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Updates from December, 2007

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  The Business Plan That Changes Your Odds Of Success

  Partner 12:00 am on December 30, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Research shows that historically only two to three percent of people succeed in network marketing. If you aren’t in this group of people, then here is an overview of a business plan that increases your chance of success, no matter what company you are associated with. The four steps in this proven plan are: leads, sales, consumption, and duplication.

  Lead Generation

  The first step in this business plan is to generate targeted leads. This does not mean paying for or buying leads from lead companies. This is about having your own website (not a replicated website) and owning your traffic. In other words, setting yourself up to be the master of your own destiny.

  You will need to use the internet to your own advantage to build qualified traffic. This is best done through establishing yourself as a brand. This means that you will need to differentiate yourself so that you stand out as being a unique voice. Sometimes this can be called attraction marketing. However, what it really is, simply, is using internet marketing tools and techniques to build your business.

  As part of the process to establish yourself as a brand, you will need to establish yourself as an expert in an area of your business. This may sound difficult but is actually again a simply process. Once you have decided on the topic area, you will need to develop content for your website. This will enable you to build traffic using internet marketing techniques. In turn this will build your reputation as an expert in the field which will attract people to you. Some of these people will contact you about your business.

  A key benefit of the attraction marketing technique is that you do not need to chase leads or prospects. Instead, you set up a system where those who are interested actually contact you. That way, you are only dealing with those who do have an interest in what you have to offer. These people are far easier to work with and you will be more effective in building your business.

  Sales Conversion

  There are basically two types of sales conversion in this business plan – the products you are promoting and the business opportunity. The first focus should be on the product, as in all likelihood, that is the reason the person has found your site. Then, when some of them show an interest in the business opportunity, you can move to introduce them to the business model and how they can profit.

  To convert your interested prospects into sales of either type does rely on selling skills, no matter what anyone may tell you. Therefore, spend some time learning the basic selling skills. It is also worth learning basic web copywriting skills too. However, as you are dealing with prospects that have approached you, in many cases they will have already sold themselves which will make your task easier.

  Ongoing Consumption

  The success of any network marketing business is based on consumption. Otherwise it is only a “house of cards” that will blow over. Aim to have your regular loyal users of your product or service signed up for auto-shipments. This provides a very effective way of conducting business that enables you to spend more time working on your business, rather than in your business.

  Also, there is no reason why you cannot diversify your income streams – you don’t have to show loyalty to only one company. Many people will visit your website but only a few will become customers or be involved in the business. There are a number of ways you can work to make money from the traffic you receive so that you can profit. Some tools include placing Adsense to your site, selling advertising space, promoting related affiliate programs, etc.

  Duplication

  The only focus you have should have is to build a sustainable business. As part of this, you need to coach and mentor your business builders in the same business plan concepts that you have found successful – including encouraging them to be their own unique voice too. Through doing this, you will build a surprisingly strong and loyal downline that is a key strength in your future business success.

  So there it is – the business plan that improves your odds of success in your network marketing business. If you put these into action diligently, and adopt a “get rich slowly” approach, then you will experience success in this business to a significantly greater degree than you have previously. Here’s to your success!

  Article by Kevin Sinclair of Net-MLM-Profits.com/. For resources on the business plan and success factors mentioned in this article, please visit http://net-mlm-profits.com/nmsbi/.

   

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  Making an Executive -- The Principals of Executive Leadership Training

  Partner 12:00 am on December 29, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  There are an array of principals that corporate trainers are trying to help executives understand during their seminars, but they really want to get to the root of why the current state of affairs at the job are not turning results and how minds and culture can be aligned properly.

  It’s a top down training principal where executive leadership coaching is at the crux of the training. Corporate trainers today, whose job it is to train today’s young businessmen and women to become tomorrow’s big time executives, commonly use methods that have been developed by others and released in print — notably the books “The Oz Principal” and “Journey to the Emerald City”.

  The OZ Principal

  The best seller book is put into motion as a training workshop. The steps in training are followed according to the book’s mantra: see it, own it, solve it, do it. This seminar details how to take on accountability issues and rethink what causes the mentality of blame in a corporation or business when there is a breakdown in tasks at hand.

  The goal is to make the mentality of every worker in the business have the piece of mind to take on the task as their own — getting them to ask “what else can I do?” instead of blaming fellow employees or management for a job undone. The ownership mentality is prevalent throughout the training and also addresses executive leadership coaching aspects with their topic in particular called “Above the Line” Leadership.

  The OZ concept comes from famous tale “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ” involving Dorothy and all of her friends who realize what they were missing was actually always within them and had the power to overcome from the start, hence the name OZ.

  Cultural Transition Process

  Changing the company’s culture is another program that is mainly focused on the executive level. The executive leadership training program has an initial assessment stage and a recommendations finding stage. The selected executives are interviewed first to get a snapshot image of the belief system and experiences of the organization. This is to identify cultural shifts that should be made to reverse any damaging current cultural beliefs.

  After the assessment, the executives are given a debriefing and set up a planned two-day meeting where concepts such as The Results Pyramid and Focused Feedback are implemented.

  Once the executive leadership coaching stage is complete; the company can then opt to have a facilitator trained to pass down the knowledge of the Cultural Transition Workshop. The facilitator learns through six scripted modules and will practice to later teach the one-day Journey to the Emerald City Cultural Transition Workshop on their own.

  Many of these concepts are also contained in Roger Connors and Tom Smith’s book titled Journey to the Emerald City.

  Partners in Leadership (partnersinleadership.com) is a pioneer in modern principles of executive leadership coaching, where for over 15 years their cutting-edge principles have been used all over the world.

   
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  Power Polling: How to Win Elections and Customers

  Partner 12:00 am on December 28, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  “If you love proven money-making strategies — then wow! You’ll love this what I learned from this book, it’s called, “The Power of the Vote.”

  It’s written by Douglas Schoen, and it’s especially empowering in an area that is so important, but often so misunderstood — Politics!

  If you say, “Politics aren’t for me,” then you’re in for a surprise!

  Business people and entrepreneurs should not ignore politics, because there is one element of politics that is absolutely ESSENTIAL to success…and that is Polling.

  There is “money-making power” in the ability to listen to your customers, because THEY ARE YOUR VOTERS. Finding out what they want and then giving it to them is like millionaire magic.

  The techniques and tactics of political polling are relevant in almost every industry.

  Behind the carefully crafted speeches and professionally edited commercials, is a political campaign strategist who above all knows what it takes to win the hearts and minds of voters.

  In the last few decades, technology has brought about a huge shift in the tools available to such strategists, transforming their jobs and increasing their effectiveness.

  Few people understand this better than Douglas E. Schoen, political strategist, and author of “The Power of the Vote.”

  Schoen writes, “It is my job to understand and explain what voters are thinking…Public opinion research gives me the tools to do that.”

  Public opinion research, or polling, is more than just a simple gauge of public support for one side or another. Polling is how politicians connect with their constituents to find out what issues and values are most important to them.

  Advances in computers mean that instead of having to analyze a poll for days to get meaningful information, the results are now available almost as soon as the last of the
  responses is recorded.

  This allows people like Doug Schoen to continually keep abreast of how the public is reacting to any campaign. As he explains it, “Instead of simply setting strategy at
  the beginning of a campaign, polls [can] now be used to evaluate tactics and determining the campaign’s message and strategy on a day-by-day basis.”

  Business leader and Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, said, “He’s [Doug Schoen] played a defining role in hundreds of political campaigns, and this book reveals the
  inside story of how he does it. I recommend it to anyone who’s interested seeing how sophisticated, state-of-the-art political campaigns work.”

  According to Schoen, a campaign can now literally “commission a poll in the morning, have the results by that night, and come up with a new strategy by the following morning.” But conducting a useful poll and actually making that information useful are two very different tasks.

  Before you can get useful data, you have to ask good questions. This means that first of all, your questions must be understandable for people, even if they don’t have much education.

  Next, you need to ask questions that will test your marketing messages. And last, you have to give people real choices. Schoen says, “If you just ask people whether they
  like famine and poverty, of course people are going to say they don’t. On the other hand, are they willing to pay higher taxes for programs that will help the poor?”

  Doug Schoen tells how polling helped AOL circumvent a customer relations disaster and achieve previously unparalleled success by advising founder Steve Case to capitalize on his personal appeal, publicly acknowledge AOL’s shortcomings, and present a new plan to upgrade the quality of their network.

  Polling also helped craft one of the most effective marketing campaigns in American corporate history for the launch of Eli Lilly’s anti-depression drug Prozac.

  But according to Schoen, a good poll goes beyond just asking the right questions. “The key to meaningful results,” he explains, “is having the proper analytical framework with which to interpret the numbers.” In order to do that, you need to know something about the people giving you your responses. Even beyond getting their opinion, you need to learn who they are, whether or not they’re likely voters, what their values are and how
  strongly they hold them.

  Schoen writes that “Ultimately, polling isn’t about predicting what will happen. It’s about trying to determine what you need to say in your communications to get voters to react the way you want them to.” In democracies around the world, polling has become a vital tool for any politician that seeks to harness the power of the vote.

  This book is the ONLY book available to help you understand the power of polling from person recognized as being the father of modern polling.

  Dr. Proactive a.k.a. “Randy Gilbert” enjoys producing “Inside Success Radio” where he interviewed Doug Schoen about his proactive approach to politics. Doug is providing updates on Campaign ‘08, along with the real un-spun polling numbers, and behind-the-scenes insights.
  ThePowerOfTheVote.com

   
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  Telecommuting and Managing a Virtual Staff

  Partner 12:00 am on December 28, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Advances in technology and cultural responses to it mean that more people want to work from home and more companies want to outsource.

  Here are just a few examples of opportunities for companies in taking advantage of virtual workers: reduced overhead costs, higher quality workers not available locally, often higher productivity per hour.

  Opportunities for the telecommuter: comfortable work setting, more flexible schedule, less watercooler distractions, and no travel time or stress.

  “If you’re a virtual team leader, a telecommuter, or anyone who works with someone from a distance, you need special tools to be successful. You can either stumble along and hope for the best, or you can take steps to insure success, says Debra Dinnocenzo, virtual workplace expert, author, speaker and educator.

  What are the challenges when working from a distance, and how can you be successful?

  Dinnocenzo takes the mystery out of the managing a highly productive virtual workplace by providing three important keys for success:

  Trust: Establishing trust provides a special set of challenges for people working from a distance. When people are dispersed, we often don’t have the opportunity to get to know each other the way we do in the traditional workplace. We need to make a special effort to schedule time to develop three important qualities: Reliability, Integrity and Familiarity. With these qualities in place, worker and employer can build trust. If possible, schedule face-to-face time to get to know each other at the beginning of a project.

  Communication: When communication breaks down, trust erodes and productivity suffers. Despite the plethora of cutting-edge communication tools at our disposal, the lack of visual cues from our co-workers presents special challenges in the virtual workplace. You have to be more assertive about reaching out. Dont rely solely on email. Pick up the phone and send thank you notes. Insure good communication by checking in, asking questions and soliciting input from your team members.

  Performance: The bottom-line is: at the end of the day, we need to deliver results. Be proactive about managing productivity by defining expectations and establishing check-in milestones at the very start of the project. The skills for managing performance in the virtual workplace are the same as the ones you would use in a traditional office. They just need to be applied differently.

  There are unique challenges for the telecommuter who works from home. While everyone agrees that telecommuting offers more freedom and flexibility, it also presents a special challenge by blurring the line between our work and our personal lives.

  Dinnocenzo recommends being vigilant about setting boundaries. Are you going to answer a work-related phone call at eight o’clock at night? It might be appropriate to be on-call in certain situations, but it can seriously erode your private life if you’re not careful. Establish expectations and boundaries at the beginning of a project or work-relationship to avoid conflict.

  When aked what they truly want in their lives, most people say they wish they had an extra hour in their day.

  While that’s not possible on earth, it is possible to reclaim many hours. Decide what is truly important in your life and eliminate time-wasting, yet addictive things that aren’t important.

  Dr. Proactive, Randy Gilbert, enjoys producing the “Inside Business Success” radio talk show, hosted by Jan Schleicher. Enjoy her interview with Debra Dinnocenzo for free by going to:
  insidesuccessradio.com/Guests/Debra-Dinnocenzo

   
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  New Year Resolutions For Network Marketers

  Partner 12:00 am on December 28, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Do you want 2008 to be your best year yet in network marketing? Here are four key resolutions for you to consider that will really make a significant difference to your business success.

  Make Extra Time in Your Week for Your Own Skill Development

  As you want better results than you have previously achieved, you will need to improve how you work your business. There is an old saying that says if you keep on doing the same thing, in the same way, you will get the same results. One of the best ways to do things differently is through the application of the knowledge you learn in your ongoing skill development – especially in areas that are critical to your business success.

  Key skills to focus on for improving your business include better understanding how business works, advanced internet marketing techniques, basic and advanced selling techniques, copywriting for the net and leadership. Interpersonal skills are also something that we can never cease learning about. Remember, it is often those who are very good at communicating that experience significant success in life and business.

  Become Part of a Mentor or Coaching Program

  Don’t rely on your upline to be your mentor or coach. While they should have a vested interest in your success, the chances are they have already imparted all the knowledge they have to you. Instead, find a mentor or coach who is interested in challenging you to build a better business and stimulate you on to greater success. Also, ensure that your coach will challenge you to look for ways to improve all aspects of your life as well as devote time to further skill development.

  Sometimes the greatest successes are found through being a renegade and breaking with the “old ways” of doing business activities. A new way of looking at how you conduct you business may lead to some different approaches to what every other network marketer is using that increases your success. That’s why a coach or mentor who is not actively involved in your upline can be of great assistance.

  Develop Your Own Targeted Lead Sources

  If you are buying leads for your business, you will need to reconsider whether this is going to be best for your long term business success. Give serious thought to and focus on how you can develop lead sources that you own so that you can be assured your leads are not shared with others. This will enable you to develop a very valuable business asset that will provide you with long term success.

  A key consideration could be to build you as a brand. This will involve you having to differentiate yourself from others and will include you building expertise in a subject area associated with your business. This will enable you to become an attractor rather than a prospector. What I mean by this is that you need to develop a system where your leads come to you asking to join your business, rather than you chasing them.

  Continuously Increase the Effectiveness of Your System

  All business success is based on an effective marketing system. This is the case even in network marketing. The old system of drawing up a list of names, contacting family and friends, and then expanding out to others is obsolete. This is not an effective system for most people. Today, the principles of internet marketing, when combined with network marketing, can lead to tremendous success if done properly.

  To increase your success, focus on continuously improving your internet marketing system wherever you can. This can involve automating aspects of it where you can. It also involves measuring your activities and establishing benchmarks so that you know when you have made improvements. It is not wise to set and forget systems. Things can change and problems can occur. Continue to monitor all automated systems to ensure they are doing the activity they are supposed to.

  Well, there you have it! In my opinion, these are the four most significant factors that will impact on your success in 2008. Through having a consistent and diligent focus on these, you will experience the best year you have ever had in your network marketing business. Here’s to your success!

  Article by Kevin Sinclair of Net-MLM-Profits.com/. For resources on the success factors mentioned in this article, please visit http://net-mlm-profits.com/nmsbi/.

   
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  Managing Customer Complaints

  Partner 12:00 am on December 28, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Part of owning a home business is providing customer service to your clients. There is a great deal of information that can be helpful when providing customer service. One issue that should be addressed is managing customer complaints for your home business. There is no way to keep everyone happy all of the time. When you market products and services, there is sure to be someone that is going to have a complaint. Complaints are fine for a home business as long as you manage them well and turn the experience into a good one.

  A customer may be in a bad mood and end up taking it out on you. No matter how belligerent, rude or nasty the customer may be to you, it is important to not take it personally. You have no idea what happened in that person’s life that day or even week. Unfortunately, for whatever reason they may end up taking their anger and frustration with life out on you without even realizing it. Even if you know that they realize it, you still cannot take it personally. Taking customer complaints personally will create a volatile situation that you want to completely avoid. Remember that no matter what the complaint, it is not personal toward you specifically.

  After the customer has calmed down, try and ascertain what the exact problem is that has upset them. Was the product different than they expected? Was the shipping delayed? Find out what the actual problem is that has upset the customer and caused them to complain. Immediately apologize to the customer. The best way to apologize is to tell the customer that you are sorry that they feel blank. For example, if the shipping took too long. You can say to the customer that you are sorry that they feel the shipping took too long to get the product to their house. This is not admitting fault because you are simply acknowledging their feelings.

  For a complaint that there is no solution try and offer something to the customer. For example, if the shipping took too long in the customer’s eyes, offer a discount on their next purchase. Offer to provide them with free shipping next time if you charge shipping for your wellness products. As the last resort, you can give them a partial refund for their product. When determining a refund, calculate how much the product cost you. Make certain that the product is cost is covered and refund the profit. This will enable you to refund them a bit without losing a great deal of money or completely giving the items away for free.

  For a complaint that there is a solution, fix the problem immediately. For example, if the product arrived in poor condition. Go ahead and ship another product to the customer and ask them to ship the poor condition product back to you. Don’t wait until you receive their item to replace it. The majority of time people will not keep both products. Let the customer know what solution you offer for fixing the situation immediately. This will let them know that you care about their happiness with your wellness products and services.

  If the customer cannot be satisfied with any solution that you offer for the problem, ask them to give you a suggestion. In a calm voice ask them what they recommend that you do to rectify the situation for them. Often if they don’t have a solution they will be more willing to accept one of your previous suggestions. Remember that a happy customer is going to repeat sales and spread the word about your products and services for your new home business.

  Zach Thompson is a 23 year-old network marketer & marketing consultant. Why Zach Thompson?

   
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  Some Hints On How To Make Money With Network Marketing

  Partner 12:00 am on December 27, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Not experiencing the success you thought you would with your network marketing company?

  So you’re on your 5th network marketing company because you just know this is the one that is going to take you to the $50,000 a month club. Maybe you’ve lost a bunch of money in the others and this is the one that “has” to take you there!

  You’re not alone out there. The statistics prove that successful network marketers go through at least 4 to 7 companies before they hit their gold mine. Which one are you on? What is it that you’re doing or not doing that is preventing your success.

  Let’s look at how it really works.
  In a nutshell, network marketing is a form of advertising that rewards its distributors for consistent performance and finding other distributors. A network marketing company can’t pay commissions strictly on recruiting because that is the true definition of a pyramid scheme. So there has to be some sort of product or service that is being marketed.

  Which company should you choose?
  Most network marketing companies are very good. They pretty much all work, you just have to work them. The things you need to make sure of are: do the services or products work, is the compensation worth the effort, and the timing of the company. Lastly, you want to join a successful team that will actually help you get off of your feet. These are very important because you don’t want to be marketing something that doesn’t work or has a lousy pay scale or reinventing the wheel, or being left out to dry not knowing what to do next.

  Can you really make money in network marketing?
  Yes, there are several people across the world that have created their wealth in the network marketing industry. Don’t think for a second that it didn’t take work. Yes you have be on conference calls, and attending meetings and conventions, and selling product or services, and spending lots of time on the phone, and mostly motivating others to do the same thing.

  What is the key to success in network marketing?
  The main key is to stay consistent. There will be ups and downs, as with anything. If you have a product or service that everyone needs, it’s just a numbers game. You can’t get caught up with the “No’s”, you have to just keep on going. You can’t be looking at network marketing as a get rich quick venture. You’re just setting yourself up for failure and disappointment.

  For the past 5 years Chris Clark has been helping dissatisfied network marketers make the money their company promised them. Learn more at Here’s where all the angry network marketers are!

   
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  Top 7 Mistakes Network Marketers Make

  Partner 12:00 am on December 27, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Whether you are new to Network Marketing or you are a seasoned MultiLevel Marketing pro, you might be making one of these common mistakes that will suck the life out of your business, and the fun out of your profession. Look over this list of common mistakes new distributors make and see if you can see yourself doing any of these things.

  7) They don’t use their sponsor’s support
  An upline is there to help and support new distributors as they grow their business. The MLM motto: “You are in business FOR yourself, but not BY yourself.” Especially in the beginning, new distributors should ask for help as needed, not just for questions, but also for assistance with sponsoring.

  Tag-team sponsoring is something many MultiLevel Marketing professionals use to help new distributors. Tag-team sponsoring is where both the new distributor and his sponsor either get together with a prospect online, like in a conference chat, or in person, at an opportunity meeting. The new distributor brings the prospect, but the sponsor gives the presentation. The prospect would then sign up under the new distributor, even though his sponsor gave the presentation.

  6) They share negativity with their downline
  In all companies, there are negatives. Usually this happens in a time of change for the company. The worst mistake a distributor can make is to send these negatives downline.

  When a distributor is upset about something, the correct thing to do is to bring it to the company’s attention, or to the attention of their sponsor. Unfortunately, many inexperienced distributors choose to rag on their downline about it. When the distributor does this, their downline starts to turn negative too. They will quit when this happens. A sponsor always needs to remain positive with his downline.

  5) They make the prospect feel too important
  When a distributor is speaking to a prospect, he should not make it seem as though he is desperate to enroll them. If the prospect thinks that he is a rare gem, and the distributor is in dire need of them, it will make it seem as though it is difficult to sponsor others. Instead, the prospect should be made to feel as though he is being dealt a favor. He should be aware that the Network Marketer is looking for a specific type of person, for example, one that is honest, dependable, a team player, and motivated, and that if they do not have these skills then they should look elsewhere least they waste everyone’s time.

  4) They talk too much
  If a Multi Level Marketer talks too much, two things happen: The prospect tunes him out because he doesn’t want to hear any more mumbo jumbo and the prospect feels MLM is too hard for them to do. They feel they have to learn a vast amount of information in order to talk that much, or perhaps the prospect is not a big talker themselves. Either way, it’s not good!

  3) They tell the prospect without asking
  Most MLMers will start out a conversation with a new prospect by going into a prepared speech about their company. This is the wrong way to do it. A wise distributor will not volunteer any information about his opportunity until he knows what the prospect is looking for.

  Questions like “What kind of work are you in now? Oh, that sounds interesting! How do you like it?” can get the conversation started. After listening for responses and asking follow up questions, it is easier to offer a solution, such as the opportunity, to the problems expressed by the prospect.

  2) They seek people who are dependent instead of independent
  If a distributor promises the moon to his prospects in order to sign them up, the prospect will enter the business expecting his sponsor to do all the work. When an distributor goes out and recruits only those who are completely dependent on him, they will not go out and do their business on their own, but will constantly be saying “I don’t know anyone” or “when are you going to place someone under me?”. The business the distributor is trying to build will crumble from within.

  1) They make the opportunity sound too easy
  Network Marketing is not easy. It takes time, effort, energy, and real work and commitment. Network Marketers have a bad rap of making the business into a Get Rich Quick scheme, and those who choose to promote their business in this manner are setting themselves up for failure.

  When a prospect is told that an opportunity is “simple” and “easy”, they expect their business to spring up around them without doing any work and they don’t understand that they need to market their business in order to make money. So they get frustrated, and quit. The distributor might not have any trouble sponsoring those who want to get rich quick, but he will have a horrible time trying to retain them, as they move onto the next “sure thing”.

  If you found this information on Network Marketing helpful, you may want to view the free MLM section at MLM Resources.

   
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  Customer Service ABC's

  Partner 12:00 am on December 27, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  What makes for outstanding customer service in your business? Follow some of these alphabetical tips to provide high quality service, along with a dash of fun for customers.

  A: Anticipate: Plan ahead for possible sangs.Do you need extra staff on a busy weekend? Is rain predicted the night of your outdoor luau? Will you have enough merchandise for the upcoming sale? Anticipating problems saves you headaches later on.

  B: Balance: Maintain a balance between your personal and professional life. It’s easy to get so caught up serving customers you forget to take time for personal relaxation and recreation.

  C: Creativity: People are looking for more than dull, ordinary customer service. Be creative in signage, programs and special events. Many businesses offer customers a chance to get their picture taken with Santa. Why not offer pictures with the Grinch?

  D: Donate: Foster positive community relationships by donating products or services. Offer a free monthly swim pass from your athletic center to silent auctions or community fundraisers. Offer to loan your extra display units to an elementary school planning a reading festival.

  E: Exceed: Exceed customer expectations. Do that tiny bit of extra service that leaves people with the feeling of, “Wait till I tell my friends what happened at that bank!”

  F: Fun: Doesn’t everyone want some humor in their lives? Add elements of fun for customers. Give a box of chocolate to every 25th customer signing up for an account. Hold raffles for gag gifts. Have staff dress in costumes for various events. Offer half price admission to your theater or bowling center if people wear pink or white on Valentine’s Day.

  G: Go Green: Many people want to do their part for the environment. Provide recycling bins. Sponsor a recycling carnival where you use empty cans, newspapers and egg cartons to construct carnival booths.

  H: Help: Help your staff have a positive attitude. Your smile and upbeat personality helps them cope with the stresses of the day.

  I: Innovative: Take a risk and try new things. Encourage staff to give input about registration or ordering supplies. Their new ideas might provide better customer service.

  J: Juggle: Expecting extra long lines? Hire a professional juggler to teach juggling skills to customers if they have to wait in line at your business.

  K: Knowledge: Even though you feel there’s never enough time, try to learn some new skills. Read a book on something besides your particular field. Take a class in an area that’s new to you.

  L: Leadership: Often, the leader of a department determines its success. Develop your own style of management. People see when you are sincere, instead of trying to imitate Colin Powell.

  M: Memory Making: Does your business cater to families? Some families have limited time together. Do what you can to create a time of positive memories for them. Offer small rewards to children with good grades. Offer discount tickets to movies or skating centers.

  N: Novelties: Many people love getting small key chains or notepads from businesses. Pass out novelty items as a fun way to let customers know you appreciate their business.

  O: Organized: If organization isn’t one of your strengths,get help fast! Customers immediately notice when a business is organized. Make checklists, have supplies on hand and have a back-up plan.

  P: Pretend: Pretend you are a customer. See things from a customer’s point of view. Eat the hotdogs sold in the snack bar. Stand in line to open a new checking account. Better yet, ask your mother to pretend to be a customer. She’ll certainly tell you where you need to improve!

  Q: Quality: Customers expect high quality when dealing with your business. Return phone calls and e-mails within 24 hours. Handle complaints in a professional manner. Provide a small bouquet of flowers in the bathrooms.

  R: Resourceful: How can you stretch your staff training budget? Ask Toastmaster groups to lead a session on public speaking. Ask a local high school for the decorations after their prom. You’ll get great themed items to use to decorate your business. Set up a display about your business at community events.

  S: Surprise: Add that unexpected element of surprise to your customers. Call them by name. Thank them for participating in past programs. Send them a birthday card.

  T: Training: Ongoing training is essential to keep staff motivated. Use role playing and small group discussions at staff meetings. Invite a customer to share their personal experiences, so staff has insight into customer’s opinions.

  U: Unique: What makes your business unique? Is it the quality of staff? Extra clean restrooms? Unusual facilities? Low cost? High cost for quality service? Find something that makes your programs stand out from the rest.

  V: Versatile: Try cross-training staff so they become more versatile. They’ll also gain an awareness of the various duties required to keep the business running smoothly.

  W: Why? Ask yourself why customers would want to do business with you. What can you offer that your competitors can’t?

  X: Xylophone: Learn to play the xylophone so you can perform at staff meetings. (What did you expect from the letter X? Install a coin-operated X-ray machine?)

  Y: Young At Heart: Don’t forget inter-generational marketing possibilities. Grandparents enjoy spending special time together with grandkids. Plan a tea party for grandparents and grandkids when you open a new branch office or have a special sale.

  Z: Zany: Let loose and get silly at times! Customers enjoy seeing your staff with a light hearted attitude. It is possible to be professional and also have fun.

  Silvana Clark presents keynotes and workshops on improving customer service. Her sessions are practical and involve audience participation. silvanaclark.com silvanac@msn.com

   
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  Business Plan-Fast-Track Your Way to Success

  Partner 12:00 am on December 24, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I thought my business was important to me. I would make a few prospecting calls here and there, but not too consistently. I would place classified ads here and there and that too was not consistent. I just did those things when the mood struck me. No wonder I wasn’t getting anywhere. My marketing was inconsistent and I was inconsistent. Can you relate to that?

  From the outside, it appeared to me that I was productive, but my bank account said otherwise. I had no schedule or system to follow. I had no marketing plan. I was leading myself into the abyss of broke-hood. Sure I wanted to make money, but I never took the time to write down how I was going to do it. That was then.

  Now I have a plan to follow and it keeps me motivated knowing how I’m planning to market my business and take it to the next level. So, does having a plan make a difference? You bet it does. It’s the difference between giving a map to where gold is buried and sticking your finger up in the wind and trying to find it.

  You see until you are clear as to why you’re even in business, what value you’re bringing to the marketplace, and how you’re going to make money, you’re really not in business. Most part-time entrepreneurs don’t bother making out a business plan. That is probably one of the reasons why so many of them go out of business.

  A business plan tells you how you’re going to fund your business and how you plan to use the funds to market your business. It’s the glue that holds everything together.

  Not having a business plan is like a coach showing up to a big game with no game plan and telling his players to “just wing it”. Of course any coach would not say that to his team, but yet there are people who say that to themselves about their business.

  You see, the odds are already against you when you start a business, so why would you stack the odds against you even more by not doing a business plan?

  It doesn’t have to be formal or really detailed unless you plan on getting business funding. You do, however, want to identify your market, goals, products and your purpose. Most importantly you want a game plan as to how you intend to fulfill all your goals.

  You should be able to tell people what sets you apart from other people in your same market. That’s your unique selling proposition. Why would anyone want to do business with you? If you don’t know the answer to that question, then you may have an answer as to why you’re not as profitable as you thought you could be.

  With your business plan, you’ll be able to identify your target market, thereby reducing wasted time, money and energy chasing after the wrong target.

  Lastly, when you have a business plan in place it means that you are serious about your business and it’s not some hobby you just do on the side. You send a clear message to yourself and others that you are indeed in business. Get your business plan done today.

  Corrisa malone has accumulated the best basic resources to get the newbie off and running making money in their home-based business on the Internet.
  For business plan resources please visit: Newbie Marketing Tips
  Corrisa Malone is home based business entrepreneur.