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  • The Vacation Sales Cold Call Script

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    If you have been hunting around for a cold call script, take a look at this one. The destination vacation is a big money operation. People who make 1,000 calls per week generally find 100 interested prospects that turn into 50 paid customers using scripts like this one. Everyone tweaks a word here and there in scripts and this one is no different. Sit with your sales manager for approval on the wording and then try this script out on your next 100 calls and see if it makes a difference.

    “Hello, is __________ there?

    Hello, my name is _________, calling from _______________ How are you today? (Customer’s first name)

    I see that you filled out a survey form and expressed interest in a Hawaii vacation.

    Our company has just released our VIP Invitations for vacations to Hawaii and your name is on that list!

    I am calling to make sure you want to take advantage of this discounted Hawaii vacation offer. Mr/Ms_______________________what do you think?

    If you have pen and paper,I’ll give you all my information so you can start planning.

    Again, my name is ________ and this is through _____________________________.

    This Hawaii vacation package is for 4 days and 3 nights on Maui. Your airline will be _____________________________. You will be staying at the Hotel __________________ for 4 days and 3 nights. If you need other airline arrangements we are a full service travel agency and we would be happy to search for another airline fare.

    I know that we do not pay your personal expenses or any taxes and no service fees are paid. The last time I went, I believe I paid not more than $25.00 and I paid that at the hotel check-in.

    I only have 11 vacation packages to Hawaii and I do have other calls to make to lucky people. Are you ready to buy this great vacation today?

    The cost is $698.00 for two adults and must be taken within 6 months from today. As long as both of you are over 21 years of age, you are on your way to sunny Hawaii!

    Do you have your credit card ready or do you need to discuss this with someone before you buy?

    I’m only offering this one package today so you would need to buy today, but then again, take up to 6 months before you run off for a fabulous vacation!

    Oh no, Ma’am, there are no hidden fees or charges. But now that you mention it, there is one thing that I would ask you to do. Once you get home, would you drop me a line and tell me what was the most exciting, the most beautiful or the most fun about this Hawaii vacation?

    Yes, you can enclose a snap shot if you would like.

    If you are ready to buy right now, I’m ready to take your credit card and get you all set up.

    Yes, Ma’am, please read the numbers on your card.

    I’ll read that back to you.

    Now if you would verify your address I’ll get your things into the mail.

    Wonderful! Now write down my name and phone number so I can answer any questions for you.

    My Ticket Registrations department might give you a call to verify the spelling on your name or some other detail, I hope that is not a bother for you.

    Okay, we are all set.

    I will you enjoy that fabulous sun, sand and sea! Aloha!”

    Invest your time and words into a script that deliver what you want to convey as efficiently as possible. Use a mirror and practice doing phone sales to yourself until all the words are comfortable and you can smile the entire way through. A great telesales script is extremely valuable.

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    Source by Lee Anne Wonnacott

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  • Book Summary: Tax-Free Wealth – How to Build Massive Wealth by Tom Wheelwright

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    I was lucky as a kid to have my father as a business mentor. When the time came and I entered the business world, I could not lean on him as he passed away young. The Rich Dad / Poor dad books were my saving grace when it came to financial education. Several of the concepts I knew about because of my father but the advanced strategies and the “how to” really came from the Rich Dad books. Tom is a Rich Dad advisor.

    Why is this important to me?

    I am not doing this summary to waste your time. It is my vision to provide concise action steps that you can adopt right now to enhance your financial life and career. If you want to continuously improve, you have to be committed to continuous learning. Lever the continuous learning with the right associations and you will succeed in your career.

    The Cash flow quadrant really sums up the essence of financial success. If you focus on the left side of the quadrant then you can make an OK income but if you focus on the right side then you can become rich. Robert Kiyosaki points out in Rich Dad / Poor Dad that the left sides of the quadrant people make money, pay tax and then spend it. On the right side of the quadrant people make money, spend it and then pay their taxes. This is a huge difference and can be the biggest success lever in your financial arsenal.

    Tax-Free Wealth points out 24 Tax Strategies you can use on your way to Tax-Free Wealth. For the sake of time I will point out a few along with some commentary about each.

    1. Rule # 1 – It is your money, not the governments. People tend to run scared when it comes to taxes. Remember that you are the one creating the value and making the business work, be smart and utilize tax strategies to minimize tax and maximize your investment. The key here is tax avoidance NOT tax evasion. Every concept in this book is totally legal and encouraged by the IRS.

    2. Rule # 2 – The Tax Law is written to permanently lower your taxes. All financial plans need a solid foundation. This is why you simply can NOT focus on rate of return only. You can make a huge rate of return but if you can lose it because of a law suit or 50% gets eaten up in taxes then you will lose in the long run. 99% of the tax code is written as incentives to encourage people to start business. The reason the government does this is because businesses create jobs and that is the single biggest economic driver.

    3. Rule # 3 – The fastest way to put money in your pocket is to reduce your taxes. Businesses require investment. That investment is a business expense along with R&D, Travel and other business related expenses. You can combine vacation and work legitimately and write it off as a business expense. If you travel and sell items then go on sales calls in the vacation area. If you are a real-estate investor then travel where you may invest.

    4. 4. Rule # 24 – Build massive passive income through your tax savings. This is the strongest wealth builder in the book because you lever up compound interest, velocity of money and leverage. Utilizing these three vehicles along with investment stacking and you will be rich. The goal is to build your business and make the money there and turn it into passive income and then park the added money into cash flow investments like real estate. You want your money working harder than you do. You do not want to trade hours for dollars. Let me give you an example.

    In our software company there are two ways to build wealth and that is through intellectual property and maintenance agreements. These two things used together will build a company that can be sold for 2-4X revenues. Now to foster that investment with leverage, I use the “Infinite Banking Concept” to lend money to the business through “my own bank.” Now the money the business pays me comes back as investment income which means lower taxes. The new revenue the additional maintenance contracts bring foster new contracts. The next step is to use “good debt” to leverage our coverage and purchase more maintenance contract revenue with our software platform.

    In summary, you make money in your business and hold it in passive income generating assets using good leverage, velocity of money and compound interest.

    Tax-Free Wealth is a great resource that I encourage you to read. If you immerse yourself in these concepts, financial security and true wealth can be yours.

    I hope you have found this short summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes habit. Habits form in as little as 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is lever your financial education. If you take control of your education and schedule 30 minutes per day dedicated to this then you will reap results. You cannot put your financial future in the hands of somebody else. Take on the responsibility and good things will happen.

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    Source by Joe Mosed

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  • Energy Healing And Body Talk

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    These days there are so many healing techniques available to us, like

    Quantum Touch

    Massotherapy

    Touch for Health

    Zero Balancing

    Healing Touch

    Chiropractic

    Chakra Balancing

    Ki Gong

    the list goes on and on. It’s exciting to know that more and more people around the world are accepting the healing value of alternative and complementary modalities.

    When we take a class in any one of these invaluable techniques, the focus of course is on learning the technique…

    –how to protect ourselves from picking up clients’ “stuff”

    –how to channel or run energy through our bodies out to our hands

    –how to approach and treat certain kinds of issues

    –the body mechanics we use, etc.

    What I see missing from the classes is how to assess the body healing type of the individual we are working with. What do I mean by that?

    Over the years, doing energy healing from the 1980s to the present time, I started to realize that with each person, I was addressing the energy flow to their bodies in a different way. Yes, there is the technique to follow, but after a while the practice becomes almost second nature. I found that as I was “listening” to the bodies, I was “talking” to them differently. And I haven’t found that kind of body talk mentioned anywhere in the energy healing field.

    Of course, I think that each energy healing therapist has a particular way that their inner dialog with the client feels most comfortable or most natural. But what I found was that, when I shifted my own inner preference for how I channeled or ran energy to match my client’s healing type, their recovery occurred in shorter lengths of treatment time.

    So here’s what was shown to me in the course of my years in energy healing: There are three basic types of healing preference that each body has: physical, mental, and spiritual. That seems to line up nicely with the complementary approach to body-mind-spirit healing, which is about the triune nature of being human. But what I’m referring to is the dominant energy healing preference each body is wired for. Each person’s body responds most effectively to the type of energy transfer that matches his or her own energy healing type.

    So sometimes I found I would be silently talking to the body and explaining what it was going through and encouraging it to heal itself. “Yes, you had a bad fall. You know your knee is injured, and you know how to fix it. You know how to do this.” This silent body talk flowed into their bodies along with the energy. This was obviously for a mental body healing type.

    Other times I found myself praying. Sometimes it was a standard prayer, sometimes it was a free-flowing appeal to the person’s guides or angels or Christ Spirit or Mary or an archangel or the Universal Healing Forces. Whatever came to mind to say, this prayer-type energy flowed into the spiritual body healing type.

    And of course, there’s the physical body type. This was a bit of a challenge for me, since most of the energy healing I do is in the bio-field around the body and there’s little or no physical contact. But the physical body healing type needs to feel it for it to respond more readily with its own inner healing mechanisms.

    So I’d touch the area in need, sometimes deeply, while my inner body talk with that person was more along the lines of a cheerleader, “Here it is. Go. Fix this. You can do it.” Or sometimes there wasn’t that much dialog, just a lot of purposeful contact while I ran energy.

    By the 1990s, I figured it would be easier for me to know ahead of time which client was which body healing type before the session started so that I could start the body talk right away. Since I’d been learning how to do dowsing, I asked my pendulum what the type was. You can probably also use finger-muscle testing, if you’re familiar with that. It’s a simple yes-no process of elimination as you ask which healing type your client is.

    There were some surprises that I learned along the way, too. People who I thought for sure would be one type turned out to be another, even though their personalities clearly indicated something else. Like my Dad. Here was a guy who was totally immersed in 3-D. If he couldn’t see it, it didn’t exist. A very physical guy. When he got older and started having health problems (and let me work on them, which wasn’t all the time), I dowsed and – lo and behold – his healing body type was a spiritual!!!

    Then there’s my Mom, who I thought for sure would be a spiritual type, but the dowsing told me she was a physical! She believed in the old-country ways of laying on of hands, had a strong church connection, which Dad didn’t have, and was even known to have healing hands when she was younger (which was great for us as kids). But her body responded more effectively to the physical body touch-approach.

    It reminded me of something I came across in the Edgar Cayce holistic health readings. He talked about the “body mind” as though it was something different or separate from the conscious mind. And now I understood that. The body does have a mind of its own. And when we address that clearly, it responds more readily to whatever healing energy we deliver.

    Another surprise was that some people turn out to have dual types. This is more rare, but when you find it, it gives you more variety in how you frame your inner dialog with the body.

    Finally, one night in the late 1990s as I was meditating, it was revealed to me that what my guidance had shown me described the way our Master Teacher, Jesus the Christ, healed people. For many of us, Christ’s healings in the New Testament were our first exposure to energy healing, even though we probably thought of it as magical or superhuman, not something we could all do (even though He said we could). Maybe even some of the priests and pastors of our formal churches did the “laying on of hands.” But think about this:

    When Jesus healed the blind man, he put mud on the man’s eyes and rubbed it in. Then the man could see. This was an example of the physical body healing type. The man needed to feel something happening to his eyes.

    When He told the cripple that his sins were forgiven, or to rise up and walk, He was addressing a mental body healing type. The man simply got up and walked away. There was no contact at all with him.

    Finally, when a woman touched the hem of His garment and He asked her why she did that, she replied that that’s what she knew she needed to do to be healed. Definitely spiritual or faith healing.

    There also is one other example of a type of healing Jesus did and that was when the Roman soldier asked Him to heal his good servant who was not present at the time. This was a beautiful and dramatic example of both distance healing for the servant and faith healing on the part of the soldier.

    During the course of working with many clients over the years, my own guidance has revealed techniques and understandings that were invaluable in helping my people regain function and health sooner and more easily. You can use this information for yourself as well during those times you need to amplify more healing resource into your own body. I hope you find this information applicable in your own interactions with people in need.

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    Source by Cheryl Salerno

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  • Business Partners & Marital Partners Will The Marriage Survive – Part II

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    In the last article, we connected by saying that keeping your business and personal relationships separate is very important to the survival of both your business and your marriage. In this article we will talk about how to achieve this goal.

    One of the most important ways to accomplish this is to set up distinct business hours, and when they are over, don't discuss business, concentrate on your relationship. It is difficult, but make a concentrated effort at it. Confine your business discussions to business hours or set aside a specific time to discuss the business.

    For example, take the last half hour of the day, and discuss the business day; Any suggestions you have, what was accomplished, what needs to be done tomorrow, during the week, how are the monthly goals you set at the beginning of the month progressing. Remember to couch any criticisms or suggestions in a positive vein. Think of how you felt in the work situation and how supervisors dealt with you when making suggestions. Negatives only cause resentment. They do in the corporate arena, and even more so, when dealing with a spouse you must live with 24 hours a day. Be sure to set aside time for each other-go for walks, out to dinner, or just for a drive with your spouse. Do not discuss business.

    You should have outside activities that are not business related. If not, join a group that interests you. It will allow you to meet with others who are not connected to your business. Running a home-based business can be very lonely; getting away from the home, and having outside interests is imperative.

    In addition to the problems inherent to couples running a business, starting a home-based business presents its own set of problems and questions. Before you start be sure to ask yourself the following:

    1. Are you self-motivated? Organized? Able to prioritize your work? You will no longer have a supervisor or a boss to tell you what to do. You will be the decision maker. You will have to motivate yourself. One way to accomplish this is to use a To Do List and stick to it. In addition, set definitive business hours, and stick to them.

    2. Will you be able to deal with the isolation? You will no longer meet people in the halls, congregate around the coffee pot, or take a break to talk with your co-workers. To combat the loneliness and isolation be sure to join groups that meet outside the home, or schedule luncheons with friends and associates.

    3. Write up a business plan. Be sure the business is something that interests you. You might want to start on a part-time basis, and grow from there. Research the business carefully, make sure there is a market, and the competition is not overwhelming.

    4. Be sure you have at least six months living expenses set aside. This will give you the time to work through the marketing strategy outlined in your business plan, and avoid bad marketing practices. In addition, if changes need to be made, you can do so, without monetary concerns becoming an issue.

    5. Be sure your office space is located in a separate room or area of ​​your home that offers the least distractions. A separate office is best, especially if you are meeting with clients. Remember to always present a professional appearance.

    6. When will you do your regular household chores? Make up a schedule of when you will deal with them. Some individuals find getting chores done before the start of the work day is best. At the end of the day, close your office door and then deal with the remaining household items that need to be handled. Time management will be a very important factor in running a home-based business.

    7. For husband and wife teams, it becomes imperative to have some form of disability insurance for each other. Remember, even though your partner may be your husband or wife, he or she is still your business partner. An accident or illness to one of you can severely impact the operation of the business.

    A business is only as good as you and your partner make it. It takes a lot of dedication, time and energy to run a business, whether it is home-based or not. It can be a very rewarding experience. Think carefully, and ask yourself a lot of self-searching questions before you begin.

    Copyright 2000, DeFiore Enterprises

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    Source by Sue And Chuck DeFiore

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  • How Many Pots of Coffee Does 1 Pound of Coffee Yield?

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    Sometimes it can get perplexing to determine how much coffee you are going to get from a bag of freshly ground coffee beans. First of all, it is important to understand that all coffee must be freshly ground before brewing, otherwise it will go stale. When coffee beans are freshly ground, they begin to go stale within 30 seconds! The best course of action would be to purchase a simple kitchen grinder that you can use to freshly grind your coffee beans so that your pot of coffee will be as premium as possible.

    When ordering or purchasing freshly roasted coffee beans, it is important to purchase the right amount. Coffee is a perishable item, so if you purchase too much, the beans will go stale within up to two weeks after being freshly roasted. On the flipside, if you purchase too little, you may run out and not get your daily fix to make it through your workday!

    When it comes to brewing, 40 ounces of water within your coffee machine will brew seven 6 ounce cups for 40 ounces of water. With this ratio, 1 pound of fresh coffee beans should brew 30 pots of coffee at 40 ounces per pot. This is also something that needs to be taken into consideration depending on how you like your coffee. Many people add more coffee grounds to their coffee before brewing to make a stronger cup of Joe. The best rule of thumb to use is to always go stronger in your brew process because you can dilute a strong cup of coffee, but you can’t change a weak cup of Joe after it has been brewed.

    When it comes to purchasing coffee, it is always best to purchase beans that are freshly roasted. The important thing to keep in mind is that these beans will begin to go stale within up to two weeks, so it is ideal to purchase from an online retailer that sells beans that are freshly roasted the day that they ship. The other alternative would be if you have a local roaster in your area that you can conveniently purchase coffee beans from whenever you need them.

    One other thing to take into consideration when you are calculating how much coffee you will get from a pound of coffee beans is that you probably will not always be brewing a full 12 cup amount to fill up your coffee pot. It is much better to brew a smaller amount so that coffee is not left sitting on the burner to become bitter if you are not going to drink it all at once. The best recommendation is to use up to 3 tablespoons of fresh coffee grounds for every 8 ounces of water, which again, is a little stronger than the average coffee drinker makes their daily Java. This is the proper strength and consistency used for coffee brewing, and it will allow you to have continual freshness and flavor in every cup that you drink.

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    Source by Mark Ramos

    Views: 0

  • How to Collect and Invest In One Dollar Bills Using Serial Numbers

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    A one dollar bill may not seem like a lot of money, but some are rare and can become part of an investment. The key to knowing if a dollar bill is worth more than face value is to examine the serial number. Serial numbers are a combination of a letter, eight numbers and another letter at the end. You can find them easily because they are printed in green and are located twice on each bill. One is close to the bottom left of George Washington’s portrait and the other is located at the top right of his portrait. Combinations of serial numbers are keys to determining the rarity and investment value of a bill.

    The first letter runs from “A” to “L”. These 12 letters are codes for the cities where they were printed. The last letter indicates the number of times that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing used the sequence of serial numbers. So, “A” means that the serial number has run only one time. “B” indicates a second time and “C” is the third. The number of letters goes through the 26-letter alphabet.

    Between the letters are eight numbers representing how many one dollar bills were printed in one year. The first one printed will be “00000001”. The last is “32000000”. The lower or higher the numbers, the more they’re worth as investments. For example, a bill with a low number like 00000095, or one with a high number 32000022 can fetch between $25 to $100.

    Also, a specific combination of numbers can add value. If you have only two numbers in the set, like “2” and “4”, such as 22424442. This number is worth a little more than face value. But, if you have a repeating pattern, like, 24242424, or 24224224, your investment just increased by about $1,000. This special combo is called a “binary bill.”

    You might also get a set using three numbers, such as “2”, “4”, and “7”, you can have them in no special order, such as:27244727, or 59577975 Of course, if they follow a repeating order, they are worth more. You must know that a two number combination will be more valuable than the three number combination. These are called “trinary bills,” which could only fetch $3 or $5.

    Another type is called a “ladder,” which is a direct count from 1 to 8: 12345678 or, backwards: 87654321.

    A “radar” bill reads the same numbers backwards and forwards, like a mirror: 14622641. A “super radar” bill only includes two numbers, with the same one only at the beginning and end: 59999995. Radars can fetch about $25, while super radars might be worth about $70.

    Two or more separate bills with consecutive serial numbers, like 25348793 and 25348794, are two bills printed one after the other.

    “Doubles” occur when you have two of the same numbers: 33774499. A “double quad” is two sets of four of the same number: 33335555. Even a bill with one number repeated eight times: 44444444 might bring $500.

    You can also find a “star note.” If you see a star at the end of a serial number, it means that it’s a replacement bill for one with the same serial number that was damaged.

    Special combinations of serial numbers from one dollar bills vary in value, from just a few dollars to a few thousand. My advice is to go to your bank and ask for a one-dollar “strap” which is a pack of 100 one dollar bills. Go through them and see what patterns of serial numbers you can find. Sometimes, a fresh new pack of one dollar bills will come to a bank straight from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. So you might have a good chance of finding consecutive bills, which could possibly earn you a few more dollars if you sold them to a collector. Just remember that any bill with a special serial number is a rare item. Now, you have a good reason to check the dollar bills in your pocket or purse.

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    Source by Harrington A Lackey

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  • The Importance of Proper Sales Techniques

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    The success of any business can be directly related to the quality of its staff and the ability to meet any consumer demand. When your business struggles in this regard it helps to identify the areas of inconsistency which can result in the loss of consumers due to employee negligence. To avoid this unfortunate turn of events with your own company, it is necessary to identify the many factors influencing the importance of pursuing proper sales techniques.

    Factor I: Building Consumer Relationships

    One of the greatest mistakes amateur sales associates make is focusing on the drive to make a single sale form a single individual. This short sighted strategy may help in improving sales numbers in the short run but will provide no value with developing future success. The first factor influencing the importance of sales management skills is found with building consumer relationships overtime. Whether you run a store or an online website, pursuing a relationship with your client will help to secure greater sales as well as develop the best form of marketing, positive word of mouth.

    Factor II: Enhancing Selling Ability

    If you were to provide any employee with the opportunity to work with a consumer eager to invest in a product you will develop a high level of sales success. The true skill or value of an associate is to have the ability to work with consumers who may not have this interest yet still make a purchase after working with your employee. The selling skills of an employee staff often represents the financial success the company has displaying this factor of importance with enhancing selling ability.

    Factor III: Problem Solving

    When a customer discovers a problem with a good or service it is often easy to lose their business to a competitor in a short period of time. If a customer contacts your company with a problem it creates the possibility of salvaging your relationship by resolving the problem and enhancing consumer satisfaction. When your sales staff can utilize the sales management skills of problem solving it will boost your business success, marking the importance of this factor in relation to proper selling techniques.

    Factor IV: Revenue Development

    The final factor of importance identifying the need for proper selling skills is seen with the value of revenue development. Every business relies on the resources of revenue development so the elements of building consumer relationships, enhancing selling ability and efficient problem solving will all help in keeping consumers and meeting this high demand factor.

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    Source by Peter McKeon

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  • Rolling Deposits – Uncovering the Granddaddy of Cash Fraud

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    The Shift Manager of the fast food restaurant sat in his car, under a shade tree in a parking lot. On the floor board are unused disposable deposit bags and a destroyed deposit bag that had been sealed with last night’s closing deposit. The manager had sliced open the deposit bag and the passenger seat is littered with the contents – ones, fives, tens, twenties, and change. He will use one of the unused bags to make a new deposit. The manager counted the funds several times, his stress level mounting. The amount is not enough to match a deposit slip for a deposit dated two days ago. Two days ago? What is going on here? Why did he open a deposit bag today for funds to match a deposit ticket that is two days old? Do you know?

    This is a theft scheme called “rolling deposits” and unfortunately it is not uncommon when retail and restaurant managers prepare deposits and make deposit runs to the bank. The employee steals all or a portion of the day’s deposit and makes up for the stolen cash from the contents of future deposits to cover the thefts. The scheme continues as long as the manager has access to deposits.

    The tell tale sign of the “rolling deposit” theft scam is deposits taken to the bank by a particular manager are consistently validated by the bank several days after they should be. Deposits taken to the bank by the other managers are validated on time. The stress level of the manager who is scheming mounts as the need to match deposit funds with unvalidated deposit tickets becomes increasingly complicated. As in the example above, the deposit the manager opened is not enough to cover the past deposit ticket. The manager will now have to wait to add funds from tomorrow’s deposit to conceal his thefts.

    If the business is using disposable deposit bags and the deposit was prepared by another manager, our shift manager involved in the theft scheme makes the bank run with the deposit. As in the scenario above, the shift manager in order to continue his thefts, must cut open the sealed deposit bag and remove the cash and the accompanying deposit slip.

    With no intervention, these theft schemes can go undetected for a long time and the cash losses can be staggering. Experienced security and loss prevention professionals can easily reveal the fraud with a little investigation. In my experience, the manager conducting the rolling deposit fraud will readily confess when interviewed properly. They are so stressed trying to keep the scheme floating, they are generally relieved that it is over.

    There are tried and true protocols in establishing sound loss control practices to prevent this type of scheme and ways to easily uncover it. If you suspect one of your employees of rolling deposits:

    1. Develop a chart – across the top of the chart list these columns: Date, Shift (deposit), Amount of Deposit, Bag #, Depositor Name, Date of Bank Verification. Make a separate line for each deposit. Down the left side of the chart, list the sequential days of the month. Fill in the corresponding information starting with the first of the month.

    2. Analyze the chart – Look for patterns and discrepancies such as missing disposable bag numbers from the sequence, “leapfrogging” of bag numbers and deposit validations from the bank. Look for a pattern of the same manager taking the deposits to the bank when the discrepancies occur.

    3. Action – Prohibit suspect’s access to deposits. If rolling deposit scheme is occurring, a deposit will soon show excessive shortages or missing altogether. Track the deposit activity for past months to get a better indication when the discrepancies first appeared.

    4. Prevention

    * Require all deposits be sealed in disposable deposit bags

    * Eliminate the vinyl/canvas/zippered pouches

    * Record deposit bag number with corresponding deposit

    * Require depositors to sign for deposits they take to the bank

    * Check all deposit validation dates from the bank with the dates of business

    * Develop strong cash and deposit auditing programs looking for deposit bags and validations out of sequence

    * Have a bank representative notify you of “late” deposits (> 3 days late)

    * Consider SMART safes or armored car service

    Taking deposits to the bank is a common practice for Fast Food (QSR) restaurant and retail management. It is fraught with issues such as time away from management responsibilities in the restaurant or store, exposure to traffic accidents and crime, and this “rolling deposit” theft scheme. Although seemingly the cheapest way of getting funds to the bank, it may be most costly should the manager be seriously injured or killed in a car crash or armed robbery during the transport. Stealing tens of thousands of dollars from deposits may pale in comparison.As new technology is developed, armored cars service becomes more competitive, and ways of banking become more progressive it may be time to rethink how we get our money to the bank and eliminate the exposures to our people and our profits. So what is going here? Why are certain deposits getting to the bank several days late?

    Now you know, and now you can do something about it.

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    Source by Libby Libhart

    Views: 0

  • Reducing the Stress of Being an Entrepreneur

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    Starting and running your own business can be exciting and rewarding, but it can also be very stressful. For most of our almost 40 year marriage my husband has been an entrepreneur and I have sometimes worked with him. Having built my own business as a Stress Reduction Coach I have been reflecting on the stresses of being an entrepreneur.

    Signs and sources of stress

    Some of the signs of stress overload include irritability, anxiety about the sustainability of the business, and/or high business debt. Relationships within the family can suffer if they do not understand the entrepreneurial drive or the time and effort it takes to start and run a business. For women entrepreneurs, the job of running the household and balancing work and home can create enormous stressors. When you work from home, all the household tasks that need to be done can pull you away from your business. People who are drawn to be entrepreneurs are sometimes idea people who don’t like detail and repetitive tasks. Having to work on those things can create stress as well. And when you’re stressed it’s harder to concentrate and focus.

    Organize your environment

    One of the solutions is to reduce the stress and create an environment that discourages stress. Have a place where you can keep everything together and organized. A written plan of action for the business posted where you can see it along with a daily plan can help you focus the time you have available.

    A system that works for me

    I am not a person who comes to organization easily and I have struggled to find a way that works. Daytimers and lists help for a short while, but I have never been able to keep up with them. One thing I have found that works is to have a “big picture overview” of what needs to be done where I can see it. I have a poster board size piece of “static cling” presentation sheet that adheres to my door. It can be easily rolled up and removed if needed. I have several categories that I’ve posted at the top of the sheet, such as “website,” “presentation,” etc. These are written on standard sized post-it notes so they can be easily removed and changed. I brainstorm everything I need to do on small post-it notes. After I brainstorm, I then organize the notes in the appropriate columns. I also have a category that says TODAY for the urgent and important things. I can glance at the poster while I am working and see what else I might need to do and when I finish what I need to do, I can throw the post-it away. If something comes up that is not posted, I can put it on a post-it note and put it where it needs to be.

    This “system” helped me write many graduate papers and I used it when I planned and wrote my dissertation. Now it helps me as I plan and work my business. This is just one technique that helps me reduce the stress of being an entrepreneur.

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    Source by Lorna Minewiser

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  • Top Network Marketing Company – Why Are the Products So Expensive?

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    I’m sure you’ve heard this question before, Why are top network marketing company’s products so expensive?

    This is one of those ever-present questions that networkers and direct sales people will continue to encounter (probably) forever–and there’s always more to it than meets a simple answer.

    One key is not to side-step it. There are good and genuine reasons for legitimate, premium-priced products–and of course there are over-priced ones as well. Honesty is best, as always, and I’ll endeavor to give you the general truth with my answer to the question.

    Special Products at Special Prices

    First, the products available through top network marketing companies sales and distribution model are mostly what are called “specialty” items. They are higher priced products to begin with, having more costly ingredients and more complex designs or formulas; they are simply more expensive to make and package. Some well-known non-network marketed examples are Clinique makeup and fragrance products, Apple computers, iPods and iPhones, Armani clothing, Mercedes and Lexus automobiles.

    Unless you’re dealing with a scheme or a scam, these premium products outperform their cheaper, off-the-shelf counterparts, giving consumers more and better benefits. Since they have greater value, they cost more.

    If these products are being outsourced by the networking company (produced by a “third-party” vendor/supplier), they tend to be manufactured in smaller production runs that do not allow for all the optimal low-cost advantages of buying and making in the high volumes mass-marketers enjoy. The manufacturing processes are more complex and exclusive. The profit margins are higher. This results in a higher quality product with more attention to detail and quality control.

    The reason manufacturers and marketing companies select network marketing and direct sales is because these higher-priced products are of higher quality, and they therefore require special methods of distribution and sales.

    Simply put, they cannot compete with the lower-priced, lower quality “commodity” products, which are sold based mainly on discounted mass-market pricing and brand awareness alone. Think Wal-Mart and Costco.

    Specialty products are “education-intensive.” They need greater explanation; for example, what formula, ingredients and/or processes makes the product more expensive than those mass-market goods available through direct response marketing (such as the Internet and mail-order) or retail chain store sales. Many require demonstration.

    Mass-market products depend on advertising, promotion and merchandising at “point-of-purchase,” all of which are required to get consumers’ attention, let them know the product exists (to create “trial” especially if it’s “brand” new), and to give them enough compelling reasons to purchase and keep on purchasing.

    Going head-to-head with nationally advertised products, many to most of which are heavily discounted and sold at the lowest price possible, is a tough game for just about all smaller businesses to win. Imagine trying to sell vitamins or nutritional beverages or “prestige” cosmetics against a major manufacturer selling through Wal-Mart, or a natural toothpaste against a tube of Crest® through Kroger or Publix supermarkets.

    Specialty products are perfect for the person-to-person, information-rich education, demonstration and service oriented methods of network marketing.

    And that’s where the important second aspect of network marketing’s “higher price” comes in: the added value which you as a “distributor” add to the specialty products you sell.

    Added Value Added

    Network marketing and direct sales representatives add significant value to the product they sell and they are well paid when they do so successfully.

    We reach consumers with the awareness of new products and services that ads and merchandising–no matter how persuasive or promiscuous–would not be able to reach out and touch. And by virtue of our one-on-one, personal relationship with these buyers, we appeal to them with a level of trust and service no mass-market, retail product advertiser could hope to compete with.

    The extraordinary level of service Network Marketers provide is not available when buying through mail order or retail outlets. It is a real and tangible benefit, part of the product’s value–and its price.

    For example: Someone tries a network marketing anti-aging health product. It’s personally presented for them–either in person or via mail–with a host of educational material about the product: scientific studies, article reprints, even books or tapes explaining how the product was made, how to use it, its unique features and its benefits.

    Within one to two days, the network marketer again contacts the person to follow up, asking how they are doing, checking to see that their customer is following use directions properly, make recommendations, etceteras. These service calls continue daily, bi-weekly or weekly until the customer is satisfied and happy.

    The network marketer will also continue to send informative and educational material such as updates from scientific literature. He or she will also let the customer know about other products the company offers that this particular customer with his or her unique needs and wants might also enjoy.

    This is an extraordinary level of service that is a real and tangible benefit for the consumer. This kind of personal and knowledgeable attention is not available when buying through the Internet alone, or mail-order or most all retail outlets. It is one of the things network marketers are paid for and it is part of the product’s value–and its price.

    Are there cases where the above education and service are not offered? Of course.

    Are there products that do not have special ingredients or qualities that support a higher price? Sure.

    And are there times when a network marketed product is simply more expensive to pay for the multiple-level commission structure? Yes.

    Back in the early 1950s, a dog grooming service was opened in New York City to serve people living in the exclusive Park Avenue, 70th and 80th Streets area. They charged $25 to shampoo and clip a dog. They had no customers. Then they jacked-up their prices to $250 per visit–and were an instant success. The Cadillac Seville, when first introduced in test-market showrooms priced at under $10,000, bombed; at $14,000 the very same automobile became an instant best-seller.

    Value is a perception. The relationship between quality, benefit and price, i.e., value, is in the mind of the consumer-beholder. Businesses price goods and services according to what the market will bear. Successful marketers come up with just the right mix of value-benefit-price.

    The majority of network marketing direct sales products are of the genuine higher-quality variety, not available in stores, special in ingredients, design and making.

    Most offer the convenience of in-home or on-line ordering and to-the-door delivery. They are also special in terms of…

    Marketing and Customer Service

    The network marketing “sales person” adds value to the product through his or her education, service and sales to the customer.

    All of this has its price. And according to consumer trends and the explosive growth of network marketing direct sales companies and their products worldwide, more and more people every day think it’s worth it.

    What’s the truth about the price of products offered through network marketing? Are they too high? And if so, why?

    The full answer to this one is complicated. If you need a short one, mine is:

    High? Usually, yes.

    Too high? Sometimes… yes, but generally no.

    So, if they are high, why? Let’s start with looking at what kind of products we’re really talking about here.

    The Truth is, Specialty Products Cost More

    Network marketing is predominantly a “specialty products” business: The products we sell most often tend not to be the type you’d find in supermarkets, drug stores or any other mass merchandiser. They are not the kind that combines the lowest possible price for the least acceptable level of quality. For a conventional retail parallel, look at the products in a natural or health food store, beauty salon, boutique or upscale department store.

    Specialty products cost more to make. The ingredients are unique and high quality and production is low quantity–the amounts manufactured usually are not great enough to take advantage of the economies of scale enjoyed by big-time, high-volume, mass-market producers. So these products more expensive–both to make and to buy.

    Also, specialty product makers usually cannot depend on major advertising to increase sales: they don’t have that kind of money. So they have to use more expensive forms of distribution, such as small, individual retail outlets whose profit margins are higher than mass-market stores and chains.

    Profit Margins and Markups

    Here’s an example: a discount chain drug store might be able to markup a bottle of vitamins that normally sells for $3.00 wholesale for less than the normal 33 percent retail profit margin. And, because they buy in large volumes, they’ll get the product for less than $3.00 to begin with.

    A natural or health food store might buy that same product at the full $3.00 wholesale price, and use a markup of 50 percent to get their full 33.3 percent retail profit margin.

    To the consumer, buying at retail, here’s the difference: $3.99 at the drug store and $4.50 at the health food store.

    And then there’s “what the traffic will bear.”

    There are sexy boxes of imported chocolate that go for $38.00 each, and poly-bags of 50 mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups you can get for less than $3.80. If your taste tends towards expensive, you’ll generally pay more–in “margin” percentages to middle-people and in total dollars.

    Let’s look at a comparison of one single product offered through the conventional manufacturer-to-retailer distribution system and the exact same product sold through network marketing.

    $$$ From Conventional Manufacturer to Consumer

    We know specialty products cost more to make; again, the ingredients are unique and high quality, and the production is low quantity, so they are simply more expensive.

    Manufacturers speak of “Cost of Goods” (CoG): that’s the figure that a product costs the company to make, including overhead, ingredients, packaging and labeling, sales commissions (such as broker’s fees), etc.

    The very minimum a manufacturer needs to sell that product for is double, or a 50 percent margin. Considering that most competitive businesses operate on a six percent pre-tax profit, that leaves them 44 percent to pay for everything else. So, the $2.00 CoG product they make, they sell for $4.00.

    Now, some manufacturers sell direct to retailers–not many, but a few do, and when they do, they’ll take a higher profit margin to pay for the Cost of Sales (CoS).

    However, most manufacturing companies deal through distributors, who charge for warehousing, shipping and selling the products to retail stores. Normal wholesale is a 25 percent markup, which you get by multiplying the purchase price–plus freight if not included–by 1.33. So, our $4.00 item would be sold by a wholesale-distributor to the retailer for $5.32. (Again, plus or not freight costs which can run 10 to 15 percent additional.)

    To achieve a 33.3 percent profit margin, the retailer has a 50 percent mark-up–or higher. Our $5.32 product ends up on the shelf at $7.98.

    Now, this is the minimum scenario–not what normally happens except in the more strongly competitive markets. It’s not the least bit unusual to find the manufacturer selling that $2.00 CoG product for $5.00 or $6.00… the distributor working on 35 percent instead of 25 percent… and a retailer – especially from a specialty market segment–look for a 50 percent profit (i.e., a 100 percent markup), instead of “only” one third.

    And if all of that were true, the retail price of the product through that sales and distribution system would be more like $14.95.

    $$$ In Network Marketing Direct Sales

    Let’s work this one backwards (because that’s how most of the numbers are figured for your commissions).

    If the networking company’s product sells to consumers for $15.00 it will have an average retail commission to the networker of from 20 percent to 40 percent. So, using a 30 percent retail commission, the company’s “wholesale” price to the mlm distributor will be about $10.50.

    Let’s say that your company pays out a full 50 percent in “downline” or organizational commissions. That means that the company’s lowest from-the-warehouse price for the product would be half of wholesale, or $5.25.

    That’s right in the ballpark for specialty manufacturing, distribution and sales.

    It’s a Question of Value

    There is also a greater value, beyond the “specialty products” issues of ingredient quality, cost of manufacture and so forth and that’s the education, information and service delivered by the person-to-person distribution network.

    Learning the product’s proper use, additional uses, history, all about the ingredients, etceteras, is all part of its value. And products offered through word-of-mouth network marketing have more of this “added value” than any others.

    This last point begs the question:

    “Are products purchased through network marketing higher priced to make up for the compensation or commission payments to distributors and their networks?”

    Can they be? Yes.

    Are they… usually? No and Yes.

    In an authentic, intelligent, sincere and sensible network marketing direct sales company, one that’s well-managed and directed… a company that understands that the financial health and well-being of the men and women in the field MUST lead their mission, decisions, strategy, policies and procedures… no.

    But that new ostentatious corporate headquarters in the prestige location… corporate jet… an army of “distributor service” personnel… rock concert “conventions”… $50,000 “big name” keynote speakers… resort vacations and incentive cruses to exotic locations paid for by the company… luxury car allowances… are all expenses that need to be paid for. Where does that money come from?

    Directly (in terms of potential commissions that will not be paid out to people) or indirectly (in over-priced products and/or inflated charges for marketing materials, self-replicating websites, business building tools and trainings), the money comes from only one place… the men and women in the field.

    “So… do network marketed products cost more?” Sometimes yes and other times no.

    Can they be more expensive than similar items of equal value offered in a conventional market such as a retail store? Yes, they can.

    In fact, you can find numerous examples of both conventionally retailed products and networking products of similar sizes, shapes and qualities at prices that vary by as much as 30 to 40 percent or more.

    The only sure rule in product pricing the world over is, “What the traffic will bear…” No matter what distribution and sales route the product travels. It’s not so much a game of “Let the Buyer Beware,” as it is and always will be…

    “Let the Buyer Be Aware.”

    Factor in the at-home shopping convenience… the customer service… the satisfaction guarantee… personal attention… education and information–and in today’s increasingly competitive global marketplace, the “aggressive pricing” posture being taken by more and more networking companies around the world–along with the generally superior quality of the products available through network marketing and direct sales…

    … and I believe a growing number quality-conscious consumers will agree with me, top network marketing company’s products represent outstanding value.

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    Source by John Milton Fogg

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