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Archives
July 26, 2010
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Make Money...
Uncovering an Elusive USP for Success... How to Maximize
the Power of Referrals... Can Your Info Marketing Business
Survive on Fads?...
and More.
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Make Money
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily
Recently, I've had a quite a bit more work on my plate than usual. I've been picking up the slack created by a busier than
normal schedule. Now, I'm not complaining, since these are the
realities of business and I've experienced times like this before.
Not to mention that I'd rather have too much work to do than
none at all.
Due to my increased workload, I've been finding myself
working longer hours and covering a much wider array of
material than I had been accustomed to dealing with. However,
once I get settled in and make some proper adjustments, things
should be just fine. If there is one instant benefit created by my
new situation, it's that I'm really getting the opportunity to
perfect my ability to delegate and prioritize my work.
When your workload increases, it's important to sit down and
develop a plan of attack. You'll need to formulate a sound
knowledge of what's important and what needs to be completed
first. Right off the bat, this can be a rather difficult task because
you've got to switch up some of your existing priorities.
In order to make the proper adjustments to my priorities, I
employed a few strategies I'd like to share with you. Here they
are:
1) Create a Schedule: The first thing I did when I learned I
would be taking on a few new tasks was plan for the change by
creating a schedule. By writing out what I had to do, there was
less chance I would neglect any of the material I wasn't used to
doing. The key is to stick to your schedule; this way you can
touch on everything you need. If the work doesn't get finished
in the time you've allotted, continue with it the next day.
2) Stay Level-Headed: Tripling your workload can be a big
source of stress, trust me. But if you can find a way to
approach it with a balanced, positive outlook, then you'll be
much better off. If you allow yourself to become bogged down
by the additional work, it will become much more difficult to
focus and your output will likely decrease.
3) Compound to Be More Productive: I've learned that some of
the work I've recently picked up was very similar to my own
and can be done in tandem rather than independently. This is a
great way to save time and eliminate stress, because it allows
me to do three times the work in one-third of the time.
4) Delegate: If you have the luxury of working in an
environment where there are other employees, then delegate
some of it out to them. This can allow you to free up some time
on the little things that aren't pertinent to your skills, giving
you the opportunity to focus on the most important aspects of
your work and fully utilize your personal assets.
Every successful business will experience some change, and
when those changes arise, it's best to stay positive and be
prepared to cope with their impact. Taking a calculated,
organized approach can make a seemingly rough situation
smooth over in no time.
Uncovering an Elusive USP for Success
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"
If you're just getting started in marketing, then you may not be
familiar with the term "Unique Selling Proposition," or USP.
When you're trying to create interest in a buyer's mind and
make your product the most desirable, you need to focus on
one key point.
And that one point is your Unique Selling Proposition.
Your USP should stand out above every other product you're
competing against. Your USP should make your potential
customer see why your product is the best. Your USP should
grab one big benefit and wave it around for everyone to see.
Now, finding that one big selling point is where things can get
a little difficult. When you're just starting out, it can also be
your biggest challenge.
Your first task when uncovering selling points should be to
take a good, long look at your competition. Find as many
marketing and advertising materials from them as possible.
Next, grab your pen and paper and start writing down the USPs
you see your competition using.
This may take some practice, so you may also want to consider
the big selling points of other products as well. Take a look at
the small space ads in the yellow pages, or flip open any
magazine. You'll find dozens of companies, all with the same
or similar products and all of them trying to make a sale with
potentially different USPs.
Now, once you have your list, it's time to focus on your
product. Get to know what you're selling. Use it, abuse it and
try to figure out every benefit (and even some of the problems)
your product may have.
Next, consider your target market. Ask yourself, "What
benefits are going to attract them the most?" and "What
benefits are nice to have, but not necessarily all that
important?"
Hidden within those benefits is going to be your big selling
point. Now all you have to do is focus your sales materials on
that selling point and watch the customers come rolling in.
How to Maximize the Power of Referrals
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire
Last week, I offered some proven, effective methods of
keeping a business successful through a slow economy. Today,
I have a few more ideas that can help you.
One of the best ways and most inexpensive ways to grow your
business is through customer referrals. Referrals actually work
better than most advertising, because they come from a trusted
source like a colleague or friend. They are personal, and really
go a long way in helping potential customers make decisions
on where to take their business.
Some of the ways you can stress the importance of referrals to
existing customers without being too forthright is to offer them
incentive to do it. For example, check back with customers
after a job has been performed and, if they're happy with the
work, ask if they wouldn't mind referring a few names who
may be interested in similar work.
Another way to entice customers to refer your business is to
basically commission their services -- although you'll want to
disguise this. Basically, you can offer your customer a 100%
refund if they are able to refer four new customers. Give them
four cards with your business' contact info easily displayed,
and ask them to give them to four friends, clients or colleagues
that they feel may be interested in your services.
If one of these people calls you and cites the referral, then give
the customer who referred them a 25% refund. If all four
referrals call, take off an additional 25%. If and when all the
referrals have become customers, then the original customer
will receive 100% of their money back. This first sale is
expendable, because your free marketing resulted in three new
sales. It's a great way to grow your business, and is an offer
your customers are unlikely to refuse.
Of course, your customers' values will vary depending upon
the market you're in. However, there are certain trends and
factors that move across markets and are determined more by
the culture at large. Things like sustainability, necessity,
customer service, and quality will always be in the minds of
American consumers, and placing your products and services
at an angle that highlights these things should be to your
benefit.
Can Your Info Marketing Business Survive on Fads?
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert
People who have a passion for any particular topic are the kind
of people I think make the best info marketers. Their
knowledge and love of their subjects is unquestionable. If they
convey that love into words, they are set to go on a path of
independent success.
The only real concern I do voice to these folks, and to you as
well, is to watch out for "flash-in-the-pan" or temporary trends
that don't last. While it's good to encourage entrepreneurs to
start their own information marketing business based on
whatever love in life they have, it's also good to do so with
some thinking.
I guess the word I'm looking for is "fad." Real information
marketing provides solid knowledge from the marketer to the general public on items and matters that are relative to their
lives that have both current and established facts. Bad
information marketing is done to get a quick buck and is about
the newest trend or buzzword on the market. Usually it is done
poorly and, if that fad dies out, the information marketer dies
out with it.
The lesson is simple: if you do decide to embark on an
information marketing business of your own, it's best to stick
with subjects that are concretely of interest to the public at
large. Car info, music info, traveling, video games, books, and
gardening are all things that affect a lot of people's lives day in
and day out. You can provide info on new things, but also on
established, time-honed facts as well. You can try more
exclusive subjects with a more limited set of interested clients
-- model trains, antique light fixtures, salt and pepper shakers --
but do so with some caution and a plan on how to market to
those people directly. Some fads, like certain pop music trends,
designer jeans, current social and political ideologies, or even
current children's brand name toys, are usually over and done
with fast. They are not worth basing a whole business upon for
any great length of time.
Another related problem I should mention that happens to info
marketers is when they start presenting information that is not
based in actual fact. If you provide information on sports stats,
car specs, or even history and geography, it's always in your
best interest to make sure that you get all of the information for
it with real references to back you up. Info marketers who "embellish" too many facts, make information up, or make
wild claims/predictions often wind up with a legal team paying
them a very unpleasant visit. In the end, make sure that all of it
is the real deal. A client base can smell a rat if you are over-hyping a subject or product that is just a flash-in-the-pan
phenomenon, especially if it's just from your imagination. And
they will not pay for it.
Finally, don't let someone else convince you to adopt trends for
your business if you don't think it would be beneficial towards
your information marketing business. One story that was
relayed to me involved an info marketer specializing in beer
and fine wine, who was talked into creating an expensive info
book about one new brand of dessert wine. The product cost
him too much to make, nobody bought the book, and the wine
itself was discontinued. This put the marketer into a big
financial hole, which took a long to get out of. In the end, his
lesson was clear: don't follow an untested trend path on a bad
recommendation. You could pay for it dearly later.
Back in my guitar playing days, the old joke was that there
were still heavy metal guitarists and hippies with their old
concert uniforms of spandex and fringe jackets, still folded
neatly away so they could "return to the good old days" after
the modern music trends ended. Of course they never did. It's
funny, but also a bit of a lesson. If you are going to go into info
marketing, consider what is useful to everyone and what info
you have that could benefit the rest of us over a long period of
time. Don't fall for trends and be a flash-in-the-pan business.
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