Have You Sold Yourself?

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You will always be your number one customer. It`s not the big account you service, nor is it the hot new prospect you just uncovered; it`s you. The reason is simple. If you`re not completely confident in what you`re selling, you will never come close to maximizing your sales potential.

The current sales environment makes the need to sell yourself even more important. If you think you`re the exception to this rule and you`re not completely confident in the products or services you offer, ask yourself this simple question: Have you ever offered a discounted price to either keep a customer or attract a new one? Few salespeople can honestly say they have never done this. If you have, it means that you were not 100% sold on your product or service.

As a consumer, when we don`t fully believe in what is being offered to us, we naturally expect a discount. We want something in return for not being completely confident about what we`re buying. Since the salesperson hasn`t communicated the level of confidence we need in order to buy the product at full price, we want some type of concession to make us feel better about the purchase.

To be completely sold on your product or service, not only do you need to use what you sell, but you also need to understand all of the benefits that your product or service provides. As a sales consultant who works with thousands of different professionals each year, I`m amazed at the number of salespeople who admit that they don`t even use what they sell. How can anyone be totally committed to a product or service if they don`t even use it? Furthermore, it`s not uncommon for me to see salespeople shortchanging themselves because they are unable to identify and explain the value of what they are selling. Although this sounds basic, many salespeople cannot name five benefits their customers receive from using their product or service. They can usually only list five features. Without understanding the full array of their product`s benefits, there`s little chance the customer will ever see them too.

A poor sales process is usually a good indicator of whether or not the salesperson is sold on the product or service they are offering. Nothing conveys a lack of confidence faster than a sales process that is not professional. Unfortunately, for many salespeople, a disorganized sales process is the norm and it only serves to destroy more sales and, ultimately, a huge amount of profit. Despite the customer`s desire to buy, an unorganized sales process creates an air of skepticism that often can only be countered by offering some type of discount to close the deal.

With the current state of the economy, it is imperative that sales professionals be both confident and competent to achieve maximum success. In any sales call, you best communicate these qualities by being completely sold on your product or service. If you are not, find ways to better educate yourself so that you can become your number one customer. Remember, "No customer is ever sold until the salesperson is sold."

Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit http://www.TheSalesHunter.com.

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Fantasizing or Marketing?

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Opportunity Seeker or Entrepreneur

Now why do I equate "opportunity seeker" with fantasizing and "marketing" with entrepreneur? It is simply this: opportunity seekers are, well, seekers. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are "undertakers". Now I realize the mortuary business has pretty much ruined that word, at least in the English speaking world. The word comes from the French language and means: one who undertakes (some task). Well that's it; opportunity seekers talk the talk, entrepreneurs walk the walk. They actually do something.

Now I understand that you say that you want wealth. But here is the question: should you be believed? Let me give you an illustration. Do you know people who talk about health but don't get any exercise, don't eat quality foods and don't watch their weight? Well, do you really believe them? See my point? Wealth and health have many talkers but not so many walkers.

Facts, Information, Truth

Now I hear some people say, "That's my problem. I am a seeker; but there is a good reason for it, you see, I don't KNOW what to do."

And that brings us back to health again. Of course health is a tricky subject; how much and what kind of exercise should I get? What are high quality foods? Of the one thousand or more weight management plans out there, which ones are truly useful? You see the problem here? Facts, information and truth are easily lost in the mire.

That's true of wealth creation as well. I understand that there are 150,000 new home based business started each week. And do you know what many of them are doing? They are making a list of 100 people they know to share their business with.

Now answer me this question: what traditional businesses do you know that make a list of their friends and family and actually think that they are going to build a 6 or 7 figure annual income this way? Can it work? Yes. Will it work? Rarely. The fact is most people simply don't know what to do. They want to be walkers, but they don't know where to walk. So they keep talking about it, seeking the perfect opportunity, bouncing from product to product, company to company and plan to plan.

The Perfect Product

Let's stop here a minute. Tell me, what is the best hamburger you've ever eaten? In my case, it's a What-A-Burger. Years ago I moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. I wanted a hamburger and a friend of mine said, "Let's get a What-A-Burger." I never heard of it. It was incredible. I live in South Carolina now; it's wonderful in South Carolina except for one thing—they don't have What-A-Burgers here. My mouth is watering just writing about them.

How did you answer that question, what is the best hamburger you ever ate? Of all the options possible, I'm going to guess it was not a MacDonald's. I'm not saying they are bad; they're not—but the best? Well, I don't think so.

But here is an interesting fact; MacDonald's is the largest hamburger restaurant in the world. Why? If it is not because they make the best hamburger in the world, then what is the reason?

The reason is simple; they have the best hamburger marketing plan in the world. There is a lesson here. Product is important but marketing is critical. My point? Represent a good company and product; it is very important you do so. But the best product in the world will go nowhere without a first class marketing plan.

A Better Idea

Chasing the perfect product is not the answer. What is the real answer? It is the creative use of the Internet to drive an endless supply of leads to you, leads that are specifically interested in multi-level marketing.

But you don't know how to do that! You've checked the Internet; there are hundreds of "plans" there on how to start a business—which product, which plan?

Don't worry about the perfect product, instead, above all, focus on the marketing plan. And just what is the best marketing plan for a MLM business. It is a plan that uses the power of the Internet to drive an unlimited supply of interested people to you, each one of them seeking information on how to achieve wealth.

Article Location: lhttp://www.how-to-do-network-marketing.com/Fantasizing-or-Marketing.html Web Page: http://www.how-to-do-network-marketing.com/ Contact Info: ralph.bass@businessmasterplan.com

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5 Tips to Develop Great Outsourcing Relationships

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Firms that provide outsourcing services to small businesses can gain a lot by developing great professional relationships with small business owners (or contact person). The reason for the service provider is simply to help build and maintain trust and credibility. Some tips on developing great outsourcing relationships are:

1. Be Honest
Everyone naturally starts off on a neutral footing. Honesty on the part of the service provider is however of utmost importance to ensure that the firm/team can be trusted with important information and assignments.

2. Be willing to go the extra mile
Small business owners are people with big ideas but comparatively small budget. However, that fact should in no way mean that their business is any less important. Be willing to go the extra mile by providing a bit more than expected. (That of course doesn`t mean pitching in extra hours for unpaid work:-) ).

3. Be able to grow with the client
A number of small business owners start of by outsourcing a single project/task. They are new to the concept of outsourcing and are just testing the waters. However, assuming that the first couple of tasks have gone well they will be looking to outsource bigger tasks to help them relieve their own burden. Moreover, it is absolutely reasonable to assume that over a period of time their businesses will grow and they will need more services. Don`t be caught off guard when that happens.

4. Specialize
Its great to be a one stop shop for all the services that your clients need. However, its rarely the case that you can be great in everything that can be done on this planet. Learn where your abilities truly lie and focus on those. Continue to learn and refine skills but remember that people want to pay for the best skill for a particular cost. Its better to be someone who can design great webpages for $x rather than someone who can design average webpages but also sing a nice song for the same amount!

5. Keep communication open
Always ensure that you are communicating frequently with your clients. If you are not available then provide adequate notice for that. If they have not responded to an email that you sent earlier then send in a polite reminder. Its never a bad idea to drop hints that you have capability to pick up more assignments or if you get to learn new skills.

SpeedItOnline.com provides online support to small businesses around the globe to help them manage their work and reduce their costs. If you have any questions regarding this article or services offered then please contact us.

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Mother of Three Finds Freedom, Flexibility and Success in Less Than One Year as a Home Stager

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Had Laura Kakoschke gone into the field of home staging with the goal of getting a guaranteed job at $31.45 per hour, it's safe to say things would have worked out much differently for her.

This Staging Diva Graduate and founder of Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design says of this, her second chance career, "I made more money in the first 10 months in my own staging business than I used to make in a whole year working for the government as a Contract Manager. And now I work half the hours that I used to!"

What Laura understood when she got into this field and some aspiring home stagers don't, is that a promised job for $31.45 an hour is actually a complete devaluation of her talents. Laura did her research before signing up for a training program and learned that home stagers can actually earn between $250 and $700 for just a two-hour consultation. She realized what she needed were the skills to promote her services and market her own business so she could be in control of her own employment.

It certainly worked out for her. In her first 10 months as a home stager, Laura landed so many of her own projects that she ended up staging 12 vacant properties. When you consider that staging a vacant home can earn a stager anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 profit per house (even if they don`t use their own inventory), having 12 of these in less than a full first year of a new business is significant.

The largest of Laura`s projects was a $2.5 million vacant estate home which she furnished from top to bottom. "This was an intense experience," says Laura, "but an awesome opportunity to put my home staging training into practice."

One of her recent projects saw Laura staging a house that had been sitting on the market for four months. Before Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design came in, the real estate agent was skeptical about staging. Her thinking completely changed after Laura finished staging the property. With new furniture and accessories, the house sold in only four days. "The change in the decor was like night and day," says Laura, "and we didn't even have to paint or replace brass fixtures."

This mother of three children loves the freedom that comes along with being her own boss. "I can work my own hours, set my schedule, be at home to teach (home school) in the mornings and work my staging business in the afternoons," reports Laura. "My three boys get a first-hand look at running a business. I hope that the courage I found to follow my dream will inspire them to follow theirs, and to know that anything is possible."

Like many Staging Diva students, Laura approached her home staging career with the attitude that she wanted to finally use her natural talents to earn a living without having to spend 4 years in an interior design program.

"I'm 39 and if it weren't for the opportunities available to a stager, I would have had to return for several years of post-secondary training and then work long hours for low pay for a design firm to fulfill my dream of decorating. This would never have happened," says this mom with a degree in literature. "Staging Diva Training gave me the business tools and confidence to follow my lifelong passion for design."

Entrepreneur and Home Staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®, knows how to make money as a home stager and has taught over 1000 others to do the same. Discover her secrets to business success in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

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Business Communications Revolution – Video Conference Technology

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Video communication has always promised a diverse array of powerful, tangible, immediate business benefits – empowering face-to-face interaction with anyone, anywhere, anytime – instantly.

Fast, measurable cost savings, enhanced productivity and operational efficiencies, greater staff rapport, work life balance and job satisfaction. Even a reduced carbon footprint. Make no mistake. When it comes to video, the eyes well and truly have it.

There was a problem though. The technology was often immature, complex, and expensive. It also tended to be largely proprietary and rather greedy for bandwidth, and it came with a reputation for unreliability.

Accordingly, while the world's biggest, richest, most risk-resilient companies were able to embrace video with open arms, the rest of us had to keep getting on our trains, planes, and telephones. There was no choice.

Since then, visual communication technology has evolved of course – reliability and quality are no longer an issue. Even then however, even as more and more businesses have come to see the value and the benefits and value of using video, it has remained beyond the reach of most because of budgetary, technical, security and or IT resource constraints.

Video Conferencing has evolved into a viable solution for businesses as recent developments in Video technology have resolved all of these issues.

New Video communication tools can be installed with no impact on your IT infrastructure, high levels of security and no drains on your corporate bandwidth. With high definition video available with small levels of expenditure needed to setup and use, the ability to communicate without the hassle of travel has become available to any business.

Video provides a greener, quicker and more reliable method of communication for businesses worldwide.

The future of business is video conferencing.

Stephen Smith is freelance consultant of video conferencing services. While working on this he has gathered knowledge on video conferencing using of video conferencing facility. Visit : http://www.mvision.co.uk for more information and services.

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Starting Your Business On A Shoe String Budget

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In today's world a huge part of business success is actually down to presenting a face that presents trust and confidence to both the market and the consumer world. The devil truly is within the details, and it boils down to corporate branding, how members of the company present their selves, their EDM's, corporate brochures, ad campaigns and press releases. It is a multi billion dollar industry in some parts of the world to build the correct perception of a company. This applies even to those who are just starting out. Being cost effective is one thing but compromising on quality is quite another. Starting out a business from the cradle of your home is a good thing, but stagnating there and using your home address as your primary office mailing address could be the wrong step that will lead to a whole host of problems later on. The importance of a registered office address lies in its ability to define the company that is using it and gives the persona of professionalism that every business need.

A mailing address that originates from a home address already instils a lack of confidence in the end user. It is like a very well furbished website, detailing all the businesses and backed up by an incredible client base – only to be tarnished by a contact list that reads from some universal mail provider. There is an inherent drop in levels of trust in the company straight away and confidence is removed from the equation. These are two things that are extremely important in a purchasing decision, especially when you are not there to personally seal the deal yourself. This is about the same when it comes to the registered office address, every business needs to present an image of professionalism. You might have a killer product, you might have great presentation skills – but all these can be outdone by a shoddy mailing address that happens to be in every flyer, brochure and book that you give out. The bottom line is branding and a key component in a successful brand are the intangibles – trust, believability, confidence, history. Once you lose that confidence , then your brand recognition among your clients and soon among the rest of the consumer populations will go down the drain and you will slowly see those profit margin figures follow it dutifully. Think about hiring the services of a virtual office provider and some of them have packages which are cheap and offer basic services like a registered office address and simple mail collection, which is the first step in building reputation.

There you have it, an integral reason why anyone with the need to succeed in a business should own a registered office address. The cost is low and the benefits far outweigh the tiny investment that you have to put in to start you on the road to financial freedom and business success. This is the importance of a registered office address; it can make or break your business.

Cut your business rental costs and use a virtual-office instead. Sign up today at this singapore virtual office or compare virtual office space plans.

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Find Ways to Personalize Your Marketing

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Every business I know attempts to connect with their customers in some way, no matter how big or small that company is. Consider the nation wide companies with branches in a variety of different locations. Let's say specifically a restaurant where they have a variety of different things on the walls to add character.

I can say with absolute certainty that each of those restaurants are going to find something about the specific location they're in to put up on their walls. This works well with sports teams for local high schools or colleges, or even just teams in that particular town. If you go into a different branch of the same restaurant in a different town you'll see various things on the wall reflecting the area the restaurant is in.

They're doing whatever they can to say to their customers that they know what people like there, and they're going to try their best to connect with those things as well.

No matter what type of marketing you're doing you need to try doing the same, and the smaller your business is the easier it will be to accomplish this. That's the strength of a local company that larger corporations just can't match. Sure, the larger companies are going to try to connect with people in each city, but they won't know the city as well, and they won't be as strongly connected to the community.

A good way to introduce your company when opening up a small business is with something like custom greeting cards where you can talk to people on a more personal level. Don't just send out a generic form of advertising or anything like but, but make sure that your greeting card reflects your business and the area that your business is in.

That way you can tell people right from the beginning that you're one of them and you know what their lives are like. Use those custom greeting cards to mention who you are and why you opened your business to begin with. Tell them about yourself so they'll see how you relate to them, and why you're connected with the community.

This is a chance that you won't be able to get again. You want your first impression to be as powerful as possible, and you want to introduce yourself in such a way that they immediately view you as close to them, and that doing business with you will be helping the community as well.

Some things just can't be bought with money, and nothing can compare with genuinely being close to the community. You want to develop a strong bond of trust, so let people know who you are, and find the best way possible to let them know about you and your business.

Visit this site for more information on custom greeting cards

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Create a brochure that attracts attention to your product

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It`s simple, if you want buyers to notice your brochure, start by making it look great. We all know that content is king, but people aren`t attracted to text initially, they`re pulled in with a visually dynamic image first. Good looking images tap into peoples inner guides - the ones that are saying "if it looks good, it is good."

If you`re not convinced that image is important, consider why smart, successful marketers spend millions to create their image. Television ads use attractive models to demonstrate products, car dealers freshen the paint of used cars to make them more marketable, and we all wear our "nice" clothes when we want to impress new acquaintances. Why would the advertisers and car dealers go through the added expense if it doesn`t work? They wouldn`t. And you wouldn`t buy the new clothes if they didn`t make you feel and look better.

Often, your brochure is the only thing that a prospective customer has to evaluate your product or service. You want brochure recipients to believe that your product or service is worth the price you ask - that your buisiness is professional and it can be trusted. Good, solid graphic design does the work for you when you can`t be in front of the prospects yourself. Good graphic design is your best salesperson.

When you`re about to begin the development of your brochure, hire a talented designer. All designers are not created equal. Be selective about your brochure designer - review their portfolio, check their references, talk to them about your thoughts and probe them for their ideas.

A good designer will get a reaction, turn heads and generate interest in your product or service. After the design has captured the audience`s attention, then follow up with quality content. When combined, quality design and quality content will make a positive impact on your business` product or service.

Dan O'Donnell is Creative Director and Owner of Direct Axis, a 4-member design/communications agency Direct Axis' primary focus is the design and writing of print and web media. Direct Axis creates brochures, catalogs, direct mail, web sites and Flash presentations. Direct Axis specializes in nonprofits, manufacturers and higher education. http://www.direct-axis.net Brochure Samples: http://www.direct-axis.net/capabil.html

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Starting A Business With A Virtual Office

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The initial creativity of your business idea should be maintained throughout and there should be nothing that should interrupt this momentum that could lead you to your dream house in some quiet Indonesian island and retiring young. While this is an ideal, I believe that the core of the business should be - well just business but the problem with start-up companies is that they have so many administrative and set up issues that they often come across a huge wall of red tape – even before they can get their idea up and running and making them money. Why should valuable time be wasted on setting up an office, applying for the various permits, budgeting, hiring office assistants and managers, cost evaluation, rental, space allocation – anyone who has ever tried to set up a business should know about the list of bogging activities that can happen. Profits and the success of any business should not be easy, but its should not be anchored down by the nitty gritty of business setups anymore, not in this day and age of virtual real estates and the gaining popularity of the virtual office worker.

The industry has responded with services that help new and start-up companies gain the extra added advantage with a virtual office. What a virtual office gives you is all the benefits of a physical office but its setup only takes a few days. Some of these companies offer virtual boardroom services, your very own personal assistant who will take your calls and sort through your faxes. Even a prime virtual office address will be provided for your clients to mail you. Anything and everything is granted at a fraction of the cost of setting up a real, physical office. There is no setup on your part and there is no hassle. The 'rent' that you pay is simply a fee that upkeeps all the digital systems and pays for things like the shared receptionist and fax/mailing services. Even the most expensive virtual office providers charge an amount that is a fraction to the costs you will incur if you decide to rent or buy an offline real estate space to conduct your operations. The world is changing, and working at home doesn't mean one is lazy – but one is being prudent, working in an environment that is tactile, comfortable and increases your productivity level.

The only thing you must understand that there is a higher level of discipline to ensure that operations within the business are run smoothly. The virtual distance means that responsibilities can be overlooked and there must be constant communication to ensure that there is as little hiccups as possible when it comes to the daily ins and outs of the business. Create rules and regulations that everyone can agree to – and most of all meet up once in a while. Sometimes there is nothing like a physical handshake and a warm smile of your business partner as you discuss the latest success over a hot cup of coffee.

Cut your business rental costs and use a virtual-office instead. Sign up today at this singapore virtual office or compare virtual office space plans.

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Cubicles: more interesting then you might think

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Many different types of businesses and companies make use of cubicles as a way to efficiently divide up office space, while giving each and every employee their own semi-private workspace. Typically, a cubicle is a workspace that is only partially enclosed. Visually, employees are separated from one another (with the exception of a doorway or entrance, as well as a lack of ceiling), though in terms of audio most sounds will carry. The partitions that make up the average cubicle are five feet or six feet in height. The cubicle will be partially or entirely open on one or more sides to allow access in and out of it.

The purpose of a cubicle is to isolate employees from one another. Without the distractions that sights and sounds can provide, employees will be able to work more efficiently, as well as have a bit of privacy during their work day. Because cubicles are not often very large, hanging shelves and other types of overhead storage will often be present inside of them.

The nice thing about cubicles is that they are quite easy to setup, modify and arrange. Cubicles can be put together and moved around using standard hardware or special fasteners, depending on the design that the employee or supervisor has in mind. Cubicles easily allow for the introduction and modification of drawers, shelves and bins, and generally offer the employee ample horizontal workspace.

Many jokes are abound in reference to cubicles. A cube farm is a term that refers to companies that set up dozens or even hundreds of cubicles in their office space.
Cubicles are great for employees who want their own space at their place of employment. The desk within a cubicle, as well as the walls, allow for personalization. Photos, nooks, small hanging objects and calendars can easily be displayed on the walls of a cubicle. Many types of cubicle walls have holes and hooks on them, so hanging personal items is quite an easy thing to do.

Cubicles come in different forms. The typical cubicle is made up of three to four walls (if four walls are present, then one of those walls will have a break in it to allow entrance in and exit out of the space that is created within the cubicle) placed together and hooked together securely.

Kimberly Green is offering her insight to the many reasons cubicles are used and how a cubicle office space may prove most functional.

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Clearing Up Merchant Account Pricing

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This is a brief introduction to some components of pricing that you should be aware of as a business owner. This article will help you know enough about pricing a merchant account so that you don`t get taken advantage of when you`re negotiating with your merchant service provider on your account.

The discount rate is probably the one component of the merchant account pricing that represents the largest percentage of the fees you`ll pay as a merchant. A competitive discount rate for qualified retail transactions is about 1.29% for check or debit cards and about 1.69% for regular credit cards. Internet discount rates are typically considered competitive at 2.15% to 2.25%.

Your discount rate is determined by the risk your business may represent to the bank. The more risky your account, the higher the discount rate. The type of cards you process may also influence your discount rate, such as a business credit card vs. a check card, or rewards card for instance.

If you have a lower average ticket item or average transaction, the per transaction fee represents a higher percentage and can even represent a higher percentage of your overall fees than the actual discount rate or percentage. If you have an average ticket item of $10 and a per transaction of $.20, the effective rate on this transaction is 2%. If you add the discount rate of 1.8%, the effective rate on those $10 transactions is 3.8% which is higher than it could be.

If you take the same $10 transaction and could lower that per transaction fee to $.17, even with a higher discount rate, say around 1.8%, your effective rate would be 3.5% which would lower your overall effective rate on the transactions.

There is a monthly fee for most merchant accounts. There is a cost associated with providing customer support, physical or even electronic statements, and account maintenance. This is usually a $10 monthly fee that is known as a customer service fee, account maintenance fee or a statement fee.

If you have a merchant account, you most likely have a monthly minimum which is what a flat fee charged every month based on the discount fees. If the discount fees exceed $25, the monthly minimum is met. If the discount fees are based on a slower month or lower volume month, the minimum is charged still at $25. If your volume is only $500 that month, the $25 represents a 5% effective rate, no matter what the discount rate is. Many providers now will waive this fee, so if you anticipate at all that fee being an issue, work with your provider to make sure that fee is either reduced or waived.

These are the primary fees that accompany each merchant account. There are several other fees that may apply depending on whether your are processing through a wireless terminal, an internet-based account, or mail order / telephone order.

Finding a sales rep that you can trust and work with on your account will save you significant hassles later on and will be a relationship you can leverage to make this important part of your business hassle free.

You can contact Brian through his website dedicated to providing information on business merchant accounts. He has been setting up merchant accounts for all types of businesses now since 2001. You can find more information on his website at MerchantHotline.com.

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Top 4 Reasons People Fail In Their Network Marketing Business

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Most people fail miserably in their network marketing business. Even though "it`s easy" and "anybody can do it" according to the Guru at the front of the room. Here are the top four reasons people fail in their network marketing business:

1. Lack of money

A lot of people just don`t have the money to market their business. The days of "Make a list and talk to your friends and family" are gone. Do you really think the big dogs on stage are still doing that? Absolutely not. They are investing every month in some form of marketing, and so should you. Luckily, you don`t need much money. With the emergence of the internet over a billion people become available to you through social sites, forums, groups and chat rooms.

If you learn the art of social marketing, along with sort of advertising that captures leads through pay-per-click, solo ads, article marketing, blogging etc, you should be able to capture a decent amount of leads with as little as $50 to $100 a month! You should also strongly consider a Funded Proposal, a method of marketing that creates income for you up-front, while producing all the leads you need.

2. Lack of Activity

I have to admit, I`m lazy by nature, and I know I`m not alone! Give me a choice between something I WANT to do and something I HAVE to do and well... you get the idea. To combat that I have disciplined myself through making network marketing into a game. I play the game 30 minutes a day, and get points for business building activity. This has worked well for me.

Other people find business partners who they are accountable to every day, and communicate by e-mail or phone at the end of every day, comparing results and sharing ideas. Another method that works well is a team call where people can dial into a conference line and discuss the days work with several others. Just figure out a system that works for you, and commit to a small amount of reasonable activity every day, then teach your team to do the same, and if you are consistent and persistent, your team will be as well, and you will create duplication.

I don`t know who said this, but it`s absolutely true: "If you want your team to go into momentum, YOU have to go into momentum."

3. Lack of People to Talk To

The big question is: Who are you going to talk to today? There are three types of leads:

1. Warm Market. These are the people that already know you and (hopefully!) trust you.

2. Purchased leads.

3. Self Generated leads.

Now here`s a tip I learned from one of our guest trainers, Dale Calvert: It`s all about WARM MARKET. But wait! You say. Then why are you telling me about Purchased and Self Generated leads? Simple. Your job is to turn all your leads into warm market leads. Most people make the mistake of thinking of them as "leads" instead of as PEOPLE! If you stop recruiting and start building your warm market, you will take pressure off of yourself, off of them, and your whole network marketing business will grow more naturally and be more rewarding.

4. Lack of Skills and Knowledge

My friend Pat Berry of the MLM Radio Show talks about becoming a "Skillionaire." I love the metaphor. I know a lot of network marketing millionaires, and every single one of them has a high skill set. They know the industry inside out, they have developed great people skills, they are master communicators, and great marketers. And all of those things can be learned. Don`t make the mistake of thinking they were born that way. All of these skills can be developed.

Here`s a simple way to increase your skills (Thanks to Jim Rohn for these ideas!)

1. Read at least 10 pages a day in a personal development book.

2. Listen for at least 20 minutes a day to a good audio.

3. Attend a live seminar at least quarterly.

Three habits that are easy to incorporate into your life, and easy to do.

So those are the four reasons people fail, and some ideas on how to overcome them in your own marketing. Apply some of these ideas consistently to ensure your success in your network marketing business.

Dave Sherwin is an online network marketing expert who won the "Rookie Of The Year" award in his network marketing company. He is also the co-founder of the Lighthouse Marketing System. To learn how to generate DAILY targeted prospects and get the Lighthouse Marketing Guide FREE go here: http://escapethematrix.net/blog

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Take the Good with the Bad in Business

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In my normal daily routine, I awoke to the dog scratching my bedside anxious to go for his early morning exercise. In the process of getting him and I ready for our half hour trek into the morning chill I turned the coffee pot on and let that brew while I was out so it would be ready by the time we returned.

A half hour later we returned, I poured my coffee and as I often do I sat at the kitchen table reading one of my favorite business magazines. I was particularly intrigued with an article in regards to how failure is actually a good thing when it comes to business. In my own business experiences I have failed so I proceeded to read on as to see how what the author was describing directly correlates to my situations that I encountered.

As I concluded the article talked about parallels to my own business and probably yours, ones of finding the positives out of the negatives, meeting a new person in bad business ventures and why a person who has failed is stronger than one who has not.

Take the first point of pulling the positives out of the negatives. It is invariably easier to get down on yourself and say, "oh why did this happen to me", or "I can't believe it didn't work out." However we need to focus in on the positives here. Write down the reasons the venture failed. Did it fail because of, lack of funding, a bad business partner, not enough research up front or you provided a business or service that people did not want?

All issues that are very fixable when you can clearly see what the issues are to begin with. As I have found in business, regardless of how bad a business venture goes, you will find one or more people that are wonderful human beings, great mentors and/or excellent business people. I recently built a property to flip and sell. However the project took a long time to complete, as we hired people who weren't right for the job or we hit government road blocks with certain regulations. By the time the property was complete the real estate market tanked and I had to take a huge hit on it. Ok, lesson learned.

But along the way I met some really good people. One's that helped steer me in the right direction and others who worked hard to get the job done in a timely fashion and on budget. To this day I am still friends with these people and when the situation exists, I call upon them for help. I can almost guarantee that you know many of the same that I do.

A person who fails is stronger because they now know what doesn't work! Yes a little backwards in the way of thinking but you now have found an avenue in your business that hits unnecessary roadblocks or walls that will either cost you too much time, money or both. Failure is a part of life, whether it is in business or your daily routine. Those that are able to use that failure to their advantage and learn what to do because of it, are those that rise above and succeed.

About the Author
Bruce Tucker is a contributing writer to Indocquent, an online advertising and social networking medium where you can promote your business, products and services for sale and hire throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Don`t forget to download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Got the Right Stuff To Be an Entrepreneur? Find Out Now!

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Do you have what it takes to make it as a business owner? Making a realistic assessment of your skills, abilities, and interests should be considered essential. You most likely will not fit the entrepreneur profile exactly, but knowing your strengths and weaknesses gives you an advantage in preparing for the support you may need in running your business.

If your personal profile does not seem to line up with the following profile of characteristics of the typical successful entrepreneur, give some long, hard thought as to whether you are really cut out to be a business owner. The matter of your success is far too important to leave to chance.

#1 - Drive to Achieve
One factor that is found most often is highly successful business owners is a tremendous drive to achieve. This attitude tends to override everything else and seems to have almost everything to do with success.

#2 - Desire to Succeed
Success can be considered to be the constant achievement of worthwhile goals. Exactly what are worthwhile goals is a matter of individual interpretation. Obviously, any measure of success must agree with the Word of God.

#3 - Overall Tendency to Follow Through
This applies to any personal commitment or the accomplishment of any task. Even when the going gets tough, the entrepreneur is not apt to quit halfway through. In a word, you must have perseverance.

#4 - Positive Mental Attitude
Being generally optimistic even in challenging situations is a kind of attitude that generally grows out of being confident in who you are and understanding your abilities. Knowing who you are in Christ, and that you are called to the business arena, are major contributors to this.

#5 - Objective Approach
This entails the ability to realistically and accurately view each situation and assess associated risks and determine an appropriate course of action. Being able to honestly determine one`s own abilities and limitations is vital, as is not thinking more highly of yourself than you ought.

#6 - A Respectful Attitude Toward Money
This includes a tendency to look upon money as a means for accomplishing things, rather than as a thing to be sought after as an end in itself. The love of money is still the root of all evil.

#7 - A Tendency to Anticipate Developments
Those who possess the ability to see things coming are able to take the appropriate course of action, rather than reacting only when circumstances are upon them. The prudent see danger and protect themselves.

#8 - Resourcefulness
The ability to solve unique problems in unique ways is vital for entrepreneurs. They are often demanded to handle new developments with no previous experience to rely on as a guide.

#9 - Stable Relationships
Being emotionally stable, cheerful, cooperative, and able to get along well with employees and associates are vitally important characteristics of successful business owners.

#10 - Effective Communications
The ability to effectively communicate and present your ideas for both verbal and written means is extremely important. You must be able to communicate an idea or vision beyond just stating the facts in order to generate a response in others.

#11 - Technical Knowledge
An entrepreneur is usually well-rounded, knowledgeable about business operations and practices, and able to skillfully utilize information towards effecting reasonable results.

#12 - Understands Own Skills
Successful entrepreneurs have taken a good, honest look at themselves. Answering the following questions is a good place to start. What do you like to do best? What are your three major skills, and what can you do better than most people? Describe your management abilities and how your experience applies to your business.

Running a business is nothing like working for someone else. You are responsible for everything. Truly, the buck stops with you. Are you a self-starter, capable of planning, organizing, and carrying out projects on your own initiative? If this all still sounds good to you, operating your own business can be source of immense satisfaction and can provide many wonderful rewards.

To learn more about priorities, goals, money management, and MUCH more, all from highly successful leaders, businessmen, and entrepreneurs, get your copy of "Profiles of Success" today, available at http://www.theleadingedgepublishing.com.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Time management: how to get the most out of you work day

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Why is it that so many business owners and employees fall into the routine of a mini panic attack at 2pm after realizing that they haven't accomplished anything? As a small business owner, time is money and not one cent can be wasted. Count your pennies later and learn now, because it is never too late to develop new habits.

Most businesses, no matter what size, operate Monday to Friday between 9am to 5pm. Eight hours a day multiplied by seven days a week seems like enough time to complete the project.
Interruptions come in many forms, such as stacks of money or a large vacuum sucking all the stacks of money away. No matter the industry, all small business owners have over 50 emails to respond in a day as well as the phone to answer during the work day. Certain tasks can not be ignored, for example, talking to potential clients and giving full attention can drag on from 5mins to 20mins. All of these interruptions add up to hours wasted in a day. Sadly, many amazing projects are initiated and then pushed back week after week - transforming into a game of "catch up" that you will not win.

5 effective tips to keep you task oriented throughout the day:

1. Phone: calls do not go over 15mins. When you make a call and are forwarded to voicemail, leave a detailed message including your email.
2. Email: look at them once and promptly create a folder the item
3. Make a list and cross off each task as you complete it during throughout the day
4. Set up timeframes for each task
5. Take a break and eat

I urge you to print or write these tips down. Tape it to your computer or where you spend the most time in a day. Good luck and keep adding new ways to use the most out of your day every day. Time is the most expensive resource. The reason, you can't go back in time.

Jeff Oxley owns a Toronto Web Design Company that specializes in custom web development and Internet marketing.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Place Your Product Into a Person’s Life

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When I look at a product I'm not immediately thinking to myself about how I might make use out of it. Typically I just see the product, see what it does, and that's it. Yes, I'm sure that product could change my life, but I'm not entirely sure just how it would change it, and so I don't bother to buy it.

Have you ever seen a new product, had a little bit of interest, but walked away because you just couldn't see it fitting into your life? A few months later you're visiting a friend or talking to a coworker and they mention this specific item. They start going on and on about all these different ways they've been using it, this thing has made life so much easier for them.

Suddenly you think about how you might be able to use it for these exact same activities. They're telling you exactly how the product can be applied to your life, and now that you understand, you want to buy one yourself.

I know I've been in a situation like this. The only reason I didn't buy it to begin with was because I just didn't understand how it could impact me. That was a fault in the marketing for not giving me a helpful hand.

Marketing is meant to encourage a person to buy something. You need to generate interest in that product, and the best way to do this is to give people a reason why they should buy it.

If you plan on getting brochure printing done than make sure that your brochure is focused on what the product is and how it can impact a person's life. Come up with a variety of different specific ways they could make use of it. Don't list vague facts, but set activities. Brochure printing allows you the room to really go into these kinds of details so that a person will walk away understanding exactly why they would benefit from owning the product.

You can't know that I'm going to talk to someone else who owns it, and every time a person who could make use of your product doesn't buy one because they didn't know it was useful is a lost sale because of misguided marketing.

You need to be certain that you're giving people adequate and compelling reasons to make your product a part of their life. Of course, the better you know your customers the easier it will be to come up with these kinds of reasons. Once you know who your customers are, you'll be able to give them the best reasons why you can help make their lives that much better. Only strong research is going to provide you with the ability to accomplish this.

For more information, you can visit this page on brochure printing

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Hedge Your Bests Against Layoffs, Job Loss, And Reduced Hours

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Ok so you`ve decided you want to build a website and perhaps use it to make some extra income during this time of economic uncertainty. If your looking to hedge your bet against possible job loss, layoffs or reduced work hours your could have decided on a worse idea. Making money online using a website or blog is one of the most common forms of small businesses that are being created today. However for each one that makes money there are probably 100 that fail miserably and lose tons of money in the process.

The easiest way to make money online is buy selling your own products, widgets, junk or other products that are you have easy access too. The most popular places to market your goods are eBay or Craig list, but there are several others just as good. If you want to make money selling from your own website instead of one of the middlemen your going to need to do your homework.There is much more involved in creating a profitable website than just slapping up a pretty picture, adding inventory and waiting for the checks to come rolling in.

Your website will be worthless as far as making money is concerned if you don`t get some traffic. Getting traffic these days involves ranking high in the search engines and little else will help. People that are new to web development and trying to gain position in the search engines need to take the time to learn from those that have already done it.Don`t pay a dime for advice, tools or products that guarantee to get you traffic. They all will fail until you learn how to use them. Do your research and study up on search engine optimization if you want to make a go of your new money making websiteIf you`d like some ideas on how to start making money online you need to check out the search engine contest that is open to beginners and experts alike.

Dirty Blue Widgets by TWSMarketing.com

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Don`t Just Survive, Thrive

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I am sure most of you are aware of the doom and gloom that is being spread right now regarding the current state of the economy. Today, I felt it was time to provide some valuable information on how to not just survive during this so-called crisis, but how to thrive. Like everything else you must decide what you will do with this information. You can read it and delete it or you can apply it. The choice is yours.

If you want to thrive you must do two things.

#1 - Be completely honest with yourself as to where you are at in your life right now and what fears you are facing. Are you afraid that you are going to lose your job? Are you worried that you aren`t going to make enough money? Are you scared that you may lose your house? How about your investments? Maybe your stocks or retirement fund is providing a place for concern?

Take some time right now to write down exactly where you are in your life right now, today. Now, right down the fears that are present when you look at your list.

#2 - The second thing you must do is make a commitment. Make a commitment to yourself. Commit to yourself that you are bigger than you currently are. You are not your current situation. Only you can decide if you are willing to commit to doing what you have to do to become what you want to become.
The current economic situation is just a bump along the road of life right now. It is just a part of life that is going to challenge your commitment to yourself.

It`s easy to be poor, unhealthy and unhappy. It requires no commitment. Playing the victim requires no effort from you. If you are ready to make a commitment and you have the spirit and the heart to change your life, keep reading. At his point it doesn`t matter if you know how you are going to change your life, you can get help with that part. The important step is that you really commit to yourself.

OK - You have made the commitment. You know where you are and you know what you are afraid of. Now you must take ACTION! You are only going to thrive if you take action RIGHT NOW! Not tomorrow, or next week. RIGHT NOW! Right now determine one action step you can take to move yourself from just surviving to thriving. Once you have determined that step....do it!

My method of choice to move from survival to thriving is to leverage the power of the internet to grow my business. I don`t have a background in websites, blogs or internet technology. However, I am a great student and I have learned a lot . I am a wife and mother of two kids with the heart and spirit to make sure my business grows and I thrive in the current economic situation. I am committed to making sure that money is not the reason my children are stopped from pursuing their dreams. I want to encourage you to find the heart and spirit inside yourself and do the same.

Georgee Low is the CEO of Decide Your Life, a community of like-minded people, sharing knowledge, reducing risk and taking women in business toward a better future. She is passionate and dedicated to helping entrepreneurs gain more freedom, fun and fortunes through their business. For more information visit our website at http://www.decideyourlife.com

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Work From Home Advice From An Entrepreneur

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So, are you ready to be an entrepreneur and work from home? Here's a bit of legitimate advice as you ponder getting your work at home business started.

You may already have decided that you want to work from home, but maybe you have not considered what a job it will be to get a new routine which does not relate to the jobs you've had in the past. Tips on how Moms and Dads can enjoy their children and stay home usually don't take into consideration that working from home will mean giving up what free time you already have and replacing it with work time.

Of course, if you choose your new home business carefully, you will avoid scams, but having a career at home, working on the internet and making money online at home will mean that you will be working from a new set of household rules- where you will have to create quiet time, and teach the kids to respect your workplace (your new home office) as well as getting used to the idea that although you are home, you are not there to entertain them 24/7.

Advice for working at home and creating a new job for yourself includes also getting used to the idea that you re your own boss. Would you give you a raise or tell yourself to go get a job somewhere else? Home-Moms have an easier time with this than Dads, I think. They are home based to begin with, and have control of the turf. Advice for Dads would be to try to carry over their workday routines into their new home based business, at least for starters. If your job usually starts at 9, well, that's the time to shut the door on your home office and get to work! Remember, half of working at home is "Work." If you want to work at home in a legitimate home based business, you will have to earn your free time.

More advice and tips: small businesses can expand and grow beyond your initial expectations. In the beginning you may be overwhelmed by al the extra hours you have to put into it, but the whole idea of working to make money at home is learning how to make the best use of your time. So when considering what home based business to put your efforts into, choose one which will eventually go on "autopilot" without having to have more office space, employees, or overhead. Then you will have earned the right to take long vacations and work short hours in your very own legitimate work from home business!

Bruce Wood is a public speaker, marketing guru and business owner. He has launched many entrepreneurial ventures including retail stores and internet businesses. He is a former member of the Mid America Commodity Exchange, registered Commodity Trading Advisor, Futures Floor Broker and Realtor. He is also a film director & dramatist. http://www.FinancialJobAlternative.com/?t=art

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Writing Effective Classified Ads - The Basics Of Classified Advertising

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Success in any advertising campaigns depends on four things: a good product or service, good ad copy, the right market and repetition. The item or service that an advertiser is promoting is a major variable in the equation for successful advertising. Unfortunately, that is something that companies such as ours cannot help you with. Once you have the product or service that you are going to promote and you are certain that it will be of value to others, then we can help! Here's where we start...

How to write an effective classified ad...

The single most important thing in an advertising campaign is GOOD AD COPY. We all understand the importance of having an ad that illicits positive responses from readers. What everyone does not understand is how to achieve this. To assist you, we have come up with a few basic rules to writing an effective classified ad. Here's where you start...

Effective classified ads should have three basic parts.

1. THE HEADLINE((

2. THE BODY((

3. THE CALL TO ACTION WITH CONTACT INFORMATION

THE HEADLINE is the most important part of your ad. It is in the headline that you will either get the readers attention and pull them in or you won't. If you don't spark their interest with the headline, then you have lost them and they simply will not read you ad. A good headline should have action verbs that encourage the reader to do something. It should also be believable. Examples of how to use action words in headlines are as follows.

"Earn up to $3000 per month!"

"Save $$$ on grocery bills!"

"Get the financial independence you've dreamed of!"

THE BODY is where you need to elaborate on the headline. Don't overdo it, keep it short and simple. With a classified ad, you are generally trying to keep the word count to 15 to 25 words, so you never want to actually sell the reader in the ad, you just want to spark their interest enough to make them want to learn more.
A common error that many unsuccessful advertisers make is trying to put too much in an ad. This results in a busy ad that lacks focus. To make matters worse they often abbreviate words to the point they lose meaning. Through the years, we have made many a telephone call to customers to have them explain to us what they are trying to say in over-abbreviated ads. Unless, an abbreviation is commonly recognized by the common person avoid using it. You do not want sacrifice an ad campaign to save a buck!

THE CALL TO ACTION is basically the end of the ad. Generally, it is not much more than a sentence in length. Effective classified ads will not have just a phone number or web address at the end of the ad. They will have contact information paired with action words. Sometimes in trying to keep the price down for an ad, advertisers will omit simple words like "call now" or "log onto". This is not recommended as readers need this simple call to action to entice them one last time to respond. Studies have been done and it has been shown that these simple words increase response to classified ads.

Here are well written examples:

"For FREE information, call now! 1-800......"(

"To get started, visit www......"

("Call Toll-Free! 1-877...."

One last bit of advice for this portion of the ad is to pair it with a special offer. Being able to use statements like "limited time offer", "special bonus to first 100 customers" or "this week only" can significantly increase response.

How will your customers contact you?...

Here are a few more pointers that advertisers should know. The means that customers respond will dramatically effect results. A toll free telephone number is still the best means to generate leads. This is not used by all advertisers for a variety of reasons, but those who have the capability and the budget are encouraged to include a toll free number. If a toll free number is not in the budget then a regular long distance number is the next best thing. A live person answering the calls is going to result in more sales than an answering machine providing the operator is knowledgeable and courteous. The easier you can make it for a reader to respond and buy your product or service the more successful you will be!

Web addresses are more and more popular in classified advertisements. Adding web addresses to ads, will generally increase the responses, but if it is in conjunction with a phone number (which we recommend) you will get fewer calls as some readers will simple go to the website instead of calling. So make sure the website is professional and properly functioning. If you are considering using a web address in the ad as a sole means of contact, please keep in mind that not all people have web access or are comfortable doing business online so you will be limiting the number of potential responses.

Anytime readers are required to write for more information, responses drop. However, the up side to this option is that there is less expense to the advertiser. Through the years, we have seen a variety of successful advertisers utilize write in responses, so it can be done. The most important thing to remember is to have professional literature to mail to the potential customers. This literature will make or break your sale so make it good!

It has been my experience that the worst method of responding that we have seen time and time again is asking the customer to send money in the mail for a product or service. These will not work for a variety or reasons. First, you are requiring a small classified ad to sell something in three or four sentences. A difficult task to say the least. Second, most people are understandably wary of sending money in the mail to a company that they know nothing about. The public has been warned time and again about scam companies who prey on people using this means of advertising. If you have a good product or service avoid going this route. You simply will not be pleased with your advertising results!

Where to Advertise and How Often?....

Once you have a good ad written, the next step is to seriously consider your budget. We get calls from new customers regularly who ask for guidance in what program they should purchase. The first thing we always ask is what is your monthly budget. It is surprising to us that many advertisers cannot answer that question. Before you begin, look at your finances and figure out what you can comfortably invest in advertising on a monthly basis. Take that figure and divide it by four to get a weekly figure. Then, unless you are limited in geographic regions, search according to price range on our website. For example, if you have a $175 weekly budget, go to the $100-$199 buys and see if there is anything that would suit your needs. Keep in mind that you could run one buy for $175 or several smaller buys to meet your budget. If you are limited to a certain geographic region, you will want to search by state.

The most important thing is to stick to a budget so that you can afford to run the programs for a four week run. There are several advantages to this method. First, you will get repetition which will greatly improve your response rate. We will talk more about this a little later! Secondly, we have several programs that offer multiple week discounts at four weeks. If you purchase four weeks at one time you can save a great deal of money and possibly allow you to buy into an additional market with your savings!

As for the importance of repetition, we cannot emphasize enough how critical this is! Repetitive advertising builds credibility in your advertising campaign and allows the reader to feel comfortable in responding to your ad. Repetitive advertising also builds responses. In college, we were taught the Rule of Seven. Basically, the Rule of Seven claims that a reader must see an add seven times before he or she will respond to it. New advertisers are often surprised by this number because they are not realistic in their expectations. The facts are that a newly published ad may not get noticed the first few publications, then when a reader see it, they may or may not respond. Most customers do not respond to ads the first time they see an ad, but each time they see the ad, you are building trust with them. As you get more and more visibility, you will get more responses and increase sales. The first week you advertise will never be your best. If you do a four week trial run for any program as suggested, you will be off to a good start and get a good feel for what the program will do for you.

Professionals can assist you with copy writing when you order from their service like AdvertisingResults.com, but it is important that you learn to recognize a good ad when you see it. You know your business better than anyone else. Who is the best choice to promote your product or service than the one person that knows your business inside and out... YOURSELF!

copyright (c) 2005 Leigh Ann Kristiansen, American Classified Services, Inc.

Leigh Ann Kristiansen is the owner and President of American Classified Services, Inc. They specialize in print classified advertising placement and online advertising placement. View their advertising opportunities at http://www.advertisingresults.com

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Promotional Clothing Can Take Your Brand a Long Way

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Companies have been using promotional and corporate gifts for decades; the technique is proven to build customer loyalty whilst increasing brand awareness. In recent years we have seen the entire aspect of personalised and branded corporate gifts blossom, everything from promotional pens to leather document cases, but are these types of products really effective in extending the reach of your brand? Surely they are only really viewed by the person who receives the corporate gifts? So let us consider corporate clothing and promotional clothing as a possible contender for the best promotional product to achieve brand saturation.

Promotional clothing comes in many types, from simple hats to high quality shirts, choosing the type of corporate clothing to use depends upon your target audience. If you are looking to have many items of promotional clothing produced to give out en-masse then possibly a simple peaked cap would be the best fit. On the other hand, if you are targeting people at executive level, a high quality short might be a better choice.

Promotional clothing is particular far reaching for one particular reason. The audience of your branding is not limited to a single person or group of people, every time the wearer of your corporate clothing goes out into a public place, your brand is carried with them, in certain situations this can mean your brand is introduced to thousands of extra people, making corporate clothing an excellent tool to be used for new products launches or brand changes.

Sports fans are particularly good targets for this kind of marketing exercise, providing them with caps and jackets that are designed to be worn at sporting events is bound to introduce your brand to hundreds of new people. A perfect way to approach such a branding project is to undertake some short term sponsorship of a sporting team, and then produce promotional clothing in the team colours but carrying your branding and marketing, these types of clothing are almost guaranteed to be used and will carry your brand extremely far.

It is important to make sure that you purchase the highest quality promotional clothing that you can possibly afford, after all, the longer the garment lasts, the further your brand will be carried, a good quality jacket or hat could theoretically stay in circulation for several years, repaying the short term investment back many fold.

One thing to consider when designing your corporate clothing, is to make sure the branding does not deter the wearer from using the item of clothing, keep things simple, a company loge and a tag line, along with some contact information is usually enough, too much and the promotional clothing will be left in the closet by people who are unwilling to carry major advertising on their personal clothing. When used sensibly, promotional clothing can be an extremely effective way of getting your message across.

Fiona Anderson has been a promotional advisor, specialising on using corporate gifts to extend a brand, for over 20 years. More information can be found at Leighmans.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Reselling Your Franchise

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If you are thinking about re-selling your franchise to a new franchisee, for whatever reason, you might be wondering, how is that done? You might be wondering how it differs from selling an independent business, because you don't technically own the franchise, you only own its assets. You are renting everything else, from the brand name to the business model of the franchisor.

When a franchisee wants to re-sell his or her franchise, he or she probably wants to get all of the money they have invested in the business, and more, if possible. You may be wondering what the price is based on. It is a multiple of the cash flow of your existing business. If your franchise is profitable and has a track record, there is a good chance you will be able to make money by selling it, based on the money you have invested in it.

In addition, the fact that you are selling a franchise rather than an independent business makes it more likely that you will make a profit on the sale, because the buyer is getting other benefits besides the profitability of the business itself, including the brand name which draws in customers and the opportunity to use the services of the franchisor, though, of course, they will have to pay royalties for those things just as you did when you owned the franchise. The buyer will be drawn to your franchise because you have done all of the hard work getting it started and they can reap the benefits of working with the franchisor's business model.

If your franchise is not yet profitable, you may have a harder time selling it to a buyer, even if they are drawn to the franchise model. Some buyers may not particularly care that the business you are selling is a franchise, and will just see an unprofitable business and move on. Other buyers may still be interested, but you will probably have to lower your asking price if you are determined to sell your franchise. If you are asking more money than a new franchise costs, the buyer may not be interested in buying your unprofitable franchise. They will have to consider whether or not certain aspects of your franchise are more appealing to them than buying a new franchise. For example, you may be able to sell your franchise at a higher price than a new franchise if your territory is particularly desirable, if you've done a lot of work to get things going and have just not quite broken even yet, or if you've done marketing to help get customers interested in your territory already. These things will add value to your franchise in the mind of the buyer, even if it is not yet profitable, and you may be able to sell it for more than you bought it for. However, if you are very determined to sell your franchise quickly, you will probably need to lower your price even more than the cost of a new franchise.

Blair Cavagrotti is in Marketing at WorldFranchising.com, a website that provides franchise information to potential franchise buyers.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Surfing your Brain Waves for Great Domain Names

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Picture this.. you are sitting at work, bored out of your tree, when a brilliant idea for a website enters your brain space! You get excited about it, and are about to look up some ideas on the internet, when your boss walks by, and calls you into a meeting.

Later, after you digest the meeting, and have your day mapped out for you, you think you will take a few minutes to check out that fabulous idea you had earlier in the day, when all you can do is draw a blank. You blink at the computer, and realize that, that "brain wave" you had, just left the building.

Here is what you do.. you go to the nearest dollar store after work, and you buy yourself a small notepad. Yes, its that simple, and you carry this notepad everywhere. When you have another attack of the "brain waves" then write it down.

Your brain can only hold so much, and these inspirations will flutter through your brain, and then flutter out the other side. Have you ever tried to remember a dream you had the night before?.. First thing in the morning, you will remember some of it, but as the day wears on, and your brain fills up with daily stuff, your dream will disappear. Some people keep a notepad by their bed, so they can write down these dreams, which could also be great ideas for a domain name, website idea, business idea who knows?

Just write everything down. Now what do you do with all these notes and ideas?. Come up with some great website ideas, and domain names for these potential websites. Sometimes just coming up with the name, will inspire a great idea for a website. But some days, your brain might be going a mile a minute and come up with some really great domain names, but not sure about the website part just yet.

Go to your home computer and register those great domain names. This way you will find out if they are truly original, and then they are yours. Once you have done this, you may end up with a large list of domain names. Now find a way to make some money with these domain names, while you are brain storming a website idea. Research domain name parking. Some registry sites will let you park names in return for advertising income. So, now that you have a system for these great domain names, keep that notepad by you, and write your ideas down, you will thank yourself later.

make money with your domain names this is a great internet marketing business. Why leave your names registered and sitting there, when they can be making money!. Aritcle by Diane Palmer

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Online Shopping Stores Helps Consumers With No Money For Christmas OMENA

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Many online shopping stores are participating in a revolutionary program that gives consumers who are invited a free online savings portal which affords those who say they have no money for Christmas the opportunity to shop, save and get cash back from all of their online shopping.

Consumers who shop at a number of online shopping stores say, "it just makes sense to get an online savings portal if you shop online anyway." For them, having no money for Christmas is becoming a thing of the past. They shop, save and get cash back from their purchases every single month.

OMENA affords its members the opportunity to even make money by simply telling others how to save money with the free online savings portal. Instead of going directly to the merchant, consumers go to the exact same merchant through their free online savings portals to get the same products and services they were already going to buy.

Consumers are rapidly joining OMENA and saving on everyday items. It simply makes sense for online shopping consumers to shop within their very own savings portal to get cash back. Consumers are able to go to the same familiar stores they know and love like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Travalocity, Old Navy, Gap, Circuit City, Toys "R" Us, Priceline, ebay, Hertz, Hotels.com and many others through their very own online savings portal to shop, save and to get cash back from the purchase they were already going to make.

Having no money for Christmas is becoming a serious American trend that is being addressed by OMENA. Last minute Christmas shopping consumers are joining OMENA by the dozens simply because OMENA takes the Wal-Mart approach to online shopping. Consumers are able get all of the products and services they want and need in one location and they get a check every single month from those purchases with zero investment.

Online shopping consumers are able to even get cash back from grocery stores for their food purchases, the airlines, car rentals, hotel reservations, movie tickets and much more. They are even able to get cash back from their eBay purchase.

OMENA has taken the Wal-Mart approach and developed its own Internet version of its unique style of marketing and positioning. Members are now able to grow multiple streams of income from selected companies from one location. Online shopping consumers can, if they choose, not only get cash back from shopping within the online shopping stores within their online savings portal, they also get cash back every time they use their Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover credit cards.

Last minute Christmas shopping consumers find the online savings portals convenient because all of the online shopping stores they usually go to directly are right there within their very own free online savings portals, in one location, which saves them time and affords them the opportunity to get a check every month.

Online shopping store revenue hit $200 Billion in 2007 which was up from $108 billion in 2006. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, online shopping store revenue hit $28 Billion alone in 2007.

Many merchants are creating online shopping stores because they want a piece of that pie and have joined. Therefore, they are joining the free online savings portal to help them accomplish that goal and giving away additional Internet discounts to consumers because they prefer to go from the warehouse to the consumer.

Dornessa Harris is an online mentoring coach; trainer and creator of http://www.omena.ws who has help thousands of individual become financially free. View Previous Article: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/christmas-money-is-easier-to-earn-with-free-online-savings-portal-via-omena.html

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.