1. They talk instead of LISTEN.
Too many salespeople monopolize the time they have in front of prospect with their talk, only allowing the prospect to listen (whether or not it`s interesting). For every hour they actually spend in front of a prospect, they spend five minutes selling their produ...

Becoming part of an online advertising network is a pretty powerful and cost effective way to drive traffic to your website. Internet marketing publications or discussions rarely mention an online advertising network as a means of marketing for the purpose of driving traffic to we...

This article relates to the Team Dynamics competency, which evaluates interpersonal communication, cooperation, and productivity between members of a single team, group, or department within your organization. In today`s marketplace, in order for organizations to operate efficiently, it is essential...

Conventional wisdom says that the front of a direct mail postcard is for the picture and the back is for the address, stamp and a short message. But some savvy direct marketers design their postcards the other way around?and boost response rates as a result. The goal of the front of the postcard is ...

<< Part 2 of 2 >> When many of my clients first come to me for coaching, they share that one of their biggest challenges is getting enough visitors to their site. Attracting traffic isn`t a cut and dry process ? there isn`t one perfect way to do it. But there are many ways that, when used collaborat...

There are more than 100 million e-mail users in the United States. Imagine how many of them might need YOUR services or products. Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? (Go ahead... dream big!) I encourage you to try reaching some of that audience with targeted e-mail marketing. If you`ve never tr...

Most salespeople I know consider cold calling a dreadful, but essential activity in our profession. Even those who are good at it rarely like it. Nevertheless, those who are successful in sales do it regularly because without prospects, one does not sell anything.

If you hate cold calling to...

When people think of the word ?reflection?, they typically think first of a mirror. After all, we use it as a part of our normal morning routine. We walk to the bathroom and look at ourselves in the mirror. We do that, out of habit, to see ?how we look? and to help us improve our appearance for t...

Why does your business need to be in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS)? Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing both have the same goal, which is to help visitors find your website. Ten years ago there was probably nobody searching online for your product or service. Five year...

Did you ever hear of Replay TV? They started up at about the same time as TiVo and did pretty much the same thing: they developed a personal video recorder that stores television shows on a hard drive. Whenever both companies appeared at tech shows, critics would rave about Replay?s technology and t...

Most of us make mistakes in our marketing now and then. I`ve done things with my own marketing and advertising that I would never advise a client to do. Sometimes I knew they were bad ideas before starting but, through some temporary lapse in judgment, went ahead anyway. Other times I learned ...

Does a headline like this scare you? <<... IP and other companies have shut plants, cut thousands of jobs, sold timberlands ... includes the potential spin-off or sale of its beverage packaging, >> it should because the consolidation is not over yet. Don`t despair just because we are in the "dog ...

We live in a world where we are bombarded with four thousand marketing messages each day, where many struggle to keep on top of the ?spam-stuffed inbox?, where every market has more sellers than buyers, where a whole new set of rapid-relationship skills are called for. While some bemoan the passing ...

It?s amazing what you can accomplish if you don?t care who gets the credit.     Harry S Truman

President Truman had decided that Secretary of State, General George Marshall?s name should be attached to his plan for massive European relief following World War II. Many in the...

Knowing what to do when meeting a prospective client for
lunch, or going to lunch with the boss or colleague can be
confusing at times.  Here is a quick list of items to
remember:

1.  Be in the present moment with whoever you are with.
Limit glancing around the room.  It?s a sign...

Web site traffic promotion on the cheap is labor intensive but quickly mastered if you know where to start. Free web site traffic doesn?t mean massive submission to search engines or traffic exchanges. Carving out a web site promotion strategy following basic guidelines will bring the targeted web...

A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing question is one that asks prospects for an opinion. Trial-closings should be non-threatening questions that ask how your prospective customer feels about what you have presented. Typical trial-closing questions can build in their directne...

Many people have a false understanding of what it actually means to be rich. If you were to ask a stranger what makes a person rich, he or she would say "A person is rich if they have a lot of money and can buy whatever they want!". But that isn`t what it means to be rich. This is what it means when...

When its time to give your next sales presentation, here are my favorite tips for delivering powerful, charismatic, and engaging sales presentations.

#1 - PLANT YOUR FEET SQUARELY ON THE FLOOR

How you hold your physical body during your sales pitch communicates a tremendous amoun...

The following tips have come from a wide variety of sources; some from other successful businesses we know, some from our Home-Based and Small Business Support Group meetings and some we`ve developed by trial and error.

Some of the ways to get clients are: contact previous employers; mailing...

The best cover letters are `one-page wonders.` Why? Because they suit today`s busy employers who are already overloaded and often overwhelmed. The best way to catch their attention is to `be brief?and be gone.` Leave them wanting more?so they`ll call you for an interview?which is just what you ho...

The point of a quality improvement program should not only be to improve a product or the delivery of healthcare but it should also be to save time and money by reducing or eliminating waste or errors. For example, a doctor or nurse practitioner writes a prescription. We wouldn?t deliver some of th...

If the mere thought of standing up in front of an audience makes your knees quiver, you should know that you?re not alone. Public speaking is one of the top fears listed by Americans and for good reason- most of us don?t do it very often. My personal theory is that the fear stems from the possibil...

Over the past 25 years I have had the unique opportunity to talk directly with many of the professionals and instructors who use Overhead Projectors as an integral part of their profession. The stories they have shared with me have given me direct insight to some of the most common problems experien...

It`s 1954. Yes, Mrs. Patricia Smith has been a good teacher today. She has remained on task and kept her Third Grade Pupils in line. But she doesn`t have to work too hard at it. She weighs 200 Lbs and if she ever grabs you and shakes you, and you can see the buttons on her blouse coming at you at a...

Being a reflexologist is one of the top five career choices in the field of holistic health. The trend shows that more and more people are turning toward holistic practices to enhance traditional medical therapies. Being a reflexologist also allows the practitioner to create a flexible schedule in m...

Quote of the week "The answer is always no...unless you ask." - Unknown Whether you`re in sales or not, this is an incredibly true statement. If you don`t ask someone for help, they won`t help you. Chances are, they won`t even know you need help. I think people like to other people favors, so by ask...

This is one of those broad questions that can take you down the wrong road unless you have done some thinking about what to say ahead of time. This question deals with your ability to sell yourself. Think of yourself as the product. Why should the customer buy? Answers that WON`T WORK - `Because I n...

Traffic. A source of income and motivation for some and frustration and annoyance for others. For me, traffic is like some kind of Nirvava: something you always want but can never get. Not anymore! I am sick of trying to get people to read my work, my masterpieces. From this moment on I will post on...

Meetings are expensive. The more people at a meeting, and the more time spent the more expensive. That`s one reason why meeting planning and management is so important particularly when we`ve moved to a more team based system of work. Effective meeting management is important for more than just the ...

What companies look for when recruiting a new sales representative are the characteristics that give you a successful sales career. If you have been hired to be part of a sales team, it?s probably because your manager can perceive that you have these attributes, at least to some degree. Your manager...

The importance and usefulness of a skylight filter cannot be overestimated. Everyone should have at least one. Preferably, they should have one for every lens they own. These should be permanently fixed to the filter thread. Skylight filters are cheap, freely available and come in various filter thr...

The Car Wash Guys is a franchise system, which had never been done before in the Industry of Car Washing, as it was a mobile car wash. It started out in California with independent contractors and quickly grew to 53 units in 39 cities within a 4-year period and then the company decided to franchise...

I am always railing about how the best way to buy a business is to (a) buy a business worth a million dollars or more and (b) use investors -- as opposed to banks, lenders, etc -- to finance that business. But one thing I rarely talk about is the investor`s point of view. Why this works out so well...

You are serving great food. Your establishment is new, spotless and inviting and yet you are not getting the repeat visits that you expect. What?s up? What?s going wrong? The answer may lie with your people skills? Why do people come to your restaurant? By now you should know why people frequent you...

Whether you are working at home, in the office, or in your car -- your ability to produce results with the least amount of stress, is directly affected by your physical environment. A functional desk that is ugly can be as much of a deterrent to productivity as a beautiful desk that is not function...

Down-sized? Outsourced? Burned-out? Wizened up? That`s what I said. Wizened up! Now is not the time to be depressed. Now, is the perfect time to assess your life and what you want to do with the rest of it. One easy way is to explore career options that are complementary to you. Whether you...

I?ll never forget taking my first test drive in a Mercedes. The salesman was related to dealership?s owner. And he was anything other than a chip off the old block. Papa was elegant and cultivated, and very much a gentleman, prone to understatement. The kid was brash, spoiled, impatient, and a lot o...

Little Kids Ask Until They Get What They Want. Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, can I have an ice cream? Can I, Can I, Can I, Can I? Please, Please, Please, Please. I`ll be good for a whole year. I promise. Just give me a dollar. I won`t ask again for a long time. Pleaseeeeee! Regular, repeated mailings are the ...

Here are 34 affirmations I have created after studying the book "Networking with the Affluent" by Dr. Thomas Stanley. Even though the book is targeted to sales people, I believe that it is to everyone`s advantage to network--especially to network with successful people. If enough successful people a...

The right logo, with the right characteristics, will boost your visibility, credibility and memorablity ­ which means more business for you! These characteristics include: Consistency in use of your logo, tagline, materials. Repetition of similar elements, used in the same or similar ways, hel...

Many people today are looking for annuity help . The biggest challenge seems to be that most of the help is biased. What exactly do I mean? I mean that there is always a vested interest for the person who is helping you with your annuities. They are out to sell you something so you don`t know if the...

To trade on the forex market, the largest financial market on the planet, one must use a forex broker. Not unlike a stock broker, a forex broker can also makes suggestions about which moves to make when exchanging foreign currency. Some forex brokers even supply technical analysis to some of their c...

This is a growing concern among many business owners. Does your web design company own you? This may be possible if you`ve allowed them to host your web site for you and also register your domain name for your company. Web design companies have a lot of control over their clients. I refer to this ...

A client with a creative business called me one day and asked the following question. It`s a question I get asked frequently, so rather than write an entire article, I decided just to tell you exactly what I told her. Kirstin, "I never know what to say when a potential customer calls and asks `...

The complete article together with preactical excersises and Coaching tips can be found at www.my1stBusiness.com. Getting on the radio can be a great tactical move as part of your overall publicity effort, but you do need to have a story idea o...

Most computer users use spreadsheets software such as Microsoft Excel in their daily home and office. However very few are aware of the potential of spreadsheets in helping them in financial accounting and statistical analysis. There are many uses of spreadsheets beyond the simple arithmetical and...

So you want to start a business but you don`t have a lot of money? Start your business online, and it won`t be a problem. There are some pretty terrific resources you can use. Some of them you have to pay for, but they are inexpensive and can get you started quickly and easily. 1. A domain and...

While most professionals hire a professional resume writer, some draft their own resume. People who write a lot for business usually have more success in putting together a sharp, focused presentation; still, anyone can learn the basic steps to prepare his or her own resume. There are three majo...

It is 9:00 am on a Monday morning. Do you know where your employees? attention is? Is it on work? Picture this. You are at work. The phone rings. It is your aging father?s neighbor calling to say that Dad is walking around outside in his pajamas and seems confused. You have a full day of meetings ...