Running a Business Is About More Than Leadership

Entrepreneurs are, by their very definition, indefinable. As a group they're the furthest thing from "cookie cutter" that you can imagine. Almost every entrepreneur I've met (and I've met thousands) takes a different approach to business ownership. Some are lone wolves, others natural collaborators. Ask a dozen entrepreneurs why they started a business and you'll get a dozen different answers. Talking with others entrepreneurs about their experiences, insight, and perspective on business and life can be very informative and inspirational.

I can't think of a better role model than Janice Bryant Howroyd, the founder and CEO of ACT 1 Personnel Services, a global full-service staffing company based in Southern California. Howroyd started her company in 1978 with $1,500 and today boasts revenues of $900 million. As the owner of the nation's largest woman- and minority-owned staffing company, Howroyd is the recipient of many honors. I caught up with her last month at the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-LA) Leadership and Legacy Award luncheon, where Howroyd received their prestigious Legacy Award.

Rieva Lesonsky: When you started your staffing company, wasn't the market already crowded? How many employees did you start with and at what point did you start hiring?

Janice Bryant Howroyd: I grew up in a family of 11 children. Crowds don't scare me; they encourage me to find my own place. For 11 months, I was my only staff. My first full-time employee was my brother.

Lesonsky: At what point did you think, "It's time to open a second office?"

Howroyd: Actually, my second office opening was customer driven. We were doing a great job from our [initial] Beverly Hills location, but a customer needed us to staff up a new office [near] them. I decided that I should invest as much confidence in myself as my customer was prepared to invest in me. [We're now] much more strategic about expansion; however, it continues to be customer driven.

Lesonsky: You talk often about "keeping the humanity in human resources." That's getting harder for business owners to do. Any suggestions for today's beleaguered entrepreneurs?

Howroyd: Every person who owns a business is not necessarily an entrepreneur. That's the first thing to understand, and often one of the hardest. For those who truly do bring passion and ability to their businesses, it's more important now, than ever, to remember that what we do is about more than leadership -- it's about fellowship and followship. Fellowship is about caring for the people who you choose to continue working with in this economy; followship is about showing them how to work through the tough times by following your own rules. If you ask your employees to cut expenses, make sure they see you're doing the same thing. If you ask them to assume more responsibility, support them by doing the same yourself, not as a heroic thing, but as a team leader. And make certain that everyone in your organization focuses on keeping your customers happy. Treat every customer as if they are your last one, or else they might become exactly that.

Lesonsky: You are well known for your philanthropy and obviously believe in "paying it forward." Do you think it's important for entrepreneurs to give back?

Howroyd: Giving is a personal thing, even when it is part of an organization's initiative. My parents taught me early on that "One person's trash is another person's treasure," so I've never [taken] to wastefulness or stinginess. There are so many ways for an entrepreneur to give. Recycling is a great and green thing to do. Allowing employees paid time off to assist at public schools or help centers can meet a lot of needs. I think that giving money is important too, but I believe we all have something to give and don't need to wait until we can afford to write a check to do it.

Lesonsky: How did you balance it all? Exponentially growing a business and raising your kids?

Howroyd: There have been a lot of family and family-like people who have helped [my] business grow. During the rough moments, I've had my faith and my family to support me. Balance for me has never been about 50/50. Sometimes it's 20/80, sometimes 100/0. It's the final score on the big stuff that really matters. Once you understand that, you gain a balance of perspective that enables you to not just 'get through it'. You learn to enjoy it.

Lesonsky: What was your biggest challenge? And what do you consider your greatest achievement?

Howroyd: The biggest challenge I've faced, personally and professionally, has been getting out of my own way. Thus far, my greatest achievement has been understanding my own purpose and the power I have to live as I decide.

Lesonsky: What's the best advice you've ever received and who gave it to you?

Howroyd: My mother taught all of us that we should never stop being ourselves. As I've grown, I've adapted this into my life mantra: "Never compromise who you are personally to become who you wish to be professionally."

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Be a featured guest on our weekly podcast show! AllBusiness.com has recently launched an "Ask the AllBusiness Expert" podcast and we want to hear from you. If you'd like Rieva Lesonsky to answer your questions, call the "Ask the Expert" toll-free line at 1-877-49-EXPERT and leave her a message. Or you can just e-mail Rieva directly at rlesonsky@allbusiness.com. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Succeeding Even If You're Not a 'Born Entrepreneur'

Sometimes, for a little shock value, I like to tell people I grew up in the back of a liquor store. And I did -- sort of. When I was born we lived down the block from the liquor store my grandfather and uncle owned in Brooklyn, and I spent a lot of time in the stock room building castles out of liquor boxes and packing materials. We moved from Brooklyn when my dad and his father opened a men's clothing store in Queens.

I come from a family of small business owners. So I understood, from the beginning, that people don't work Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 and that there's no big deal about bringing your kids to work, or even putting your kids to work. From the moment we were old enough (around 5) we kids would go to work with my dad on the Saturday before Father's Day and during the holidays to unfold boxes. And so my exposure to business ownership started very early in life.

I started thinking about my small business upbringing this week as I was preparing to be a judge for NFTE-Los Angeles (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship) in their annual business plan competition for high school students as well as speak at UCLA's Entrepreneurs Conference.

Young people are lucky today to have so many organizations (mostly nonprofit) and institutions that are now invested in bringing entrepreneurial education and awareness to kids starting in elementary school and continuing through college. And I think it's imperative that all of us "grown-up" entrepreneurs do or give whatever we can to help them. For some of us that may be writing a check to one of these worthy organizations. Here are a few doing good work: NFTE, Junior Achievement, DECA, SAGE, and CEO. But it's not all about the money. Volunteer your time, give a lecture, teach a class, hire an intern, sponsor an event, be a mentor. You're likely to learn a thing or two as well.

This brings to mind the old question: Are entrepreneurs born or can they be taught? I have always come down on the side of almost anyone can be an entrepreneur; it just takes exposure, education, and hard work. Sure, there might be people born with "entrepreneurial" traits or personalities but that doesn't mean they actually will be able to successfully start and run a business.

So even if you believe you're a born entrepreneur, don't think you can coast your way to success. You can't. You still need to have a plan. Students who study entrepreneurship are taught this; yet too many entrepreneurs think they don't really need to write a business plan. While your business plan does not have to be a formal document (unless you're trying to raise money), you should at minimum map out your goals and how you plan to achieve them. And then check your progress (or lack thereof) monthly to make sure you're on the right track.

Born entrepreneur or not, you're going to find yourself facing lots of new competitors in the coming months, so you better get ready now. As I told you several weeks ago in my column Get Your Business Ready Now for Tomorrow's Recovery, the economy is showing signs of life, but business in America will never go back to the way it was. Of the millions of Americans who've lost their jobs in the recession, at least hundreds of thousands of them will likely start a business. Invariably some of these new entrepreneurs are going to be competing with you. The difference is they come to business with a fresh eye and a "why not?" attitude, while you might be stuck in a "that's the way we do it" rut.

This is a good time to reexamine your business. Even if you're doing "well enough," chances are there are many things you can change and improve. But in order to really see the truth, you have to look at your business as if you were a newbie. What can you do differently? What are you doing right? What's simply not working? Can you tweak something and make it better?

None of this is rocket science. Chances are when you first started your company you were more skeptical and questioned results and solutions. Then as you grew, it was all too easy to get a little complacent, whether in good times or bad.

Many of us believe the old canard, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But remember those students of entrepreneurship I mentioned earlier? One of the tenets they're taught today -- and a lesson we should all learn is -- "If it ain't broke, break it!"

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Be a featured guest on our weekly podcast show! AllBusiness.com has recently launched an "Ask the AllBusiness Expert" podcast and we want to hear from you. If you'd like Rieva Lesonsky to answer your questions, call the "Ask the Expert" toll-free line at 1-877-49-EXPERT and leave her a message. Or you can just e-mail Rieva directly at rlesonsky@allbusiness.com. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

ART OF SELLING

• Get Your Offer Right
• Have You Sold Yourself?
• Buyer-Driven Selling: Conducting the Client Interv...
• Consultative Selling for Nichepreneurs
• Prospecting Tips
• The Top 10 Cold Calling Mistakes
• 7 Pricing Strategies That Improve Profit
• “Sold” before you say a word!
• How To Master The Art Of Copywriting Sales Letter!...
• Learn how to double your sales conversions
• How To Get Consistent Sales Online
• 10 Killer Ways to Multiply Your Sales
• Do You Blame Your Prospects When Your Products Or ...
• Finding your "Niche"
• How to Write a Killer Sales Letter
• How To Use White Papers To Promote & Sell Your Ind...
• How Content Can Really Increase Your Sales
• Building Sales by Building Credibility...
• The 4 Major Principles in Selling
• Ways To Attract More Orders
• Long-Term Selling—The Relationship You Build, Is M...
• Partner Selling: Serve Your Customers & Be Rewarde...
• Are Your Sales Scripts Working For or Against You?...
• Cross selling software for higher sales
• Stop Selling and Start Creating a Buying Enviormen...
• Sales Secrets for Entrepreneurs: Increase Profits

Get Your Offer Right

by Jenny Stilwell 
Getting your offer right is the critical, but sometimes overlooked, first step. If you follow this checklist, you’ll be close to getting it as right as it can be:

Test the product or concept:

* What are people saying in response to your concept – existing customers, potential customers.
* Are you listening to their feedback and acting on it? 
* Do some research – formal and/or informal

Know your product!
* If you can’t explain it, no-one will buy it. If you can’t explain the value proposition from the customer’s 
perspective, then no-one will buy it.

Know your target market and what they want
* Who will approve the purchase of your product?
* Who will buy it?
* Who will use it?

Know your competitors and your positioning against them. Analise and assess this objectively and
honestly. If you don’t, you’re only fooling yourself, no-one else.

Set the right level of price
* What is the perceived value? Pricing should align with the value and positioning.
* Fit with target market?

Do the P&L. Are the numbers right? Are the numbers real or fantasy? Check!
After all that, honestly assess the fit of the actual product and the price you have set with your target,
market.
Readjust accordingly if required. Be careful how you do this – you don’t want to send a message to the 
market that you ‘made a mistake’ because you got it wrong.
Now that the offer is right, it’s time to take it to market.

Explain Your Offer with a Value Proposition

The value proposition of your product or service is critical. You need it to cut through the noise of your competitors and ensure you are heard over all. When you describe your business to a prospective customer, do you describe the products and services you offer, and talk about if from your perspective? 
If you can say:
- what you do/what the product does
- why it’s different
- the value it provides
all in the one statement, then you have a clear value proposition. 

For example, Volvo’s value proposition has been automotive safety. The detail of that may be their track record in safety. If you owned Volvo, or marketed their products, and someone asked what your business does, you could convey what the business does, why it’s different and the value it provides in the following statement:

”We engineer a range of cars to the highest safety standards, including sports cars, sedans, station wagons and 4WDs, with a formidable track record in on-road safety”

Practice that with your own business, or product or product portfolio, until you reach the right statement. If you can’t do this, then marketing your product or service to others is going to be much harder than it needs to be.

A good value proposition will help drive your marketing activities, and the development of your marketing tools.

© BOSS Management Group Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? See the BOSSMENTOR® Article Archive: Business Articles

WANT TO USE THE FEATURE ARTICLE ON YOUR WEBSITE OR YOUR OWN EZINE? No problem! But here’s what you MUST include: Jenny Stilwell is the creator of BOSSMENTOR® Business, a FREE ezine for professional, lifestyle oriented business owners wanting to confidently increase the value of their business, ultimately spending less time in it. You’ll get proven strategies, tips and resources designed to help you achieve success. To receive your free e-book information, and sign up for how-to articles on creating and managing business growth, visit http://www.bossgroup.com.au

Have You Sold Yourself?

by Mark Hunter 
You will always be your number one customer. It’s not the big account you service, nor is it the hot new prospect you just uncovered; it’s you. The reason is simple. If you’re not completely confident in what you’re selling, you will never come close to maximizing your sales potential.

The current sales environment makes the need to sell yourself even more important. If you think you’re the exception to this rule and you’re not completely confident in the products or services you offer, ask yourself this simple question: Have you ever offered a discounted price to either keep a customer or attract a new one? Few salespeople can honestly say they have never done this. If you have, it means that you were not 100% sold on your product or service.

As a consumer, when we don’t fully believe in what is being offered to us, we naturally expect a discount. We want something in return for not being completely confident about what we’re buying. Since the salesperson hasn’t communicated the level of confidence we need in order to buy the product at full price, we want some type of concession to make us feel better about the purchase. 

To be completely sold on your product or service, not only do you need to use what you sell, but you also need to understand all of the benefits that your product or service provides. As a sales consultant who works with thousands of different professionals each year, I’m amazed at the number of salespeople who admit that they don’t even use what they sell. How can anyone be totally committed to a product or service if they don’t even use it? Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for me to see salespeople shortchanging themselves because they are unable to identify and explain the value of what they are selling. Although this sounds basic, many salespeople cannot name five benefits their customers receive from using their product or service. They can usually only list five features. Without understanding the full array of their product’s benefits, there’s little chance the customer will ever see them too. 

A poor sales process is usually a good indicator of whether or not the salesperson is sold on the product or service they are offering. Nothing conveys a lack of confidence faster than a sales process that is not professional. Unfortunately, for many salespeople, a disorganized sales process is the norm and it only serves to destroy more sales and, ultimately, a huge amount of profit. Despite the customer’s desire to buy, an unorganized sales process creates an air of skepticism that often can only be countered by offering some type of discount to close the deal.

With the current state of the economy, it is imperative that sales professionals be both confident and competent to achieve maximum success. In any sales call, you best communicate these qualities by being completely sold on your product or service. If you are not, find ways to better educate yourself so that you can become your number one customer. Remember, “No customer is ever sold until the salesperson is sold.” 

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter”, is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit http:// www.TheSalesHunter.com

Buyer-Driven Selling: Conducting the Client Interview

by Michelle C. Ritter 
You’ve completed the first two steps of the Buyer-Driven Selling process; building self belief and trust. You have self belief, you have belief in your product and you’ve developed a trust-based relationship with your client. It is now time to find out what your client needs.

Do your homework BEFORE you go to class 

Be prepared to discuss their business, not yours. 
1. Read a current trade magazine that is prominent in their industry. Through reading, you can find out what is important to them as business owners. What trends are currently taking place in their industry? 
What solutions are they in need of? 
2. Have a conversation with a receptionist, sales manager or service representative in their company. Ask what industry challenges they are facing right now. Find out what the topics of the sales meetings are. How can you help? 
3. Visit their website. 
4. Visit their competitor’s websites. 

Listen, Listen, Listen 

It doesn’t matter how many times salespeople hear these words, they want to talk. We all want to tell the client why they absolutely must buy our product. If you will listen, they will tell you why they must buy your product. Ask the questions and stop talking. 

Open Ended Questions 

The client interview is no place for yes or no questions. Trial closes are also not appropriate at this point.
The questions you ask should be designed to allow customers to talk to you and for you to determine what their needs are. It’s acceptable to take a notebook into this meeting, but you should maintain eye contact and listen intently. If you must make notes, do it discreetly. If you relax, so will your client. 
Below are some examples to get you started. These are, by no means, the only questions you should ask. 
The interview will guide you to the next obvious question. 
1. What prompted you to contact my company or allow me to meet with you today? 
2. Can you give me details on how this challenge/need surfaced? 
3. What is it you would like to see accomplished? 
4. What other attempts have you made to solve this problem? 
5. Can you tell me about the success or failure of those attempts?
6. What other challenges are you facing that I might be able to help you resolve? 
7. What do you see as the next step? 
8. What are the budgetary limitations, if any? 
9. Are there other things I should know before moving forward? 
10. Who else will be involved in the final decision? 

Take your focus off of “closing the deal” and allow yourself to “help your client”. Gather all of the information you can. You’re going to need it to build your proposal. That’s the next step. 

Michelle C. Ritter is a the owner of http://www.e-worc.com , a web design and sales consulting company where she works with many types of product and service based industries in developing sales and marketing plans and effective online programs. She specializes in cross-industry communication and teaches a series of seminars for MTI Business Solutions ( http://www.mobiletechwebsite.com ) that focus on teaching others to enjoy success in sales by learning how to speak in the language of the buyer.

Consultative Selling for Nichepreneurs

by Susan Friedmann 
Achieving Riches in Niches means occupying a dual role: acting first as a skilled professional, you must also be a powerful, effective sales force. Not only do you perform the services your clients value, but you promote and market yourself as the best place to obtain those services. 

While you may be very confident in your professional skills, it's the sales part of the equation that's proving to be problematic for many Nichepreneurs™. Don't worry. You're not alone! Many Nichepreneurs™ find themselves in exactly that position: while they know practically everything possible about their profession, they're not nearly as strong when it comes to presenting themselves and their services for sale.

Selling is both an art and a science. Sales professionals devote years of their lives learning the best way to approach a potential client, create and negotiate a relationship, and finally, most essential of all, close a sale. These are all specific skills, and you don't automatically come into possession of them because you go into business for yourself.

Luckily, sales skills are the type you can acquire ‘on the job'. However, you want to minimize the learning curve and quickly gain mastery of these skills -- after all, it's literally your livelihood on the line.

One of the most powerful and effective sales tools -- and one that is a logical natural fit for Nichepreneurs™ -- is the consultative selling model.

Consultative selling has been around for a very long time. The model first appeared in the 1970's, and it's been used successfully ever since. A consultative sales experience is different from any other type of selling, because you begin the relationship with your potential client by providing value right off the bat.

Imagine this scenario. You're a Nichepreneur™, specializing in workplace efficiency. If a job site isn't working as well as it could be -- projects are taking too long, customers are complaining, sales numbers are dropping -- you want to be the person called in to get the team back on track. You've got great problem solving skills, years of management experience, and a staggering ability to cut through the nonsense and get to the core of the problem.

The only problem is, no one knows you can do all of this.

In a consultative selling scenario, you meet with someone who is trying to turn their company around. Free of charge, without any sales pressure whatsoever, you go to their site. You do a needs assessment, identifying challenges and problem areas. It's critical to pay careful attention to the client, so that you both hear and understand what they perceive the issue to be and what outcome they'd like to realize. That's when you offer some suggestions and solutions to their issues.

Implementing your solutions brings us to the sales part of the conversation. At this point, you've already demonstrated an understanding of the client and their needs. You've offered real value: insight and useful recommendations. The client is already beginning to trust you. You've lowered the sales resistance walls that may have existed between you and your client. Closing the deal is an extension of the process begun with that initial consultation.

The question then becomes: how do I connect with people in the first place? How do I get them to want to talk to me about their problems?

There are many answers to that question, and they all come down to one answer: visibility. If you want people to take you up on the offer for free consultations, the first step in the consultative selling process, you need to put the offer where they can easily see and act upon it.

Ways to do this include:

Print Media: Many publications offer an "About the Author" paragraph or blurb. Use this space to offer a carefully worded free consultation. If you submit articles to free content websites, make sure the offer is part of your boilerplate text (generally a paragraph that appears after the article), so it appears each and every time the article runs.

On Your Website: Feature your free consultation offer prominently on your website. Position it so that people can click a button or send an email immediately after reading about the offer -- you don't want to lose them by making them search page after page finding a way to contact you! Make sure to mention the free consultation offer sporadically in your blog.

Community Events: Community events are a great way to generate free consultation leads. Consider conducting a class, teaching a seminar, or leading a workshop. Offer all participants a free consultation. Only a few will take you up on it -- but if those few turn into sales, you've more than recovered your investment in the event.

These are some of the most common ways to promote a free consultation offer. If you're hesitant about your sales skills, consider consultative selling. It's an easy way to demonstrate your professional skills, which may be far more comfortable than straight selling. You'll grow and refine your approach with each consultation, and before you know it, meeting with potential clients will seem as easy as pie!

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, TheNichePreneur™ Coach, Lake Placid, NY, internationally recognized expert working with service professionals to increase their niche marketing potential. Author: "Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market" and "Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies." http://www.richesinniches.com

Prospecting Tips

by Wendy Weiss 
1. Prepare for introductory calling the way you would for any major presentation. Know what you want to say, how you want to say it and how you want to represent yourself, your company, your product or service. 

2. Understand the goal of your telephone call. Ask yourself the question: “When I hang up the telephone, what do I want to have accomplished?”

3. When you are making introductory calls adopt the attitude that you expect to speak with your prospect. Expect that your call to be put through and that your prospect will want to speak with you. You have something of value that is of benefit to your prospect. This attitude will help you sound confident and in control.

4. When speaking with a gatekeeper, remember to always use directed words, such as: “What” or “When….” If you ask, “Do you know what time Ms. Decision-Maker will return?” the gatekeeper can simply answer “yes” or “no.” However, with directed words, if she knows, she must give you an answer.

5. If the screen asks, “What is this in reference to?”, if you have forwarded materials, either before the introductory call or at your prospect’s request after the initial call, simply answer, “We’ve had correspondence. Please tell Ms. Decision-Maker that (your name) from (your company) is on the line.”

6. Before you start making your calls, find out what is the usual title of the decision-maker for your product or service. When calling, ask for the person who has that title. This way you will avoid the question: “Are you the person who purchases….”

7. When trying to find your prospect, call the highest-level person that you believe might be the decision-maker. If that person is not the decision-maker, generally, they will know who is. That person may even be reporting to them.

8. Develop your qualifying questions to ask your prospect, questions whose answers will confirm that you are indeed speaking with the decision-maker. Examples could be: “How often do you use this type of service?” “Who is your current vendor?” “What are your concerns about this service?” Everyone will have different qualifying questions. You need to decide what makes a prospect qualified to do business with you.

9. Some things are out of your control. If a prospect does say “no”, ultimately, that is out of your control—but what is within your control is continuing to prospect and continuing to make calls. It is also within your control to improve your cold calling skills, take seminars, read books or hire a coach—then, fewer prospects will say “no.” 

10. Want to improve your skills? Make sure to enroll in the upcoming “Cold Calling College—Live” where you will work directly with “The Queen of Cold Calling” to ensure that you have the words you need to woo and wow prospects. 

Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, is an author, speaker, sales trainer, and sales coach. She is recognized as one of the leading authorities on lead generation, cold calling and new business development and she helps clients speed up their sales cycle, reach more prospects directly and generate more sales revenue. Her clients include Avon Products, ADP, Sprint and thousands of entrepreneurs throughout the country.

The Top 10 Cold Calling Mistakes

by Wendy Weiss 
1. Not understanding the goal of the call
When you hang up the phone, where do you want to be? What action do you want your prospect to take? What commitment do you want your prospect to make? Too many prospectors don’t identify the goal of their phone call and so they do not get the result that they want. Before you pick up the telephone, identify the goal of your conversation.

2. Sending literature when you don’t have to
“Send me some information” does not translate to, “I’m going to read it.” Too many prospectors get quite excited to send brochures to prospects and then call them back. Unfortunately, too many prospects use “Send me some information” as a polite way of getting off of the telephone. “Send me some information” generally really means, “I’m not interested” or “I’m too busy to talk.” You want to find out why your prospect is asking for information and if they are a true prospect. If your prospect is asking because they do intend to look over it, agree to send it out and get their commitment to a time to continue the conversation.

3. Poor telephone etiquette
Chewing gum, eating, music or television blaring in the background, talking to other people while you’re on the phone, mumbling or not speaking clearly, not getting to the point… These are all ways to turn your prospect off and reduce the chances that you can have a productive conversation.

4. Poor listening skills
Prospects will tell you everything that you need to know, if only you’ll listen to them. Listen actively so that you’ll hear what your prospects’ are really saying. Unfortunately, poor listening skills go hand in hand with the next mistake on the list.

5. Projecting your fears onto the prospect
“The prospect is in a meeting,” does not translate to, “The prospect knows that you are calling and does not want to speak with you.” “I’m busy and cannot talk right now,” does not translate into, “I don’t want to speak with you and I’m not interested.” Too many prospectors read extra and always negative meaning into statements made by gatekeepers and/or prospects. You will always do better by simply taking these statements at face value and assume that your prospect is in a meeting or is busy and cannot talk at the time that you called.

6. Inadequate or nonexistent questioning
It is vital to gather information about your prospect. Make sure that you have good questions planned to ask your prospect in order to qualify them and learn about their needs. Divide your questions into “Need to Know” and “Nice to Know” categories. Make sure to ask all of your “Need to Know” questions first.

7. Poor or no preparation
Few sales professionals would go into an important meeting with a top customer and wing it, yet that is exactly what far too many prospectors do when they get on the telephone. On the telephone you have approximately 10-30 seconds to grab and hold your prospects’ attention and you will not get another chance. Prepare so that you can have the best possible conversation with your prospect.

8. Not asking for what you want
Fear keeps many prospectors from asking for what they want. Others simply do not understand their goals for each call (see # 1) so they either do not ask for what they want or they ask for the wrong thing. Identify your goal for the call and craft the verbiage that you will use to ask for what you want. Practice that verbiage out loud so that you become comfortable. You can even make a “cheat sheet” and have it in front of you when you make your calls so that you remember to ask for what you want.

9. Creating objections where none existed
If you do not have a good call opening, you will immediately create an objection from your prospect. Anything that you say to a prospect that does not resonate deeply with them will create an objection. You want to be prepared with a good call opening and good script that will preempt objections (see #7). If every prospect with whom you speak says, “I’m not interested,” you’re not saying anything interesting.

10. Not leading with the value
The value or benefit (“WIIFM—What’s in it for me?”) from your prospects’ point of view is what will gain their attention. (see #7 and #9). Always, always, always lead with the value.

11. Tired of making mistakes and losing opportunities?
Then you won’t want to miss this teleconference. In “The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script Live Coaching Teleconference” you will learn exactly what to say to decision-makers to nail the appointment. 

Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, is an author, speaker, sales trainer, and sales coach. She is recognized as one of the leading authorities on lead generation, cold calling and new business development and she helps clients speed up their sales cycle, reach more prospects directly and generate more sales revenue. Her clients include Avon Products, ADP, Sprint and thousands of entrepreneurs throughout the country.

7 Pricing Strategies That Improve Profit

by Bobette Kyle 
Pricing strategies are a sometimes-overlooked part of the marketing mix. They can have a large impact on profit, so should be given the same consideration as promotion and advertising strategies. A higher or lower price can dramatically change both gross margins and sales volume. This indirectly affects other expenses by reducing storage costs, for example, or creating opportunities for volume discounts with suppliers.

Other factors also determine your optimal pricing strategy. Consider the five forces that influence other business decisions: your competitors, your suppliers, the availability of substitute products, and your customers. Positioning -- how you want to be perceived by your target audience -- is also a consideration. Price a premium item too low, for example, and customers will not believe the quality is good enough. Conversely, put too high a selling price on value lines and customers will purchase competitors' lower-price items. Some pricing strategies to consider are ...

Competitive pricing. 

Use competitors' retail (or wholesale) prices as a benchmark for your own prices. Price slightly below, above or the same as your competitors, depending on your positioning strategies. Note you must collect competitor pricing information by observation rather than by asking them. Otherwise it could be seen as collusion, which is illegal in the U.S. 

Cost plus mark-up. 

This is the opposite of competitive pricing. Instead of looking at the market, look at your own cost structure. Decide the profit you want to make and add it to your costs to determine selling price. While using this method will assure a certain per-unit margin, it may also result in prices that are out-of-line with customer expectations, hurting total profit.

Loss leader. 

A loss leader is an item you sell at or below cost in order to attract more customers, who will also buy high-profit items. This is a good short-term promotion technique if you have customers that purchase several items at one time. 

Close out. 

Keep this pricing technique in mind when you have excess inventory. Sell the inventory at a steep discount to avoid storing or discarding it. Your goal should be to minimize loss, rather than making a profit.

Membership or trade discounting. 

This is one method of segmenting customers. Attract business from profitable customer segments by giving them special prices. This could be in the form of lower price on certain items, a blanket discount, or free product rewards. Bundling and quantity discounts. 

Other ways to reward people for larger purchases are through quantity discounts or bundling. Set the per-unit price lower when the customer purchases a quantity of five instead of one, for example. Alternately, charge less when the customer purchases a bundle -- or several related items -- at one time. Bundle overstocks with popular items to avoid a closeout. Or, bundle established items with a new product to help build awareness. 

Versioning. 

Versioning is popular with services or technical products, where you sell the same general product in two or three configurations. A trial or very basic version may be offered at low or no cost, for example, with upgrades or more services available at a higher price.

Make smart use of these pricing strategies and your bottom line will soar!

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. She is proprietor at the marketing plan and Website promotion site www.WebsiteMarketingPlan.com, where you can find more marketing strategy articles at: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/techniques

“Sold” before you say a word!

by Harlan Goerger 
It’s been one of those days; Ben has made several calls today with mixed results. One has really got him pondering what he is doing wrong. A customer decided to go with a competitor whose salesman has a questionable reputation. The competitive sales person promises a great deal, most of which he and his company rarely delivers. The product quality is ok yet not equal to Ben’s equipment. 

Ben had questioned the customer about the purchase decision only to get a vague answer about feeling better about the other company despite the known reputation and pricing was not the issue. 

As Ben pulls up to the coffee shop to take a break and clear his mind, he sees a salesperson from a different company, Susan, she is also taking a break and they sit down together for coffee. Ben tells his story about the lost sale and how he doesn’t understand what he did wrong or missed. Susan indicates she might have some insight as she knows the customer and some of his connections. 

“You see Ben, this customer knows John at BBC and he thinks this other sales person walks on water, even though BBC has had problems with him and his promises. I bet John told your customer to trust this guy even though your customer knew about the problems BBC had been having.” Says Susan. 

“That doesn’t make sense!” retorts Ben. 

“You’re right” says Susan, “It is not logical, but you have to understand most people do not realize how preconditioning affects their decisions.” 

(For those of you not in sales, hang on, this applies to all communications.)

“Now you got me at a disadvantage, what is this preconditioning you’re talking about?” asks Ben. 

“I was just reading an article by Dr. Kevin Hogan; he’s the guy that studies why people make choices and why some are not logical.” “In this article Dr. Hogan sites a recent test to see how preconditioning affects our choices. It goes like this:”

Test subjects were asked to trust a total stranger in the experiment. All of them were given a written description of their intended partner’s behavior of which some indicated great trustworthiness and others being not so trustworthy. They were also told that their partners actual behavior might not fit the description they were given. In short, they might be described as an angle yet act like a complete Jerk or vise versa.

Now all of us have some built in radar that tends to pickup on such behaviors in others and of course there is the logic side of a choice as well. What happened is that even though the partner’s behavior was angle like and trustworthy, if the description was negative so was the trust. The same for the partner that acted like a jerk and showed no signs or trustworthiness but had a good written description was trusted most of the time! 

What it showed is people tend to believe the information they get ahead of time rather than the new information they see for themselves. This is called preconditioning and the media, gossip and other sources do this to us everyday! As Dr. Hogan puts it, “Labels prime thinking!”

“Ok, so you think my customer was preconditioned by his friend John and didn’t take into consideration the logic of what I could provide?” asks Ben. 

“Most likely that is what happened. That is the power of opinion and recommendation, it preconditions ones thinking and can override what we see as logic or good common sense!” explains Susan. 

“So how do you deal with this preconditioning when you run in to it?” ask Ben.

“First of all I approach every communications with the idea that I do not know enough about this person or situation. I always ask additional questions to help me understand what and how they are thinking today. I always hold of f on the logic until I get a good understanding of how they see the situation and the players that are involved. This gives me a good insight into their current beliefs and views. Then I can create strategies on how to align with those beliefs or work on changing them.” She replies. 

“Huh? What is it you just said?” ask Ben with a puzzled look. 

“It’s this way Ben, “people see what they want to see”. If a person has a certain view point, belief or reference that is how they will see the situation even with new or different information being provided. It’s one of the 10 Laws of Persuasion. Just look at some of the candidates on the American Idol try outs. Do you think some of them see what they want to see or hear in this case? So our job is to try and understand why they see the situation the way they do and then figure out how to fit our solution to that view or change the view!” Susan explains with more intensity. 

“Alright, so if I understand this, what I should have done is focused more on understanding how my customer was thinking rather than selling my facts and benefits to him?” Ben asks with anticipation. 

“Absolutely!” says Susan. “I rarely talk facts and benefits anymore. If I can understand the other persons view and basis for that view point it enables me to present ideas in a way that they readily accept and I am not pushing something down their throat!” 

Ben sighs and asks, “How do you know what to listen and look for?” 

“It’s this way,” explains Susan, “If you are focused only on your product you will only hear ideas that relate to your product. If you listen for ideas that tell you someone’s beliefs and views you’ll hear them. It’s all about what you’re focused on, the customer’s situation or your product sale!”

“Great, so I focus on views and beliefs and uncover some, then what?” is Ben’s question. 

“I call them “follow-up questions” and they can be any short question that gets the other person talking more about that belief or view. The question “why” is used in every encounter I have. Some others are “tell me more”, “how did that happen”, “what caused that” and about fifty other variations. 

“So let me get this straight. I should be focusing on the situation and peoples views rather than my product. I should ask more open questions to get more of that information and then use the “follow-up” questions to get at the beliefs and views?” queries Ben. 

“You got it!” replies Susan

“Great, so when do I use my logic or facts and benefits then?” inquires Ben.

“Once you have a good understanding of the views and beliefs, the facts and benefits can be used to show how your solution fits their current view or belief. Or they can be used to reinforce the new view or belief you have switched them to.” Replies Susan. 

“You mentioned changing their view or belief several times, how is this done?” ask Ben.

“Oh my time is flying, I really want to fill you in, but I have an appointment to get to. This guy Harlan Goerger has written several articles on the concept of beliefs and how you might work with them. Check out his web site at www.BusArconline.com and review his articles for that answer.” Says Susan as she quickly departs.

Ben is left think over his day and the calls he had made. He had to agree that they were very product focused rather than situation focused. His next call was going to be different! 

Want more of this and other subjects about communications, sales, management, coaching and teams? Drop Harlan a line at Harlan@BusArc.com 

Harlan Goerger is President of H. Goerger & Associates with 25 plus years in the Sales/Management training business. Contact Harlan@BusArc.com for more about training, speaking and developing business performance

How To Master The Art Of Copywriting Sales Letter!

by Gley Yahya 
“A copywriter is a salesperson sitting in front of a typewriter.” Well said, even if no one of us is using a typewriter these days. The principal, however, remains the same.

No matter what business you are involved in, there is one thing you must do to make the most of your business, and that is copywriting sales letter. If you don’ know how to write a business letter, you will radically decrease your chances of success.

A well-written sales letter is the most vital piece of any direct response marketing campaign. Write a good one and you can literally make a fortune. Write them regularly and you can make excellent money helping others to make fortunes. 

What You Need to have in order to create a sales letter that kills:

- Good writing skills - Since you will be writing your own sales copy, you will need to have good writing skills and a good command of English, at least. 

- Personality - You need personality. You will be writing somewhat a personal letter from you to your prospects so be friendly and open-minded in your letter. Don’t write a rigid letter, because not only it is boring to read, but also it turns people away from your web page as fast as you get them!

Inject your personality as much as possible into your copywriting sales letter. Be creative, be yourself, feel free to inject humor, and try to have fun as you write your sales letter. You’ll be amazed by the response. 

And last but not least, you need…

- To take action! There is wealth of information on copywriting sales letter at your fingertips. Use them to learn, model them as the PRO do, but don’t waste them by not doing anything with the information!

How to practice copywriting sales letter!

1 - If you've never written one of these letters, we'd like you to try an exercise. Write a sales letter and keep it to one or two pages. Tell your potential customers everything s/he ever wanted to know about your product in your sales letter. Focus on you product’s benefits. Write how your product can benefit them, how it can make their life better, why it is useful and which problems it helps to solve. 

It doesn't stop there! You've got to tell the client about the benefit in an interesting, let's say, compelling way.

Make sure you create curiosity so the reader has to read on to know. The longer you can keep the reader hanging, the more likely they'll read to the end and take action.

Create an eye-catching headline that grab the reader’s attention and pulls them to read more. Use power words like, “new”, “revolutionary”, “discovery”, etc, to arouse curiosity and entice the prospect to read further.
2 - Select a sales letter that you think is pretty good (you can do a search on Google for a good sales letter). Paste the business letters into a separate word document and save it into a new folder on your hard drive for easy retrieve.
3 - Compare your sales letter to the letters you found and saved earlier. 

- Analyze your selected sales letters. How has the writer attracted your attention? What about the copy keeps you interest? Are you stimulated to want to know more about the product being advertised? What action must you take? Are all of these points covered in the sales letter? How strongly are you "turned on" by the sales letter?

- Read your sales letter over a couple of times, and write a short comment: Does your business letter have the same impact and tone? Is it bad, so-so, or good? If it’s bad, why? Is it lost in the crowd, doesn't attract attention, doesn't hold the reader’s interest, nothing special to make the reader want to own the product, no demand for action, etc…

- Rewrite your sales letter. Do what it takes to create an effective sales tool. Include the missing elements until you fell you're satisfied that the sales letter you've rewritten is perfect. 

Do the same exercise each day for the next month or so and remember, the more business letters you write, the easier the writing process will become.

It takes time and regular practice to master copywriting sales letter, but you can do it.

Want to write more Sales Letters and Ads quickly and easily? If so, Subscribe to Gley Yahya’s FREE eMail Course which provides tips for writing killer ad copy that sells! http://www.email-list-builder.com/ecourses/copywriting_promo/

Learn how to double your sales conversions

by Michael Webster 
Why do people come to your site, stay on your page and then leave without buying your product?? This is the same question that was bothering me for almost 6 months! I was selling an ebook about affiliate advertising, and I could get people to come to my site, but I couldn't get very many of them to actually buy my book. This thing took me a while to write too-it was a good book! Anyway, I was getting frustrated and I began searching for some solutions to my problem. I came across tons and tons of 'sales converters,' but not any information. Unfortunately, if I was going to to do something I would have to try some of the sales converters. 

I read all the sales letters for each converter, and they all basically broke down the same information. What I needed was my product to be presented at the right time, to the right people, for the right price. Well duh!, that's what I was trying to do! These sales letters I was reading went on to explain that while my product and advertising may have initially captured them, I needed something more once they were at my site. My visitors needed to be reminded about my product and why it was a great investment. They needed to be reminded why they came to my site in the first place. They needed to be hooked by some sort of urgency to act now.

As I was reading all of these factors that would help me close the sale, I remembered how I designed my sales letter for my ebook around the very same principles. So why and how would any of these sales converters help me? I didn't think they would since I had already acheived all the supposed factors for closing my sale. I kept reading anyway in the hope I would learn something new, and then I came across exactly what many of these sales converters were. They were simply Pop-ups! NO THANKS!! I wasn't a fan of pop-ups and I knew I wouldn't buy something advertised from a pop-up. I did see why they were called 'sales converters' though. They were the 'reminder' about what great product was for sale. They provided the sense of urgency.

I knew I had to do something about my sales so, I started looking more into these pop-up sales converters and I found something perfect that wasn't a pop-up at all. It was something new called a pop-in. I read more and more and found out that this pop-in was the newest way to advertise, and was completely different than those annoying pop-ups. There were tons of other features to the pop-in, but basically it provided me with that 'reminder' my visitors needed to buy my affiliate book. I bought the product and increased my sales by two times in a day! The next day I had even more sales. I now average between 3 and 4 times more than what my sales would have been without this 'sales converter' and I would recommend it to anyone selling their own product or starting a website. 

I hope you all get the chance to try it. It's called "Pop-In Generator" it's at www.popingenerator.mzandcompany.com They even offer a money back gurantee if you don't have the same results. Best of luck!rticle body here --

Mike Webster is the owner of MZ & Co. Inc. http://www.mzandcompany.com

How To Get Consistent Sales Online

by Biana Babinsky 

Many business owners who struggle in their business tell me that they struggle because they get very inconsistent sales. They can get a new client once in a while, they sell an e-book or two every month, but they don't get anymore sales.

Because they have such inconsistent sales, they don't make a lot of money in their business. Having inconsistent sales also means that they can't schedule events and teleclasses. Since few people buy their products, they will not be able to fill up their teleclasses or other events, and they will not be able to make money with them.

Inconsistent sales also cause a lot of stress. Not knowing whether you will have sales next week or next month creates a high-stress and high-pressure environment for many business owners.

It is much easier to run your business if your business brings in consistent sales. With consistent sales you make more money, you have enough clients, you are able to plan ahead for your business, and you are successful.

So how to turn slow, inconsistent sales into consistent sales? Consistent sales can take your business to a whole new level. I have analyzed many businesses, and found two main causes of inconsistent sales. Here are the causes and how to correct them:

Reason 1 for inconsistent sales is not having enough business prospects. To have your business generates sales on a consistent basis, you need to create a stream of prospects constantly coming to your business. Since not every business prospect is going to buy from you, you need to have many prospects coming to your business and web site every single day. Some of these prospects will turn into buyers, while others will not. Having a large daily stream of prospects at your web site will help you generate consistent sales.

There are many online marketing techniques that you can use to attract prospects to your web site. One of the best ones is publishing an effective newsletter on a regular basis. When you publish an effective newsletter you are able to keep in touch with your potential customers and prospects on a regular basis. 

As they receive your newsletters on a regular basis, they learn more about you and how you can help them. When the time comes for them to make a purchase, they know they are going to buy from you.

Publish an effective newsletter on a regular basis. It will help you bring more people to your business web site.

Reason 2 for inconsistent sales is your web site prospects do not turn into customers. I have met many business owners who have a lot of traffic coming to their web site, but they still don't have consistent sales. If your web site gets a lot of web site visitors, but you don't get enough sales, you look into your web copy. Your web copy is what makes a difference between a prospect buying your product or a prospect not buying from you and moving on to the next web site instead.

Review your web copy and re-write it into web copy that sells. Do this and you will turn many of your web site visitors into customers.

Start working on getting consistent online sales! Consistent sales mean more money, more clients and a stress-free life.

Learn how to get consistent online sales and make more money from Biana Babinsky, the online business consultant, expert and author. Her Complete Step by Step Online Marketing Course shows you how to get online sales every single day. Learn more about it at http://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/zcourse

10 Killer Ways to Multiply Your Sales

by Jason Benfield 
1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you" email and include an advertisement for other products you sell. You could follow-up every few months. 

2. You could upsell to your customers. When they're at your order page, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. They could just add it to their original order. 

3. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to your web site, they will receive a full rebate of their purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales. 

4. When you sell a product, give your customers the option of joining an affiliate program so they can make commissions selling your product. This will multiply the sale you just made. 

5. Sell the reprint/reproduction rights to your products. You could include an ad on or with the product for other products you sell. You could make sales for the reproduction rights and sales on the back end product. 

6. You could cross promote your product with other businesses' products in a package deal. You can include an ad or flyer for other products you sell and have other businesses selling for you. 

7. When you ship out or deliver your product, include a coupon for other related products you sell in the package. This will attract them to buy more products from you. 

8. Send your customers a catalog of add-on products for the original product they purchased. This could be upgrades, special services, attachments, etc. If they enjoy your product they will buy the extra add-ons. 

9. Sell gift certificates for your products. You'll make sales from the purchase of the gift certificate, when the recipient cashes it in. They could also buy other items from your web site. 

10. Send your customers free products with their product package. The freebies should have your ad printed on them. It could be bumper stickers, ball caps, t-shirts etc. This will allow other people to see your ad and order. 

Good Luck!

Jason Benfield
Top Money Earner
http://www.theBiggestNoBrainer.com

Jason Benfield, a 5 year veteran of Internet marketing, will "Take You By The Hand and Show You Exact Results of All the Internet Marketing Techniques he tests and Uses Every Single Month." Click here to Find Out More: http://www.theBiggestNoBrainer.com

Do You Blame Your Prospects When Your Products Or Services Are Not Selling As Well As You Would Like?

by Michael Hepworth 
This kind of attitude is not unique to high-tech firms, but it was definitely a dominant theme one day last week when I was a guest at a discussion group for technology companies selling into health care. 

There was a fascinating discussion about what is happening in health care and how technology is changing the landscape in this rapidly changing environment. 

Yet, despite these great opportunities, there was a lot of discussion of how prospects in this industry don’t really understand what is being offered by these technology firms, there was much complaining about their un-willingness to take risks and in general it sounded like the customers were to blame for a lot of the problems these firms were experiencing.

It sounded to me like many of these firms had got it backwards. They had fallen in love with their products instead of their customers. It’s not your customers’ responsibility to understand what you sell and how it could help them, it’s yours. This is one of the most fundamental principles of marketing.

These firms didn’t understand their customers’ needs as clearly as they should, and as a result blamed the customers when the sales didn’t materialize.

The only way to sell is to start from the prospect’s side. If you don’t, you’ll generally get the same result as these unfortunate firms.

Starting from the prospect’s side means you can’t pitch a solution simply because you think it is a good idea. Or talk about how wonderful you or your products are. No one cares and there are hundreds of firms who offer the same undifferentiated “stuff” you do. 

You have to stop talking about yourself. We’ve all been trapped by people like this at social events. In that environment it may be difficult for you to get away, but not so for the sales prospect, they will just ignore you.

You have to remember no one wants to be sold, so you have to approach it from the perspective of serving the customer. 

A good mindset is “You Matter. Your well being is important to me. Let me see how I can help!”

This mindset forces you to focus on the customer first and for your firm to become the champion of your customers and prospects ultimately making certain you are their most trusted supplier, because you leave them in a better condition than when you started. From this position it is much easier to gain acceptance of your ideas.

So how do you begin this process?

The first step is to convince your prospects to give you their attention. 

The only way you can do this is if your marketing messages speak to their desires, frustrations and fears. You must convince them you are worth spending time with or that your web site is worth visiting. 

You have to be different than your competitors. If you are saying essentially the same thing, you become indistinguishable in the crowd.

A good headline for a letter, brochure or web site is a good start…but it is not enough. You have to have substance that will keep them involved with you, either reading your letters, listening to your suggestions or reading what’s on your web site.

You can only do this if you provide value. Not simply that you have a great product or service, but how you can help them solve a problem. Good products are a table stake in business and bad products don’t stay around very long. 

The moment prospects no longer perceive value, you lose them. There are too many competing messages out there, to expect them to listen to you any longer than it takes them to decide you are worth listening to, or to cut and run.

Testimonials are critical for new products and services. Social proof is very effective in encouraging undecided people to move forward. Few people want to be pioneers unless the risk is very low. The newer the product, the greater the perceived risk!

You have to find ways to remove the risk, if not; you may have a great product or service that never sees the light of day. It may even be necessary to work free on occasion in exchange for testimonials, if what you have is unproven. Think of it as a marketing cost.

You also have to convince prospects that what you offer is at least good value, but better still a bargain. You do this by making dramatic comparisons with the current situation and presenting this information in a compelling way.

Finally, you have to make it very easy for them to buy. You can do this with extended payment terms, limited offers to early adopters, guarantees and other incentives.

Only when you demonstrate in believable ways that you have your prospects’ interests at heart and are intent on helping them make the right decision, will you reduce the resistance to your products and services.
Michael Hepworth is the Streetsmart Marketer. You can sign up for his www.streetsmartmarketer.com>free marketing tip newsletter by visiting http://www.streetsmartmarketer.com/. There you will find this article and hundreds more www.streetsmartmarketer.com>free marketing tips
articles@leaftech.net

Finding your "Niche"

by Wayne Van Dyck 
Finding your "Niche"
By Wayne Van Dyck

When you are considering starting an online company, first you want to make sure you find the right product. What is it that you want to sell? What are you passionate about? What topic or subject are you knowledgeable about. Selling an information product online is easier than selling a service. However, selling a service online makes more money when you incorporate a monthly membership. 

Be sure that your customers are going to be interested in what you are selling, before you spend all your time working on a website and writing up eBooks. Do market research. Start by finding out how many competitors you have -this is a good sign. Read through, forums, newsgroups, discussion boards, and chat rooms and learn about your target market customer base. Send a survey to your email list to see what they are most interested in.

There are three reasons why a customer will want to buy your product. 1. Your product has solved a problem for your customer. 2. Your product has made life easier or more comfortable for your customer. 3. You are very passionate about your product and it shows in everything you do.

When researching your niche, you may want to use www.Amazon.com and find the current top sellers. Find out what people are reading about. You will want to research related keywords with keyword tools such as www.wordtracker.com. You need to discover which keywords are being searched for most. 
Checking out competitors sites isn't a bad idea. It can help you to come up with ideas on what would make your company different and better. Take a look at the competitions traffic rankings and their related links. After analyzing this information, you can see how many visitors they have each day and how profitable their company is.
Once you find your passion, ask yourself, "Does this serve my customers?" You want to provide excellent service to each and every customer that spends money with you. This eliminates many complaints, bad reputations, and, chargeback's.
Wayne Van Dyck is a former venture capitalist and builder of offline technology companies. He is the founder and developer of Simple Money Machines. Simple Money Machines is all the money making technologies in one, easy-to-use, hosted application… enabling non-technical people to set up online businesses in less than 30 minutes. It's made for people with 9-5 jobs, retired folks, stay-at-home moms and college students. To get a FREE copy of “STARTING A HOME BUSINESS MADE SIMPLE", go to:http://tinyurl.com/ykyoqx.
wvd@sbcglobal.net
Permission to reprint this article in unchanged form, including author bio.

How to Write a Killer Sales Letter

by Eric Fields 
When writing a sales letter there are certain rules you should follow. Your main goal when writing a sales letter is to catch your readers interest. Before you begin to write your sales letter, research your target audience. Learn what their common needs and problems are. Now let's continue to the content of the sales letter.

Your headline is key. Go through newspapers, and other ads to see what headlines strike you as effective. You want your headline to jump out at the reader. Your headline should also point out how it will benefit your reader. For instance " 10 ways you can make 1 million in a year." That is an example of striking headline. Or " Learn how my red monkey makes 15 grand a month".

Next you need to arouse curiosity in the first couple of sentences of the letter. Then you must show how your customer will benefit from your product or service. Remember to explain how your customer will benefit not how you will benefit. This is where most sales letters go wrong, they fail to convey the benefits of the product to the customer.

Next establish credibility with your customer. Give your experience and/or customer testimonials. Always offer a full money back guarantee, it shows that you have confidence in your product or service.

Here are some other things to keep in mind when writing a sales letter. Place a date on the letter so the offer is always is current and not backdated. Next add a limited time offer, like a bonus for the first 100 buyers or a discount for the first 24 hours. Always make sure you take your limited time offer off the shelf, after the offer expires. Lastly write the sales letter as if you are directly speaking to one person. Do not write the sales letter as if you are speaking to a group of people.

Eric Fields has been helping people succeed in business for over 25 years. To get more of his techniques for free. Visit http://www.leadgenerationworld.com

How To Use White Papers To Promote & Sell Your Industrial Products On & Off The Internet

by Conrad Bailey 
For quite some time now White Papers have been sort of the in-thing in the world of industrial and technical marketing - and for good reason. Thousands of businesses use them around the world to educate their customers and prospects about their products. Which is why businesses in just about every industry can get great results with a properly written white paper. 

Think about it. What other promotional item or marketing tool cost so little? For just pennies each, you can produce simple documents right from your computer - instantly. Documents that can increase your sales and revenues in a matter of days. That's the power of a white paper.

Client-Centered White Papers

Generally speaking, white papers are suppose to be technical documents, at least originally. But today, smart marketers utilize them as an effective 'medium' to promote their products by integrating the 'technical' aspect of what they're selling with a client-centered approach. 

The key of writing an effective white paper is focusing on how the content benefits your customer. In other words, it must provide information your customer or prospect can actually put to use, preferably right away. For example:

· Technical information the prospect can put into action and benefit from; 
· Information that makes the prospect understand the value of your products and reliability of your company; 
· Information that gets the prospect to pick up the phone and call to request a quote - or at least to learn more about the advantages of doing business with you. 

Writing Effective White Papers

Anybody that is skilled in a certain industry can write a white paper. Sure, you can hire someone to write the white paper for you. But in most cases, you are much better off writing the it yourself. That's because you probably know more about the benefits and features of your products than most people. So obviously you can provide much more valuable information.

If you're not much of the writing type, you can always hire a copywriter or editor to go over your drafted work. What's most important is providing him or her with the information that you know would benefit potential buyers of your products. 

Your existing customers can also be an excellent source to gather a lot of information that you can use in your white paper. Ask them what they liked most about your products? What improvements would they like to see, if any? How do they compare your products to similar goods in your industry? Answers to questions like these will provide you with some valuable information for your white paper.

What Does A White Paper Look Like? 

A white paper does not have to be colorful and fancy. It can be a simple, black-and-white, single page document that's printed right from your laser printer. That way you can make instant changes as needed. There is no need to produce white papers in multiple colors or high gloss paper. Remember, the key is the information your white paper delivers because it does nothing for you to have an expensive looking white paper if it doesn't generate business. 

I'm not suggesting your white paper should be cheap looking. By all means, you want it to be produced on nice white paper, typeset correctly and printed with laser sharpness. A good example would be a government or legal letter. Ever noticed how such documents are always in the standard black on white design, free of graphics, and has that traditional look of coming from a typewriter. Lawyers and officials want their documents to show the importance of the content, not its design, so they always use the standard format to ensure the reader takes notice right away. The same approach works very well with white papers.

You can also Google or Yahoo the term 'White Papers' to find all kinds of samples. Or better yet, why not look for white papers your competitors are using. With a little searching you'll find a number of white papers you can use as examples to design your own template. But again, make sure to keep it simple, you'll be glad you did when you want to edit the paper's content.

Distributing Your White Paper

Getting your White Paper into the hands of your prospects is the easy part. You can offer the papers on your website, or via fax-on-demand, autoresponder, or even through traditional direct mail. You can also bring your white papers to trade shows and pass them out as a brochure. I even know of several companies that offer free copies of their white paper through pay-per-click advertising. They found it a very effective means of generating sales leads.

When you write a really good white paper, you'll notice the distribution will spread on its own. That's because people who receive your white paper will often pass them out to their friends and colleagues they feel will benefit from the information. This chain effect can result in significant business opportunities that no other marketing document can even come close of doing. Brochures and catalogs unquestionably lack the informational value of a client-centered white paper so they rarely get passed around as often, if at all.

About The Author :
Conrad Bailey is co-founder and vice president of www.IndustrialLeaders.com, and author of the popular Co-Op Industrial Advertising Blog at: http://www.IndustrialLeaders.com/blog/

How Content Can Really Increase Your Sales

by Jinger Jarrett 
Search engines don't buy products and services. People do.

To sell your products and services online, you need targeted traffic. Search engines will send you targeted traffic, and a lot of it, if you take certain steps.

The first step in your search engine marketing campaign isn't search engine optimization. Your first step is to understand the internet and how to effectively use it to promote your products and services.

The internet is a content driven medium. Searchers are looking for information. They don't want to be sold to. They want value. You can provide this value through the content you write for your website, as well as content you write for your promotions.

Therefore, you need to develop a complete, content management strategy. Your content management strategy needs to be customer focused, content driven, and optimized for the search engines. 

Your content management strategy should consider on page and off page optimization factors. On page factors include optimizing your page for keywords relevant to your page, titles, and descriptions. Off page factors include link exchanges and backlinks.

Once you've chosen the topic for your site, you need to develop your website. Decide what content you will write. Your content should include articles, press releases, and product reviews. You can also create free ebooks, reports, and white papers provided the information you include will be useful to your site visitor.

Before developing your content, you need to do your research. Find out what your readers are searching for. There are plenty of free tools and software on the internet to help you accomplish this task. Simply search for a keyword phrase like "keyword suggestion tools".

When you're ready to write your content, choose two to three keywords and/or keyword phrases in the text for your page. Write your content and then optimize your page for these keywords. You can use free software like Web CEO.

Although on page optimization will help you if you don't have a lot of competition for your keyword phrases, it is not enough if you are targeting high competition words. To raise your rankings, you will need to link to high traffic sites with high page rank. Building backlinks from other websites will also help you raise your rankings.

Do a search in your favorite search engine to find sites you can link to. Study these sites. Check to see what keywords they use to optimize their pages. Find out if they exchange links and request a link exchange.

The key to success in search engine marketing is to do your homework BEFORE you create your website. The bottom line is that no matter how many links you have pointing back to your site, or how well you optimize your page for the search engines, you won't rank high for keywords that are too competitive.

If you still insist on building a website on a highly competitive topic, then I would recommend you use other techniques to promote your site. Article writing, forum posting, press releases, pay per click ads, and offline classifieds.

The bottom line is you won't succeed in any business you aren't passionate about. Choose a topic you like that has a market and then build a content rich search engine friendly market. Get your name out there and keep branding yourself. You will succeed.

Jinger Jarrett will show you how to get more traffic and sales with free marketing. Get her book, "1001 High Traffic Sites Where You Can Market for Free", at http://www.jingerjarrett.com/1001-High-Traffic-Sites-Special-Offer/

Building Sales by Building Credibility...

by Tommy Yan 
I was counseling with a client on building trust through his mailing. I suggested it's ten times more powerful to have his clients state his company's great assets rather than claiming it himself. It's just more believable.

When you're looking to buy on eBay, you'd want to check the seller's credentials. Does she have happy customers? Are there any complaints? What do they say about the way she conducts transactions?

It's the same if you're a consultant, speaker, or coach wanting to charge higher fees. Nobody will want to pay you more unless they know you have satisfied customers.

When a prospect scans your website, brochure, one-sheet, or direct mail campaign, there is one fail-safe method to establish instant rapport: testimonials.

Why should they believe what you state in your mailing? How do they know you're for real? Who else has done business with you? All of these are concerns your prospects have.

Your testimonials may mean the difference between more sales and leads, or them tossing out your message. That's why infomercials broadcast them every five minutes. Moneymaking websites usually have at least one page dedicated to them. And good sales letters include them in the mix.

Which is why you need them in your marketing: to build trust and credibility, to dispel customer fear and anxiety, and to make lots of money.

What to do first...

1. Ask your clients or customers who have benefited from your product or service to give you a brief testimonial. Usually they're more than happy to help. But if they're stubborn, you may want to offer an ethical bribe by saying, "I'll take 15% off your next order," or "I'll include your name in a drawing for my $500 workshop." And if they need help producing one, you can write one and have them approve it.

2. Make sure your testimonials are results oriented. Use specific numbers and amounts. For example, don't say, "I loved your tape album," or "Everyone thought you were a great speaker." These don't fly in this age of skepticism.

To increase trust use, "Your advice made me $40,000 in new sales the first month. We're on target to gross over one million dollars in sales this year. Thanks for your direction."

3. Use a real name and contact information from your client. Don't use initials. It just screams phony. Include a full name, title, brand name, company, city, state (and if applicable), a photo, and a website URL.

4. Include a good mix of clients. Depending on your target market, using high-profile individuals exclusively may not be totally necessary. A testimony from a work-at-home mom in Kansas can sometimes win more favor from prospects than a stuffed shirt CEO from New York.

5. And if you publish a website, a great credibility booster is using audio or video testimonials. Nothing is more powerful than actual clients edifying you or your products for the entire world to experience.

Testimonials are one of the least expensive, most productive tools to add into your marketing arsenal. But most entrepreneurs and business owners either forget or include ineffective, watered-down statements. Or sometimes they're too lengthy or even go overboard in their praise.

But not you...

Follow these steps today to gain credibility in a skeptical marketplace, lower your prospect's force field, and get ready for a dramatic increase in sales and leads.

Tommy Yan helps business owners and entrepreneurs make more money through direct response marketing. He publishes Tommy's Tease weekly e-zine to inspire people to succeed in business and personal growth. Get you free subscription today at http://www.TommyYan.com.

The 4 Major Principles in Selling

by Leslie Johnston 
As in any other industry there are major principles, or codes that are used in order to be successful. These principles are used as a standard or foundation to rely on for success in that industry. There are 4 major principles in selling.

Top Quality Product or Service – First off if you are not selling a top quality product or service then you will never become a top quality sales person. You will need to think about the honesty and integrity of what you are doing. It is absolutely crucial that you have a top quality product or service, especially if you are trying to develop a niche market.

Top Quality Company- Every company will say that they are the best at what they do. The best ways to ensure on the quality of a company would be to ask the customers. Research and see if they have problems in inferior products, service, sales, and deliveries, warranties, or after-sales services. Ensure that the company has coordination and cooperation between the different departments. Most of the times companies fail at providing quality service because of the lack of communication within the company it self.

Ideal Customer Profile- It is vital that you do know your ideal customer profile, the one that suits you and your business. If you don’t already know, then start working on that right now. How can you possibly sell successfully if you don’t know who is the best type of person to sell to?

Credibility- Credibility in your Marketplace, the only to get it is by having a good product or service, Honesty, Integrity, it really is simple, just treat your customers the way you would want to be treated. It may take years in some cases to build up a good name and reputation, but a bad one can be had over night.

So in closing I would like to encourage you to use these 4 major principles in selling, and laying them down as your foundation in the sales market, and when you employ these principles you will be on your path to success!

This is the foundation of you business and/or success, that is why I cover it in detail first in my hands on training workshops

To get your copy of my 5 part training course absolutely FREE click on www.thehandsontrainingsystem.com right now

Yours in Success
Leslie Johnston

Ways To Attract More Orders

by Ed Dunham 
1. Create a free ebook directory on a specific topic at your web site. People will visit your web site to read the free ebooks and may see your product ad. 

2. Turn part of your web site into a members only web site. Instead of charging for access, use it as a free bonus for one of your products. 

3. Add a free classified ad section to your web site. You could then trade banner ads with other web sites that have free classified ad sections. 

4. Create two versions of your e-zine so people can choose if they want ads included with it or not. This'll attract the people who hate ads to subscribe. 

5. Publish your e-zine only on your web site. Have people subscribe to a "new issue" e-mail reminder. This could really increase your traffic and sales. 

6. Sell advertising space in your product package. You could sell inserts, flyers, brochures, booklets, and digital ads for electronic products. 

7. Offer daily or weekly visitor bonuses. This will increase your repeat traffic and sales because your visitors will visit regularly to get the visitor bonuses. 

8. Allow people to download software or e-books from your web site at no cost. Just ask your visitors in return if they'll refer their friends to your web site. 

9. Build up the number of people that join your free affiliate program quickly by temporally offering your product for free to the people that sign up. 

10. Negotiate with e-zine publishers to get free or discounted ads by letting them join your affiliate program and earn commissions on the ad you run. 

Ed Dunham owner of Computer House Sales and Emerald Web Hosting. Business started in February of 1998

Long-Term Selling—The Relationship You Build, Is More Important than the Pressure Close

by Ed Rigsbee 
"The bonds that unite another person to ourself exist only in our mind." -Marcel Proust 

Do you want to sell more? Sure you do. But, the question is, “What prices are you willing to pay for your long-term success?” Are you willing to give up instant gratification? Many sales people are not. Why would you even consider delaying the gratification a sale, especially if you sell on commission? For your sustained selling success, I believe it is infinitely more valuable to your selling career to put off the slippery sale today, for a lifetime customer.

In our western culture, we all want it now. What is the price we pay for this hollow instant happiness? I’ll tell you, it’s the reputation salespeople have in North America. It’s right there next to crooked politicians, fallen clergy and dethroned CEOs. I have a better idea—build a relationship!

In my 17 years of outside sales and 15 years of inside selling, I learned after the first couple that selling is not warfare. Rather, selling is about building relationships. The larger your base of satisfied customers, the greater your annual sales results. 

Notice I did not say monthly? If you only look at monthly figures, as too many sales managers and vice presidents of sales are prone to do, you are missing the point. I have worked with too many ignorant sales managers and general managers who were focused only on this week's or this month's sales dollars. It was because they worked for a company that was bleeding to death. If your company is healthy, the focus will be yearly and half-decade. If your company is sick, the focus will be daily. 

Before I go any further, let me ask you this question: “Is your company healthy?” If not, why are you sticking around? There are plenty of healthy and prosperous businesses, why be a martyr and go down with the ship? If you are working for a healthy company, your company will place a high value on the relationships with its customer. Follow my RELATIONSHIP Model and I guarantee you will be successful in professional selling and loyal customer base. So loyal, that is, that your company will be afraid to ever let you become a victim of reengineering. 

R is for Relax. Relax and be authentic. This is first and foremost; trying to be someone you are not is the kiss of death in relationship building. Even if you think you can fool prospects, you are wrong. The first time maybe, but from then on, they have your number. If you decide to be the best possible you, understand that it is enough. Nobody likes a slippery snake oil salesman! 

E is for Excitement. Be excited about your product and the chance to serve your customers. Think about that monotone teacher you had in high school or college, the one that put you to sleep five minutes into the class. An unexcited salesperson is no different. Why in the world would I want to do business with somebody that does not believe in, and is not excited about his or her products or services? Let me add a caution here: if you act like a 110-volt light bulb hooked up to 220 volts two things will happen to you. First you'll burn out in a glorious flash and secondly, you'll be a counterfeit. Being your best includes excitement, but the excitement must be genuine. 

L is for Look. Look your prospects and customers in the eye and thank them for the opportunity to serve. Be happy they came to see you or allowed you to visit them. Today, we live in a fast paced society, even in small town America. People do not have enough time to do all the things the want to. And you, as a salesperson, are asking them for some time, a small piece of their life. Let your prospects and customers know that you appreciate the opportunity to serve them in solving their challenges.

A is for Ask. Ask plenty of questions that will cause discussion about your customer's desires and expectations. I’m sure you have heard that a professional salesperson talks only 20% of the time and listens 80%, but the kind of questions that you ask what will really enable you to help them meet their product or service needs. Knowledge is power and you need lots of knowledge to help the highly sophisticated buyer of today. Do not shortchange your prospects by talking too much. If you talk too much, you will be of little value to your customers, and they will have no desire to build a relationship with you. 

T is for Talent. Use your talent to be a showman. Prove how your products will make their life better. Now this is an important key; how it will make THEIR life better, not your life. Get the focus on your prospect and use sizzle to sell the steak, not the hamburger. If you are focused only on YOUR presentation, and how great a showman you are, you will miss the point and most likely the sale. Your customers are not buying the show. Many today, are in pain and do need the show to better help them understand how your product will solve THEIR problems.

I is for Invite. Invite your customer to hold, touch, feel, ride, test, use or otherwise experience your products. Get them in the act. If they hear, they forget. If they see, they remember. If they experience, they internalize. You want your customers to internalize the value of owning what you sell, don't you? How many people buy a car before the test drive? Not many! Put it in my hand and I am on the path to emotional ownership. If I emotionally own your product, it will be quite easy for you, the professional salesperson, to ALLOW me to buy it, don't you think? 

O is for Objections. Objections are really questions. Simply answer their questions. The feel, felt, found method is usually quite effective here. Let's review the method. When your prospect says "No," agree with them and show your understanding. Say, "I understand how you feel. Mrs. Jones felt exactly the same way. Although, after she gave it a try, it performed better that I promised and …" Too often when your prospect is saying, "No," they are really saying, "I need to know more." If you understand this, you’ll do a better job of answering their questions. Now is the time when all that listening you did earlier pays off. With your knowledge of your customer's need, you can smoke out the true roadblock to them having what they want. Then you can help them to buy. By doing so, you'll also add another brick onto the solid long-term relationship you and your company enjoys with that customer. 

N is for Now. Now is time to learn the three great words that will change your life. "Ask for it!" Ask them to buy that which you know they want NOW. What are you afraid of? Perhaps you are afraid that they will like you less for asking? I assure you, they will think less of you, if you do NOT ask them to buy. They will tend to say, "Yes" as not to offend you. You must sell the benefits of your product or service and not rely on the many features. Salespeople that sell features and not benefits hear a lot of "Great presentation" or "You are a great salesperson" as their prospects walk away empty handed. Never ask prospects to buy before you give them several great reasons to do what you desire. 

S is for Solve. Solve unresolved problems, challenges or roadblocks that are keeping your customers from having what they want. This is crucial and usually occurs after one or two trial closes. You now realize there is still some area you did not cover completely, some area you over looked. Somewhere along my sales path, I learned what is called the “doorknob close.” This is helpful when you are at the end of your helping rope, ready to fall into oblivion, the place where lost salespeople end up.

Pack it all up; thank your prospect for their time and attention. As you grab the doorknob to leave, turn the knob. Stop, and turn around, still holding the knob. Ask, "Just for my information, Mr. Smith, why is it you didn't buy today?" Listen closely—you are about to strike gold. Whatever it is that they say, respond with, "Oh my gosh, I forgot to cover that!" Now, let go of the knob and go back to your prospect and answer their last objection. 

H is for Help. Help them to buy it, ask again. Remember though your real goal is to build a powerful base of satisfied customers, not just make a sell today. Helping is also understanding that it’s possible your prospect may have a reason for not buying today. If you stay focused on the relationship rather than just the sell, you'll be a long-term success rather than just another hotshot, hooked up to 220 volts, burning the brightest for a very short time. 

I is for Inspire. Inspire your customers to feel really good about their buying decision. When your customer begs you to allow them to buy, or simply says, "I'll take it,” remember to guard against buyers’ remorse. Inspire them to feel really good about their decision to buy and doing business with you. Remind them, just one more time, what a good choice they made by reviewing all the ways the product or service will make their life better. Inspire them to take full advantage of your product support and customer service programs. Make them feel so good about doing business with you that they will want to tell all their friends about you.

P is for Partner. Become your customer's partner in total product/service satisfaction (TPS or TSS). Follow up regularly. Be certain of the value and enjoyment your customers have received from doing business with you and your company. Make certain they feel really good about buying from you 30, 60, 90 days later. Now that you truly have embarked on the path of building a long- term relationship, ask for referrals. Allow your satisfied customers to now help you in your career. Allow them to help their friends in enjoying the really good feelings they have enjoyed. Partners get real leads from their customers, not just the useless lists of names frequently given to pushy salespeople to get rid of them. 

In making your deposits into the "Relationship Bank," you are guaranteed to yield healthy returns. Position yourself as a partner. Be persistent in your selling efforts. Try repeatedly to help your prospects to have all that you know they want. Have patience—I've learned that being number two in the minds of your prospects will pay off. Your competitor will blow it someday, as you and I have, and when they do, there you are, ready to take full advantage of the relationship you've built. Building relationships does payoff. Not always today, but generally sooner than you think.

Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift, Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,000 published articles to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade association conferences across North America. He can be reached at 800-839-1520 or EdRigsbee@aol.com. Visit his Partnering University Web Site at www.rigsbee.com.