If you are like most people, you've pledged, whether enthusiastically or begrudgingly, a few New Years' resolutions for 2006. One resolution you may not have considered is improving your website results in the coming year. Think about it, how many of your resolutions have the real potential of adding to your bottom line? If your website isn't providing results, it's time for a change.Align your site with your business objectivesIf you're planning...more
A client with a creative business called me one day and asked the following question. It's a question I get asked frequently, so rather than write an entire article, I decided just to tell you exactly what I told her.Kirstin,"I never know what to say when a potential customer calls and asks 'How much do you charge? What are your fees?' I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by quoting something too low, but also don't want the caller to hear a...more
The key elements of matrix marketing have always SEEMED like a great way to create a successful perpetual income. But whenever that blueprint has been transferred to real life, some unforeseen element causes it to fail. Why?That's the question Thom Thompson of Our Power Forced Matrix (OPFM), asked himself. Before he began OPFM, he was an instructor in internet marketing and knew more about the dynamics of successful marketing than most gurus. He, like so many others, scratched his head at the theories, seaching for a clue to the matrix puzzle.BACKGROUNDMatrix marketing is another term for Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), the pyramid-like concept of expotential growth that occurs when a company offers incentives to those who bring in new marketers. Marketer -A-, for instance, earns a percentage of the income for every other marketer that joins the sales team through him or his links. Those marketers become his "downline." They, in turn, bring in others and the downline grows, creating a "matrix". To help the matrix grow, it is common for MLM's to include a FORCED aspect to this plan. That is, once a marketer bringS in so many other marketers (usually between 2-4), anyone else...more
To start seeing remarkable success, you must make time for marketing. Many people tend to make their marketing a low priority. Instead of including it as a part of your weekly routine, you may find yourself scrambling to try and find customers only when you are already slow.Or, you may focus on marketing only after all of your e-mails answered,...more
If you hate cold calling, and even if you don't, you should start capitalizing on the work you've already done.So often we don't utilize one of the most persuasive selling components in our marketing materials - the words of our own clients. Many creative people have wonderful testimonials from clients, but never use them for fear that they are...more
Abstract: Hiring continues to be key to a company's success. Hiring the right staff - with the skills AND characteristics required for success - requires behavioral event interviewing. This article provides insights into effective interviewing and hiring.In today's competitive environment, hiring has increasingly become a key link in establishing and maintaining your company's edge. By attracting and hiring the best people, your company can move quickly and grow steadily. On the flip side, however, poor hires cost you precious time, money, and opportunity. Poor hiring could cost you your company.Unfortunately, hiring candidates who can do what they say they can do is getting tougher. A whole industry has sprung up in the past ten years helping job seekers land a job sometimes at all costs. You can't afford to hire someone who can't do the job, do it with minimal direction, or do it quickly. Fortunately, there are techniques that you can use to ensure that the candidate you select can do the job. We will examine four techniques here demonstrations, simulations, problem solving, and testing and introduce a powerful interviewing technique High Performance...more
Abstract: People buy for their reasons, not yours. This article covers the key elements that prospects want to hear you talk about. Always, but especially during lean times, effective sales professionals know the importance of communicating value. ...more
By learning to speak to a diverse audience, you can broaden your client base transfer the learning to more people. We need to be more "PC". Were not talking "political correctness", were talking "Positively Conscious", of who is in our audience and...more
In challenging times, sometimes your boss's behavior becomes erratic. She may overmanage or undermanage you and your work. She may lose sight of all the things you are working on. You may not be sure what your boss's priorities are; they change...more
I've had the pleasure and honor to meet some of the world's greatest leaders and leadership gurus. From Sir Richard Branson, General Tommy Franks, and Captain Mike Abrashoff to Dr. Warren Bennis, Dr. Henry Mintzberg, and Tom Peters. And I get paid...more
It's time to beat the old bad customer service drum again. I know, I'm sick of beating the drum, too, but as long as bad customer service runs rampant through so many businesses I feel it is my entrepreneurial duty to bring it to your attention. So...more
If there is not enough diversity in your employee base or there is high turnover with certain groups of employees, your organization will not be able to leverage the power of diversity. Building diversity in a company through recruiting and retention...more