Are your prospects paying attention?   Consider these two realities:

1)  It has been said that people are exposed to over 3000 messages a day and probably more with the explosion of social media.

2) As you can see from this picture we are getting to be society of multi-taskers which makes it even harder to make an impression on your audience.

So the truth is, your prospects may not be paying attention. But this lack of attention is not really new.  Read the following list and then the date it was written, it may surprise you.

1.  The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.

2.  The second time, he does not notice it.

3.  The third time, he is conscious of its existence.

4.  The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.

5.  The fifth time, he reads it.

6.  The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.

7.  The seventh time, he reads it through and says, “Oh brother!”

8.  The eighth time, he says, “Here’s that confounded thing again!”

9.  The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.

10.  The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.

11.  The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.

12.  The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.

13.  The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.

14.  The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.

15.  The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.

16.  The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.

17.  The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.

18.  The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.

19.  The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.

20.  The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.

The list you’ve just read was written by Thomas Smith of London in l885.

What does this mean for you as an online entrepreneur?

Yes, is it may be hard getting people’s attention, but savvy business owners have been overcoming these challenges since well before 1885. 

You must be focused, strategic, consistent, interesting and patient with your marketing and business development efforts over time.

If you do you will significantly increase your chances of standing out in a cluttered and distracted marketplace.

What specific actions can you take can you improve these areas this week?

Adapted from the Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Program

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…

1. Create a system for outsourcing… Figure out what you want them to do, what they need to know and what method you’ll use to train them.

2. Create a checklist for all the tasks they’ll be responsible for performing

3. Practice an effective way to communicate with them and make sure you’re prepared to provide with the tools they need to succeed

4. Develop benchmarks for measuring their success and a system for tracking it… that is, communicate very specific objectives and timelines for completion and make sure they agree that they’re realistic and “doable”

5. Test out your hiring and training methods by hiring one person at a time… work out the bugs slowly, especially in the beginning

6. Streamline your hiring processes and learn to leverage… Use templates, develop manuals, and record training sessions… you’ll save time and money in the end.

adapted from Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough

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.

6) Your goals must be in alignment with your values.

Pay attention to your intuition, your gut. When you set a goal that contradicts your values, something inside will twinge. Pay attention.

7) Your goals must be well-balanced.

Make sure you include areas that allow time to relax, have fun and enjoy people in your closest circle.

8) Your goals must be realistic.

Be expansive but don’t be ridiculous. If you’re four feet tall, you will probably never play in the NBA. Also, be sure to allow yourself time to get there.

9) Your goals must include contribution.

Unfortunately, many people get so wrapped up in pursuing their goals that they don’t have time in their lives to give something back to society. Build this into your goals program.

10) Your goals need to be supported.

Either selectivity share a few of your dreams with a number of people, or share all of your dreams with a select few people. In either case, you’re creating a web of support and accountability for yourself.

Open your mind to all the possibilities. Start each goal with “I am” or “I will.” Don’t even think about restricting yourself!

—————————-

Your Coaching Action Step: Review the list above and write 5-7 specific 3 month goals (e.g. 10 new clients, 1000 new subscribers to my mailing list) then write the specific steps you will take to get there and track your progress every day!

by Mitch Meyerson

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!

Most of us know people like these: They must be at work everyday in order to conduct businesses. They do it all: pack boxes, write invoices, make sales calls, answer the phone, fix equipment, design their own web sites, write their own ad copy, troubleshoot problems, empty the trash, meet personally with every client, and so on.

They have no written procedures, documented processes or automated systems for doing anything. Rather, their valuable knowledge, innovative ideas and sound methodologies remain only in their heads.

You also won’t find them outsourcing work, forming beneficial strategic alliances, delegating tasks to employees or seeking wise counsel from other professionals. Why? Because many entrepreneurs believe they already know what they need to know – AND they don’t want to know what they don’t know! They are “unconsciously incompetent” and if they remain that way, their business will most certainly fail.

“If they don’t fail outright, most businesses fail to fully achieve their potential. That’s because the person who owns the business doesn’t truly know how to build a company that works without him or her… which is the key.”
Michael Gerber

So what happens? They try to go it alone. They get sick. They get sick and tired. They spend half a day at the Department of Motor Vehicles. They get stretched too thin. They feel rushed and overwhelmed. They worry that they can’t do it all. They worry that others won’t do “it” right. They know that they should let go, but can’t. They worry about what it might cost them to let go. They fail to fix serious flaws. They ignore their customers. They have a short term, “put-out-the-latest –fire” mentality. They miss golden opportunities. They feel like they need to get away. They take a much-needed vacation. Their businesses come to a screeching halt…

And when they return they discover that the work has piled up and they’ve lost money, frustrated customers and missed golden opportunities. What can be done about this?

Tips for fixing…

• Realize that being a good at “something” does not mean you’ll succeed at running a business that does that work.

• Objectively assess your business skills and knowledge.

• Play to your strengths, passions and skills. Do what you do best and let others help you.  Build a team of people – employees, consultants, strategic partners, and the like – who are more skilled that you in key areas.

• Seek, and offer, support from others outside of work… family, friends and colleagues. Take advantage of the vast resources available on the internet.

• Automate!  With all of the affordable technology available today – software, phone systems, web-based programs, etc. – there’s no excuse for going it alone.  It’s never been easier to communicate with prospects, troubleshoot problems, and stay in contact with customers and the like, even when you’re not there.

The preceding post was adapted from Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough.  Get your copy here:  Mastering Online Marketing

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.

1) Conflicting Intentions: Are You Standing In Your Own Way?

2) Getting The Results You Want

3) Passion

If you found this video helpful I hope you will retweet and/or comment :)

“There’s an elephant in the room… so it is hard to get around it. Yet we squeeze by with “How are you?” and “I’m fine…”   And a thousand other forms of trivial chatter.  We talk about the weather.  We talk about work.  We talk about everything else… Except the elephant in the room.  We all know it is there…”  Excerpt from “The Elephant in the Room”  by Terry Kettering

Many online entrepreneurs mistakenly leap into action and rush to build their web sites – without giving it sufficient time, thought and planning – enticed by the gobs of money they’ll earn and the relatively low cost of entry.  They falsely believe that they can create a profitable business even though they lack the vital information and tools to carry them through successfully.

And although most of them are smart, passionate, hardworking and innovative people – ones who share dreams similar to your own – they nevertheless learn, and ultimately live, a hard and often unspoken truth:  the majority of online businesses fail.

So why do so many e-commerce businesses fail?

The obvious answer to the first question is that companies unexpectedly cease to exist for a multitude of reasons. However, despite common lore, businesses seldom go under due to one shattering event (even though it’s often cited as the official cause).  Rather, online businesses (and all others) go bust because many mistakes – most seemingly small – were made over an extended period of time.

While it is beyond the scope of this blog post to go in to all the key reasons businesses fail, the following was illuminated by my friend and business guru Michael Gerber, author of the E-myth and it is essential to understand.

Myth: Believing that being a good “craftsman” is all that’s needed to run a successful business

These folks erroneously believe that being an exceptional “craftsman” (e.g. financial advisor, quilt maker, therapist, coach, 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!

Most of us know people like these … those who must be at work everyday in order to conduct business.  They do it all: pack boxes, write invoices, make sales calls, answer the phone, fix equipment, design their own web sites, write their own ad copy, troubleshoot problems, empty the trash, meet personally with every client, and so on.

They have no written procedures, documented processes or automated systems for doing anything.  Rather, their valuable knowledge, innovative ideas and sound methodologies remain only in their heads.

You also won’t find them outsourcing work, forming beneficial strategic alliances, delegating tasks to employees or seeking wise counsel from other professionals.  Why?  Because many entrepreneurs believe they already know what they need to know – AND they don’t want to know what they don’t know!

“If they don’t fail outright, most businesses fail to fully achieve their potential. That’s because the person who owns the business doesn’t truly know how to build a company that works without him or her… which is the key.”

Michael Gerber

So what happens? They try to go it alone. They get sick. They get sick and tired. They spend half a day at the Department of Motor Vehicles. They get stretched too thin. They feel rushed and overwhelmed. They worry that they can’t do it all.  They worry that others won’t do “it” right.  They know that they should let go, but can’t.  They worry about what it might cost them to let go. They fail to fix serious flaws. They ignore their customers. They have a short term, “put-out-the-latest-fire” mentality. They miss golden opportunities. They feel like they need to get away. They take a much-needed vacation. Their businesses come to a screeching halt…

And when they return they discover that the work has piled up and they’ve lost money, frustrated customers and missed golden opportunities.

What You Can Do…

• Realize that being good at “something” does not mean you’ll succeed at running a business that does that work.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Objectively assess your business/marketing skills and knowledge… Begin by taking a Self Assessment.  Answer the questions honestly so you can identify your business strengths and weaknesses.
• Play to your strengths, passions and skills. Do what you do best and let others help you. Build a team of people – employees, consultants, strategic partners, and the like – who are more skilled than you in key areas.
• Seek, and offer, support from others outside of work… family, friends and colleagues. Take advantage of the vast resources available on the internet.
• Automate! With all of the affordable technology available today – software, phone systems, online automation, etc. – there’s no excuse for going it alone.  It’s never been easier to communicate with prospects, troubleshoot problems, and stay in contact with customers and the like, even when you’re not there.

For more on this topic read chapter one of Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough

by Craig Valentine, 1999 World Champion Of Public Speaking. He is the co creator of the World Class Speaking book and Certification Program. Get Your Free World Class Speakers Audio Toolkit

If you want to drastically improve your very next presentation, it is important to understand 4 of the pitfalls that keep most speakers in a ditch out of which they can never seem to climb. If you see where these traps are, you can easily avoid them. As a result, you will clear your pathway to a powerful and persuasive speech.

Here are the 4 costly mistakes:

They close their speech with the question and answer session

Never close your speech with the Q&A session, because people remember best what they hear first and what they hear last. If you end with the Q&A, you lose control over the last message your audience receives and much of your hard work is undone. It is still a good idea to have a Q&A session, but it is not a good idea to end your presentation with it. Instead, hold the session about 80-90% into your speech and then close the speech in your own powerful way.

They open their speech with a whimper

Most speakers open with statements like, “I’m so glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me to speak at this prestigious occasion. First I’d like to thank Bob…” What is wrong with that kind of opening? Frankly, it’s boring. It’s boring because it’s expected. Instead, come out in an unexpected way by jumping right into your message. Take the “sitcom” approach and start the show first and then transition to the opening theme song.

One good way to do this is to immediately dive into a story. That will catch your audience off guard and you will have their attention. Another effective way is to ask a question. For example, I start some speeches with the following question: “What do you think is the number one thing that stands in the way of most people living their dreams?” This immediately gets my audience’s attention and prompts them to think and to get involved with the speech. Questions work extremely well because they take your audience members from passive spectators to active participants and that definitely raises the energy. Once you finish your planned opening, it is then fine to go back and thank the people who brought you there.

They lip-synch

I once had a CFO of a biotech company say, “Craig, we need you to coach us with our presentation. We already have the presentation, but we just need to know what to say.” That might seem confusing but I knew exactly what he meant. He meant that the company already had a slide presentation but they needed to know what to say between those slides. Once I worked with them, they came to realize that they had to look at their major points first and then determine if slides were even needed to reinforce them.

Most presenters who use slides simply verbalize the same points that are made on the slide. The key to understand is this; if you say the same thing as your slides, then one of you is not needed! You are doing the equivalent of lip-synching your presentation. The best time to use slides is for real visuals such as charts, graphs, and diagrams that help clarify what you say verbally.

They don’t master the essence of public speaking

Bill Gove, the first President of the National Speakers Association, once said that public speaking is being able to “tell a story and make a point.” That indeed is the essence of public speaking. If you want to become the kind of speaker others line up and sign up to see, then make an effort to master storytelling. People make decisions with their emotions backed up by logic. Stories reach those emotions and get people in a frame of mind to take action. When you become a master storyteller, you help other people see new stories unfold for their own lives. Like the old saying goes, “Facts tell and stories sell.”

If you avoid the 4 pitfalls that trap most speakers and you work on the suggestions above, you will find yourself far ahead of most of the people who ever stood up to say anything.

Craig Valentine is starting a brand new Coach Certification Program for Speakers and Entrepreneurs September 21 For the Full Story–> World Class Speaking Coach Certification Progran