Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category
…How Much Do You Charge For “X”?
March 24th, 2010 | 
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This is a question that comes up a lot on sales calls and one that you want to handle with care. As I’ve stated in other posts, questions are always driven by thoughts and never happen by accident. There is always a “context” from which the questions come and your ability to understand the context will improve your odds in developing the right answer. When I suggest that we work to create the “right” answer I don’t mean that we are trying to fool anyone. Frequently, when we are addressing questions there are multiple answers and we just want to make sure that we have a higher likely hood of picking the right one. In relation to price questions, it is always important to answer the question “in context”. So usually, in order to understand the “context” in which the question was asked you’ll need to ask more questions. Also, you’ll often find that the question “how much do you charge” is really not the real question. Starting a dialog with the prospect about what they want will move them away form price and get you better information. Using a “reflector” or reverse will help you understand the real question. Of all of the “reflectors” or reverses that we teach in relation to price one of the simplest has turned out to be one of the best. When asked about price try “…it depends”. This simple phrase has an uncanny way of handling an awful lot of the price questions you’ll get. Price often depends on a lot of things like: When do you need it? How many do you need? What kind do you need? (good, better, best?) Another great reflector, particularly effective on the telephone for inside sales people is “while I’m looking it up did you select that item for a reason?”. Often times prospects calling in for a price on an item, hear it… and hang up. Engaging the prospect and getting better information will not only help you build rapport but eliminate a lot of those “get a price and hang up calls”. Talking about price before understanding what your prospect is trying to accomplish is sales suicide. Use some of these simple reflectors and you’ll get better results!
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11 Ways To Create Successful Corporate Meetings And Retreats
What’s the cost to put together a strategic corporate meeting or retreat? Regardless of the specifics—hotel expenses, payroll, lost opportunities, lost management time planning the agenda, the cost of guest speakers, food, and supplies—you expect the returns to far outweigh the $3000 or $150,000 bill. Unfortunately, too many meetings never hit their mark. You start with specific goals and an agenda. You sit everyone down and start covering your list. However, somewhere the whole thing veers off course. Perhaps a guest speaker doesn’t deliver the content you intended. Maybe a member of the group falls short with their sales presentation or operations report. Before you know it, you’re at 72% of where you wanted to be, and you can’t go up. Now you’re stuck answering questions or offering solutions that weren’t part of your original agenda. When the event is over, you’re happy…not elated. The whole thing wasn’t a total loss. You rallied the troops, but didn’t achieve objectives the way you had intended. Sales will rise, maybe by 20%, but they won’t double the way you had hoped. You pay the bill and go home. It doesn’t have to be this way. Here are 11 ways to get more of what you want out of future meetings: 1. Set the agenda yourself…don’t have your staff do it. Yes, ask for ideas, and get involvement early. However, you give the purpose for your meeting, and that can only be focused if you keep on target. 2. Select presenters who have some presentation skills. This is not a popularity contest, but if your operations person should have been buried 8 years ago, you don’t need him/her at your meeting. Find a presenter who will perform in a way that suits your needs. 3. Get presenters on the same page you’re on. Too often guests are asked to deliver information and then left on their own. Stage the content like a Broadway show. Choreograph more than just their topic; know their direction, content, and tone. If you’ve ever been disappointed, that’s typically the reason why. 4. Focus on the value to the participants. Remember that participants are looking for “what’s in it for me.” Plan every aspect with this important factor in mind. 5. Get to the point. Start meetings off fast. How often have you enjoyed the CEO/President speech? No one else likes it either. 6. Stick to the issues and keep it honest. The purpose of the meeting is to focus on real data. When egos, sales, or fear get in the way, participants build solutions to fictitious problems. Not the way you want to go. 7. Place handouts in order of use. Then staple them in that order. Participants can’t pay attention if they’re struggling to find out where you are. 8. Create an accountability sheet. One page. Who does what, when and how? If it’s discussed, someone must do something (or decide to do nothing). Minutes are nice, but how many times in your history have you read minutes from a meeting and then acted? We’re guessing few, if any. 9. Don’t speak “off the cuff.” Even professional speakers who sound like they’re winging it are not. You shouldn’t either. Take the time to bullet your points. Think them through. Odds are you’ll get significantly better results with a trial run through your notes before the event, versus improvising in front of the crowd. 10. Stick to the schedule. Make sure your room has at least one clock facing the moderator. Try the Wal-Mart $5.99, 8-inch clock. The worst thing you can do is look at your watch. Then everyone else does. 11. Prepare the next agenda during the meeting. It’s like setting a rocket booster under your seat. Set 15-30 minutes aside to plan the next meeting while issues are hot. There can be changes later, but at least the burden is lifted, you’re covering key topics, and everyone knows what to expect. Olympic ski races are won and lost by only hundredths of seconds; most corporate meetings teeter on the edge of success and failure by similar fractions. Creating meetings is not rocket science, yet so few meetings bring about the impact intended. Implementing even a couple of the above suggestions should boost future results from so-so to astronomical. © David and Lorrie Goldsmith
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Posted in Internet | 
Tags: business strategy, corporate meetings, executive retreats, leadership, retreats, strategic planning | 
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…Is Network Marketing Easy??…
I personally believe we do a dis-service to the industry and ourselves if we openly state…or even allude…that NWM is easy. It’s not. Nor is any business….WAH or brick & mortar. Anyone who does say different is not being wholly truthful. I find that to be a shame. NWM requires 3 main ingredients….time, effort, and yes – money. Time is just a matter of redirecting your habits. Not easy but doable. Time directly impacts your efficiency. Effort is entirely controllable by the individual….and directly impacts your effectiveness. Money is self limiting and directly affects both efficiency and effectiveness. An individual must find the best combination of the three that works for them. Someone else can’t tell you what that combination is….but can help you find it (for example a good sponsor). The new mlmer faces a daunting task…and competition…when it comes to “advertising”. Finding that “best combination” of time, effort, and money is a growth experience. Rarely will it just appear… education (self and provided) plus mentoring (if available) are important factors and hopefully a fact of life. However, “advertising” is not impossible. In my mind advertising is just whatever method you choose to “reach” people. It might be the traditional newspaper or ezine ad or the simple greeting and sharing with a friend. How you “advertise” or “share” can take many forms. There are free and inexpensive methods that do work. It’s a matter of finding those that work for you. For example: 1. Writing and submitting ezine articles is an excellent method. It requires time & effort…but no money. The benefits include increased link popularity for the url used in your sig box (important for search engine ranking), branding, and reach (you can “reach” more with an article than an ezine ad). Plus it’s viral. Often your article is archived by publishers and directories…..available well after it was originally offered. Plus publishers and web masters will often “pick up” your article…again well after you originally submitted it. 2. Business cards are always a good method…and more inexpensive than one realizes. You can even make your own. Just pass them out like candy….stores, church, ball games, local events, restaurants (leave 1 with your bill), businesses you frequent, networking meetings, local Chamber Of Commerce. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. 3. Flyers, posters, post cards, brochures, etc. can also be done very inexpensively. You can make your own on your PC or purchase custom or ready made templates from numerous online providers. You could even strike up a joint venture with a local community provider. They print it for you and include their “advert” somewhere…you distribute. You both win, you pay less, and maybe influence that partner to be involved in your business. 4. Web decals on your vehicle(s) is another inexpensive method. I have one on each of our family cars (back window) with a short “catch line” and my url. Cost was ~ $40 each but the visibility is priceless. 5. Newspaper/magazine ads can be found that aren’t going to cost an arm and a leg. Local publications are a good place to start. http://nationwidenewspapers.com is an excellent source. For some of my services I’ve found College student newspapers and alumni magazines to be good performers. These are just a few examples. Of course there are the traditional ezine ads, leads programs, Forum participation (sig line – branding reputation), search engines, “3 foot rule”, etc. Most of these will cost you money…all will cost you time & effort. The key I believe is in being creative and sticking to what best fits your time, effort, money combination. It is and should be a personal choice. If the dollar “cost” doesn’t give you the dollar “value” you hope for….keep looking. But don’t EVER give up. Plus…diversify. Use multiple methods. Why limit yourself to just “one path”? Should we just sponsor those willing to waste $1,000’s advertising? Heck no!! We should sponsor anyone interested and teach them how to advertise in a manner best suited for them. Don’t mislead them with false expectations or pressure them into uncomfortable actions. Lead them to solutions which best fit their expectations & abilities (time, effort, money). John Milton Fogg’s answer to the question is priceless……”It is simple, but it isn’t easy.” Captures it pretty well I’d say. That’s the message. It’s not hard to understand…should/is fun…..but does take some effort. Sending any message to prospects that denies effort is involved or necessary….misleads folks into becoming part of the “failed or quit” statistics. It leads to false expectations. They start to think they can sit on the couch with beer & potatoe chips watching Oprah on TV all day….and the money will roll in by itself. Lays, Coronas, and Dr. Phil aren’t going to build your business. YOU are. In my mind (OK…my opinion)….that’s the core of any message they should receive. If you really care…that’s what you’ll tell them. Be honest…. What do YOU think????
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Posted in Internet |
Tags: affiliate marketing, Cooperative Marketing, mlm, mlm training, network marketing |
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ACT! Premium And Real Estate
ACT! Premium and Real Estate manages prospects and customers for real estate professionals in a swift, efficient and productive manner. It makes no difference whether the user is a single broker or a large team or teams of brokers. ACT! Premium Real Estate is able to service all their needs. ACT! is an award winning solutions provider in the customer relationship management industry with over 2.5 million individual users and 32,000 companies for customers. In furthering it’s service to the real estate industry, ACT! Premium Real Estate was created to help brokers organize their contact and customer management data for residential real estate markets. With ACT! Premium Real Estate, a company possesses a central database containing customer and prospects information. The information can contain anything from directory information to customer transaction histories. Being able to access this kind of information with just a few mouse clicks can be a big help to brokers by giving them a heads-up in dealing with clients. ACT! Premium Real Estate has a schedule manager where brokers can insert up to 20 different schedule types. ACT! Premium Real Estate makes it possible to access the schedule for the next customer and bring up customer information in an instant. The ACT! Premium Real Estate database can be used to import customer data from other ACT! databases. These imported customers may be immediately converted into prospects to increase a customer base. For reporting, ACT! Premium Real Estate has nine report templates that a broker can utilize for performance analysis and sales forecasts. These nine report templates are fully customizable. Another 40 standard report templates are provided for in the software that a user can choose from and use. Just like other versions of ACT! CRM software, ACT! Premium Real Estate is fully compatible with Palm OS or Pocket PC devices. Access the ACT! Premium Real Estate database from any remote location for as long as an internet connection is available. A word of warning to current ACT! users, ACT! Premium Real Estate cannot be used with ACT! 2006, ACT! Premium for Workgroups 2006 and any past versions of ACT! software. ACT! 2006 software versions or higher may have their data converted for use with ACT! Premium Real Estate, but not vice versa.
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Is Your Company’s Stress Management Program Stressful In Itself?
Some simple advice — and pass-along strategies — for reducing stress in the workplace. Stress is costing American business big time. Estimates range from $80 billion to $300 billion annually in illnesses, absenteeism, diminished productivity, accidents, mistakes, burnout, high turnover, and soaring health insurance premiums. It’s no surprise, then, that many companies have been fighting the stress epidemic aggressively with an arsenal of anti-stress initiatives. But a nagging question remains. If all the stress management programs out there are so effective, why are so many workers still stressed out? The answer may lie in the fact that some organizations are simply trying too hard. In an effort to reduce stress, they are actually adding to it. As well-intentioned as their stress programs may be, many are complex and time-consuming, require a lot of reading and recall, are heavy on theory and light on practical advice, or just don’t connect with employees on their level…or with their specific problems. Remember, what people who are stressed out lack most is time…and patience. They have no time to attend lengthy stress seminars that pull them away from the very tasks that are stressing them out. They have little patience to sift through wordy guides and procedures to dig out those rare nuggets of advice relevant to their situation. Some stress programs merely address the symptoms of stress rather than eliminate the causes. They have little lasting effect. Workers become frustrated and cynical, believing that nothing will work, and go right back to their costly, stressful ways. What, then, can management and human resources professionals do to overcome these obstacles to effective stress management, and “reach” their employees with solutions that will connect…and stick? A good way to start is to offer simple, candid, targeted strategies workers can quickly incorporate into their lives—techniques that get their attention and produce immediate results. These are less intrusive, take little or no time to implement, and get the user started on the right track, with the right attitude. To give you some examples, I’ve selected the following ten workplace strategies I use in my books and seminars, which have been field-tested with positive feedback from thousands of readers and participants worldwide. Simply pass them along by email or interoffice memo. I believe they can have a significantly positive effect on your employees, too. Do one thing at a time. Do it mindfully. Do it well. Enjoy the satisfaction. Then go on to the next thing. Multitasking might work for computers, but humans have yet to get the hang of it. A growing body of evidence affirms that trying to accomplish several things at once takes up more time overall than doing them sequentially. It consumes an excessive amount of mental energy, too, so you fatigue more quickly. The lack of focus also leads to careless mistakes, shoddy work and unreliable performance. Worst of all, having to do things over. This is no way to live. Give what you’re doing your undivided attention. Take the time to get it right. You’ll be more productive, and less stressed, in the long run. Chip away at projects with long lead times. When you get an assignment with a “luxury” of time, don’t squander it. Get at least a start on it right away, when your enthusiasm and understanding of it are at a peak. Then spend a little time on it each day to keep the momentum going. That way, every thought you have of the project will be a positive one: “I’m on the case, I’m getting it done.” Put it off, and every thought will be increasingly negative: “Yikes, I haven’t even started yet!” Which can add up to big stress over time. And a major crisis as the deadline nears, you’ve forgotten what to do, and your enthusiasm has been supplanted by anxiety and dread. Get it going early. You’ll do a better job, in less time, without the stress. Don’t let unhealthy job stress persist. If your workload or project is impossible to complete without pulling your hair out, doing a slapdash job or suffering a near stroke for your trouble, speak up early on rather than bottle it up and be unable to perform the work accurately and professionally. And do it in a positive way, by offering possible solutions: you’ll need more time; you can do part of the project in the allotted time; or you’ll require more help. If you’re a good competent worker your request should command respect and compliance. It doesn’t help anyone to say nothing and let it eat away at your well-being, and subject both you and your company to poor performance. Delegate. Stress is often caused by an inability to let go, a constant need to micromanage, the fear that everything will fall apart the minute you turn your back. It leaves you hung up on time-consuming details, stifles the participation and growth of others, and creates unnecessary tension all around. Take the leap of faith. Learn to delegate. Assign responsibilities and give others the chance to prove themselves. You can dole it out gradually, to gain confidence and minimize error, but begin unburdening yourself of the oppressive minutia that’s needlessly choking your life. You can experience a marked reduction in stress in a relatively short period of time simply by delegating. Be a team player. It’s more productive—and less stressful—to work as a team. In your job, in your family, in your community. When you spread the work and responsibility around the pressure eases, everyone becomes more cooperative. As much as we like to think of ourselves as complete packages, we’re not. We need others to contribute what we lack, to balance out our collective strengths and weaknesses. Let go the urge to put it all on yourself or take all the credit. Society is a team effort and success most gratifying when everyone’s involved. Rotate working on different projects. For example, if you have three projects due next week, performing them in their entirety one after the other can make each seem long, drawn out and tiresome. Instead, divide your time each day into thirds and work on all three. Each project will provide a refreshing break from the others, while allowing you to make steady progress on all. Like a farmer rotating crops to keep the soil rich and fertile, varying tasks will keep you more alert and imaginative, making the work proceed more quickly and enjoyably. Are you a checkaholic? How much time do you waste excessively checking things. Check the weather. Check the time. Check the markets. Check your email. Check your hair. Check your voicemail. Check the news. Check your makeup. Check to see if your wallet is still in your pocket. How much of your day are you frittering away doing this? More than you might care to know. Ease up. Things aren’t going to fall apart when you’re not looking. So resist the urge to receive constant, needless, monotonous updates. Use that time to maintain your focus and get more done. When you get the urge to check on something…simply let it go. Forget about deadlines. How about startlines? For a society so obsessed with when a project gets finished, we’re curiously all too casual about when to get it started. And that can be the most critical factor of all. Which may explain why so many deadlines aren’t met. Instead of stressing over when something is due, focus on getting it underway. Set a “startline.” That is, a time before which it’s essential you get a project started, so it isn’t performed in a rushed and slapdash manner. If you stick to your startline, it not only assures efficient, unhurried performance, it all but eliminates the need for a deadline…and the anxiety that goes with it. Which “line” would you rather work under? Get it started. Be a good gear switcher. You may have the kind of job where you constantly have to drop something to take care of something else. This can be a never-ending source of stress and frustration. If you let it. Or, as unlikely as it seems now, you can condition yourself to get used to it…even enjoy it! When you prepare yourself for such interruptions, you can make a clean break without anxiety,
knowing you’ll return later on to tie up loose ends. Just give whatever you’re doing at the moment your undivided focus…and let it go promptly when necessary. Quick transitioning is a skill, an art you can learn, master and take satisfaction in. Stand up and stretch. Especially if you have a desk or computer job. A day at work shouldn’t be like an eight-hour plane ride. Periodically get off your chair and stand, stretching your arms and legs—even squatting, bending from side to side, rolling your head, walking about, etc. It’ll get the blood flowing more freely, loosen cramped muscles and joints, help you think more clearly, and relieve some of the stress. Give your body a quick tune-up at least one or two minutes each hour. Maintain your presence of mind. It’s easy to get flustered, panic and lose your composure when you’re rushed and pressured. Your mistake level soars, carelessness abounds and civility often goes out the window. Only making things worse. Practice maintaining your presence of mind in pressure situations. Take slow deep breaths and approach the crisis with calmness and control. You’ll discover you can handle things more efficiently, even more quickly, when you strive to keep your cool. Hysteria accomplishes nothing.
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It Is Possible To Run A Home Business And Work?
Many people ask themselves if it is really possible to run a home business and still continue to work at their office job. The answer is yes. This may surprise some people. How do you have the time? That’s too much to do at one time. How can you manage? All of these comments and questions are involved in juggling home business and an outside job, but the key is that it that you are capable. Here are three main things you want to keep in mind in order to have it all. Drive! The want or desire to have a home business is what really matters. If you want to keep your current job as well as begin your own home business you truly have to be focused on being able to do so. Without a strong want that will drive you to do what is necessary you will lead yourself to failure. If you believe that you are ready to commit to both jobs, and do whatever is necessary to maintain both than you are taking your first step in the right direction. Time! You aren’t just given a pocket full of time. Everything in this day and age is about rushing and stretching what time we have. This is still very true with juggling outside work and a home business. You have to be willing to make time. What this means is you must be willing to use whatever free time you have from your office job and apply it to your home business. Weekends, evenings as well as holidays can be spent working on your home business. As long as you are applying the time you have to your home business, you can work both. It all goes back to having the drive to do what is necessary to have what you want. Patience! This is something we all need more of. You will need to build patience when running both your home business and outside work. You will indeed be frustrated at times, waiting for packages or updates on business progress. You will be frustrated with customer or clients from both jobs. By building patience and also some understanding you will help ease some of the stress that comes from working both jobs. Drive, Time and Patience all go in hand when working home business and outside office work. You have to be efficient with your time and manage it wisely. Keep focused on your goal. Don’t lose track. Be patient, because success does not happen overnight and unfortunately not everyone you will encounter in your job is patient or understanding. As long as you make the effort, you can in fact run a home business and work to.
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Adsense Tips To Help You Make More Money Online
Many webmasters are using the google adsense program to make good money from the internet. If you are looking for a legitimate way to make money online then seriously consider learning how to build a quality website that draws plenty of traffic and then learn how to optimize your site for adsense. You may be tempted to try the approach of building hundreds of separate sites specifically for adsense however this strategy is not a long term success method. Focus on building one or at most a handful of quality sites that are unique and useful and regularly updated. Remember that the adsense program is owned by Google so if your sites are not unique and useful then this may violate the terms and conditions of adsense. It is also a good idea to not make a site monetized solely with adsense. Add affiliate links or your own products so that your site has multiple income streams. Learn about white hat search engine optimization to help get more free traffic from the search engines. The best way to improve the ranking on your site is to create great content that people will want to link to and share with others. Be sure to visit the Google webmaster guidelines page and make sure you comply with all of their rules to ensure that your site has long term success in the search engines. Once you have a site that is getting traffic either from the search engines or from paid sources then the next step is to ensure that your site is optimized for adsense. There is now a new feature in the adsense program where you can add Youtube videos that have your ads at the top section of the videos so consider experimenting with that to see if it is profitable. Of course make sure to use videos that are genuinely useful and related to the topic of your site. Never sacrifice user experience even when it comes to adding adsense so resist the temptation to flood your site with ads. It is important to try to blend your ads in as much as possible with your site. The appearance of the ads should match the general theme of your site. If the links on your site are red then make the links in the ads red too. Also it is often a good idea to make the url color either black or grey. This will make the ad headline stand out more and should help to increase click through rates. Remember that you are allowed to use 3 link units and 3 ad units on every content rich page. As long as there is enough content be sure to use as many ads as you are allowed. Make sure that you have at least one ad unit above the fold on your site. This is the portion of your site that is visible without scrolling down. It is usually a good idea to have a horizontal link unit above the fold close to the center of the page. Try to place your ads as close to the center of the page as possible since most visitors notice and focus on this section of a page. It is also a good idea to add some adsense at the bottom of each page as this will give your visitors a place to go once they are done viewing your content. Add a link unit or a 336×280 ad unit that is centered at the bottom of the page. Also make sure your site has the following links: contact us, about us, sitemap and privacy. This will help to make your site appear more legitimate. Remember that advertisers can pick and choose sites they want their ads on so you want to create a site that can draw high paying advertisers. Implement some of these tips to help increase your adsense revenue.
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Posted in Internet |
Tags: increase adsense income, increase adsense revenue, make money with adsense |
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