June 16, 2008

Take Advantage of Rising Prices... Stop Selling Yourself
Short... Five Simple Triggers to Help Bring You More
Money... Is it Time for a New Model?... and More.

** Take Advantage of Rising Prices
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

Are you as sick and tired as I am when it comes to hearing about rising prices? Gas is rising daily, food is getting pricier and everything else is on the rise. Newspapers seem to love talking about the sorrow and misery of these rising costs, and really, that's no way to help motivate you.

What you need to hear about are people dealing with these changes and how they are making money and not worrying about the impact that filling up their tank will have on the rest of their day.

So what's the good news?

The good news is that home-based businesses have a distinct advantage right now. You see, with a regular store or office, you're pretty much stuck to a lease. If you've bought a sign and paid for furniture, you're not able to just pick up and try a different direction.

However, if you're running your business from your home, you have the distinct advantage of being able to change things right away.

Let me explain. A colleague of mine was looking to buy a used bicycle after the one he bought last year didn't survive the winter. So, he went online to a popular classifieds web site and began his search. In the year since he'd bought his last bike, he'd began to notice that prices had jumped by $25 or even $50. And he noticed that there weren't too many repeat ads for the same bicycle.

What this means is that someone running a used bicycle business from their garage is probably doing pretty well right now, at least compared to just a year ago.

The general public wants cheaper alternatives, and those who can provide these options are positioned for success right now.

Starting your own home-based business could be the answer to your money worries. You just need to find the one that is right for you.

** Stop Selling Yourself Short
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

Recently, a new client called me with a marketing problem. Six months earlier, he had gone with another marketing firm because they charged 60% of what I charged. He told a mutual contact in the industry that I was too expensive, since he could get another guy for nearly half.

Guess what? He got the guy for half the money and his ad didn't work. The guy spent over $500,000 in copywriting, design, printing, and postage -- and got zilch in revenue.

Now he was calling me. And he wasn't calling to get me to create a new promotion for him -- he wanted to know what I thought of the current promotion and how he could fix it.  

Of course, if I told him how to fix it -- without getting the job -- I would have totally undermined my true value. 

So, what could I do? First, I told him that the effort was a good one. However, I explained that the problem was much deeper than the ad. The problem was the whole positioning of his product. I went through his ad and pointed out the problem without giving the answers. As I went over his ad, I continued to increase my perceived value in his eyes -- without giving anything away.

I also connected the dots to another client who had the same problem. I told him that I had reworked their flop into a successful promotion that made them $2 million. I was certain that my ideas would work for him, too. 

I would be more than happy to share my ideas with him, I said, should he decide to hire me to rework his ad. In other words, I had a solution that could not only reverse his $500,000 loss, but could also multiply his wealth fourfold -- and all he had to do was pay for it.

The fee that I was charging seemed like chump change compared to the value I would bring him. 

He faxed back my contract, agreeing to my price with no questions asked.

Remember the old adage about supply and demand? I had the one idea that would turn things around. See the value?

You can do the same thing. You just need to know your value and find the "hot button" that will make others realize what you are truly worth.

Here's what you need to do:

Listen to your client or boss. Find out what moves them. Use that information to structure your pitch and develop a value statement about yourself that solves their problems.

Paint a mental picture in your client's mind of what it would feel like to them if you could solve their problem, increase their revenue, and help them earn their bonus. 

By doing this, you will begin to eliminate the objections you have toward your price. Because if you do your job right, your clients won't be thinking about what they pay you; they'll be thinking about their own luxury cruise down the Panama Canal -- the cruise that you've made possible.

Trust me; they will not be thinking about what they are paying you.

** Five Simple Triggers to Help Bring You More Money
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

When talking with upstart entrepreneurs, they often share with me a common problem that keeps them from turning their idea into a real success.

You see, once they've come up with their product and service and they've done the research to determine their ideal market, they just can't seem to get to the next step of actually making sales.

I tell them that they are on the right track and, before they go and change anything, I ask them to share with me exactly how they are trying to reach their customers.

Now, each product and service is unique to its market. But the most common reply I get is that after they've done all their research, made their product, and are in the public sphere, they simply can't turn browsers into buyers.

My next question is almost always the same: "What is your sales strategy?"

While many of them have advertising of some form, detailed brochures, and other promotional materials, a lot of them are missing one big customer-grabbing factor.

And that factor is using an honest and sincere sales pitch that engages the customer.

For example, if you're wandering through a flea market and a product catches your eye, you may stop for a minute and check it out.

Now, unless you're really interested in what you're looking at, you're likely to just give it a quick look over and then take off on your way.

Here's where a dynamic sales pitch is essential, especially if the product is something that isn't well-known or is completely brand new.

So, how do you create a great sales pitch even if you're not a very good public speaker? Well, there are five things you can use to really help win your customer over.

Those five things are the body's senses. Let me explain:

Sight -- Not only is it important that your potential customer is able to see your product; but also, if possible, they'll want to see it in action. So do a demonstration. If you can't, then make sure to use words that call to action the sense of sight, such as "look here" or "see this."

Sound -- This is where you're going to have to prove your enthusiasm for your product. You see, a brochure can help explain what you're selling, but talking one-to-one can really help sell it. You can even use words that further emphasize sound by saying things like "listen here."

Touch -- A lot of people are very tactile and like to grab hold of a product and get a feel for it. So, during your sales pitch, use action words that appeal to the sense of touch, such as "feel this" or "as smooth as butter."

The other two senses -- taste and smell -- can also be evoked simply using your words, even if there is no way for the customer to actually taste or smell your product.

While you may not be able to trigger all five senses, using as many as you can will help you reach customers on a personal level.

Every day, things in this world are changing; some for better and some for worse. But regardless of how you view new developments and innovations, there's one thing you can be absolutely sure of: they are going to keep coming. Because of this, it's up to you to stay abreast of these evolutions so you don't get left behind.

Of course, staying up-to-date can be often easier said than done. After all, many of us have developed a comfort zone with the way we do things, and deviating from that can take time and energy that we may not necessarily be keen on dedicating. Not only that, but many are often scared of failure, which often accompanies trying new things.

The important thing is to look past the initial difficulty and focus on the future opportunities caused by these new global and technological climates. They often hold the key to efficiency, while at the same time possessing the ability to expand your operation and, in the long run, make your life and the success of your business much easier.

The best way to keep up-to-date with new technologies, practices and innovations is to keep an open mind and expand your comfort zone. Once you've accepted the fact that new things can help you grow, not only in business but also as a person, you'll likely become more accepting of new things. After all, just because you've been doing something the exact same way for the past 25 years, doesn't make it right. Look at it this way: would you still force yourself into the same jeans you were wearing 25 years ago? Probably not. Even if you could still fit into them, they're probably all worn and tattered.

If you've been operating your business using techniques that have been around since Ronald Reagan was in office, then it may be time to update your methods.