learn all the different things that make them successful. The mentor is a millionaire or a billionaire today, but you learn from them all the different tactics that can make you a millionaire or a billionaire today. It should be part of your success philosophy in any industry you want to learn something in, just find the cream of the crop in that industry, who you perceive that gives you great value as being the cream of the crop, and pay them what they want and learn everything you can from them. It will make you who you are, so other myths that are out there that you hear, I just talked about one myth now, but there are lots of myths out there. One of the myths out there is about making sales at a certain time or to recruit or sponsor, whatever you want to call it, that is a myth too. We can prove that wrong numerous times, it is just a myth. We have told people that we continue on with business as usual and why the people that believe that myth in their head, you are out there capitalizing and making the sales that they could not make. The same thing in the months of December and November, same thing, we can debunk that myth too. The only industry that I have found so far that in the months of November and December that are absolutely slow and not worth doing business in was in the real estate industry. Other than that, we have not found any other things that we have done on and off line that is affected by the time of year. As a matter, of fact we have seen companies break sales records all year round just in December. We have done many sales in November and December, even right on the holiday, it does not matter, right on Christmas Day, does not matter. So whenever you hear somebody say something that is potentially - - I mean they are not going to come out and say it is a myth, they are just going to say it is, instead of just believing it is a fact, either go get the facts, or prove it wrong, or ask them how or what proof they have. I want solid proof. And even if they do give you solid proof, try it yourself. There are a lot of things that are lost in the world just because a person believes what they hear. Same thing in politics and other areas and that is because people do not look into the different areas and the actual facts. So do your own research and be thorough about it. Here is something to think about. How does someone make so many sales when other people are talking about how saturated a field is?

7 Reasons To Start Your Own Internet Business

Many people dream of firing the boss and starting their own internet business, working online from home. Is it really such a good idea? Absolutely, and I should know, because I have been working online from home for the past four years. Here are seven reasons why starting your own internet business is an excellent idea.

1. Low Start Up Costs Starting up an online business is inexpensive compared to starting up a traditional business. You don’t need to rent office space. You don’t need office furniture for half a dozen people. In fact, you don’t need those half a dozen people either. There’ll be no salaries to pay, no labor insurance to worry about. With many online businesses you can get started with just a computer and an internet connection.

2. Good Profit Margins Most online businesses have high profit margins due to the low direct cost of sales. For example, take an internet business selling ebooks. The cost of stocking and delivering the ebooks is almost zero. Web hosting and a good mailing list management solution will cost around twenty to thirty dollars every month. And then you must pay a fairly small percentage of sales revenue for payment processing fees. An ebook selling business can usually make a profit of 50-75% on each ebook if selling or referring other author’s ebooks and as high as 90% profit selling your own ebooks or other information products that you write. Other online businesses experience similar profit margins.

3. Simplified Customer Service If you’ve ever had to face angry customers across the counter of a retail store, then you’ll appreciate the advantage of dealing with customers through the Internet. Many potential problems can be avoided by simply providing clear and detailed information and a good frequently asked questions section. Any remaining issues can be dealt with via web forms and email. So the few angry customers you might, and probably will, eventually encounter will not be right in your face. You will have time to gather your thoughts and check into the situation before you respond. And in the event you need to arrange any refunds on information products, you’re not really out of pocket for anything except perhaps a little of your time.

4. Global Market An online business is also a great idea because of the size of the marketplace. It’s world-wide. Your internet business can easily target customers in almost every country if you choose to. With more and more people around the world getting ‘online’ that’s an enormous market for your business.

5. Work from home Do you hate having to commute to the office every day? Then you’ll love working online. Instead of spending a good portion of your life stuck in rush hour traffic, imagine rising in the morning, reading the newspaper while enjoying your morning coffee, then simply wandering across the room and turning on your computer to start work. One of the nicest things about working at home is you get to choose your own working environment. After all, your workspace is where you’ll be spending a lot of your time, so shouldn’t it be a workspace designed especially with you in mind? The desk of your dreams. A comfortable chair that your former office colleagues would kill for. Your favorite music at the flick off a switch.

6. Flexible Hours When you are working online, you can choose to work whatever hours you like. Do you prefer to sleep late and then work through into the evening, or would you rather start at six o’clock in the morning and have all your work finished by two or three o’clock in the afternoon? It’s up to you when you work and how many hours you work. But don’t be fooled. Running your own business takes a lot of hours and the people making fortunes online usually work long hours, at least during their first two to three years while they are still building up the business. Working flexible hours can really improve your quality of life because you will be able to spend more time with your family and friends. Never again will you have to miss an important family event.

7. Quick to Start The seventh reason why working online with an internet business is a great idea is that you can start up very quickly. For some simple online business models such as article marketing and affiliate marketing you can actually be up and running and earning your first online payments within a couple of days. Admittedly, some larger online business ventures will take months of planning and preparation, but most people getting started in online business will start out with one of the simpler, more proven, internet business strategies mentioned above. That’s seven great reasons to start your own internet business. There are certainly many more good reasons, but perhaps these seven will inspire you to start an online business of your own.

And that is the answer for the question and thanks for the comment.

Are You Looking For a Genuine Internet Business?

Many people these days would love to work from home. The option of being your own boss, working your own hours and taking time off whenever you need it is extremely tempting. However, making the dream of working for yourself a reality can often be extremely difficult. With so many scams out there, how can you find a genuine internet business?
Finding Genuine Internet Business Opportunities
When it comes to selecting the right internet business opportunity for you it can be extremely difficult. So many opportunities sound too good to be true and the trouble is they are. If you read something online and it sounds absolutely amazing then it is extremely likely that you are looking at a scam.
The main misconception people have about internet businesses is that you do not have to work very hard to get the results that you crave. This is simply not true and if you really want to make a go of working for yourself and providing a comfortable life for your family then you will sadly have to put in a lot of time and effort. However, saying that; the reward that you get back from that time and effort is definitely worthwhile.
If you are thinking of investing your money into an internet business then there are some simple steps you should follow. Firstly you need to make sure that you are investing in something that you enjoy doing. This is because if you enjoy doing it you will dedicate more time and effort into the business and therefore gain back more rewards. You will also understand the business a lot more which is vital if you want to make the business successful.
You really will need to be dedicated to your business. It takes more than a little advertising to keep the clients coming in. You need to constantly advertise and ensure that you treat your clients with respect if you want them to keep coming back. Take the time to grow your business and it really will ensure that you earn enough to keep you and your family comfortable.
Doing your research before you start any business is also a really good idea. That way you can see who your competitors are, how you should be running the business and who you should be marketing your business towards. Setting up a website and thinking of more ways to advertise is also advisable. The more you advertise, the more clients you will draw into your business.
There are a number of genuine internet business opportunities but they do take some finding! You need to know exactly how to spot the scams and you need to realize that you will have to work quite hard to keep your business going. Working for yourself is definitely worthwhile but it does take time and effort.

Why Free Internet Advertising Can Work For Your Business

When you first start your own business at home you are faced with the obstacle of how to promote it. If you don't have one you're going to need a website and you're going to need traffic coming to it. If money is an obstacle then you are going to need to find ways to promote your business for free. In this article we want to talk about free Internet advertising, and how you can do that to get traffic for your new business website.
The first thing to understand about marketing on the Internet is that if you do not have to have money to drive traffic to your website you're going to have to make up for that by investing time. This is one of the great things about the Internet, however. Anybody regardless of their present income status can start their own business at home and make it profitable by doing just a few different types of free advertising methods.
When we talk about getting traffic to a website we're talking about a visitor and a potential paying customer. Once they are on your site they can make a purchase therefore earning you a commission on that sale. So it only stands to reason that the more visitors that you have coming to your site the more opportunities you have to make a sale.
One effective method that has worked over the years and is continuing to work is known as article marketing. When you do article marketing you target a primary keyword and write your article around it. You then submit those articles to article directories where they are published online for other people to view.
The way that this can benefit you is when you write a quality article, at the end of the article you're allowed to create a bio box. This resource box is a short classified ad promoting yourself, your website and your new business. You're allowed to list your website address, and when people click on that they are taken to your website.
For article marketing to work you need to write a lot of articles and get those submitted to as many quality article directories as possible. If you don't have money to pay to use a submission service then you're going to have to manually enter those articles 1 at a time. This brings us back to what we talked about earlier, in terms of investing more time you do not have to have money to spend promoting.
Your goal with article marketing is to get your website address on as many potential pages as possible. This is known as getting a link back to your website or a back link. A back link is another free Internet marketing method. You need to get as many back links pointing back to your website is possible.
You can do this through free classified ads, forum marketing, blogging, social networking, and anything you can think of that allows you to get your website address on somebody else's website.
This summarizes free Internet advertising. You are going to have to be creative and you're going to be ambitious, but the more backlinks pointing to your site the more potential traffic you will have. The good news is when you start your own business at home the internet can help you promote it inexpensively.

5 Ugly Myths About Starting An Online Business

There are many myths about running an online business, and if you come into the online business world expecting these myths to be true; the failure of the business is inevitable. Money myths can be a one-way ticket to internet failure.

-There is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme. There are millionaires who get rich quick, but it's usually a combination of hard-work, creativity, and luck. However, there isn't one formula on how a person can get rich; in fact many people find their own path to riches simply by hours of research and hard-work.

-I can just set up an automated business and go on with my life. Eventually it will get to this point, but in the beginning of your entrepreneur career, this is almost impossible. Many internet Gurus simply do not tell us about the hard-work it took to get to the point where their business was automated. It can be done, but it can take months and even years of our dedicated hard work.

-It doesn't cost any money to make millions online. There are ways to make free money on the internet. These are called "bum marketing techniques" and require a vast amount of research and a great deal of hard-work. Even if we do start up a business for little or no money investment, we will eventually have to put in some type of investment to increase the profit potential of our business.

- "If you build it, they will come", the true internet marketing saying is "If you build it, they probably won't even know you exist". If we build a website, it is very important to dedicate a great amount of our time to Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the internet marketing technique of utilizing the power of search engines to increase traffic to a website. When a potential visitor types in a keyword phrase for the search engine, it is highly important that our page show up on the first result page. This can be done by writing keyword rich articles and updating our site with rich genuine content.

- It is wise to set up multiple sites instead of just focusing on one. Many people believe if they set up 50 sites that bring in one dollar a day, then they'll make 50 dollars a day. However, if a person puts all that time in effort into one site, they'll make an even greater amount of money.

Rapid Knowledge Development for Businesses

When there is little time to go to the local public library or shop around for a good business book, e-books on the Internet may be the best solution. If you are looking for specialized information, e-books may be the "only" solution. E-books are viable and cost-effective. They can be quickly located using a search engine. Bought and downloaded anytime and anywhere. The "critical path" towards knowledge acquisition is fast and effective. You can rapidly develop your business knowledge base on several subjects like leadership, management, planning, promotion, finance and more. Imagine that you suddenly realize you have to prepare for an important business meeting tomorrow and give a presentation on change management. You can quickly log on to the Internet and find some very good e-books on the topic. You can download the e-book immediately and start reading. E-books are usually much less expensive than traditional books on business. This means that you don't have to go through bureaucratic procedures to get an approval on a book for your office because the book is expensive. There are e-book programs that allow corporations to become members. Employees can login through the corporate account and access any number of e-books they like. This is a revolution in terms learning. With the same amount of money to buy physical books, corporations can now offer their employees unlimited choices. There are many such examples that prove how e-books can be a tool to gain knowledge faster than traditional methods. It all depends how we can make the best use of e-Books in our business lives.

Business Plans- What Consultants Don’t tell You!

Do you have a Business Plan? Congratulations, but you are in a small minority. And if you have a plan, is it integral to your business, and instrumental to its growth? If the answer to this question is yes, then you need to read no further. However, most business owners who actually go to the trouble to write a business plan have left it languishing on their bottom shelf, gathering dust! This is the dirty little secret of business consultants.

Most business consultants are only interested in selling their time or their ‘Business Plan in a Box’ but know that for a business plan to be useful, it has to be part of a Business Management System. But this is a much harder proposition for the consultant to sell, particularly to small business owners who are just looking for a quick fix. So most consultants just sell a quick fix solution- a business plan that they know will, within months, end up on the bottom shelf. Once owners have prepared their “fill in the blanks” plan, they expect it to transform their business overnight just by its mere existence. And because this does not happen, they never look at it again. Business Plans do work, but you have to make them work. It is not a one-off exercise. If you buy a ‘Business Plan in a Box’, you need to understand that you are responsible for maintaining the plan. You also need to satisfy yourself that the product you buy is not just a fill in the blanks product. These plans always end up on the bottom shelf. They don’t show you how to do your strategic analysis (which is never a fill in the blanks exercise- no matter what someone tells you). Business Planning is a real soul searching exercise for the business owner. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. Even if you prepare your plan yourself (without a coach), get someone else involved to keep you honest! Looking at examples of what others have done can help, but your business will have different strengths and weaknesses and will operate in a different marketplace. And lastly, make sure any off-the-shelf product you choose will show you how to implement your plan into your business.When you use a consultant, insist that they show you how the plan should be implemented into your business process. And have the consultant give you at least one review of your performance against your plan six months after the plan has been delivered. While this will cost you extra, this will ensure that your plan does not end up on the bottom shelf- because you know you will be held to account!Business Planning is not an easy process. It takes time and commitment. You don’t just do it once. This is not what business owners want to hear, and what most consultants won’t tell you, because it might cost them a sale. But the rewards from a well implemented business plan are worth many times your investment.

How To Get Business From Your Email Enquiries

Does your business get a lot of email inquiries?

You know the type I mean - where all the information you have of the enquirer is their email address. Isn't it frustrating when you reply to the email and hear nothing back?

Then you send a follow up email and still nothing! Finally in desperation you send a third email with your best price and nothing… nada… nil response! You finally give up out of sheer frustration.

So how is it possible to turn this type of inquiry into a sale? Don't give up hope yet as I have some possible solutions. Instead of responding with a sales pitch straight why not ask some questions first?

Possible questions include:

How did you find our company details?

When do you need delivery?

What number can I reach you on?

Who do you currently buy from?

Why are you thinking of changing suppliers?

How often do you place an order?

What are your views on X, Y & Z?

Your aim surely has to be to elicit a response and if possible further contact details like a phone number. By responding with a question, you can gauge the level of interest and avoid wasting precious time on "tyre kickers." Try to ask some questions that can not be answered with a straight yes or no. Instead ask leading questions that must get the enquirer thinking.

If your standard response is not working why not try the above approach?

To get business from an email inquiry you must get the client communicating and if possible talking as soon as possible.

This is the only way you are going to achieve results. You also need to build rapport with your potential clients, and instill confidence.

They need to be persuaded they are making the right decision.

By asking leading questions you are demonstrating that you treat their inquiry with respect. Why not prepare a standard questionnaire to send out to all initial inquiries?

If somebody can not be bothered answering some basic questions then it does not make sense wasting any more time on them. Another great idea is to hold a weekly conference call for initial inquiries.

Some potential clients might not be ready for a one on one chat but would happily attend a tele-seminar without feeling threatened. Personally I do not like the idea of giving a price based on an email inquiry. If the price is all the buyer is interested in then chances are that you will lose this customer pretty quickly even if you do manage to get their business. If you do give a price by email and it gets rejected then reply "If price is the only issue then why don't you give me a call? We have some great deals but I would rather we talk first before I send you a quote." Have you had an email inquiry recently? How much more successful would you be if you could double your conversion rate? Let the games begin!

Internet and Business

4 Things To Watch Out For From A Home Internet Based Business Opportunity

There are so many opportunities on the internet offering to set people up in their own home based internet business that it can be difficult to separate the real, legitimate opportunities from the ones that only want your money. Knowing what to look for hidden within the offers can mean the difference between finding a legitimate business to operate and ending up helping someone else make money while losing your own. With most fraudulent offers for in internet business there are four red flags that need to be thoroughly investigated before signing up to work for the website. Understand that not all of the companies that make these claims are out to take your money, but these are four things that many less than honest companies have in common:

1. Large upfront investment

2. The chance to make big money with little work

3. Do not clearly state what you will be selling

4. Lack of available contact information

While it is not uncommon for business to want a fee to become a representative for their business, you have to consider the amount demanded from you before you can start selling their product or service. You should also have a clear picture of what you will get in return for your investment. It is common for the term training to be listed, but many times the training consists of links to other sites where you are expected to learn about the company’s business model. The training may also focus on how to recruit others into the business, offering to pay a “bounty” for bringing in new people. A company that focuses on bringing in more people instead of selling the product may be on the border of being illegal. Anyone who has ever been involved in a business knows it takes work. One of the most common pitches is the promise of a big payday without having to work more than an hour or two a day…or even a week. There is no such thing as a free lunch and those who try to convince you otherwise and not being totally honest. That disclaimer about income may not a representative of the potential earnings, should beg the question about why even bother to list it. If you have been reading an online based business opportunity for several minutes and have no idea about the product or service you are being asked to sell, it could be an indication of a scam. Many keep it a secret until you have spent your money and find out there is no way you can sell this to others with a clear conscious. Know what the product is, and how much it will cost, before considering the offer any further. Look for contact information. If the only means of contacting the company is through an email address, it could be they don’t plan to be around long enough to answer any questions or complaints. Money back guarantees are also only about as good as the contact information. Email addresses and post office boxes are not good contacts.

Some thing about the United States

The United States has reached a deal with the European Union, Japan and Canada to keep its Internet gambling market closed to foreign companies, but is continuing talks with India, Antigua and Barbuda, Macau and Costa Rica, U.S. trade officials said on Monday.
"We are pleased to confirm that the United States has reached agreement ... with Canada, the EU and Japan," Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office, said in a statement several hours after the EU had announced details of the deal it had reached with Washington.

The decision is a disappointment for European online gambling companies who hoped a case brought by Antigua several years ago at the World Trade Organization gave them a foothold to get back in the U.S. market after being kicked out by Congress last year.
In an April 2005 victory for Antigua, the WTO said a U.S. law allowing only domestic companies to provide horse-race gambling services discriminated against foreign firms.
But rather than open up the U.S. online horse-race gambling market, Congress tightened restrictions on other forms of Internet gambling last year by making it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.
The Bush administration also announced in May that it was retroactively excluding gambling and betting services from market-opening commitments it made as part of the 1994 world trade agreement, saying that U.S. trade negotiators had made a mistake by not expressly excluding them at the time.

That opened the door for the European Union and other trading partners to seek compensation from the United States in the form of increased access to another U.S. service market.
Hamel said the deal reached with the EU, Japan and Canada "involves commitments to maintain our liberalized markets for warehousing services, technical testing services, research and development services and postal services relating to outbound international letters."
European gambling companies had argued the EU was entitled to as much as $100 billion in compensation for being denied access to the U.S. market. But EU officials never publicly embraced that amount and U.S. official called it an exaggerated figure.
Hamel declined to say on Monday how much the deal was worth. "We're not going to get into that," she said.

4 Ways To Skyrocket Your Opt In Rate And Build Your On-line Business

If you are not building an opt-in list on your website you are losing money - period. Having a list is the most important aspect of website marketing as it gets your prospect into your marketing funnel…and that utlimately means a higher bottom line. But how do you improve your opt-in rate with clients…

1. Sell the benefits not the features.

Your prospect is giving you permission to send them information to their email account and they want to know WIIFM or “What is in it for me?”. You need to carefully structure your opt-in box so that it is easily identified and filled out.
List the benefits of the information that they will receive, how quickly they will receive it and list some testimonials from happy customers about the quality of your information. You have to sell this to your prospect if you want to have any hope of getting them to sign up for an optin-list.
For example, “In just 30 seconds time you too could find out the 7 deadly mistakes first home buyers make and how to avoid them. ”

2. Experiment with pop-ups.

Many people hate pop-ups but they can be an effective opt-in strategy as either a pop-up on entry or a pop-under on exit. I recommend testing and measuring the effectiveness of the pop up on your site.
On some of my sites they have increased the subscriber rate yet on others the opposite has occurred. Remember to test and measure everything to establish what works, what doesn’t and what gives you the best ROI.

3. Have a strict, easily visible, no spam policy.

Customers want to know that their details are safe and that they aren’t going to receive spam from you. Write in the opt-in box that you “hate spam as much as you do and you can easily unsubscribe if you don’t like the service”.
If they do unsubscribe make sure that you remove their details from your database. Most quality email marketing systems will do this automatically (like 1 shopping cart and Aweber).
This provides a safe opportunity for prospects to explore and learn about you and also leave if they dislike the information.

4. Place your opt-in form on your sales page.

This should go about half way down so they can opt-in for a free report and they are “in the system”. In doing so you have identified a qualified lead, one which is more likely to buy from you.
By employing proven opt-in tactics you will be able to skyrocket your opt-in rate and build your business with a larger client base

Starting an On-line Business

Are you thinking about starting an on-line business? Maybe you have a vague idea of what’s required – maybe you haven’t a clue. This article outlines three basic, non-negotiable things that you will need...


1. Premium web hosting

I suppose it is possible to make a modest income on-line without your own website. But, it is practically impossible to make serious income without your own site. This applies whether you’re selling on eBay, marketing affiliate programs, or selling your own product or service.
A web host provides you with your space on the internet. You want to make sure you get a host who can provide you with plenty of space to grow and excellent data transfer rates. The last thing you want to do is fall for one of the free services that only gives you a small amount of space or can only handle a very limited amount of traffic. You don’t want to be forced to move your site to a different web host after quickly outgrowing your free space.


2. Sequential auto responders

As may be evident from the name, an auto responder can automatically reply to emails. A “sequential” auto-responder can be set up to send multiple, sequential emails at designated time intervals. For instance, if you invite your web site visitors to sign-up for a free e-zine (i.e., electronic magazine), your web page would be programmed to send an email to your auto responder e-mail address. The auto responder would then send one, two, or more messages, at programmed intervals (perhaps a week apart) to your visitor. This builds your “brand name” in the minds of your visitors and increases the chances that they will buy your product. And, guess what? You’re building your “brand” with little effort on your part! Imagine the time this would take to manually send these emails to each web visitor?


3. Advice from a trusted source

So, what are the key steps in marketing your product or service? The internet is a virtual sea of information. Navigating through it is best done with the help of someone who has already learned through the “school of hard knocks”. Perhaps you personally know someone who has this knowledge, but if you’re like most people, you really don’t know whom to trust. My advice is to find a product or service which offers this type of “how-to” advice. The available options range from fluff to very valuable. Let the buyer beware! There are several ways to verify the claims being made by the sellers of these services. First, check the traffic numbers for the service’s web site on alexa.com. The lower the web site ranking, the better. Next, ask for advice on the internet marketing forums. Many of the participants in these forums know their way around the internet and can help you evaluate the quality of a particular product or service.