November 20, 2008

Attract More Money Online... 17 Ways to Develop
an Unwavering Belief in Yourself; Part 2... The Value of
Honesty... Networking Beyond the Golf Course... and More.

** Attract More Money Online
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

"USA TODAY" reports that online spending in October grew at its slowest pace since 2001. While growth is still good, it's easy to see why it is slowing.

The credit crunch is really beginning to affect the credit card industry, and the credit card industry is what helps make online shopping possible.

You enter in your card number and some personal details and you're done. Your order arrives a few days later and then your credit card bill comes a few weeks later.

But now, credit card companies are slashing credit limits and more and more people are seeing their access to extra funds dry up. Now, this doesn't mean that online shopping is going to stop. In fact, I see that it's rising, but you have to know a little about your customers to keep them buying from you.

Let me explain...

Most people turn to online shopping for the convenience and the savings. You've already seen the item in-store and you know what you want, so you sit down at your computer and being searching for deals.

There's free shipping at one site, one you've used before. There's free shipping and a 10% discount at another site that you've heard of and finally there's a site with a 40% discount, but you've never visited this site before.

You have a relationship with the first site and knowledge of the second. That last site is new to you and you may not trust it and, well, you'll most likely go with either the first or second sites to make your purchase.

On the Internet, as much as in a brick-and-mortar store, building a relationship with your customers is essential when wallets tighten.

In order to help develop an online relationship with your customers, it is important to create ways of getting them involved. Whether you offer a free newsletter or have your customers add comments to your products, anything that involves the people visiting your site can help.

Also, make sure to have your contact information on your site, and make it easy to locate. Should a customer have any concerns, you want to know about them as soon as possible.

In conclusion, whether your business is online or offline, your goal is to build a relationship and make your company as accessible as possible to help keep this relationship alive.

** 17 Ways to Develop an Unwavering Belief in Yourself;
Part 2
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

You can develop the ability to believe in yourself, regardless of your current circumstances or state of mind. You can actually teach yourself to stop struggling with the things you dislike in your life, and positively believe that you are the master of your destiny and in control of circumstances around you. It will take a few techniques and a whole lot of practice, but I know you'll get there.

Yesterday, I gave you the first nine of my 17 ways to develop unwavering belief in yourself. Today, I reveal the final eight. Enjoy!

10. Speak well about yourself. Lose the self-deprecating humor, because it doesn't make people like you. It makes them suspicious of your level of confidence. Employers are very tuned into this. When you interject positive statements about yourself, it only serves to emphasize your ability to carry out your duties in a positive manner. Find some middle ground between modesty and boastfulness.

11. Take control of how you feel. Stop allowing others to affect you with their negative outlook or conversation. Put yourself around strong, positive people that care about you and drink of their positive essence. I promise you that doing this will bring about great change in your life.

12. Please yourself. Stop changing for others or worrying about what others think. When you make you better, your success will radiate and send a positive glow to those around you. Don't feel guilty about giving yourself quiet, reflective moments or doing things that make you happy. Even if you have family responsibilities, you can't be good to anyone else unless you are good to yourself.

13. Fill your spare time with positive actions. Learn something, read a book, do something that helps you grow as a person. Forget about indulging in excesses: shopping, food, alcohol — these are all short-term fixes that can lead to long-term dependencies.

14. Measure yourself against yourself. Stop comparing yourself to others. Look at who you were a year, a month, a day ago, and move on from there to who you want to become. Stop wishing you looked, sounded, or acted like someone else. You are you, and you need to be comfortable in your own skin if you're ever going to be successful. You are a beautiful person who has something good to offer the world.

15. Elevate yourself. Stop settling for lousy relationships, poorly paying jobs, or abusive behavior. Take charge of your destiny and remove all those things that are currently weighing you down. Make a list of them and plot a course of action to eliminate negativity from your life.

16. Trust your instincts. Your gut feeling can get you out of more problems than you think. Don't fight it. You have a lifetime of observations, knowledge and intuition that is essential to your survival. You've already conducted thousands of experiments and you've proven scientifically what contributes to and what hinders your success. Don't ignore the conclusions you've reached. Believe in yourself as a new scientist of your own behavior.

17. Use positive words and phrases. When you put positive terminology into your conversations, people will take an instant liking to you. Others will be drawn to your zeal. Learn the lingo of the successful. When problems become challenges and a bad past becomes a history, life seems just a little more manageable.

** The Value of Honesty
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

Recently, while shopping for a new clock radio, I had a slightly strange encounter with a salesman.

While browsing through the selection, I was getting a little overwhelmed and began to think that my older model, one with a broken switch, could last me a while longer.

As I was playing around with the switches on a newer floor model, the salesman came over and suggested I not be too rough with that model. He said it was a big seller because of the low price, but they were getting returns left and right because of the flimsy switches.

As we talked, he asked what I needed and told me about a few of the models, one of which I ended up buying. Now, this may be a sign of the times or possibly just a very good salesman, but it seems as though I've been encountering more honesty in retail stores.

Of course, this makes sense. People are getting tighter with their cash and, when it comes to turning over their dollars, they want to feel like they are making an educated decision.

And the best way to help people make a buying decision is by being honest. Sure, you can trump up the user benefits, but unless you provide some proof, well, you're not going to get the sale you want.

Now, no matter how honest you are, there are ways to help you project that honesty to your customers.

First, if you're selling a product that you can't demonstrate, make sure to provide your customer with a pamphlet or brochure. Photos could help your customer picture themselves using your product and help you make the sale.

Next, talk to your customers in plain language. If you see that they don't understand some of the technical terms, then quickly change pace and explain what you're selling as though you were introducing to someone who had never seen one before.

This may sound simple, but if you've been reading about technological terms and features all day, it can get difficult to bring your language back down to Earth.

And, finally, let your customers know what they can expect. Even if there is a problem that could happen, acknowledge it and explain how this situation will be taken care of should this happen.

Remember, honesty is the best policy and, in these tougher times, it could also be the policy that helps you come out on top.

** Networking Beyond the Golf Course
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire

With a slowing economy and all of its subsequent effects, it's now more important than ever to get back to the fundamentals when it comes to running your business. In order to continue to generate business during these slow times, you're going to want to implement some of the grassroots tactics you employed when first starting out. This means doing low-cost marketing that is personal and to the point. This means finding ways to network.

Networking is one of the best ways to sell your business. It's cheap, relatively stress-free, and gives you the opportunity to not only showcase the value of your business, but also your character. Another benefit is that it can be done absolutely anywhere, at any time.

While once reserved for cocktail parties and golf courses, the theater for networking has now grown substantially. For starters, in a slow economy, people need to pounce on every opportunity that presents itself in order to promote their business to make sales. This means turning simple, everyday events like going shopping, to the gym or to your child's football into networking opportunities. Even places like public transit can be a perfect venue to expand your contact list.

Of course, depending on your business, you're not going to want to start networking with every single person you see. This means you'll have to feel them out in order to see if they're looking for the product or service you're selling. Feel people out by their appearance, where they are and what they say. In your time as an entrepreneur, you've likely noticed that there are similar characteristics that many of your customers possess, so locate those traits and begin to sell.

If you're slightly uncomfortable networking, here are a few tips that can help make it easier:

— Be forward: It's best if you engage in conversation with someone right off the bat, because the longer you go without talking, the more awkward the first words become. Therefore, if you're at the gym and you think you see a potential customer, go over and start talking to them. Start out with small talk that applies to your current surrounding, then take it from there.

— Put the focus on them: Ask questions to get the person talking, because the more they say, the more they give you an opportunity to figure them out and stumble upon a problem your business can fix. People love talking about themselves and feeling important, so by putting the focus on them, you are making them feel good about themselves, likely building some trust as well. Pick your spots carefully to add to the conversation, but avoid becoming the centerpiece of the conversation until it's time to explain how you can help.