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Archives
July 22, 2010
An Eye for Luxury that Can Make You Rich... Success Comes
to Those Who Stick with It... Test Promotions to Get More
Success in Business... The Info Marketer Who Helps Others
Heal...
and More.
An Eye for Luxury that Can Make You Rich
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily
Brands that were once synonymous with high-end retailers are
now showing up in the homes and stores of a different class of
self-indulging spenders -- the middle class.
You can buy cashmere at discount retailers, get a spa treatment
for a hundred bucks, and have a Godiva chocolate with a $3.00
cup of French roast coffee. Life can be good, no matter what
kind of money you make.
PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that the luxury sector accounts
for two percent of the annual $3.0 trillion in retail sales in the
U.S. That's a $600-billion market for you to tap into. Whether
you sell luxury-food items, cosmetics, lingerie, furniture,
wines, cars, houseware, or clothing, a market of middle-income buyers learning how to fake being rich is eagerly
waiting to buy from you. You can peddle new luxury items
such as high-end, low-volume products that once catered only
to the rich -- and you could become truly rich in the process.
Here are some tips on selling indulgence to the masses:
1) Keep an eye out for quality and unique items. Items that are
true luxury products or collectibles will not necessarily be easy
to find. It may take months to locate an exquisite item. Educate
yourself about the products you buy and sell, research their
market value, and don't speculate on a product's value. You can
create your own demand for a product by emphasizing its
rarity, quality, or excellent condition. Attending auctions on a
regular basis, or even browsing through flea markets or garage
sales can net you some items with great collector interest -- but
the items need to be in impeccable condition.
2) Learn to buy and sell with little or no money. Once you've
inspected a deal and deemed it safe, if you trust the vendor, go
ahead and put down a five percent or 10% deposit on the goods
and explain that you'll pick up the items and pay the balance at
a later time.
3) Make sure you can verify the authenticity of the goods you
are selling. A study released by a leading Internet surveillance
watchdog on more than 150,000 luxury sites estimates that one
in five actually peddles counterfeit goods. You should be able
to confirm brand affiliation and/or quality. Any type of upscale
article that you can sell as a "bargain" is probably not the
genuine article, but a replica.
4) Play the part. Whether you sell online, through mail order,
publication advertising, or out of your home, it's important that
you create the ambience of a luxury experience and offer an
emotional connection to luxury. You need to position yourself
as a quality vendor who is authoritative and reputable --
someone who has respect for his/her customers and is willing
to give them the red-carpet treatment. Offer printed
information on the quality or craftsmanship of the goods, or a
story on the company that produces them.
5) Build a solid network. Affiliate programs are a good start.
Research high-end manufacturers and inquire if they have
affiliate or distribution programs. Another good method is to
get your hands on a list of closeout sources for the type of
items that you want to buy and sell. Once you become
established, you will have regular contact with the brokers and
no doubt have an endless supply of goods to choose from at
excellent prices. Buy low and strategize for high profits.
Success Comes to Those Who Stick with It
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"
You've probably been told all your life that quitters never win.
From learning how to ride your first two-wheel bike to your
stint on third base in Little League, it's a motto most of us have
grown up with. Your parents probably instilled this nugget of
wisdom in you time and time again. And they were right to do
so, because it is good advice.
However, as we age, that advice seems to fade in some of us.
Maybe it's because we don't have our parents saying it to us or
because quitting doesn't matter as much. Whatever the reason,
know that giving up is rarely the good way to go, regardless of
the situation you may find yourself in.
Life is a series of choices; you have a choice in front of you --
right here, right now -- to get what you want. Today, you have
a choice to make: Will you move up or will you give up?
Of course, giving up is the easier route to take. Let's face it: if
it weren't so easy to give up, everybody would be an enormous
success. In the real world, however, the majority of people give
up because they know it's the easy way out.
I'm challenging you to take a step ahead of the crowd and make
some positive changes in your life. If you follow my lead and
practice the task of transforming what you hate doing into
opportunities for positive change, I guarantee that you won't
live a life of regret.
This technique has worked for me, just as it has worked for
thousands of others. So, what are you waiting for? I know you
have the strength inside of you to move up. I never want you to
give up again, now that you have the passion and the belief in
yourself to succeed.
If there's something that you really want to change in your life,
you have to find the passion in your heart to overcome the
things you hate about your life. You need to make a positive
move to go after the things that you really want. I'm not saying
it will be easy. However, if you believe in yourself and create a
plan of action to overcome those very things that are standing
in the way of your success, then you'll never want to give up
again. You'll get a thrill from the challenge of moving up in life
-- and you'll never be willing to stand still or take a step
backward again.
There will always be exceptions to this rule. You might be in
an unhealthy work environment and quitting might be the best
solution for you, but don't consider that as you giving up. That
is a conscious decision for your mental and emotional health.
In this instance, you are not throwing in the towel just because
it was difficult; you are choosing to leave one negative behind
in exchange for the potential of gaining a positive: a better job
with a healthy work environment, which is what you deserve.
Once you've accepted the fact that only you hold the power for
change in your own life, with a blink of an eye you'll have the
job, the client you've been pursuing, or even the mate of your
dreams. Stick with it and success is bound to follow; give up
too easily and you may never know what the future could hold.
Test Promotions to Get More Success in Business
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire
Regardless of the struggling economy, your customers will
always be willing to take advantage of opportunities to save
some money on the products they need and want. The key for
you is to find out which opportunities and offers are the ones
that will get them to open up their wallets and exercise their
purchasing power. Basically, you have to make them offers
they simply can't refuse.
Of course, a great product or low price may not always be the
right fit for boosting your sales. Although they definitely won't
hurt, they just might not be enough to convince some cash-strapped customers to give you their money. In order to make
an offer they can't refuse, you're going to have to make some
careful considerations while using some innovative tactics to
not only fuel sales, but also add to your business' growth.
Your product is really only as good as the way it's marketed,
meaning it's only as good as the offer. After all, you could have
the most useful and well-constructed product in the world, but
if nobody's buying it, then it really doesn't matter. Your job as
a business owner is to make money. So, if you want to sell, you
have to find the most appealing way to do so in order to get
your market spending.
The best way to do this in an economy like this is to really
highlight the utility of your product or service. You don't want
your products to be viewed as a luxury or expendable item;
therefore, you're going to want to play up their necessity. Even
if the necessity of your business is fairly limited, you'll have to
find a way to make something your customers cannot live
without.
Another popular trend today is "green." Therefore, companies
that operate under a "green" mandate or offer "green" alternatives can use that angle to promote their products. For
customers, buying "green" shows that they are doing their part
and you are doing a good job in offering them that extra bit of
satisfaction. Look for the best way to position your business to
reap the greatest rewards.
You can also stimulate sales by beefing up your customer
relations. Perhaps letting customers sign up for a mailing list or
becoming "members" of your organization can help. Offer
incentive to sign up for your mailing list like "special member
discounts," "special offers" or anything that you can think of
that your customers would appreciate.
In addition to taking that extra step to be closer to your
customers, you can also use your mailing list as a way to
advertise various products and services that you are selling.
Therefore, instead of waiting for customer to come to you, you
can go directly to them.
You can also include special offers that say, "If you forward
this letter to at least five of your friends, you can qualify for an
additional 50% off!" This is a smart move, because it not only
provides incentive for your customer to act on a great savings
opportunity, but it also builds your client base because they are
referring your business to friends or other contacts. Hopefully,
these referrals become customers as well.
In my next article, I'll have a few more tips that can help your
business stay successful in a slow economy.
The Info Marketer Who Helps Others Heal
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert
Probably like you, I check my e-mail and the news every
morning online.
The other day, I was reading this long article about the biggest
blunders in business history. These included when Coca-Cola
changed its recipe and late-80s junk bond debacles; all of these
had catastrophic consequences for the people involved and no
doubt some lost their jobs and reputations in the process.
I would hope that any of these economic catastrophes would
never happen to you. Everyone deserves the amenities of life --
a house, nice car, some cash for recreation -- which can be
seriously affected when the economy, the bank, or an
investment goes south to the point of madness. If it's happened
to you and you are still here to talk about it, pat yourself on the
back; you struggled through some very tough times with true
courage.
But the whole article got me thinking about the theme of
recovery. It's safe to say that good news and good information
is much-needed in this day and age. People not only need the
idea of hope on whatever issues are of concern to them, but
also the information on how to achieve it.
That's where you come in.
If you have, in fact, gone through any sort of recovery, my
heart goes out to you. But I would encourage you to consider
offering your information to the public in the form of high-quality information products. And not just for financial
recovery; other topics are good, too, such as:
-- Family legal matters: You often hear the jokes about people
getting "freed up" after a bad relationship finally ends. They are funny and chances are that we can all relate to them. But
the truth is that there are financial implications in familial
relationships as well. Divorce, settlements, wills, and other
family legal matters can cost people big time. If you've never
been through them and are suddenly hit with a family-related
money issue, you are dumbstruck about how to deal with the
financial repercussions. If this has happened to you, provide
some good info on how you dealt with it. Give tips on how you
struggled through these tough times and what others can
expect.
-- Personal injury: I once taught disabled adults who were
doing career rehab. They had been injured and were going
through my company's program to get educated and go back
into the workforce. I loved the job, but you can't imagine the
pain I saw people deal with daily as a result of their work-related injuries. The good side was that many of them worked
hard and, after lots of struggle, got back to work. I often
thought that info on how to deal with this sort of situation
would be great. Now I know there might be people and the
marketing to provide just that. It might even be you.
-- Addiction and personal issues: Whether it is overcoming an
addiction to cigarettes, the death of a loved one, or a long-term
personal affliction, the mental stresses of life can be
overwhelming. It's true that there are medications, clinics, and
support circles for this stuff. But what people often need is hard
information on exactly how to pull through these issues from
someone who has experienced them. Your own personal
struggles and recovery from them can be beyond valuable to
the public who suffer through these similar matters.
-- Bankruptcy or financial affairs: I saved this one for the end.
This might be the most relevant info topic to today's society
you can possibly think of. Whether it's a business going belly
up or your debt getting too big to handle, the information on
finance and money in general has never been stronger. How do
you get out of a bad financial situation? How do you stay
strong at the bank and in investments? Is it possible to have
another kick at the can for your own business' past failure? All
relevant questions that need regular information in order to be
answered. If you have it, you will be in demand to the nth
degree.
Going through a tragedy is awful. But taking a tragedy and
turning it into recovery and even personal success is truly a
masterful feat. Look to accomplish that as an information
marketer. It's a feat of greatness and one you can build your
own success on as well.
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