Your probably thinking ‘Advertising with clothing’ How would that provide increased sales and profits to my business?
But think for a second and relate it to your business. Advertising on clothing doesn’t mean providing promotional items to customers and prospects, but it also includes the clothing your staff may wear to work or on business exhibitions.
The design of your clothing should be professional and not over the top. A simple polo shirt with the company logo above a pocket is and effective promotional shirt.
Promotional clothing and accessories have been a part of business promotion and marketing of brands for a long time.
They can be given to clients, to prospective customers and also to your employees to give them the added feeling of belonging to a brand.
You do not need be a world famous brand to benefit from promotional clothing. Even new businesses have used clothing and accessories to create awareness of their product, brand or business.
Giving promotional clothing and accessories to your employees is a great way for brand endorsement. You can design clothing with your company brand and marketing message for your employees and if you are hosting a conference, exhibition or promotional event, make it mandatory for your employees to wear promotional clothing.
It is a very inexpensive method to make your staff stand out......To continue reading this article click here!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Investing Basics
When it comes to investing, many first time investors want to jump right in with both feet.
Unfortunately, very few of those investors are successful.
Investing in anything requires some degree of skill.
It is important to remember that few investments are a sure thing, there is the risk of losing your money!
Before you jump right in, it is better to not only find out more about investing and how it all works, but also to determine what your goals are.
What do you hope to achieve with your investments?
Will you be funding a college education?
Buying a home?
Retiring?
Before you invest a single dollar, really think about what you hope to achieve with that investment. Knowing what your goal is will help you make smarter investment decisions along the way!
Too often, people invest money with dreams of becoming rich overnight.
This is possible, but it is also rare.
It is usually a very bad idea to start investing with hopes of becoming rich overnight.
It is safer to invest your money in such a way that it will grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or a long term benefit.
However, if your investment goal is to get rich quick, you should learn as much about high-yield, short term investing as you possibly can before you invest.
You should.....To continue reading this article click here!
Unfortunately, very few of those investors are successful.
Investing in anything requires some degree of skill.
It is important to remember that few investments are a sure thing, there is the risk of losing your money!
Before you jump right in, it is better to not only find out more about investing and how it all works, but also to determine what your goals are.
What do you hope to achieve with your investments?
Will you be funding a college education?
Buying a home?
Retiring?
Before you invest a single dollar, really think about what you hope to achieve with that investment. Knowing what your goal is will help you make smarter investment decisions along the way!
Too often, people invest money with dreams of becoming rich overnight.
This is possible, but it is also rare.
It is usually a very bad idea to start investing with hopes of becoming rich overnight.
It is safer to invest your money in such a way that it will grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or a long term benefit.
However, if your investment goal is to get rich quick, you should learn as much about high-yield, short term investing as you possibly can before you invest.
You should.....To continue reading this article click here!
Investing For The Future
If you are ready to invest money for a future event, such as retirement or a planed holiday, you have several options.
You do not have to invest in risky short-term stocks or get rich quick schemes. You can easily invest your money in ways that are very safe, which will show a decent return over a long period of time.
First consider bonds. There are various types of bonds that you can purchase. Bond’s are similar to Certificates of Deposit.
Instead of being issued by banks, however, bonds are issued by the Government. Depending on the type of bonds that you buy, your initial investment may double over a specific period of time.
Mutual funds are also relatively safe. Mutual funds exist when a group of investors put their money together to buy stocks, bonds, or other investments.
A fund manager typically decides how the money will be invested. All you need to do is find a reputable, qualified broker who handles mutual funds, and he or she will invest your money, along with other client’s money. Mutual funds are a bit riskier than bonds.
To continue reading this article click here!
You do not have to invest in risky short-term stocks or get rich quick schemes. You can easily invest your money in ways that are very safe, which will show a decent return over a long period of time.
First consider bonds. There are various types of bonds that you can purchase. Bond’s are similar to Certificates of Deposit.
Instead of being issued by banks, however, bonds are issued by the Government. Depending on the type of bonds that you buy, your initial investment may double over a specific period of time.
Mutual funds are also relatively safe. Mutual funds exist when a group of investors put their money together to buy stocks, bonds, or other investments.
A fund manager typically decides how the money will be invested. All you need to do is find a reputable, qualified broker who handles mutual funds, and he or she will invest your money, along with other client’s money. Mutual funds are a bit riskier than bonds.
To continue reading this article click here!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Accounting in your business
It might seem obvious, but when managing a business, it's important to understand how your business makes a profit.
Your company needs a good business model and a good profit model. Your business sells products or services and earns a certain amount of margin on each unit sold.
The number of units sold is the sales volume during the reporting period. Your business subtracts the amount of fixed expenses for the period, which gives them the operating profit before interest and income tax.
It's important not to confuse profit with cash flow.
Profit equals sales revenue minus expenses.
You shouldn't.... To continue reading this article click here!
Your company needs a good business model and a good profit model. Your business sells products or services and earns a certain amount of margin on each unit sold.
The number of units sold is the sales volume during the reporting period. Your business subtracts the amount of fixed expenses for the period, which gives them the operating profit before interest and income tax.
It's important not to confuse profit with cash flow.
Profit equals sales revenue minus expenses.
You shouldn't.... To continue reading this article click here!
Your Resume
Firstly ask yourself the following question.
Do you have a professional resume?
If your working in any industry you most defiantly need a professional resume that is up to date, you never know when you’ll be needing to look for a new job or have the opportunity to apply for a higher position within your company.
Your resume is the silent salesperson for yourself and your offerings to that position and remember first impressions count.
A successful resume can help you seal the deal even before you walk in for the interview. Many business professionals that are seeking new employees express that the most important aspect and decisive factor to their decision is the resume itself.
A resume that is long, boring, rushed and unstructured will not help you in the process of getting you the job. Your resume needs to be focused and to the point.
Your resume should include.To continue reading this article click here!
Do you have a professional resume?
If your working in any industry you most defiantly need a professional resume that is up to date, you never know when you’ll be needing to look for a new job or have the opportunity to apply for a higher position within your company.
Your resume is the silent salesperson for yourself and your offerings to that position and remember first impressions count.
A successful resume can help you seal the deal even before you walk in for the interview. Many business professionals that are seeking new employees express that the most important aspect and decisive factor to their decision is the resume itself.
A resume that is long, boring, rushed and unstructured will not help you in the process of getting you the job. Your resume needs to be focused and to the point.
Your resume should include.To continue reading this article click here!
Paperless Power
What if you could save money, space and add convenience to your business, would you be interested? Of course you would!
Especially when the value, cost savings and convenience factors all far out weigh the small expense of a paperless office.
So what is a paperless office?
Its an office just like your’s, expect its more organized, less crowded and allows you and your staff to easily assess data in a split second compared to rummaging through document after document, saying to yourself ‘I know I put it here....’
Until you never end up finding that particular document.
So how can you benefit from a paperless office?
Firstly, To continue reading this article click here!
Especially when the value, cost savings and convenience factors all far out weigh the small expense of a paperless office.
So what is a paperless office?
Its an office just like your’s, expect its more organized, less crowded and allows you and your staff to easily assess data in a split second compared to rummaging through document after document, saying to yourself ‘I know I put it here....’
Until you never end up finding that particular document.
So how can you benefit from a paperless office?
Firstly, To continue reading this article click here!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Gain Confidence
Are you shy?
Do you have difficulty coping with people or situations?
Then here is some good news for you. You do not have to suffer from shyness and you should not feel insecure and fear that you are being judged with every step you take.
Winning the war with shyness takes practice, but is definitely well worth the effort as the result is increasing your confidence and self esteem. Wake up feeling good about yourself, able to face the world with confidence and security and the knowing that no feeling of shyness can come in your way of achieving your desires.
Here are 6 techniques on how to overcome your shyness:
1. Every morning, as soon as you get up, get in front of a mirror and say out loud "I feel terrific! I feel terrific! I feel terrific!" Repeat this affirmation with enthusiasm at least ten times everyday until it's ingrained into your subconscious mind. If feeling a little self conscious to begin with lock yourself in the bathroom. The results will amaze you.
2. Feel good about yourself. Look your best. Dress up more often. This gives you an extra feeling of confidence and self esteem. On its own just knowing that you look good will boost your confidence and reinforce with others that there are things about you that are worth getting to know.
3. Take a risk at least once a day. It's very invigorating and conquering fears by taking risks helps you grow in confidence and self esteem. Start with small risks and fears and as you overcome them move onto bigger things. There's nothing you cannot do. Be confident in knowing that change can only help you grow, and boost your self confidence.
4. When you are engaged in a one to one conversation, or with a larger group of people, let them know that you're shy. This prevents them from misreading you and they are far more likely to invite you into the conversation rather than leave you just listening and wishing you could contribute.
Many people find following a conversation in a noisy room difficult. If you are having difficulty say so and move so that you can hear. People respect honesty, and vulnerability and you will attract more honest people into your life as a result.
5. Rejection is a fact of life that everyone experiences. It is rarely you that is being rejected. If you are rejected, for example if you propose a new business idea to your boss, remember that everyone has different views on certain situations.
You may be seeing the long term benefits of the business idea whilst your boss is focusing on the short term benefits of the company. The same applies to your own staff providing ideas to you. That does not mean that your idea is wrong in anyway, it just means that the person your requesting to views the situation from a different stand point point a detailed outline of the benefits and try again. Never take it personally and keep in mind that if you get rejected, it is because of their own views. You are equally entitled to reject others because of your own views on a situation, just try to point out the reason for the rejection..
6. Engage in activities that make you feel excited and good about yourself or start a hobby that gives you a feeling of relaxation. Do something that excites you and take a risk. Exploring things that make you feel excited is a great antidote for shyness.
With these strategies you are well on your way to building your own personal confidence and are destined to not let anything stop you from carrying out your dreams.
Learn More
Do you have difficulty coping with people or situations?
Then here is some good news for you. You do not have to suffer from shyness and you should not feel insecure and fear that you are being judged with every step you take.
Winning the war with shyness takes practice, but is definitely well worth the effort as the result is increasing your confidence and self esteem. Wake up feeling good about yourself, able to face the world with confidence and security and the knowing that no feeling of shyness can come in your way of achieving your desires.
Here are 6 techniques on how to overcome your shyness:
1. Every morning, as soon as you get up, get in front of a mirror and say out loud "I feel terrific! I feel terrific! I feel terrific!" Repeat this affirmation with enthusiasm at least ten times everyday until it's ingrained into your subconscious mind. If feeling a little self conscious to begin with lock yourself in the bathroom. The results will amaze you.
2. Feel good about yourself. Look your best. Dress up more often. This gives you an extra feeling of confidence and self esteem. On its own just knowing that you look good will boost your confidence and reinforce with others that there are things about you that are worth getting to know.
3. Take a risk at least once a day. It's very invigorating and conquering fears by taking risks helps you grow in confidence and self esteem. Start with small risks and fears and as you overcome them move onto bigger things. There's nothing you cannot do. Be confident in knowing that change can only help you grow, and boost your self confidence.
4. When you are engaged in a one to one conversation, or with a larger group of people, let them know that you're shy. This prevents them from misreading you and they are far more likely to invite you into the conversation rather than leave you just listening and wishing you could contribute.
Many people find following a conversation in a noisy room difficult. If you are having difficulty say so and move so that you can hear. People respect honesty, and vulnerability and you will attract more honest people into your life as a result.
5. Rejection is a fact of life that everyone experiences. It is rarely you that is being rejected. If you are rejected, for example if you propose a new business idea to your boss, remember that everyone has different views on certain situations.
You may be seeing the long term benefits of the business idea whilst your boss is focusing on the short term benefits of the company. The same applies to your own staff providing ideas to you. That does not mean that your idea is wrong in anyway, it just means that the person your requesting to views the situation from a different stand point point a detailed outline of the benefits and try again. Never take it personally and keep in mind that if you get rejected, it is because of their own views. You are equally entitled to reject others because of your own views on a situation, just try to point out the reason for the rejection..
6. Engage in activities that make you feel excited and good about yourself or start a hobby that gives you a feeling of relaxation. Do something that excites you and take a risk. Exploring things that make you feel excited is a great antidote for shyness.
With these strategies you are well on your way to building your own personal confidence and are destined to not let anything stop you from carrying out your dreams.
Learn More
Monday, August 17, 2009
Supersize Your Life
The fast food industry does it, why shouldn’t you?
Life is filled with choices; why not choose to live life in a more satisfying way.
Say Yes to Life.
Saying yes to life allows wonderful opportunities to come to you. Say yes to opportunity and success. Say yes to a life that you live by your standards. Say yes to making your own decisions and not seeking approval of others.
Say yes to a fulfilling and rewarding career. Say yes to a relationship that energizes, supports and stimulates you. Say yes to a promising future. Say yes to living without guilt, resentment or regrets.
Say yes to spending more time on your self improvement. Say yes to living an authentic life. Say yes to taking chances and freeing yourself from fear. Say yes to happiness and achievements. Say yes to a well-lived life.
Love Yourself and Others Unconditionally.
When was the last time you loved without hesitation or caution?
Withholding love as a means of control only leads to distrust and resentment. Loving unconditionally means loving without judgment.
Free yourself from unrealistic expectations and accept the person you love for who they are. Do not expect your needs and wants to be fulfilled by someone else. Allow those you love to express themselves without fear of rejection.
Do not punish yourself or loved ones for past mistakes. People use the word love very loosely, but do not stop to think of the implications of using the word. Take the time to be responsible in how you show love. Allow yourself to love and be loved.
Take Risks.
Everything in life involves a risk. Are you allowing fear of rejection and failure to dictate your life?
Fear inhibits success. Take chances and free yourself from limiting beliefs. Taking risks empowers you to take charge of your life. Be curious about life; experiment and try new things.
Set goals for yourself and take action. Step out of what is safe, comfortable and familiar to you. Examine what feelings emerge when you are thinking about taking a risk.
Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” Concealing yourself in a safe container prevents you from exploring other possibilities. Embrace the unknown and anticipate success. You will never know the outcome if you don’t take the risk.
Make the Impossible, Possible.
Think it can’t happen; then it won’t. It is possible to get through the difficult times in life. Learn from failures and take responsibility for your life. Listening to your inner critic can sabotage your dreams.
Silence the critic by reaffirming all the things you are capable of doing. Dream big and be excited about your future. Find and release your untapped talents. Believe in your abilities and discover what you have to offer the world.
Think about all the things you can’t do and try to do them. Think back to a time, when something was difficult and you were able to overcome the challenge. Continuing to live life in a safe container doesn’t help you gain anything in life. Take the necessary actions to achieve your goals. Stop assuming and start achieving!
Remove the word ‘Can’t’ from your vocabulary, it’ll do wonders to your super sized life.
Make Your Life Really Count.
What’s your legacy? How do you want to be remembered?
The life you live defines who you are and the choices you make will determine what impact you will have on the lives of others. Never underestimate the power of your words and actions.
You were uniquely created to make a contribution to the world. It is your right and your obligation to make your mark in this world. Surround yourself with people who are supportive, positive and encouraging. Show appreciation and gratitude to those around you. If you have a message to share, then share it with the world. Staying small and thinking small will not get you where you need to be in life. Starting today, have a new perspective on life. Start a new chapter in your life.
Learn More
Life is filled with choices; why not choose to live life in a more satisfying way.
Say Yes to Life.
Saying yes to life allows wonderful opportunities to come to you. Say yes to opportunity and success. Say yes to a life that you live by your standards. Say yes to making your own decisions and not seeking approval of others.
Say yes to a fulfilling and rewarding career. Say yes to a relationship that energizes, supports and stimulates you. Say yes to a promising future. Say yes to living without guilt, resentment or regrets.
Say yes to spending more time on your self improvement. Say yes to living an authentic life. Say yes to taking chances and freeing yourself from fear. Say yes to happiness and achievements. Say yes to a well-lived life.
Love Yourself and Others Unconditionally.
When was the last time you loved without hesitation or caution?
Withholding love as a means of control only leads to distrust and resentment. Loving unconditionally means loving without judgment.
Free yourself from unrealistic expectations and accept the person you love for who they are. Do not expect your needs and wants to be fulfilled by someone else. Allow those you love to express themselves without fear of rejection.
Do not punish yourself or loved ones for past mistakes. People use the word love very loosely, but do not stop to think of the implications of using the word. Take the time to be responsible in how you show love. Allow yourself to love and be loved.
Take Risks.
Everything in life involves a risk. Are you allowing fear of rejection and failure to dictate your life?
Fear inhibits success. Take chances and free yourself from limiting beliefs. Taking risks empowers you to take charge of your life. Be curious about life; experiment and try new things.
Set goals for yourself and take action. Step out of what is safe, comfortable and familiar to you. Examine what feelings emerge when you are thinking about taking a risk.
Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” Concealing yourself in a safe container prevents you from exploring other possibilities. Embrace the unknown and anticipate success. You will never know the outcome if you don’t take the risk.
Make the Impossible, Possible.
Think it can’t happen; then it won’t. It is possible to get through the difficult times in life. Learn from failures and take responsibility for your life. Listening to your inner critic can sabotage your dreams.
Silence the critic by reaffirming all the things you are capable of doing. Dream big and be excited about your future. Find and release your untapped talents. Believe in your abilities and discover what you have to offer the world.
Think about all the things you can’t do and try to do them. Think back to a time, when something was difficult and you were able to overcome the challenge. Continuing to live life in a safe container doesn’t help you gain anything in life. Take the necessary actions to achieve your goals. Stop assuming and start achieving!
Remove the word ‘Can’t’ from your vocabulary, it’ll do wonders to your super sized life.
Make Your Life Really Count.
What’s your legacy? How do you want to be remembered?
The life you live defines who you are and the choices you make will determine what impact you will have on the lives of others. Never underestimate the power of your words and actions.
You were uniquely created to make a contribution to the world. It is your right and your obligation to make your mark in this world. Surround yourself with people who are supportive, positive and encouraging. Show appreciation and gratitude to those around you. If you have a message to share, then share it with the world. Staying small and thinking small will not get you where you need to be in life. Starting today, have a new perspective on life. Start a new chapter in your life.
Learn More
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Success Steps
Success is something of which we all want more.
Most people believe that success is difficult, it’s actually not!
Success isn’t really that difficult. There is a significant portion of people, that actually want and need success to be hard! Why? So they then have a built-in excuse when things don’t go their way!
For those of you who are serious about having more, doing more, giving more and being more, success is achievable with some understanding of what to do, some discipline around planning and execution of those plans and belief that you can achieve your desires.
The Truth About Success
The first thing to remember about success is that it is a process – nothing more, nothing less. There is really no magic to it and it’s not reserved only for a select few people. As such, success really has nothing to do with luck, coincidence or fate. It really comes down to understanding the steps in the process and then executing on those steps.
There are basically six key areas to higher achievement.
Making the decision
If success is a process with a number of defined steps, then it is just like any other process. So, what is the first step in any process?
Making a decision to do something, this is the first step. We all know that nothing moves until someone makes a decision. The first action is always in making the decision to proceed. This is a fundamental step, which most people overlook.
So, make the decision to move forward. Commit your decision to paper, just to bring it into focus. Then, go for it!
Develop your vision
Having a vision of purpose and a clear picture of what you desire, is probably the single most important factor in achievement.
Why is your vision so important?
Its sets the direction and path you want your life to take.
The sad thing is the majority of people have no clue about what they truly want. They have no vision.
So how do we get our vision? Simply by asking ourselves lots of questions: What do I really want? What does success look like to me? Why do I want a particular thing? How will this achievement change my life? How can I use this success to make a difference for others?
Understand what you want, why you want it and what it will do for you. This is a critical factor and as such, is probably the most difficult step. For this reason, most people never complete this aspect, then wonder why life is so difficult!
Once you have a clear understanding of what you want, it is critical that you engage in setting SMART goals.
SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Sensitive - S-M-A-R-T. Knowing what you want and setting SMART goals will help you achieve your vision.
Focus
Focus is having the unwavering attention to complete what you set out to do. There are a million distractions in every part of our lives. Telephones and e-mail, clients and managers, spouses and kids, TV, newspapers and radio. These distractions are everywhere and endless. Everyone wants a piece of us and the result can be totally overwhelming.
So, how can we stay on course with all the distractions in our lives? Willpower is a good start, but it’s very difficult to stay on track simply through willpower.
The best way is to develop and follow a plan. Start with your goals in mind and then work backwards to develop the plan. What steps are required to get you to the goals? Make the plan as detailed as possible. Try to visualize and then plan for, every possible setback. Commit the plan to paper and then keep it with you at all times. Review it regularly and ensure that every step takes you closer to your vision and goals. If the plan doesn’t support the vision then change it!
Along with your plans, you should consider developing an action orientation that will keep you motivated to move forward at all times. This requires a little self-discipline, but is a crucial component to achievement of any kind. Before starting any new activity, ask yourself if that activity will move you closer to your goals. If the answer is no, you may want to reconsider doing it at that time.
The below questions will help you prioritize the activities you undertake, and help determine if when you should conduct the activity, if somebody else can undertake the activity on your behalf or if it is really has to be done at all.
Does the activity have to be done now?
Can it be done by someone else?
Does it need to be done at all?
Commitment
Commitment is something that comes from understanding that everything has its price and then having the willingness to pay that price. This is important because nobody wants to put significant effort into something, only to find out after the fact that the price was too high.
The price is something not necessarily defined as financial. It could be time, effort, sacrifice, money or perhaps, something else. The point is that we must be fully aware of the price and be willing to pay it, if we want to have success.
Belief
This is perhaps the single biggest obstacle that you must overcome in order to be successful.
We all carry a lot of beliefs, thanks to our upbringing. The majority of people carry with them, an entire series of self-limiting beliefs that will absolutely stop and hold them back from success.
Things like “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not smart enough”, “I’m not lucky enough”, and the worst, “I’m not worthy” are but a few of the self-limiting beliefs people carry.
The old expression is absolutely true, whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right!
You need to begin shedding these non-supportive beliefs and replacing them with beliefs that will accomplish your desires.
It is truly amazing the damage that parents, family and friends can inflict on you. So why do they do it? For the most part, they don’t do it intentionally. In the majority of cases, the cause is a well-meaning but unskilled or un-thinking individual, who says the wrong thing at the wrong time and that message sticks.
The bottom line is that you must shed the bad beliefs and replace them with good beliefs.
Taking Action
Not all of the decision-making, vision, planning, focus and belief in the world, will get you to where you want to be, without taking action!
Action involves putting your plans into play. It is what will get you to the destination.
Get the oars in the water and start rowing. Execution is the single biggest factor in achievement, so the faster and better your execution, the quicker you will get to the goals!
These six steps will help you to achieve success in all your desire, whether it is your business or personal life.
You now have the opportunity to push ahead and reach your potential. No more excuses, make the commitment to take action TODAY!
Figure out what you want, put a plan together to achieve it, understand the cost, believe in yourself then go and get it!
To learn more about becoming a success, check out our exclusive Success Combo, Its currently at 75% of for a limited time only.
Learn More
Most people believe that success is difficult, it’s actually not!
Success isn’t really that difficult. There is a significant portion of people, that actually want and need success to be hard! Why? So they then have a built-in excuse when things don’t go their way!
For those of you who are serious about having more, doing more, giving more and being more, success is achievable with some understanding of what to do, some discipline around planning and execution of those plans and belief that you can achieve your desires.
The Truth About Success
The first thing to remember about success is that it is a process – nothing more, nothing less. There is really no magic to it and it’s not reserved only for a select few people. As such, success really has nothing to do with luck, coincidence or fate. It really comes down to understanding the steps in the process and then executing on those steps.
There are basically six key areas to higher achievement.
Making the decision
If success is a process with a number of defined steps, then it is just like any other process. So, what is the first step in any process?
Making a decision to do something, this is the first step. We all know that nothing moves until someone makes a decision. The first action is always in making the decision to proceed. This is a fundamental step, which most people overlook.
So, make the decision to move forward. Commit your decision to paper, just to bring it into focus. Then, go for it!
Develop your vision
Having a vision of purpose and a clear picture of what you desire, is probably the single most important factor in achievement.
Why is your vision so important?
Its sets the direction and path you want your life to take.
The sad thing is the majority of people have no clue about what they truly want. They have no vision.
So how do we get our vision? Simply by asking ourselves lots of questions: What do I really want? What does success look like to me? Why do I want a particular thing? How will this achievement change my life? How can I use this success to make a difference for others?
Understand what you want, why you want it and what it will do for you. This is a critical factor and as such, is probably the most difficult step. For this reason, most people never complete this aspect, then wonder why life is so difficult!
Once you have a clear understanding of what you want, it is critical that you engage in setting SMART goals.
SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Sensitive - S-M-A-R-T. Knowing what you want and setting SMART goals will help you achieve your vision.
Focus
Focus is having the unwavering attention to complete what you set out to do. There are a million distractions in every part of our lives. Telephones and e-mail, clients and managers, spouses and kids, TV, newspapers and radio. These distractions are everywhere and endless. Everyone wants a piece of us and the result can be totally overwhelming.
So, how can we stay on course with all the distractions in our lives? Willpower is a good start, but it’s very difficult to stay on track simply through willpower.
The best way is to develop and follow a plan. Start with your goals in mind and then work backwards to develop the plan. What steps are required to get you to the goals? Make the plan as detailed as possible. Try to visualize and then plan for, every possible setback. Commit the plan to paper and then keep it with you at all times. Review it regularly and ensure that every step takes you closer to your vision and goals. If the plan doesn’t support the vision then change it!
Along with your plans, you should consider developing an action orientation that will keep you motivated to move forward at all times. This requires a little self-discipline, but is a crucial component to achievement of any kind. Before starting any new activity, ask yourself if that activity will move you closer to your goals. If the answer is no, you may want to reconsider doing it at that time.
The below questions will help you prioritize the activities you undertake, and help determine if when you should conduct the activity, if somebody else can undertake the activity on your behalf or if it is really has to be done at all.
Does the activity have to be done now?
Can it be done by someone else?
Does it need to be done at all?
Commitment
Commitment is something that comes from understanding that everything has its price and then having the willingness to pay that price. This is important because nobody wants to put significant effort into something, only to find out after the fact that the price was too high.
The price is something not necessarily defined as financial. It could be time, effort, sacrifice, money or perhaps, something else. The point is that we must be fully aware of the price and be willing to pay it, if we want to have success.
Belief
This is perhaps the single biggest obstacle that you must overcome in order to be successful.
We all carry a lot of beliefs, thanks to our upbringing. The majority of people carry with them, an entire series of self-limiting beliefs that will absolutely stop and hold them back from success.
Things like “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not smart enough”, “I’m not lucky enough”, and the worst, “I’m not worthy” are but a few of the self-limiting beliefs people carry.
The old expression is absolutely true, whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right!
You need to begin shedding these non-supportive beliefs and replacing them with beliefs that will accomplish your desires.
It is truly amazing the damage that parents, family and friends can inflict on you. So why do they do it? For the most part, they don’t do it intentionally. In the majority of cases, the cause is a well-meaning but unskilled or un-thinking individual, who says the wrong thing at the wrong time and that message sticks.
The bottom line is that you must shed the bad beliefs and replace them with good beliefs.
Taking Action
Not all of the decision-making, vision, planning, focus and belief in the world, will get you to where you want to be, without taking action!
Action involves putting your plans into play. It is what will get you to the destination.
Get the oars in the water and start rowing. Execution is the single biggest factor in achievement, so the faster and better your execution, the quicker you will get to the goals!
These six steps will help you to achieve success in all your desire, whether it is your business or personal life.
You now have the opportunity to push ahead and reach your potential. No more excuses, make the commitment to take action TODAY!
Figure out what you want, put a plan together to achieve it, understand the cost, believe in yourself then go and get it!
To learn more about becoming a success, check out our exclusive Success Combo, Its currently at 75% of for a limited time only.
Learn More
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Motivating Thoughts
What do motivational thoughts do?
They help you take action. This isn't about positive thinking or motivating quotes. Those have their place in shaping your attitude and thinking.
However, what motivates each of us is unique, so you need to have your own thoughts, those which are most effective at getting you going.
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" - Albert Einstein
This is a decent quote and it may help you look at the positive side of a situation, but what if it just doesn't get you excited?
Then you need to apply a little brainpower to make the idea your own. You have to make it a truly motivational thought for yourself.
Your own motivational thoughts
This basically means experimenting with a good thought until you find a way to use it in your own recipe for motivation.
Suppose, for example, you're in a difficult situation and don't feel like dealing with it. As you sit there, you play around with the idea of opportunity coming from difficulty.
Fortunately, you discover that it pulls you out of your slump to think about yourself in the future, explaining to a friend how you turned the difficult situation to your advantage.
This is how you create your own motivational thoughts.
Now, it might be more motivating if you imagine yourself being interviewed someday about how you overcame this difficult time. The thoughts that work for you are the thoughts you need to be thinking.
Learn your motivations
Experiment and get to know how your mind works. Beyond just thinking a thought, if you explain it to someone, it’ll get you excited and add to your motivation.
You can get creative in your motivational experiments. Maybe thinking about being poor makes you get up and get to work. If so, that is a great motivational thought.
If visual thoughts are more motivating than mental conversations, then use those. See pictures in your head that get you going.
Perhaps when people say you can't do something, you do whatever it takes to prove them wrong. Then it might be motivational to think about them saying you can't.
When there is a truly uninspiring task you have to do, try promising yourself a reward for completion, make it one that really means something to you.
Keep that thought in your mind to keep yourself motivated. A trip to the beach and even a simple bowl of ice cream may be some of your more powerful motivational thoughts.
The power of motivational thoughts is the key to developing your own personal success and performance, which will directly reflect in your businesses performance and profits.
Learn More
They help you take action. This isn't about positive thinking or motivating quotes. Those have their place in shaping your attitude and thinking.
However, what motivates each of us is unique, so you need to have your own thoughts, those which are most effective at getting you going.
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" - Albert Einstein
This is a decent quote and it may help you look at the positive side of a situation, but what if it just doesn't get you excited?
Then you need to apply a little brainpower to make the idea your own. You have to make it a truly motivational thought for yourself.
Your own motivational thoughts
This basically means experimenting with a good thought until you find a way to use it in your own recipe for motivation.
Suppose, for example, you're in a difficult situation and don't feel like dealing with it. As you sit there, you play around with the idea of opportunity coming from difficulty.
Fortunately, you discover that it pulls you out of your slump to think about yourself in the future, explaining to a friend how you turned the difficult situation to your advantage.
This is how you create your own motivational thoughts.
Now, it might be more motivating if you imagine yourself being interviewed someday about how you overcame this difficult time. The thoughts that work for you are the thoughts you need to be thinking.
Learn your motivations
Experiment and get to know how your mind works. Beyond just thinking a thought, if you explain it to someone, it’ll get you excited and add to your motivation.
You can get creative in your motivational experiments. Maybe thinking about being poor makes you get up and get to work. If so, that is a great motivational thought.
If visual thoughts are more motivating than mental conversations, then use those. See pictures in your head that get you going.
Perhaps when people say you can't do something, you do whatever it takes to prove them wrong. Then it might be motivational to think about them saying you can't.
When there is a truly uninspiring task you have to do, try promising yourself a reward for completion, make it one that really means something to you.
Keep that thought in your mind to keep yourself motivated. A trip to the beach and even a simple bowl of ice cream may be some of your more powerful motivational thoughts.
The power of motivational thoughts is the key to developing your own personal success and performance, which will directly reflect in your businesses performance and profits.
Learn More
Friday, August 14, 2009
New Employee Introduction
Looking after a new employee during their first few weeks at work can mean the difference between their success and failure as employees in addition to your success and failure as an employer, manager or supervisor.
Proper orientation determines how fast the new employee can be productive and efficient in his or her new job while giving you a good opportunity to make your new employee an efficient part of your team.
Below are 15 suggestions that will help you deal with your new employees during their first few weeks to help make sure that they get started on the right track.
1. Have a induction policy for welcoming and training new employees. Don't just leave it to whoever is available. Human resources should cover the HR side of the induction with a senior manager or supervisor covering the more hands on part of the job. .
2. Give your employee a warm welcome. Don't just point them to the area they work and let them get on with it. Nothing makes a new employee feel comfortable more than a warm welcome.
3. Give them a brief description about your role as a superior. Knowing who's in charge and what you expect from them will make them more comfortable with you as the boss.
4. Give your new employee a welcome tour of the whole department or, if the site isn't too big, the whole site. Make sure they know how to get to the bathroom, emergency exits, cafeteria, etc.
5. Give them a brief summary about the company, its history as well as its mission and objectives.
6. If possible demonstrate your company’s products and/or services, paying particular attention to the products relating to the area in which the employee will work. This will make them more secure and confident with the work that they are going to be doing.
7. Explain to your new employee how the company works particularly if the company has any unusual working practices or a different structure than normal. Again, this will help familiarize them with the company.
8. Tell your new employee about the company’s competitors and what is being done to make sure that the company is staying ahead of the competition.
9. Explain in detail your new employee’s responsibilities and describe their job functions. Don't leave it to the other employees to teach them the basics unless there is a trained member of staff whose job it is.
10. Let your new employee be aware of what you and the company expect from them. This includes proper work ethics, productivity, teamwork, and appearance.
11. Explain the specific conditions and requirements of employment, including hours, pay, pay periods, holiday pay, sickness provisions, pension, medical benefits, lateness etc.
12. Be very clear about the safety rules, policies, procedures and regulations. Explain and show proper use of safety devices.
13. Introduce your new employee to his or her co workers along with a brief description of their jobs and responsibilities.
14. Outline opportunities for promotions and other opportunities.
15. To give them time to acclimatize give them a work buddy, a friendly experienced worker, to show them the job and work with them for the first week of two.
Covering all of these basics will help new employees settle in and they will be more able to be contribute much more quickly compared to employees that are just left to their own devices.
Learn More
Proper orientation determines how fast the new employee can be productive and efficient in his or her new job while giving you a good opportunity to make your new employee an efficient part of your team.
Below are 15 suggestions that will help you deal with your new employees during their first few weeks to help make sure that they get started on the right track.
1. Have a induction policy for welcoming and training new employees. Don't just leave it to whoever is available. Human resources should cover the HR side of the induction with a senior manager or supervisor covering the more hands on part of the job. .
2. Give your employee a warm welcome. Don't just point them to the area they work and let them get on with it. Nothing makes a new employee feel comfortable more than a warm welcome.
3. Give them a brief description about your role as a superior. Knowing who's in charge and what you expect from them will make them more comfortable with you as the boss.
4. Give your new employee a welcome tour of the whole department or, if the site isn't too big, the whole site. Make sure they know how to get to the bathroom, emergency exits, cafeteria, etc.
5. Give them a brief summary about the company, its history as well as its mission and objectives.
6. If possible demonstrate your company’s products and/or services, paying particular attention to the products relating to the area in which the employee will work. This will make them more secure and confident with the work that they are going to be doing.
7. Explain to your new employee how the company works particularly if the company has any unusual working practices or a different structure than normal. Again, this will help familiarize them with the company.
8. Tell your new employee about the company’s competitors and what is being done to make sure that the company is staying ahead of the competition.
9. Explain in detail your new employee’s responsibilities and describe their job functions. Don't leave it to the other employees to teach them the basics unless there is a trained member of staff whose job it is.
10. Let your new employee be aware of what you and the company expect from them. This includes proper work ethics, productivity, teamwork, and appearance.
11. Explain the specific conditions and requirements of employment, including hours, pay, pay periods, holiday pay, sickness provisions, pension, medical benefits, lateness etc.
12. Be very clear about the safety rules, policies, procedures and regulations. Explain and show proper use of safety devices.
13. Introduce your new employee to his or her co workers along with a brief description of their jobs and responsibilities.
14. Outline opportunities for promotions and other opportunities.
15. To give them time to acclimatize give them a work buddy, a friendly experienced worker, to show them the job and work with them for the first week of two.
Covering all of these basics will help new employees settle in and they will be more able to be contribute much more quickly compared to employees that are just left to their own devices.
Learn More
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Right Media Mix
Branding is no longer simply about visual appeal.
Unfortunately, many graphic design firms who position themselves as advertising agencies believe that branding your corporate identity is all about developing great looking visual solutions.
However, there is much much more to branding than just looking good. Particularly in this web 2.0 era, where a powerful web presence has become a vital ingredient of your branding strategy, developing the right media mix holds the key to building a powerful brand equity.
In other words, a right media mix would mean:
• Creative design solutions (the design, color, and content of your ads, marketing collateral and website enhance your brand equity, attract customers, and generate sales)
• Web development (every product/service worth its name has a web presence these days, some have truly interactive, animated sites encouraging customer involvement),
• Viral marketing (vitally important in today’s age of social networking, tagging, podcasting, blogs, forums, wikis etc)
• Television commercial production, print media advertising (traditional media cannot be overlooked)
• Strategic films (have become necessary elements of roadshows, exibhitions and other promotional campaigns)
• Corporate video production (a very important tool for branding your corporate identity)
• Direct marketing (marketing collaterals need to be just as effective and resonant with the overall branding scheme as the communicate directly with the customer)
• Outdoor advertising (roadshows, participations in business fairs, exhibitions, etc)
There are some interactive advertising agencies that have recognized the need of the hour - developing creative design solutions that employ user-centric investigation and involve critical and systematic thinking. User-centric means understanding of needs and priorities of end user; the clients' customers, their channel partners, users, and brand communities.
So if you want to register your brand as one that is synonymous with customer loyalty, you must develop a complete package, keeping the customer as the prime objective and organizing product stories around the way they prefer to learn about, compare, select and confirm purchases, connecting brands and their experiences.
Learn More
Unfortunately, many graphic design firms who position themselves as advertising agencies believe that branding your corporate identity is all about developing great looking visual solutions.
However, there is much much more to branding than just looking good. Particularly in this web 2.0 era, where a powerful web presence has become a vital ingredient of your branding strategy, developing the right media mix holds the key to building a powerful brand equity.
In other words, a right media mix would mean:
• Creative design solutions (the design, color, and content of your ads, marketing collateral and website enhance your brand equity, attract customers, and generate sales)
• Web development (every product/service worth its name has a web presence these days, some have truly interactive, animated sites encouraging customer involvement),
• Viral marketing (vitally important in today’s age of social networking, tagging, podcasting, blogs, forums, wikis etc)
• Television commercial production, print media advertising (traditional media cannot be overlooked)
• Strategic films (have become necessary elements of roadshows, exibhitions and other promotional campaigns)
• Corporate video production (a very important tool for branding your corporate identity)
• Direct marketing (marketing collaterals need to be just as effective and resonant with the overall branding scheme as the communicate directly with the customer)
• Outdoor advertising (roadshows, participations in business fairs, exhibitions, etc)
There are some interactive advertising agencies that have recognized the need of the hour - developing creative design solutions that employ user-centric investigation and involve critical and systematic thinking. User-centric means understanding of needs and priorities of end user; the clients' customers, their channel partners, users, and brand communities.
So if you want to register your brand as one that is synonymous with customer loyalty, you must develop a complete package, keeping the customer as the prime objective and organizing product stories around the way they prefer to learn about, compare, select and confirm purchases, connecting brands and their experiences.
Learn More
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Flyer Advertising
Flyers are an excellent marketing tool to promote your business. They are easy to distribute but hard to ensure the audience keeps the flyer and actually reads, it until now!
The below strategies will help your flyer campaign be successful and provide increasing profits to your business. .
Location, Location!
Firstly the most important part of any marketing campaign, but especially a flyer campaign is to select the most optimal location for distribution. Think to yourself where is your targeted marketing more likely to be? Another tip for location is to select a location that your prospects will have time to read your flyer, you could distribute in front of a train or bus station, a place where they will be bored and are more likely to view your flyer.
Don't miss the boat.
Strategically plan your distribution time. Be sure to monitor upcoming events and times when your distribution location will be packed with prospects. The more people in the audience the higher the probability of reaching a larger group successfully.
They got to want it.
Make sure there's a reason for the prospects to keep your flyers. Make your flyer as valuable as money, offer a free test product or a huge limited time discount offer. You want to make them hold onto that flyer with a firm grip.
Look at that.
Provide a strong and eye catching header, the best way to sell your business is in the first four words of your headline, this will be the key to holding their attention. But don’t just stop after that keep them in suspense throughout the flyer right up until they make the purchase.
Spell check.
Always double check your spelling and grammar before you go to print the flyer. There’s nothing worse than having the location and distribution network all sorted with an effective header only to be put down by a simple spelling mistake within the offer.
Distributor.
Who will be handing out the flyers for you? Are they approachable? Will your prospects see them as professional and non-avoidable? Its important to have your flyer distributors well presented, they are what the prospect judges your business on and looks do matter in this case.
Fixed distribution.
This involves leaving your flyer unattended only to be distributed by a prospect that selects to view the flyer. This method can be a success or a failure. You could position the flyers near public transport stations or other locations were prospects may be waiting in boredom and may select to view your flyer to kill time. If you position your flyers and leave them to distribute themselves be sure not to leave them were cleaners may think they are to be thrown out. This is a huge waste of your flyer campaign not to mention the money you’ll loss.
Presentation.
Strong visuals and humor help prospects remember your message. They may share your flyer with others, creating an effective word of mouth distribution channel that cost you nothing but has dramatic increase to your businesses profits and awareness.
Test.
Ask a sampled section of your prospects what they think about your flyer. What suggestions they may have and if they would purchase your product or service.You could even develop a few flyers and have them judge the most eye catching and persuasive to them, remember that this is only a sampled selection and may not provide the actual response of the total audience.
You could do it.
If you want to increase sales and make a higher profit, then you could execute the flyer distribution yourself. Your personal enthusiasm and a friendly face can work wonders on the prospects in addition to your knowledge of the product and your understanding for the prospects needs.
By undertaking the above strategies you can implement an effective and profitable flyer campaign, reaching a larger, more targeted and hungry audience.
Learn More
The below strategies will help your flyer campaign be successful and provide increasing profits to your business. .
Location, Location!
Firstly the most important part of any marketing campaign, but especially a flyer campaign is to select the most optimal location for distribution. Think to yourself where is your targeted marketing more likely to be? Another tip for location is to select a location that your prospects will have time to read your flyer, you could distribute in front of a train or bus station, a place where they will be bored and are more likely to view your flyer.
Don't miss the boat.
Strategically plan your distribution time. Be sure to monitor upcoming events and times when your distribution location will be packed with prospects. The more people in the audience the higher the probability of reaching a larger group successfully.
They got to want it.
Make sure there's a reason for the prospects to keep your flyers. Make your flyer as valuable as money, offer a free test product or a huge limited time discount offer. You want to make them hold onto that flyer with a firm grip.
Look at that.
Provide a strong and eye catching header, the best way to sell your business is in the first four words of your headline, this will be the key to holding their attention. But don’t just stop after that keep them in suspense throughout the flyer right up until they make the purchase.
Spell check.
Always double check your spelling and grammar before you go to print the flyer. There’s nothing worse than having the location and distribution network all sorted with an effective header only to be put down by a simple spelling mistake within the offer.
Distributor.
Who will be handing out the flyers for you? Are they approachable? Will your prospects see them as professional and non-avoidable? Its important to have your flyer distributors well presented, they are what the prospect judges your business on and looks do matter in this case.
Fixed distribution.
This involves leaving your flyer unattended only to be distributed by a prospect that selects to view the flyer. This method can be a success or a failure. You could position the flyers near public transport stations or other locations were prospects may be waiting in boredom and may select to view your flyer to kill time. If you position your flyers and leave them to distribute themselves be sure not to leave them were cleaners may think they are to be thrown out. This is a huge waste of your flyer campaign not to mention the money you’ll loss.
Presentation.
Strong visuals and humor help prospects remember your message. They may share your flyer with others, creating an effective word of mouth distribution channel that cost you nothing but has dramatic increase to your businesses profits and awareness.
Test.
Ask a sampled section of your prospects what they think about your flyer. What suggestions they may have and if they would purchase your product or service.You could even develop a few flyers and have them judge the most eye catching and persuasive to them, remember that this is only a sampled selection and may not provide the actual response of the total audience.
You could do it.
If you want to increase sales and make a higher profit, then you could execute the flyer distribution yourself. Your personal enthusiasm and a friendly face can work wonders on the prospects in addition to your knowledge of the product and your understanding for the prospects needs.
By undertaking the above strategies you can implement an effective and profitable flyer campaign, reaching a larger, more targeted and hungry audience.
Learn More
Friday, August 7, 2009
Reach Millions
There are different ways you can reach an audience of millions of individuals all around the world.
It has been said that, what matters is not what you sell but how you promote it. So, the secret to success is your marketing techniques. That’s why it is very important for business owners to develop skills which allow them to increase the sales of their products.
One of the most important skills you must have is the ability to reach a lot of people quickly. To do this you need to realize how powerful media is and how it can drastically increase your revenues.
Newspaper ads
People read their newspapers a lot, that’s a fact. Check the statistics and you will realize that the newspaper have always being a good place to advertise. Depending on the kind of products or services that you sell you could use the newspapers to generate new sources of income for your business.
Nationwide Newspapers, allows you to post your ad in thousands and even millions of papers all around the US for a low fee. Imagine how much publicity you can get from that! You choose your budget and everything. They have different advertising packages to suit different business needs.
Whatever you choose to market, always use powerful phrases in your messages. The most effective ads are brief but they have the ability to act upon the feelings of the readers. Motivate them, intrigue them, make them feel the heat. Always remember that short phrases with a strong emotional impact are the most effective ones.
Highway billboards
If you want to advertise outdoors Media Lease will help you. Keep in mind that this is an expensive type of advertisement. To rent an ad space on a well populated area will usually cost you a few thousand dollars per month.
On the other hand, a better choice would be to buy a piece of land near a mayor highway and set everything up by yourself. Learn about the laws and regulations in your specific location, before going ahead with the campaign.
How much publicity can you get from this? A lot! But it all depends on your ads location. If your ad is next to a highway with a high traffic volume, lets say that on average 45,000 different drivers pass by everyday, then there will be more than a million individuals watching it every month.
That’s a lot, although this kind of advertisement works best for local businesses like nearby restaurants or real estate. Also transnational corporations with a large advertising budget, which would like to build reputation would want to have many billboard ads across the country.
When developing and creating your billboard display think about how long the viewing time of the prospect will be. If there is traffic on the highway than the individuals may have a few minutes, if the highway is always flowing than you may have a few seconds to grab their attention.
Your goal is to provide a strong image of your company logo, so that the prospect has a direct link from the ad to your company. Provide a strong message and be sure implant the image of your billboard into their mind as they continue to drive.
TV Commercials
To advertise on television will have a powerful impact on your business revenues. Different factors will determine how much this marketing strategy will cost you. For example the price varies depending on the channels you choose, how often you will advertise, etc.
There are some companies which can help you reach your clients easily. National TV Spots offers some marketing packages as low as $26 for a 30 seconds spot. This is another way to diversify your marketing techniques and reach a million+ viewers.
Magazine Ads
You can advertise on magazines and save up to 80% off the regular price. Media Bids allows you to meet other marketers as well as to choose among different marketing packages available. The service is free. You only pay for an ad if you choose to make a purchase.
As you can see, these techniques can increase your exposure and help you get more customer which equals more profits.
Learn More
It has been said that, what matters is not what you sell but how you promote it. So, the secret to success is your marketing techniques. That’s why it is very important for business owners to develop skills which allow them to increase the sales of their products.
One of the most important skills you must have is the ability to reach a lot of people quickly. To do this you need to realize how powerful media is and how it can drastically increase your revenues.
Newspaper ads
People read their newspapers a lot, that’s a fact. Check the statistics and you will realize that the newspaper have always being a good place to advertise. Depending on the kind of products or services that you sell you could use the newspapers to generate new sources of income for your business.
Nationwide Newspapers, allows you to post your ad in thousands and even millions of papers all around the US for a low fee. Imagine how much publicity you can get from that! You choose your budget and everything. They have different advertising packages to suit different business needs.
Whatever you choose to market, always use powerful phrases in your messages. The most effective ads are brief but they have the ability to act upon the feelings of the readers. Motivate them, intrigue them, make them feel the heat. Always remember that short phrases with a strong emotional impact are the most effective ones.
Highway billboards
If you want to advertise outdoors Media Lease will help you. Keep in mind that this is an expensive type of advertisement. To rent an ad space on a well populated area will usually cost you a few thousand dollars per month.
On the other hand, a better choice would be to buy a piece of land near a mayor highway and set everything up by yourself. Learn about the laws and regulations in your specific location, before going ahead with the campaign.
How much publicity can you get from this? A lot! But it all depends on your ads location. If your ad is next to a highway with a high traffic volume, lets say that on average 45,000 different drivers pass by everyday, then there will be more than a million individuals watching it every month.
That’s a lot, although this kind of advertisement works best for local businesses like nearby restaurants or real estate. Also transnational corporations with a large advertising budget, which would like to build reputation would want to have many billboard ads across the country.
When developing and creating your billboard display think about how long the viewing time of the prospect will be. If there is traffic on the highway than the individuals may have a few minutes, if the highway is always flowing than you may have a few seconds to grab their attention.
Your goal is to provide a strong image of your company logo, so that the prospect has a direct link from the ad to your company. Provide a strong message and be sure implant the image of your billboard into their mind as they continue to drive.
TV Commercials
To advertise on television will have a powerful impact on your business revenues. Different factors will determine how much this marketing strategy will cost you. For example the price varies depending on the channels you choose, how often you will advertise, etc.
There are some companies which can help you reach your clients easily. National TV Spots offers some marketing packages as low as $26 for a 30 seconds spot. This is another way to diversify your marketing techniques and reach a million+ viewers.
Magazine Ads
You can advertise on magazines and save up to 80% off the regular price. Media Bids allows you to meet other marketers as well as to choose among different marketing packages available. The service is free. You only pay for an ad if you choose to make a purchase.
As you can see, these techniques can increase your exposure and help you get more customer which equals more profits.
Learn More
Thursday, August 6, 2009
3 Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur
Successful entrepreneurs have three outlining characteristics:
1. Self-confidence
This is that magical power of having confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities.
2. Achievement Oriented
Results are gained by focused and sustained effort. They concentrate on achieving a specific goal, not just accomplishing a string of unrelated tasks.
3. Risk Taker
They realize that there is a chance of loss inherent in achieving their goals, yet they have the confidence necessary to take calculated risks to achieve their goals.
Entrepreneurs are people who will make decisions, take action, and think that they can control their own destinies. They are often motivated by a spirit of independence which leads them to believe that their success depends on raw effort and hard work, not luck.
So which of these three main characteristics is the most important? Believe it or not, it has to be self-confidence.
Without self-confidence, nothing else is possible. If you don't believe in your abilities, then the first challenge that arises may knock you off the path to achieving your goals.
Here are a few things to keep in mind for maintaining a higher level of self-confidence.
Positive Thinking
It all starts with a positive attitude, doesn't it?
Believing that something good will happen is the first step. Negative thinking simply is not allowed. You must truly believe that there are no circumstances strong enough to deter you from reaching your goals.
Remember, that positive thinking can be contagious. When positive thinking spreads, it can open doors to new ideas, customers, friends, etc.
Persistent Action
Now all of the positive thinking and believing in the world is useless if it is not applied towards a goal.
You have to take action, no excuses are allowed. This action must also be persistent. Trying once and then giving up is not going to be enough.
Keep at it one step at a time. If you can't get by a certain step, then find a creative way to try again or just go around it.
At the beginning of this article a few traits that are common among successful entrepreneurs were identified. You should be able to look ahead and see yourself where you want to be.
Now just maintain a strong belief in yourself and your skills, stick with it, and don't give up. If you can do that, you're already half way there!
Learn More
1. Self-confidence
This is that magical power of having confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities.
2. Achievement Oriented
Results are gained by focused and sustained effort. They concentrate on achieving a specific goal, not just accomplishing a string of unrelated tasks.
3. Risk Taker
They realize that there is a chance of loss inherent in achieving their goals, yet they have the confidence necessary to take calculated risks to achieve their goals.
Entrepreneurs are people who will make decisions, take action, and think that they can control their own destinies. They are often motivated by a spirit of independence which leads them to believe that their success depends on raw effort and hard work, not luck.
So which of these three main characteristics is the most important? Believe it or not, it has to be self-confidence.
Without self-confidence, nothing else is possible. If you don't believe in your abilities, then the first challenge that arises may knock you off the path to achieving your goals.
Here are a few things to keep in mind for maintaining a higher level of self-confidence.
Positive Thinking
It all starts with a positive attitude, doesn't it?
Believing that something good will happen is the first step. Negative thinking simply is not allowed. You must truly believe that there are no circumstances strong enough to deter you from reaching your goals.
Remember, that positive thinking can be contagious. When positive thinking spreads, it can open doors to new ideas, customers, friends, etc.
Persistent Action
Now all of the positive thinking and believing in the world is useless if it is not applied towards a goal.
You have to take action, no excuses are allowed. This action must also be persistent. Trying once and then giving up is not going to be enough.
Keep at it one step at a time. If you can't get by a certain step, then find a creative way to try again or just go around it.
At the beginning of this article a few traits that are common among successful entrepreneurs were identified. You should be able to look ahead and see yourself where you want to be.
Now just maintain a strong belief in yourself and your skills, stick with it, and don't give up. If you can do that, you're already half way there!
Learn More
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Do You Hate Your Job?
“I hate this job!”
You may say this to yourself or you may hear this often from people who are not satisfied with the job they hold.
But you can’t take this thing called “job” away from you because it brings food to the table, buys you clothes, buys medicine to keep you healthy, and pays for almost everything you need on a day-to-day basis.
Technically, it’s ironic that something like a “job” would be hated by so many people when it can bring so many benefits.
Psychologically, if you hate your job, it only means it’s something you do against your will. Anything that resists a flow makes the flows difficult. Similarly, anything that assists a flow makes the flow move faster.
Equating this with the way you may think about your job, if you put “love” instead of “hate” to your job, work becomes easier for you. This will make you more productive. The company will profit more and as a result, they will pay you more. Then, everybody becomes happy.
If you are the employer, you can also do many positive changes that will benefit your employees. In the end, you will be the biggest beneficiary of this change.
You can start by putting up slogans around the walls of the workplace. These slogans may promote unity and harmony between management and staff where everyone will benefit out of it. These slogans may suggest positive attitudes that will form part of their work habits.
There is power in words. These words, once written on slogans, will guide your staff to change in positive ways. It would be wise to turn these words into action. In time, the “I hate this job” chant becomes “I love this job”. This improvement in work attitude will be reflected in turnover of employees. As an employer, you will find less people leaving the company and more employees being satisfied.
Visitors visiting your company will be impressed with the slogans you place on the walls of your work place. So make them as meaningful as possible.
If you’re the employee, you must make a change in the way you think about your job. It cannot be denied that hating or loving a job has a lot to do with the way you treat it.
There are many instances wherein an employee does not see the good side of his job until he has left or lost it. You need not wake up one morning to this kind of scenario. To avoid this, let the good side of keeping your job pervade your thoughts.
It’s either you keep your job or you don’t. Hating it is not an option. Changing the way you think about your job is the most beneficial change you can make instantly.
Longer term strategies could include, requesting a promotion, a moving to another position with different roles and responsibilities or you may express your feelings with your superior. You superior will help you in bettering your time at work and this will directly enhance your love for work again!
Learn More
You may say this to yourself or you may hear this often from people who are not satisfied with the job they hold.
But you can’t take this thing called “job” away from you because it brings food to the table, buys you clothes, buys medicine to keep you healthy, and pays for almost everything you need on a day-to-day basis.
Technically, it’s ironic that something like a “job” would be hated by so many people when it can bring so many benefits.
Psychologically, if you hate your job, it only means it’s something you do against your will. Anything that resists a flow makes the flows difficult. Similarly, anything that assists a flow makes the flow move faster.
Equating this with the way you may think about your job, if you put “love” instead of “hate” to your job, work becomes easier for you. This will make you more productive. The company will profit more and as a result, they will pay you more. Then, everybody becomes happy.
If you are the employer, you can also do many positive changes that will benefit your employees. In the end, you will be the biggest beneficiary of this change.
You can start by putting up slogans around the walls of the workplace. These slogans may promote unity and harmony between management and staff where everyone will benefit out of it. These slogans may suggest positive attitudes that will form part of their work habits.
There is power in words. These words, once written on slogans, will guide your staff to change in positive ways. It would be wise to turn these words into action. In time, the “I hate this job” chant becomes “I love this job”. This improvement in work attitude will be reflected in turnover of employees. As an employer, you will find less people leaving the company and more employees being satisfied.
Visitors visiting your company will be impressed with the slogans you place on the walls of your work place. So make them as meaningful as possible.
If you’re the employee, you must make a change in the way you think about your job. It cannot be denied that hating or loving a job has a lot to do with the way you treat it.
There are many instances wherein an employee does not see the good side of his job until he has left or lost it. You need not wake up one morning to this kind of scenario. To avoid this, let the good side of keeping your job pervade your thoughts.
It’s either you keep your job or you don’t. Hating it is not an option. Changing the way you think about your job is the most beneficial change you can make instantly.
Longer term strategies could include, requesting a promotion, a moving to another position with different roles and responsibilities or you may express your feelings with your superior. You superior will help you in bettering your time at work and this will directly enhance your love for work again!
Learn More
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Find Your Passion At Work
Knowing yourself and feeling confident about yourself helps a lot in finding your passion at work. This begins with an accurate understanding of your strengths and values. It’s what makes you feel good about yourself. The process starts by evaluating the factors that molded your personality, family, experiences, education, and experience.
The majority of your strengths and values can be determined even at young age. Some are product of your parents upbringing while some are product of unfulfilled needs you try to reinforce as you grow and mature.
Knowing your top top-five strengths and values gives you a template by which you measure choices in your career and personal life. Being successful at work means you can freely use all of these strengths as well as fulfill your values.
When your act is not reflected with your strengths and values, what do you feel? Useless and powerless? You fail when you find yourself in a work that tells so little about your values, your thought and feelings.
When you are in this kind of situation, you feel tied up in a routine that is too far from your own personality. You will usually feel bored and unfulfilled. You don’t look forward to exciting and adventurous days. You feel trapped and always wish for vacations, day-offs and lunch breaks. Regardless of how much money you make, when you deny your thoughts and feelings, your work is difficult and boring.
The best time to determine your strengths and values are when you are honest and direct. By accepting your feelings you reveal so much of your potentials and possibilities in life. It is also important to become proud of yourself. Some people hide their true strengths out of fear of rejection.
Your power lies in your uniqueness and powerful people are confident about their self even if it’s about negative or positive one. To find your passion at work you must resist the urge of comparing yourself to others as it limits your choices and career development.
Your hobbies and interests tell so much about your strengths and values. We take pleasures in the things we do such as reading, gardening and traveling. The things you do naturally and effortlessly motivate and empower you.
Pleasurable experiences are either academic or non-academic. When you enjoy yourself doing something, your personal strengths are clearly manifested. Remind yourself of the times you feel so happy at work? What are the values and strengths that were so evident from you?
Values change over time but there are some that remain imbedded in our personality. These values reflect what you think is good and worthwhile. Of all human activities, work has the potential of fulfilling your personal values and defines your career choices.
When you are true to yourself and passionate with your values you are most likely to find yourself in the work you love and enjoy. Most of your values are evident in the things you do and say. While there are some that come into the open under certain circumstances.
Now that you have assessed your strengths and values, you already can determine your parameter when looking for new employer or job. Make sure the values and strengths you have are in line with your job or employer. In finding your passion at work it is important to be able to fully share the values and strengths important to you.
Learn More
The majority of your strengths and values can be determined even at young age. Some are product of your parents upbringing while some are product of unfulfilled needs you try to reinforce as you grow and mature.
Knowing your top top-five strengths and values gives you a template by which you measure choices in your career and personal life. Being successful at work means you can freely use all of these strengths as well as fulfill your values.
When your act is not reflected with your strengths and values, what do you feel? Useless and powerless? You fail when you find yourself in a work that tells so little about your values, your thought and feelings.
When you are in this kind of situation, you feel tied up in a routine that is too far from your own personality. You will usually feel bored and unfulfilled. You don’t look forward to exciting and adventurous days. You feel trapped and always wish for vacations, day-offs and lunch breaks. Regardless of how much money you make, when you deny your thoughts and feelings, your work is difficult and boring.
The best time to determine your strengths and values are when you are honest and direct. By accepting your feelings you reveal so much of your potentials and possibilities in life. It is also important to become proud of yourself. Some people hide their true strengths out of fear of rejection.
Your power lies in your uniqueness and powerful people are confident about their self even if it’s about negative or positive one. To find your passion at work you must resist the urge of comparing yourself to others as it limits your choices and career development.
Your hobbies and interests tell so much about your strengths and values. We take pleasures in the things we do such as reading, gardening and traveling. The things you do naturally and effortlessly motivate and empower you.
Pleasurable experiences are either academic or non-academic. When you enjoy yourself doing something, your personal strengths are clearly manifested. Remind yourself of the times you feel so happy at work? What are the values and strengths that were so evident from you?
Values change over time but there are some that remain imbedded in our personality. These values reflect what you think is good and worthwhile. Of all human activities, work has the potential of fulfilling your personal values and defines your career choices.
When you are true to yourself and passionate with your values you are most likely to find yourself in the work you love and enjoy. Most of your values are evident in the things you do and say. While there are some that come into the open under certain circumstances.
Now that you have assessed your strengths and values, you already can determine your parameter when looking for new employer or job. Make sure the values and strengths you have are in line with your job or employer. In finding your passion at work it is important to be able to fully share the values and strengths important to you.
Learn More
Monday, August 3, 2009
Ways To Eliminate The Competition
Eliminating your competition is the easiest way to increase your chances of business success. This does not include unlawfully doing harm to the competition, but it involves strategically eliminating them.
The key is to develop the market to only associate with your business, when they are deciding to make a purchase relative to your product and service categories.
But if your industry is full of similar products and lots of competition how do you obtain such a height?
The most successful strategy is to know you competitors better than they know themselves. Identify their weaknesses and their strengths. What makes the prospects purchase their products and what makes the prospects not purchase their products?
Once you have conducted an intensive analysis of the competition you’ll need to investigate the following.
Find a position in the market you can own.
This will separate you from all the other businesses and will make you uniquely qualified in the eyes of your prospect to fill their need.
This usually requires finding a specific market niche you can focus on, or finding a specific product or service attribute or benefit, that is of value to your prospects, that none of your competitors can claim or are currently promoting.
This puts you in a class of your own and virtually eliminates the competition. No one does exactly what you do. Or in the way you do it.
Turn your competitors into partners.
Ok before you go all crazy, think about this.
If a prospect went to your competition but wasn’t satisfied with the offer where would they go next to obtain the product?
Probably to another competitor or in the rare chance to your company.
But what if you could guarantee that all the unsatisfied customers of your competition were directed straight to your business.
This would result in free traffic to your business and higher profits.
The competitor partnership is the most successfully alliance you and the competition can develop.
Of course if a prospect comes to your company and isn’t satisfied with your products, then you should revert them to your competition, doing your part for the partnership.
You may decide to start a partnership with businesses in different industries that fill a similar customer needs by agreeing to work together to help each other get more customers.
Solid reputation.
Branding, is a key attribute to your businesses survival. It sets your business apart from the competition in relation to quality, value and problem solving benefits.
If you want to find more about marketing your business check out ‘The quick guide to marketing’ and ‘The marketing plan and process guide’ both books provide extensive information and strategies about marketing your business.
Once you develop a strong brand in the eyes of your customers you will soon see repeat purchases in addition to more customers.
Repeat customers are far more valuable to your business than new customers. When you build a strong reputation you don’t have to educate and convince customers about your products and benefits.
All these strategies provide the starting point for your business to begin eliminating the competition and gaining market share.
Learn More
The key is to develop the market to only associate with your business, when they are deciding to make a purchase relative to your product and service categories.
But if your industry is full of similar products and lots of competition how do you obtain such a height?
The most successful strategy is to know you competitors better than they know themselves. Identify their weaknesses and their strengths. What makes the prospects purchase their products and what makes the prospects not purchase their products?
Once you have conducted an intensive analysis of the competition you’ll need to investigate the following.
Find a position in the market you can own.
This will separate you from all the other businesses and will make you uniquely qualified in the eyes of your prospect to fill their need.
This usually requires finding a specific market niche you can focus on, or finding a specific product or service attribute or benefit, that is of value to your prospects, that none of your competitors can claim or are currently promoting.
This puts you in a class of your own and virtually eliminates the competition. No one does exactly what you do. Or in the way you do it.
Turn your competitors into partners.
Ok before you go all crazy, think about this.
If a prospect went to your competition but wasn’t satisfied with the offer where would they go next to obtain the product?
Probably to another competitor or in the rare chance to your company.
But what if you could guarantee that all the unsatisfied customers of your competition were directed straight to your business.
This would result in free traffic to your business and higher profits.
The competitor partnership is the most successfully alliance you and the competition can develop.
Of course if a prospect comes to your company and isn’t satisfied with your products, then you should revert them to your competition, doing your part for the partnership.
You may decide to start a partnership with businesses in different industries that fill a similar customer needs by agreeing to work together to help each other get more customers.
Solid reputation.
Branding, is a key attribute to your businesses survival. It sets your business apart from the competition in relation to quality, value and problem solving benefits.
If you want to find more about marketing your business check out ‘The quick guide to marketing’ and ‘The marketing plan and process guide’ both books provide extensive information and strategies about marketing your business.
Once you develop a strong brand in the eyes of your customers you will soon see repeat purchases in addition to more customers.
Repeat customers are far more valuable to your business than new customers. When you build a strong reputation you don’t have to educate and convince customers about your products and benefits.
All these strategies provide the starting point for your business to begin eliminating the competition and gaining market share.
Learn More
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Read This Before You Start Your Business
Are you thinking about setting up your own business?
Have you an idea for a new business but are unsure about how to proceed?
If you have answered yes to either of these questions, the following will show you how to plan and create a successful small business.
Many people are looking at ways in which they can become self-employed as they have had enough of being dictated to and fed up of long and frustrating commutes to work. They want the freedom of being their own boss and to be able to choose their own hours of work.
Leaving a full time career can be quite a scary prospect however. The security of having a regular income and other benefits such as a pension and a shareholder schemes can seem hard to let go. Many people whether rightly or wrongly have opted to stick with this security and to merely keep their business plan as an idea, which they never see through or use.
Other people are willing and happy to take the risk and see it as a way of getting out of the rat race.
When you have an idea for a new business you then need to think of a name to call it. Its best to keep this name quite short as it makes it easier for the prospects to remember.
It obviously needs to have something to do with the business sector you are entering. For example Saveyourchain was developed to help business chains that needed saving, hence the name Saveyourchain.
You will now need to work out how much money you will need to set up the business. This can be quite daunting but is essential. In the short term it is advised to keep these start up costs as low as possible, you can always buy or rent better equipment in the future.
Once you are aware of how much money you need, you then have to find it. You may have enough yourself via savings or a redundancy payout, however most people are not in this position.
If you do not have enough money, you could try and raise money or request a business loan from your most trusted bank.
The next stage is to market your product or service. There are many ways of doing this including:
The Internet
Newspaper
Flyer handouts
Its best to find out what other businesses from your industry use as an advertising channel, they will have tried and tested many of the options and are more than likely using the most effective media type.
You then need to work out how much to charge for your product or service. Creating your price strategy is an effective strategy to get right. ‘The marketing plan and process guide’ offers the walk through strategies to marketing your business successfully.
It is also important to realize that mistakes will be made along the way and you need to take these mistakes as opportunities to learn from. Write down the major mistakes you make along the way and this will help you strategically avoid them in the future.
Always have belief in yourself. At times any business will go through a rocky period, this is when you need to be strong.
Self-discipline is one of the keys to your businesses success. Being able to choose your own hours of work may seem like a dream but it can prove to be your downfall.
You have to ensure that you work the required amount of hours. It is far too easy to stay in bed for that extra hour or to arrange yet another outing. These things are fine once you are established, but this is a long way off in the start up stage.
This article has provided an insight into the development of your new business.
We wish you all the best in fulfilling your dreams and remember that Saveyourchain offers business guidance and support, offering to take some of the sweat off you and your business.
Learn more
Have you an idea for a new business but are unsure about how to proceed?
If you have answered yes to either of these questions, the following will show you how to plan and create a successful small business.
Many people are looking at ways in which they can become self-employed as they have had enough of being dictated to and fed up of long and frustrating commutes to work. They want the freedom of being their own boss and to be able to choose their own hours of work.
Leaving a full time career can be quite a scary prospect however. The security of having a regular income and other benefits such as a pension and a shareholder schemes can seem hard to let go. Many people whether rightly or wrongly have opted to stick with this security and to merely keep their business plan as an idea, which they never see through or use.
Other people are willing and happy to take the risk and see it as a way of getting out of the rat race.
When you have an idea for a new business you then need to think of a name to call it. Its best to keep this name quite short as it makes it easier for the prospects to remember.
It obviously needs to have something to do with the business sector you are entering. For example Saveyourchain was developed to help business chains that needed saving, hence the name Saveyourchain.
You will now need to work out how much money you will need to set up the business. This can be quite daunting but is essential. In the short term it is advised to keep these start up costs as low as possible, you can always buy or rent better equipment in the future.
Once you are aware of how much money you need, you then have to find it. You may have enough yourself via savings or a redundancy payout, however most people are not in this position.
If you do not have enough money, you could try and raise money or request a business loan from your most trusted bank.
The next stage is to market your product or service. There are many ways of doing this including:
The Internet
Newspaper
Flyer handouts
Its best to find out what other businesses from your industry use as an advertising channel, they will have tried and tested many of the options and are more than likely using the most effective media type.
You then need to work out how much to charge for your product or service. Creating your price strategy is an effective strategy to get right. ‘The marketing plan and process guide’ offers the walk through strategies to marketing your business successfully.
It is also important to realize that mistakes will be made along the way and you need to take these mistakes as opportunities to learn from. Write down the major mistakes you make along the way and this will help you strategically avoid them in the future.
Always have belief in yourself. At times any business will go through a rocky period, this is when you need to be strong.
Self-discipline is one of the keys to your businesses success. Being able to choose your own hours of work may seem like a dream but it can prove to be your downfall.
You have to ensure that you work the required amount of hours. It is far too easy to stay in bed for that extra hour or to arrange yet another outing. These things are fine once you are established, but this is a long way off in the start up stage.
This article has provided an insight into the development of your new business.
We wish you all the best in fulfilling your dreams and remember that Saveyourchain offers business guidance and support, offering to take some of the sweat off you and your business.
Learn more
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The 7 Must Know Business Tips
Owning your own business is a dream come true. The freedom of being your own boss and succeeding to the best of your ability are facts of life for the small business owner. Sure, there's more stress than what you probably imagined when you were creating your grand plans, but with a little strategy and planning you can overcome any tough spot you get in. There are 7 tactics that are sure to make your business successful.
1. Create A One of a Kind Selling Point
If you want to stand out from the crowd, create a unique selling proposition that stresses the benefits the customers will receive from doing business with you. Will they get faster service? Go ahead and dramatize it, but keep the customer at the focus."Get free overnight delivery!" This tells the customer you get quick service and a discount on shipping. Two definite benefits in one statement.
Why should someone buy from you and not your competitor? Customers are attracted by offers that point out the things that benefit them.
Don't go out on a limb to create new products and services to get attention. Just, add a special benefit to the ones you already have. Maybe it's quicker service. The most effective things to emphasize are benefits that your competition cannot or is not willing to give.
2. Use Testimonials
It's what the current customers think about it that really matters to your prospective customers. They're the ones who see things from their point of view, what they have to say about the business has an impact.
Testimonials play an important part in advertising, especially for small businesses. It creates a marketing tool that builds credibility.
Think about it, how else can we gain credibility than by creating a group of satisfied customers and shouting what they have to say? Let's look at some ways we can make testimonials an effective part of our marketing campaigns.
3. Upsell
Upselling is one of the most successful marketing trends today. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to get you to buy more. From Fast food chains with upsize meal options to clothing stores that try to sell you shoes to match your outfit, everyone's jumping on the band wagon. Why? It works!
Your customers already know that you have great products and provide satisfactory service. They trust you to come through for them. Think about it, it's much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with.
Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customer audience you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register. It's a proven and effective method for increasing sales. You may be shocked at the additional sales you can generate from those who are already buying from you.
4. Make Your Price Seem Smaller
Divide and conquer, the old war tactic works in marketing too! When the price seems too steep, break it down into "buyable" size bites. An $120 item is only 12 low monthly payments of $10. A $365 purchase would only cost $1 per day. Now that sounds affordable!
5. Paint The Benefits Pretty
Customers buy because they want to enjoy the benefits of the purchase. A lady might buy a dress because she wants to feel sexy, or a man will buy a book because he finds pleasure in reading. Emotions are the key element that drives purchases.
Use word pictures to stir up the emotions that will instigate the sale. Let them "feel" the benefits, and they'll be more ready to head for the cash register. Put them where you want them.
6. Create Attention Getting Headlines
Are you ready to capture your reader's attention with great copy? The headline is the place to start. How often do you scan the newspaper's headlines before you decide whether or not to read the article? Yeah, that's where they lose or gain the reader's interest, so it's a pretty important part of the advertisement.
A good headline should telegraph its message in twelve words or less. Double check those headlines. Do they make a promise of a positive benefit, or ask a provocative question? Don't settle for less than attention grabbing statements.
7. Provide An Offer They Can't Resist
Is your deal too good to pass up? If not, you need to improve it.
Not just by cutting prices even more. You've still got to make a profit. You can make the deal sweeter just by increasing the readers knowledge of the value of the product, or adding bonuses that are perceived as valuable, but cost you little.
Motivate buyers with expirations. An open ended offer encourages procrastination, which leads to the customer not purchasing.
When the customer knows he has until Saturday to purchase an item he'll pay more for on Sunday, he'll make it a priority to head for your shop before Saturday.
Learn more
1. Create A One of a Kind Selling Point
If you want to stand out from the crowd, create a unique selling proposition that stresses the benefits the customers will receive from doing business with you. Will they get faster service? Go ahead and dramatize it, but keep the customer at the focus."Get free overnight delivery!" This tells the customer you get quick service and a discount on shipping. Two definite benefits in one statement.
Why should someone buy from you and not your competitor? Customers are attracted by offers that point out the things that benefit them.
Don't go out on a limb to create new products and services to get attention. Just, add a special benefit to the ones you already have. Maybe it's quicker service. The most effective things to emphasize are benefits that your competition cannot or is not willing to give.
2. Use Testimonials
It's what the current customers think about it that really matters to your prospective customers. They're the ones who see things from their point of view, what they have to say about the business has an impact.
Testimonials play an important part in advertising, especially for small businesses. It creates a marketing tool that builds credibility.
Think about it, how else can we gain credibility than by creating a group of satisfied customers and shouting what they have to say? Let's look at some ways we can make testimonials an effective part of our marketing campaigns.
3. Upsell
Upselling is one of the most successful marketing trends today. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to get you to buy more. From Fast food chains with upsize meal options to clothing stores that try to sell you shoes to match your outfit, everyone's jumping on the band wagon. Why? It works!
Your customers already know that you have great products and provide satisfactory service. They trust you to come through for them. Think about it, it's much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with.
Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customer audience you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register. It's a proven and effective method for increasing sales. You may be shocked at the additional sales you can generate from those who are already buying from you.
4. Make Your Price Seem Smaller
Divide and conquer, the old war tactic works in marketing too! When the price seems too steep, break it down into "buyable" size bites. An $120 item is only 12 low monthly payments of $10. A $365 purchase would only cost $1 per day. Now that sounds affordable!
5. Paint The Benefits Pretty
Customers buy because they want to enjoy the benefits of the purchase. A lady might buy a dress because she wants to feel sexy, or a man will buy a book because he finds pleasure in reading. Emotions are the key element that drives purchases.
Use word pictures to stir up the emotions that will instigate the sale. Let them "feel" the benefits, and they'll be more ready to head for the cash register. Put them where you want them.
6. Create Attention Getting Headlines
Are you ready to capture your reader's attention with great copy? The headline is the place to start. How often do you scan the newspaper's headlines before you decide whether or not to read the article? Yeah, that's where they lose or gain the reader's interest, so it's a pretty important part of the advertisement.
A good headline should telegraph its message in twelve words or less. Double check those headlines. Do they make a promise of a positive benefit, or ask a provocative question? Don't settle for less than attention grabbing statements.
7. Provide An Offer They Can't Resist
Is your deal too good to pass up? If not, you need to improve it.
Not just by cutting prices even more. You've still got to make a profit. You can make the deal sweeter just by increasing the readers knowledge of the value of the product, or adding bonuses that are perceived as valuable, but cost you little.
Motivate buyers with expirations. An open ended offer encourages procrastination, which leads to the customer not purchasing.
When the customer knows he has until Saturday to purchase an item he'll pay more for on Sunday, he'll make it a priority to head for your shop before Saturday.
Learn more
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