Archive for the ‘Business Development’ Category

This is an excerpt from my presentation at Entrepreneur Magazine’s Boost Your Sales With Online Marketing Event in Chicago.

In this cluttered marketplace  it is more important  than ever to keep your message simple. People just don’t have the attention span to work hard at  understanding what you have to offer.   Consider Google’s core message as they sought out venture capital years ago.

“Google provides access to the world’s information in one click” .

Can you do that with your business?

I hope you join us at one of our live events or online programs (stay tuned for a new program)

“Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, “what is the most valuable use of my time right now?”  — Brian Tracy

Building and training teams of qualified people to help you is a wonderful way to leverage your time – because it allows you to focus your energies where they can achieve the most meaningful impact.

And, in my opinion, one of the best ways to do this is by outsourcing work – i.e. hiring other people – employees, bookkeepers, contractors, etc. – to work with you.

Here’s an illustrative example.

Let’s say Sally is a consultant who charges $250 an hour to advise and develop deliverables for her clients. Then let’s assume that she regularly sets aside four full hours each week to generate and mail her client invoices, which means that she unable to bill her hourly rate ($1,000) during that time.

The way I see it, Sally’s losing a lot more than a few hours. Since she could hire a part-time booker for $25-$50 per hour, it’s actually costing her $800 or $900!

Keep this in mind as you continue to develop your online business and look for ways to delegate ongoing administrative duties and focus your energies on revenue-generating tasks or ones that play to your strengths and passions. That’s why I pay an hourly fee to someone else… they’re trustworthy, reliable and far more knowledgeable. And it frees me up to write books; advise clients and market my online businesses.

Here are some professionals you can hire to help out:

1. Bookkeeper - If you’re not good with numbers but want to keep your bank account under control get someone to do your invoicing, reconciliations and billing.

2. Virtual Assistant - These are people who can help you with administrative duties or in many specific areas of your business. With all of the technology available today, they can easily be located almost anywhere in the world. They can answer phone inquiries, manage email and schedule clients, among many other things. And as your business grows, you may even consider using your assistant as a kind of “gatekeeper…” one who can provide people with appropriate information and “shields you” from routine calls that might take up large chunks of your time.

3. Webmaster - Unless you are somebody who really believes that the core revenue-generating activity in your business is developing and modifying web pages — which for some people it is — then hire a webmaster, even if it somebody who organizes, maintains and updates content that you’ve already put in place. Even though you may be skilled in cyberspace technologies, it may not be the best use of your time.

Managers are people who never put off until tomorrow what they can get somebody else to do today. Unknown

If you are ready to take the leap, here is a simple roadmap getting started… Read the rest of this entry »

The good news is that great marketers are not born, they are made.  Marketing is a very teachable skill and one that you can easily learn with some time, practice, and dedication.  The following six key tenets should guide you in converting your prospects into customers.

Simply put, your prospects will choose to become your customers based on:

1.  Their experiences with you. Your prospects will judge your worthiness based on how you make them feel. This includes how well you communicate, your content “depth,” your website’s quality and much more. Your prospects will also be more likely to engage in “conversations” with you when you allow them to interact in ways they prefer (i.e some may resonate with a blog post while others are more engaged by video or audio content).

2. Your product or service benefits. There are two basic reasons why people purchase anything – to increase pleasure (e.g. glowing health, freedom, popularity) or decrease pain (e.g. stress, financial problems, poor health). Therefore, focus on your product or service’s most compelling benefits as you communicate with your target audience – then, make sure you deliver on your promises. Be specific.

3. Your trustworthiness and reputation. Protect your good name and do everything in your power to ensure that your customers, prospects, friends, employees, and colleagues view you as a person of value. Keep in mind that your credibility, plausibility, and truthfulness will also win you far more customers than exaggerated claims and over-the-top promises.

Great reputations are among the biggest assets businesspeople have… even though they are one of the hardest things to build and one of the quickest things to destroy.

4. The value they receive. Although most consumers are price-conscious, the vast majority do not consider price alone when making their buying decisions. Rather, they consider value: the difference between what something costs and its worth to the buyer. What does value look like in the social media world? Answer: great content, expert advice and personal connections.

5. Make transactions easy, safe, and secure. People are more likely to hand over their money when they perceive the risk as minimal. It’s best to reassure potential customers with robust guarantees, a solid privacy policy, and secure payment procedures.

6. How well you articulate their most pressing concerns. To market effectively you must get into your prospects’ heads. Listen carefully (and social media forums and blogs make this very easy) to your target audiences’ expressed opinions and feelings – particularly as they relate to your products or services – and be sure to address them directly. Research the marketplace to discover new trends and golden opportunities that you can leverage to benefit your business.

In under 3 minutes this video illustrates some very interesting points about the dynamics of starting a movement.

Key Points:
1) A leader needs courage to take a stand.
2) First follower is also brave.  (Note the leader embraces the first follower as an equal.  Leaders- nurture your first few followers)
3) Movement must be public.  Once there are multiple followers it is much easier to follow.

Remember: It was really the first follower that transformed the movement
So if you find a leader doing something you like  – join in!

What movement would you like to start or join?

I’ll bet you have heard most of your life that effective goal setting is essential for success.   Why then do so many of us fall short on this essential business and life skill?  The answer is complex and there are a variety of psychological reasons.

However rather than digging into the “why”, we will first quickly assess where you stand then use the following 10 tips for developing more powerful goals. Start by asking yourself these 3 questions:

1) Do I have clear, written and measurable goals for my business and personal growth?

2) Have I created specific action steps required to achieve each goal?

3) Do I regularly track and measure the progress of each of my goals?

If your answer is no the ten keys below will help you to become more effective with your goal setting efforts and achieve more measurable results in your business.

People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. Brian Tracy

In my 2005 book Success Secrets of The Online Marketing Superstars I interviewed legendary author, Mark Victor Hansen about goals.  He is the co-author of the best selling series in history Chicken Soul For The Soul knows quite a lot about developing BIG goals.   Here are his tips about goal setting:

1) Your most important goals must be yours.

Not your spouse’s. Not your child’s. Not your employer’s. Yours. When you let other people determine your definition of success, you’re sabotaging your own future.

2)  Your goals must mean something to you.

When you write your goals, you must ask yourself, “What’s really important to me?” “What am I prepared to give up to make this happen?” Your reasons for charting a new course of action give you the drive and energy to get up every morning.

3) Your goals must be specific and measurable.

Vague generalizations and wishy-washy statements aren’t good enough.  Be very specific!

4) Your goals must be flexible.

A flexible plan keeps you from feeling suffocated and allows you to take advantage of genuine opportunities that walk in your future door.

5) Your goals must be challenging, exciting.

Force yourself to jump out of your comfort zone to acquire that energy and edge. Read the rest of this entry »

Many folks erroneously believe that being an exceptional “craftsman” (e.g. financial advisor, quilt maker, therapist, fund raiser, speaker, etc.) makes them qualified to operate a business that specializes in that work.

They spend most of their time performing “the work” of the business rather than leading, planning, organizing, systematizing and/or marketing their business!

Read the rest of this entry »

In this short video I will tell you how I was able to publish 4 books in one year. Sound like a lot? Here are the guiding principles you can also use to achieve more than you might have imagined. (Don’t miss the end :)

In addition to the related articles below here are some posts connect with to the video above. Read the rest of this entry »