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Archives
April 21, 2010
Tips on Getting and Keeping the Right Employees... Deal with
What Life Has Dealt You... Finding the Benefits of Even the
Toughest Economy... Using More Than Words for Your Info
Marketing Products... and More.
Tips on Getting and Keeping the Right Employees
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily
As your business becomes more and more successful, you are
inevitably going to need to hire support staff. Having
employees is a great way to take stress off of you -- and to
increase your sales and productivity as well.
It makes sense: having more people means that more work can
get done in a shorter timeframe. Or so you hope. Sometimes it
takes a bit of encouragement to get the best out of people. You
have to motivate your employees in order to get the best
performance possible from them.
The better your employees are working, the more productive
they are, the happier you are, and the more business you are
doing overall. Frankly, the old adage is true, "You are only as
strong as your weakest link is." The good thing is that you can
sometimes motivate the weak links in your operation to
improve your business.
Of course, a big motivator is money. If the wages you offer are
not competitive, then you will lose your employees to someone
else in due time. You have to pay people accordingly for their
work. So, before you hire anybody, make sure that you are able
to pay them a decent salary.
After you get past the money issue, you have to think about the
way you treat your employees. Do you make them feel
valuable? Do you thank them for their good work? It may seem
simple, but by complimenting your employees, you will boost
their morale and make them feel validated.
Even though money might be the number one motivator on the
list, people also tend to feel strongly about how their
achievements and their contributions to the business are
recognized. No one wants to feel like just another employee, so
make sure that you encourage your employees and
acknowledge their achievements on a regular basis.
If one of your employees goes above and beyond the call of
duty for you, you should thank that person and acknowledge
the job they did for you.
Create a work environment where your employees feel free to
talk to you and to discuss any issues that they might have. If
you leave problems on the shelf too long, they are going to get
a lot worse. So make sure that you take the time to listen to
what your employees are saying to you.
Finally, make sure that your employees are being properly
challenged. This might sound crazy, but people really don't
want to sit around all day doing nothing, they want to earn their
paychecks. So make sure that your employees have
responsibilities that match both their experience and what you
are paying them.
Finding the right people to work for you can greatly help your
business, so it's important that, when you do find them, you
are able to keep them working at their best levels. Remember:
great employees will undoubtedly improve the success of your
business.
Deal with What Life Has Dealt You
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"
I marvel at fate and you should, too. Some people subscribe to
the belief that fate is the name for those things that they cannot
change. Others do not subscribe to it at all, professing that
everything that happens in life is under some form of control. I
think that both of these types of people must become frustrated
at some point or another when those definitions just don't pan
out for them.
I believe that we are dealt situations and that it is up to us to
figure out the correct way to respond to them, bring forth the
good in them and nurture them into useful, meaningful events.
I believe that fate is an outcome determined by our response.
And in order for our response to be positive, we need to
analyze the way we do a few things.
To be sure, looking at the good moments in life is easy. But
many people run from their mistakes, hide themselves away in
either guilt or shame. We are all human, and we need to accept
the fact that life will deal us blows. The important part is that
we review what has happened leading up to, during, and after
these events to determine what we could have done differently.
You should never be afraid to look at your mistakes.
Everybody gets knocked down, and the only way you truly fail
is if you don't get back up. Even heroes fail. Again, nobody
bats 1,000. Not Barry Bonds. Not Tiger Woods. Not even the
great Michael Jordan made all of his shots.
The key is to take those misses and make sure you learn from
them in order to win the next game, the next season. We need
to establish changes that will ensure the mistake doesn't
transpire again. Set a new course for ourselves; change our
behavior, our habits, our way of thinking.
I believe that the most important things you can do to "get back
up" from the obstacles that knock you down are: 1) Know that
these hurdles are simply the natural course of events; 2) Learn
from them.
Finding the Benefits of Even the Toughest Economy
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire
The American economy has seen better days. And it's not
unlikely that you, as an individual, employee or entrepreneur,
have seen better days as well. If you're worried about the future
of your finances through this financial time, there is news
you've probably been waiting to hear. And that news is that
you don't have to fear becoming a victim of a struggling
economy.
The truth is that, by using your business and financial smarts,
you can stay ahead of the game to minimize any impact of an
impending recession. And don't worry; if you don't think
you've got the smarts, you will soon!
During a recession, your customers clearly may have less
money to spend. This is no secret. However, even though they
have less money, they still have needs. This means you must
change your marketing strategy.
Instead of selling your product as a way that will improve your
customer's life, focus on how it is essential to your customer's
life. Focus on things like how your product can save costs
elsewhere and help to mend the pressures felt by recession. By
showing the customers that your product fulfills a need more
than a want, you can keep business at a steady pace during
economic hardship.
Of course, not every business is able to take that approach. For
instance, if you're in the clothing retail business, electronics
business or any other industry that is not directly linked
directly to the daily needs of your customers, it can be more
difficult to come up with a ways to offset the impacts of
recession. However, just because it is more difficult doesn't
mean it can't be done.
If your business can't be portrayed as an essential good or
service, then you may want to look into where you're spending
money. If you're putting a lot of money into advertising and
marketing, look at ways to trim those expenses. One of those
ways is to start asking existing customers to refer your business
to their friends and contacts. For starters, referrals are a great
source of advertising -- and extremely underrated.
When a person receives a reference from a friend or respected
colleague, chances are they are more likely to consider it
carefully. It pulls more weight than an advertisement they may
have heard on the radio, seen on television or in a newspaper.
The reference has clout and emotion. The reference speaks
from the experience of a satisfied customer, not a sleazy
salesman.
On Thursday, I'll offer some other helpful tips to help you keep
your cash register ringing through this tough economy!
Using More Than Words for Your Info Marketing Products
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert
Recently, I was shopping around for some bathroom materials.
I went to a local shop not far from my apartment. Unlike a lot
of hardware stores, the set-up of the place was very interactive.
You could walk from one room to the next and browse each of
the new models of bathrooms that were available. You could
tell that the guys who owned the business had a great design
sense and keen interest in showing the public what they had to
offer.
This was a good lesson to be learned: it pays to really show the
public what you've got. If you have something they can have a
gander at, then they can examine it and see what it's about.
This will provide a higher probability of them soliciting your
services.
Info marketers sometimes get confused by this. Obviously info
marketing is a business that is heavy on the words and light on
the graphics. But it's a good idea never to neglect a good visual
sense, no matter how small, when trying to promote your info
products. These days, visual media is dominant in society.
Some people work their tails off to exploit it, while others are
scared and stay away from it. Info marketers need only
incorporate it.
Part of incorporating visuals into your info marketing business
is creating a good information marketing "showroom." That is,
a certain set of rules to present your info marketing products
graphically. Here are some ways I suggest for creating your
own info marketing showroom:
--- Your web page: If you got a web page, it, by itself, is a great
visual outlet. People can see your business in all of its glory
right there on a screen in front of them, like a great catalogue
or picture book. But, if that's the case, you have to make it look
sharp. I've often written about using tasty graphics and logos to
decorate it, but here I will also mention keeping your "products" page up-to-date, with graphics and brief
descriptions of each info product you have. It's good to keep
this updated regularly and give prospective clients a way to
scope out your glossy covers and other appealing visual media
in order to seduce their eyes a bit.
--- A good portfolio: More than likely, you will encounter a
prospective client or employer who wants to meet with you in
person, discuss a job that might be coming up, and maybe even
buy you lunch. Whatever the scenario, you should bring along
a well-made-up portfolio to really show off what you have to
offer. Your portfolio should be in a nice case, organized, and
with labels to show your work history. Try to balance the
written with the graphic content in your files. Let the
prospective party have a good look over it and bring sample
copies for them to keep.
--- An archive of work in print and on disc: Along with a good
portfolio, a detailed archive is important, too. A lot of info
marketers try to sell off or give away any and all samples of
their released work. But saving all of your galleys of info on
digital file plus at least one copy of your print work is equally
important. You can use this stuff to show to prospective parties
interested in your service, as well as include work you can
revise for future projects that you want to revamp. Writers
always get a complimentary hardback edition of their first
printed novel and woodworkers keep one sample of their
constructions. Do the same -- it can have benefits both now and
later.
--- Handouts: I am hesitant to recommend this right off the bat,
but if you get established as an info marketer, a good print
catalogue, flyer, or even business card is beneficial to give out
at social functions. A handout for your business has some brief
sentences about what you do and some graphics to display as
well. More than anything, it should have your contact info, so
people can get ahold of you, either now or later. It's a sort of
showroom they can carry in their back pocket and something to
consider once you get going with your info marketing business.
Being an info marketer is something that you can really put
your seal of personality on, whether it is in your content
creation or your product design. Having visual outlets or your
own "showroom" is just another way for people to really see
what you are all about. If their eyes like it, then you are in for
more success. Don't pass it up.
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