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What is the Ultimate Lifestyle?

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Since the mission of this newsletter is to help you define,

carve out, and live your own Ultimate Lifestyle, I figured I

should devote some space to laying a proper foundation for

doing that.

Before you can hit a target, you need to know where it is!

So, to begin, let’s answer the question:

What is The Ultimate Lifestyle?

First of all, it’s different for different people. There are

no rules or formulas. For some people, it means a lot of

money, lots of “stuff,” a fast-paced and “jet-set” sort of

lifestyle. For others, it means a very simple, slow-paced

life that focuses on service to others. And for others, it’s

every possible scenario in between these two “extremes.”

There’s no right or wrong lifestyle, or good or bad

lifestyle.

There’s just what works for you — and it will likely change

over time. I know it has for me.

No matter how you end up defining Ultimate Lifestyle for

yourself, now and in the future, there are 8 components that

must be considered:

1) Income Streams

To live your Ultimate Lifestyle, you must have income

streams flowing that allow you to pay your bills and finance

all the “extras” you prefer. To me, the ultimate target to

shoot for in this arena is to have income streams flowing

whether you “show up” for “work” or not, so you can choose

what you want to show up for (even if it continues to be

what you call “work” or a “job.”).

That’s what I’ve been able to achieve by applying my

Invisible Path/11th Element strategies combined with direct

marketing on and off the Internet.

Having income streams flowing whether you show up or now

seems like “pie in the sky” to many people, but it’s

actually very attainable in today’s world. You’ll learn more

about how to do it in future issues.

2) Emotions and Beliefs

Many people fail to create their Ultimate Lifestyle because

they have emotional blocks, issues, or beliefs (what I call

“p.s’s.” or “master biography files”) that hold them back.

Other people have produced extraordinary results and could

live their Ultimate Lifestyle, but their blocks, issues or

beliefs prevent them from doing it — or fully enjoying it.

Therefore, living The Ultimate Lifestyle must include having

access to resources and inner skills that allow you to

uncover and remove, heal, or release any blocks, issues or

beliefs that hold you back. You’ll learn more about how to

do that in future issues.

3) Fulfillment and Satisfaction

Whether you have a 9-5 job and career, you’re a full-time

mom, or whatever you do with your time, a big part of living

The Ultimate Lifestyle means getting as much fulfillment and

satisfaction from what you spend your time on as possible.

Many people don’t ask for this, don’t focus on this, and

therefore don’t get it. You must make it part of your

intention and focus!

4) Living Environment

How and where do you want to live? In the mountains? In the

big city? On the water? Multiple homes? Do you want to live

in a big home or a small home? Is privacy or seeing

beautiful scenery out your windows important to you? Do you

like modern furnishings, antiques, or an eclectic mix?

Living the Ultimate Lifestyle means asking these questions

and having a home base that nourishes you at a very deep

level. My family recently moved to Charlottesville, Virginia

in pursuit of the nourishing living environment we craved —

and we got it, even better than we expected!

5) Relationships

What good is having income streams, a healthy emotional

life, empowering belief systems, a great living environment,

and a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from how you

spend you time if you’re alone (and don’t want to be) or

your relationships with significant others (parents,

siblings, kids, associates, etc.) are a mess? Believe me, I

know about this one from long personal experience (before

meeting my wife, Cecily).

Therefore, living The Ultimate Lifestyle must include having

access to resources and inner skills that allow you to

attract, build, and maintain healthy relationships.

6) Health

Again, what good is having income streams, a healthy

emotional life, empowering belief systems, a great living

environment, fulfillment and satisfaction, and great

relationships if you have health problems that drag your

quality of life into the gutter?

Dr. Robert Lindberg says, “We spend most of our life gaining

wealth and we then spend most of our wealth on gaining back

our health.”

Living The Ultimate Lifestyle means having access to

knowledge, resources, and skills that allow you to get

healthy, stay healthy, and quickly resolve difficulties if

and when they arise. I discussed some of the resources I use

for this in previous issues, and will continue to share them

in future issues,

7) Time

You can have income streams, a healthy emotional life,

empowering belief systems, a great living environment,

fulfillment and satisfaction, great relationships and health

and if you don’t have any time to do what you love, to

follow your non-work passions, or to truly enjoy anything,

what’s the point? I know many people who could absolutely be

living their Ultimate Lifestyle, but they choose to work too

much, to the detriment of their quality of life. That’s too

bad — to have the choice and ability and not do it.

8) Wealth Building, Management, and Responsibility

The final component to living The Ultimate Lifestyle is

having systems in place that allow you to use your income

streams to create wealth (as you define it), manage it, grow

it, protect it, structure your financial and business

affairs for maximum efficiency and personal benefit, and

find ways of contributing and giving back (if that’s

important to you, which it is to me and my wife).

I’ll be writing a follow up article, called “The fuel that drives the Ultimate Lifestyle” shortly.

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Source by Bob Scheinfeld

Views: 0

November 11, 2022
Successfully Resolve Customer Service Problems to Retain Customer Loyalty

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It seems that as our technology improves, the business/customer relationship is declining. With online technical and sales support, the personal side of customer relations is not as prevalent. There is no longer any loyalty to a business and its products and services. This trend can cause a significant decrease in sales. One way to counteract this trend is to resolve customer service problems successfully and efficiently in order to retain customer loyalty.

The following list outlines simple but effective methods of successfully resolving customer service problems:

Create a Customer Complaint Department: The best way to deal with customer complaints effectively and efficiently is to have experts who are able to manage irate customers with their problems

Be Polite and Courteous: If a customer walks into a business or calls, it is important that the customer service representative takes the time to show that they care and are willing to listen and help. Empathize with the customer’s problem. An angry customer will calm down if they feel they are valued and respected. Be positive.

Record the Problem: Writing the complaint down and the actions that will be taken helps avoid any misunderstandings. It also shows the customer that the matter is important to the business.

Provide Solutions or Methods of Resolving the Problem: Don’t list business policies and practices. This will only infuriate the customer. Work with the customer to come up with a solution that will satisfy the customer. If possible, don’t pass the problem off to another representative or transfer the call to someone else. If you do, make sure the new representative has all of the pertinent information so the customer does not have to repeat himself.

Empathize, Don’t Apologize: A direct apology will assign blame to the company. It is better to empathize using such phrases as: ‘I am sorry you have had such a difficult time with our product.’ It will show that you care about the customer’s situation. Try to understand the customer’s feelings and point of view. Understanding will go a long way in satisfying the customer.

Keep Your Promises: Make sure that you don’t make promises that you can’t keep. It will reflect badly on the company and make you look incompetent. The customer will also appreciate reliable service.

Produce Positive Results: Always follow through with your plan to resolve the problem. Bad or poor quality service will cause you to lose customers. The key to maintaining customers is to always follow through with your promise.

Offer loyalty Incentives: If the problem cannot be adequately resolved, offer a customer an incentive so they will continue being a loyal customer. This can include giving them a replacement product or service along with a gift or discount on their next purchase. Everyone loves free things. It will make the customer feel appreciated.

Think of customer complaints as lessons for improving customer care. The solution to great customer service is being able to identify the type of customer you are dealing with. To reap the rewards of customer loyalty, the customer needs to be put first when there is a problem. Showing the customer you care and are willing to resolve the problem efficiently and effectively will go a long way in retaining customer loyalty. Customer loyalty cannot be established immediately, but the investment is well worth it. A happy and satisfied customer is essential to achieving a successful and long term business.

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Source by Amy Nutt

Views: 1

November 11, 2022
How To Tell If Someone Is An Entrepreneur
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One thing defines an entrepreneur – constructive action.

Typically, they’re the salesman – doing *everything* to get people to buy their stuff. We all have the image in our heads; the “wheeler-dealer”, picking any opportunity to try and exploit (and other people) for profit.

Indeed, the term “entrepreneur” seems to have drifted around the present lexicon – from “something you did” (typically to improve people’s lives) into a blend of “money mad hustler” and “someone who doesn’t ‘follow the rules’”.

The reality is the modern meaning could not be further from the truth.

Entrepreneurship isn’t a vocation or job. It’s not a label which you apply to yourself in order to make yourself more endearing to a particular party, or clientele… it’s a way of doing things.

Many “entrepreneurial” types actually have jobs. They’ll never admit they are “entrepreneurs”, although they exhibit all the traits of one. The question is what these traits are, and whether you – or someone you know – has them.

What Is An “Entrepeneur”?

Entrepreneur is a word derived from French – loosely describing a “problem solver”.

Whilst its connotation has changed over the years, the premise persists – an “entrepreneur” is someone who creates a “widget” and has the ability to encourage other people to buy it.

What this “widget” is can be a commercial product, service or idea.

It’s actually interesting… some of the greatest “entrepreneurs” of history actually had nothing to do with money. They were completely focused on the development of a particular “result” and committed themselves whole-heartedly to its realization.

Whether this meant conquering the Persian empire (Alexander), developing the light bulb (Edison) or creating stable PC systems (Gary Kildall), conquering the Aztec empire (Cortez), the term “entrepreneur” really denotes someone who wants to build something.

The BIG difference between “original” entrepreneurs and the swathes of new-age idiots (who typically aggrandize a hedonistic lifestyle + seem to have an infatuation for “crypto”) is that the former were typically committed to a single profession, and manage to “leverage” that through the development of increasingly ambitious “projects”.

These projects could be anything… but they all had a core “reason” to exist. This reason was what drove the originator to pursue the endeavour, and continue even when it was questionable whether it was even “possible” or not. Obviously, the reason we remember them is that they not only discovered it was “possible”, but entirely feasible… hence their success.

How To Tell If Someone Is One

The typical sign is they will do strange things…
- interest in esoteric ideas
- pursuit of interests not directly correlated to the accumulation of wealth
- strong displays of passion for particular subjects
- immersive nature with different ideas (trying to recreate historical events etc)
The point is that REAL entrepreneurs are not typically concerned about money at all.

Their primary concern is the creation of a “thing”. What that thing is, is determined by either their character or interests… but in every instance of someone who’s achieved a large amount of success, they were completely and utterly focused on doing “their” thing no matter what.

This is actually important.

The modern world seems to have every 18 year old male wanting to be an “entrepreneur” – like it’s a badge of honour or something. If you’re not “growing”, you’re “dying”… right?

The truth is that our society has become so focused on convenience that the majority of these money-grabbing idiots have absolutely no business even considering themselves “entrepreneurs”.

They have no experience, no skills and are only latching onto the latest “fad” in order to escape the mediocrity which has come to pervade the West’s consumerist culture.

Entrepreneurship typically follows YEARS of interest in a particular subject. It typically follows HUGE investments of time & energy into the cultivation of a skill set, experience and “involvement” in a particular space.

Most importantly – entrepreneurship is about doing something “your way”.

Stay Clear Of Modern Idiots

The BIGGEST problem I continually see from the hoards of idiots is they are ALL following a “book” or some other “rules” on “how” to be an entrepreneur.

I see it all the time… guys reading all the biographies, neural studies, latest books from the big wealthy fat cat – all trying to discover the “secret” to massive success.

What’s ironic is that all of this stuff just works on the “outside” of the issue – the same people who read all the “stuff” end up with the SAME questions… “what do I sell?”- “how do I know if I’m going to make money on a product?” – “what’s the secret to getting rich?”.
- If you have to ask “what do I sell”, you’re not an entrepreneur.
- If you have to listen to what a “successful” person has to say on a subject, you’re not an entrepreneur.
- If you have to consider all the “rules” put forward by others, you’re not an entrepreneur.
The point is that the modern world is chock-full of wannabe losers. Even the “successful” ones aren’t actually truly successful – they may have made a bunch of money, but what did they actually achieve? The answer is relatively little (or even nothing).

The truth is that if you want to “be” an entrepreneur, you have to get to work.

EVERYBODY has their own work. Some are models. Some are footballers. Some are computer programmers. Some are painters.

The “trick” is to do ANYTHING in order to get moving forward in an industry; clean the floors if necessary.

Once you start to gain some progress, the “entrepreneurial” stuff comes from leveraging any progress made within it – either to create & market a product, or to help a market better appreciate the potential of another device/product.

Traits Of “Real” Entrepreneurs
- Quiet (or at least reserved)
- Fully capable of embracing failure (indeed, using it as a spur to change/adapt)
- Working constantly on different elements within their “industry” (again, everyone has a place)
- Unafraid of social constructs (just because someone said it doesn’t make it true)
- Laser focused on what “they” want to do (you want to bring sustainable farming to Africa? This is the type of thing a “real” entrepreneur will actually do)
- Unafraid to give freely (most “entrepreneur” types are not attached to money at all… typically not having much until they find mercantile success)
If you haven’t worked it out, the core is purpose.

The modern world has very little emphasis on purpose; rather it focuses on productivity.

Nothing wrong with this, but it devoids most people of their passion. It’s good for GDP and McDonald’s – but bad for the creativity lying latent within a large number of people.

If you want to adopt “entrepreneurial” traits, the key is to become attuned to a particular “purpose” – through which you’re able to invest your entire life.

If you’re just looking at Ferrari’s and thinking that you “kind of want to become rich” – entrepreneurship is not going to do that. It’s a very difficult road, with only the most persistent and enduring surviving.

You need to get to work, and only then will you discover hidden opportunities into which you’re able to apply your expertise, experience or network to build something of real value to the world. This real value is then absorbed by the market, who’ll either pay handsomly for it – or reject it. This is pretty-much what determines whether someone could be considered an “entrepreneur” or not.

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Source by Richard Peck

Views: 0
November 11, 2022
4 Little Understood Tricks to Ending Up Being a Successful Affiliate Online Marketer

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Affiliate marketing company has actually gotten a great deal of buzz in current times due to advances in web innovations and upswing of social networks channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and so on

Some affiliate online marketers particularly novices battle to make successfully due to the fact that they do not completely comprehend the service.

WHAT REALLY IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?

Affiliate Marketing is the procedure of making online commissions by promoting product or services. Your commissions are made each time you get a lead (Possible client) or offer items online.The fascinating element of affiliate marketing service is that you can make a lots of cash with a little financial investment.

You can begin the company without items or services of your own, work from house and make passive earnings even while sleeping if you have an efficient system in location.

HOW DOES AFFILIATE MARKETING WORK

Register under the affiliate program of credible business that have important services and products.

Get your custom-made affiliate tracking link for each item you choose to promote online.

Select the ideal traffic source to utilize in promoting the item.

Select the specific niche items to concentrate on.

Pick the marketing method to utilize I.e Blogging, video or social networks marketing.

4 MAJOR WINNING STRATEGIES TO BOOST YOUR REVENUES ONLINE

Concentrate on a single specific niche at a time

This allows you to quickly encourage your consumers to purchase your items. This will enable you to find out and obtain brand-new selling techniques that will increase your sales and increase your revenues.

Select traffic sources

It is suggested to concentrate on 2 traffic sources at a time. I will advise concentrating on one online search engine and one social networks traffic at a time. This allows you to appropriately track and enhance projects released on each platform consequently optimizing your revenues per product.The trick of incredibly affiliates is their capability to concentrate on a traffic source, screening and tracking projects efficiently.

Test marketing technique to utilize

You can never ever understand if either blogging, social networks or video marketing will be most rewarding till you evaluate marketing techniques such as:

Track the data/results received from each of the approaches then you concentrate on the technique that produces the best earnings.

Video marketing; You can make a video explaining the functions of the item then you publish it on YouTube for individuals to view.

Blogging: You can compose a post utilizing well research study keywords for SEO. This attracts your customers to your blog site and triggers them to decide.

Social Network Marketing: This is the commonest and the simplest approach particularly for novices. Facebook is a great platform since it has great deals of groups/forums where you can discover individuals who have an interest in your services and product. You can quickly send them a pal demand and pitch your items to them.

Select the traffic type

Paid traffic includes utilizing Pay per click or Pay per view marketing on online search engine and social networks platforms. This technique is much faster, related to increased conversion and earnings due to the fact that it enables you to target your customers particularly based upon interests and other functions.

The traffic type can either be totally free or paid traffic.

Complimentary traffic includes SEO, social networks groups, and short article marketing. The downside of this technique is that it does not permit you to target your customer based upon their interests and demographics.

Learn more about how to become a successful affiliate marketer.

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Source by Juan C Ruiz

Views: 0

November 11, 2022
3 Ways Web Design Works to Help Your Business Grow

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As you know, web design and development affects your business and audience. It is the first thing they see concerning your business, so it ought to make a good impression. Below are three important aspects of web design:

1. Makes the first impression

Like I said, your website is the first thing a potential client sees before knowing your services and how your business works. Those first few seconds are essential in your business because they determines if a potential client would become a client or not. And, it also determines your bounce rate. Would the client leave the site almost immediately? Or would they stay and check your services out?

An unappealing website or – God forbid – an outdated one would make your audience immediately bounce. This is because first impression matters. What they see first – your branding and website – matters a lot on your business. So you should always keep yourself and your business up to date on the latest technological trends and developments.

2. Helps your SEO

A great web design is beyond how great it looks or how easy it is to navigate. Although these two are important on their own, a great web design should also be SEO-friendly.

A great way to stay on top of your game among your competition is SEO. Let SEO be integrated into your website design from scratch on a long-term basis, and watch as your website improves its rankings in search engines like Google or Bing.

If you don’t know how to integrate SEO into your website, do not leave it for a latter period. Instead, get a professional web developer who knows what he/she is doing.

3. Builds up the character for your company

How your website looks and feels to your audience is how they perceive the customer service to be. For example, when you enter a company for the first time, several things happens. You get recognised as a potential client, and immediately get attended to by the receptionist. The receptionist further directs you to either the waiting room or the person in charge directly.

If you get transferred to the waiting room, you would be given certain refreshments – like coffee or tea – depending on your preference. And when you finally meet the person who would handle your request, the manner at which he/she treats you, their character, is what makes you stay or leave.

The same thing goes for websites. Your website tells a potential client how the character of the company is. So you have to ask yourself, is your website user-friendly? Natural? Welcoming? Easy to navigate through? And most importantly, is it SEO-friendly, so that more clients can find your business?

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Source by Karina Popa

Views: 0

November 10, 2022
Dealing With Customer Complaints – B.L.A.S.T

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In a restaurant, not so far away, in the not so distant future, a telephone rings, a customer complains… and the battle begins!

Handling customer complaints doesn’t have to always be a battle, with the right tools and responses you can use complaints to your advantage; to help you build your business. B.L.A.S.T is a great tool that is used by companies such as Yum! (Parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, A&W, and Long John Silvers). Training their employees in the basics of handling customer complaints. The acronym stands for:

Believe

Listen

Apologize

Satisfy

Thank

How does your company deal with customer complaints? The easiest way to find out is to pick up the phone and play the role of the complaining customer. What happened? If you were an irritated customer, would you return? Using the B.L.A.S.T guidelines, allows you to create a standardized method for dealing with your complainers and turning them into loyal customers.

Believe

This is the cornerstone of handling a customer complaint. Yes, the customer may be lying and be incorrect about their situation. It is important to understand that your customer believes that your establishment has wronged them.

Listen

Stop and listen to your customer’s complaint. I’m not certain whether it’s natural instinct or just plain stubbornness. As soon as a customer starts to complain, we start to think of how we will respond to the accusation before we are done listening, and too often the case, already have the response ready to fight back. Take a second, relax, and listen. On occasion a complaining customer will be rude, angry, and use vulgar language, stay the course and remain calm and level headed.

When the customer is done venting; in a calm, non-judgmental tone, repeat their problem. An example I used in my KFC for a mispacked order:

“What I hear you saying is that, you came in ordered and paid for 10 Pieces of chicken and when you got home, you only received 8, is that correct?”

By repeating the problem at hand, you’ve demonstrated your ability to the customer that you heard and understood their problem.

Listen and clarify. Never defend or justify. The customer doesn’t care if you were shorthanded or if you’re having a bad day, they only care that they get taken care of. No excuses, just solutions.

Apologize

Always apologize even if you did nothing wrong. From your customers’ perspective, they have a legitimate complaint, and they expect an apology. It could be as simple as “I’m sorry we’ve inconvenienced you.” or “I’m sorry I know how frustrating it is to buy dinner for my family, only not to have everything there when I get home” A sincere apology will usually diffuse a lot of frustration that the customer has. There is an exception to this rule though, if a customer calls with a critical complaint, such as food poisoning, don’t apologize, it may be construed as an acceptance of guilt, instead refer to your company’s procedures for such events.

Satisfy

Make it right. Ask the customer “What can I do to make this right for you”? Be the judge of what is fair of course, but allow them the opportunity to feel empowered over the situation. Many times they may ask for the problem be taken care of on their next visit or maybe that you talk to the person who made the mistake and correct them. We used a great system of sending out a personalized postcard apologizing for the mistake, it was a couple of handwritten sentences (yes, many times with spelling mistakes from my team members), but it was personal and always well received. We always gave them the unexpected as well, maybe a free dessert or an extra side dish just to show that we cared about them.

Thank

At the beginning, at the end, in the middle; it doesn’t matter, thank the customer for calling and complaining.

Why? With the simple act of complaining, your customer is telling you “I care about your business and your success”. They are giving you the opportunity to fix the problem and invite them back so they can give you more of their money. Puts a different spin on it doesn’t it? Thank them for giving you that second chance, for letting you know that something in your restaurant didn’t work like it normally does, for giving you the chance to make it right, and for the opportunity not to damage your reputation!

Reputation? I had to throw that one in. You work hard, day in day out, trying the best to make your business the best, and yet one unhappy customer can take it away from you. A happy customer will tell two or three friends about a good experience, but an unhappy customer will tell at least ten friends about their experience and it always multiplies through word of mouth. Case in point, when I moved cross country to my new hometown, I was at a Chamber of Commerce event and being the new person in the group, I introduced myself and what we did. No sooner than five minutes passed did I get a list of 10 restaurants in my area that in their opinion were in “need of my services”. Only one person gave me a good restaurant. I didn’t ask, I was told. To this day I still haven’t been to those restaurants as a customer, why do I want to give them my hard earned money, when they made my new friends unhappy? It may not be a rational thought, but it is human nature.

Will some people take advantage of your kindness? Of course, a rule of thumb I used in my restaurant was:

First time shame on me,

Second time shame on me, but I’m watching you,

Third time… Shame on you and I will make the decision on how I will deal with you as a customer.

Keep track of who calls to complain, names, phone numbers for follow up, addresses for your postcards. Using a binder and tracking your complaints, you will be able to detect and deter those that would take advantage of your new complaint procedures.

Adding B.L.A.S.T to your expanding toolbox of customer service tools will help you in dealing with customer complaints and turn them around so they can tell their friends what great service you have!

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Source by Albert Barneto

Views: 0

November 10, 2022
The Five Pillars of Marketing Success

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Does the following give a pretty good picture of your current marketing activity?

You have a website but you’re not really satisfied with it. You go to networking events once in awhile. If someone asks you to give a talk, you’re happy to do it. You post on Facebook and/or LinkedIn semi-regularly. When you find the time, you send an article to those on your relatively small email list. You occasionally set up meetings with colleagues to explore opportunities.

Now there’s nothing wrong with any of those marketing activities. And usually, they will result in landing some new clients.

But this is not the approach that works to get a steady, predictable stream of new clients.

Please don’t tune me out here, thinking, “Well, I really can’t do more than this. I’m already stretched thin. If you give me too much to do I’ll get overwhelmed.”

I agree. It’s not that you need to do more marketing, it’s that you need to shift your marketing paradigm from one of “Randomness” to one that is “Focused.”

Random marketing is just that; it’s all over the place. You do a little bit here and a little bit there on an inconsistent basis. You are trying to keep your face, name, and message in front of your prospective clients but the results are unpredictable.

The Random marketing paradigm is not very effective because it doesn’t gain a lot of momentum. You don’t do enough of one marketing activity to grab the attention of your prospective clients and move them to take action.

The Focused Marketing Paradigm is very different. It’s based on repeatedly communicating very directly to your target market with a very definite end in mind. It gets the attention of your prospective clients and they ultimately take action.

The Focused Marketing Paradigm has Five Pillars

Understand and implement these five pillars and I promise you’ll see a shift in your marketing results.

Pillar One: Focused Goals

A Random goal is saying something like, “I’d like to attract a few more clients to my business.” Not very compelling is it?

A Focused goal is much more specific. “My goal is to land 3 new clients in the high-tech plastics business in the Houston area with an average project size of $30,000 each by the end of the year.”

The more detail, depth, and specificity about the goal, the better. You’ve really thought through what you want to achieve and also have confidence that you could deliver if you did reach your goal. It’s so real to you that you can taste it.

What is the Focused Goal for your marketing?

Pillar Two: Focused Program or Service

Random programs or services are generalized consulting, coaching or training programs. “I offer management consulting and training to corporations.” Kind of vague, right? But this is what I hear all the time.

A Focused Program or Service is more tangible. “I offer the high-tech plastics industry Management Acceleration Programs for emerging leaders in the industry.”

In my business, I’ve always offered programs: The Marketing Mastery Program, the Marketing Action Group, and the More Clients Club. And each program has very specific parameters, deliverables, and objectives. It sure makes intangible services easier to market and sell.

What is the Focused Program or Service you’re offering?

Pillar Three: Focused Target Market

In the above example, the target was the “high-tech plastics industry.” But it’s more common to hear things like, “I work with large companies who want to increase productivity.” This is too general and it makes it hard for clients to know if you understand them and can help them.

A Focused target market is where you are absolutely clear what kinds of people or companies can most benefit from your expertise. And then you articulate that clearly.

I worked with a financial planning company last year that targeted middle class families in the Buffalo New York area. Guess who they attracted to their practice? When people read about who they worked with on their website, they said, “That’s Us!” and called them.

Who exactly is your Focused Target Market?

Pillar Four: Focused Message and Value Proposition

A Random message or value proposition tends to be too general and can be hard to pin down. It avoids making a promise that is meaningful to the prospective client.

Messages such as, “We offer the best service in the industry,” or “Smart insights into great management,” are meaningless to your prospective clients. The value is not immediately obvious.

A Focused message or value proposition zeros in on exactly what your clients get and what it means to them. I admit that this can be the marketing pillar that is hardest to pin down. Ultimately you have to test a number of different things.

For the re-launch of the More Clients Club, my current value proposition is: “Everything Self-Employed Professionals Need in One Place to Attract More Clients.” And now, of course, I’m bending over backward to deliver on that promise.

And a marketing message or value proposition is much more than a sound bite. Your message must permeate every aspect of your marketing, from your website to the emails you send out. Your prospects need to be constantly reminded of the value you offer.

What is your Focused Message or Value Proposition?

Pillar Five: Focused Marketing Strategy

A Random marketing strategy is much like the collection of marketing activities I outlined at the top of the article. You’re just all over the place, throwing something at the wall, hoping it will stick, with no organized system or plan.

A Focused marketing strategy is more like a putting on a theatrical production. You have the script, the actors, rehearsals, and opening night, all executed on a strict timeline.

Two examples:

For my Marketing Mastery Program, I held a series of introductory teleconferences, invited those interested to apply for the program, interviewed each applicant, and then converted 50% into participants. Over a 6-week period, I filled my business for a full year – four years in a row.

A career coach in one of my programs recently filled her practice in three months with a focused campaign of personalized emails designed to get appointments with her ideal clients. Then she converted a large percentage into paying clients.

That’s the power of a focused marketing strategy.

You need to identify the right marketing strategy for your business, but even more important is the way you organize and implement the strategy.

Developing a focused strategy is the most complex and challenging of the Five Pillars. You can’t just put together something haphazardly and hope you get the equivalent of a professional Shakespearian production.

What is your Focused Marketing Strategy?

If you work to build a focused plan with these five solid pillars, your marketing will work better and faster, attracting more of your ideal clients, usually at a higher rate.

I recommend you work on one pillar at a time. Write them out and fine-tune them until you feel confident and excited about them. Yes, you will need to do some research and study to make sure your plan is viable. But this is certainly better than spinning your wheels with a random strategy that is going nowhere.

Cheers, Robert

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Source by Robert Middleton

Views: 0

November 9, 2022
Top 6 Ways to Get An Angry Customer To Back Down

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1. Apologize. An apology makes the angry customer feel heard and understood. It diffuses and anger and allows you to begin to re-establish trust. Not only that, but pilot studies have found that the mere act of apologizing has reduced lawsuits, settlement, and defense costs. You need to apologize to customers regardless of fault. Certainly, the apology needs to be carefully worded. Here’s an example of a sincere, yet careful apology:

“Please accept my sincere and unreserved apology for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”

2. Kill Them Softly With Diplomacy. This simple phrase has never failed me: “Clearly, we’ve upset you and I want you to know that getting to the bottom of this is just as important to me as it is to you.” When you say this, anger begins to dissipate. You’ve addressed the anger directly and non defensively and you haven’t been pulled into the drama of the attack.

3. Go into Computer Mode. To use Computer Mode you take on the formalities of a computer. You speak generally, without emotion, and you don’t take the bait your angry or difficult customer is throwing you. Your words, tone, and attitude are completely impersonal and neutral – (Think of the automated response system you speak to when you call your wireless phone company or bank.)

This “computer mode” response deflects, diffuses, and disarms angry customers because you don’t add fuel to the fire by giving your difficult customer what they want -an emotional reaction. When you don’t take the bait, the difficult customer is forced to stop dead in their tracks. And that means you regain control (and confidence).

The Computer Mode Approach In Action

Let’s say your customer says:

“You don’t give a d*** about customers. Once you get a customer locked into a contract, the service aspect is over.”

While it may be tempting to fuel the fire with an equally hostile response such as “What’s your problem, creep?”

Don’t take the bait. If you do take the bait, the situation will only escalate and nothing productive or positive will result. A computer mode response might look like this:

“I’m sure there are some people who think we don’t care about servicing customers.”

“People get irritated when they don’t immediately get the help they need.”

“It’s very annoying to experience a delay in service response.”

“Nothing is more distressing than feeling like you’re being passed around when all you want is help.”

And then you stop -like a locked up computer.

No matter how uncomfortable the verbal abuse is or how ridiculous it becomes, continue to respond without emotion. This tactic works because it is neutral, doesn’t take the bait, and because it is unexpected. The difficult customer wants to throw you off, make you lose control, and to get you to respond emotionally. When you fail to do each of these things, you actually regain control.

Go into “computer mode” the next time you’re faced with verbal abuse from an irate or unreasonable customer, and I promise you, you’ll quickly regain control —and you’ll have fun with the process.

4. Give this question a shot: “Have I done something personally to upset you?… I’d like to be a part of the solution.” Of course, you know you haven’t done anything to upset the customer. You ask this question to force the angry customer to think about his behavior. Often, the mere asking of this question is enough to get the ballistic customer to begin to shift from the right brain to the left brain, where he can begin to listen and rationalize.

5. Show empathy – Empathy can be a powerful tool used to disarm an angry customer and show that you genuinely care about the inconvenience the customer has experienced. Expressing empathy is also good for YOU, as it helps you truly begin to see the problem from the customer’s perspective/and this perspective will help keep you from losing your cool when your customer gets hot. By letting customers know that you understand why they are upset, you build a bridge of rapport between you and them.

Here are some phrases that express empathy:

o “That must have been very frustrating for you.”

o “I realize the wait you encountered was an inconvenience.”

o “If I were in your shoes, I’m sure I’d feel just as you do.”

o “It must have been very frustrating for you have waited five days for your order and for that I am sorry.”

6. And finally, here’s a tip that works like magic. …. Show appreciation for the difficult person’s feedback. After your difficult customer has ranted and raved, you can regain control of the conversation by interjecting—not interrupting, but interjecting to thank them for taking the time to give you feedback. You can say something like:

Thanks for being so honest.

Thanks for taking the time to let us know how you feel.

We appreciate customers who let us know when things aren’t right.

Thanks for caring so much.

The reason this tip works so effectively is because the last thing your irate or unreasonable customer expects is for you to respond with kindness and gratitude. It’s a shock factor and many times you’ll find that your customer is stunned silent and this is exactly what you want. When the customer is stunned into silence, you get in the driver’s seat and steer the conversation in the direction you want it to go.

When you do these things you’ll find that being on the receiving end of verbal abuse doesn’t have to be threatening or intimidating. You can come across as confident, composed and strong…and most importantly, you’ll regain control of the conversation.

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Source by Myra Golden

Views: 0

July 29, 2022
Successful Entrepreneurship – Cracking the Code

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We've heard stories of penniless immigrants who came to Canada with nothing but a dream, but within a single generation accumulate a lot of wealth. How do they do it?

This is a mystery to the typical person who graduates with a post-secondary education and goes on to work in the labor force as an employee (ie, most people!). This is because our educational system specifically trains its students to become employees rather than entrepreneurs.

So when we hear about these rags to riches stories, we ask ourselves – "how did they do it?" As someone who grew up in an entrepreneurial household, here is my take on Cracking the Code to Successful Entrepreneurship:

1. In most cases, one will never become truly financially independent working as an employee. Whether you are an entry-level bookkeeper or the CEO of a large organization, you can be unexpectedly fired at a whim by whoever you report to. You are therefore susceptible to financial catastrophe.

2. Therefore, the only way to achieve financial independence is to build and maintain a successful business.

3. There is a "magic formula" that will allow to evaluate a businesses' odds of success:

[( Sale price of product – Variable cost of product) x Units sold] – Fixed Overhead Costs = Profit

This formula will be very familiar to accountants – it's called the Contribution Margin Ratio.

Let's demonstrate this formula using a Bubble Tea business. Wonder why there are so many Bubble Tea shops in Toronto? Because they make a heck of a lot of money with little risk:

Price per bubble tea drink – $ 4.00

Cost to make per drink (water, powder, sugar) – $ 0.50

Drink sales per month assuming 100 sold per day – 3,000

Monthly rent for shop – $ 3,000

· Assume no labor costs – in the early years, the owners will work the shop themselves

· [($ 4.00 – $ 0.50) x 3,000] = $ 10,500 in sales

· Profit after paying rent: $ 10,500 – $ 3,000 = $ 7,500

Once you apply this formula to the multinational soft drink companies to analyze their beverage businesses, you can begin to understand why soft-drinks companies have grown from humble beginnings to global companies they are today.

You can also use this formula to evaluate almost any small business you might be thinking of getting into: restaurant, nail salon, hair salon. You should quickly realize that it's best to choose businesses with a high profit margin (ie, high selling price for produce / service and low cost of supplying the product / service) and high customer traffic (ie, units sold, people serviced).

Seeing the Future – Cash Flow Projection

You want to know if you'll be making a profit before going any further. If you skip this step, your chances of failing increase significantly.

Investigate your costs to start up and run your business. The most common are:

· Rent – how much will it cost to rent at the location where you want to set up?

· Wages and payroll tax – will you need employees or can your run the business yourself? How much do you need to pay yourself to meet your personal living costs?

· Advertising costs – what types of advertising will you use – TV, radio, internet – and what is their cost versus their potential return on investment?

· Cost of inventory or raw materials – will these be imported? If yes, you'll need to factor in the impact of exchange rates on your profitability.

· Purchase of equipment – general office equipment like a phone system, computers and IT network, and furniture, as well as specialized equipment for your specific line of business like restaurant equipment (if you're opening up a restaurant).

· Business liability insurance – to protect yourself from liability if someone is inadvertently harmed by your product or service, or if someone is injured on your premises.

· Pricing – how much will you be able to sell your product or service so that's it's competitive with others in your line of business

Once you've figured out your monthly costs (ie, your overhead) and pricing, you're now in the position to determine how many unit sales you need to make to breakeven – remember the Contribution Margin Ratio that we looked at. Use a spreadsheet to build a cash-flow projection model.

Protecting Yourself – Creditor Proofing

If things don't work out for your business you could be financially ruined. Therefore, consider the following techniques to protect your personal assets from your business creditors.

1. Incorporate the business. This will provide you with a level of creditor protection – most of a corporation's obligations are limited to its assets so this structure can provide protection for personal assets. This structure also has income tax benefits, which will not be discussed here.

2. Always pay statutory debt on time, specifically:

· Payroll source deductions;

· Federal and provincial sales tax collected; and

· Employee wages and vacation payable.

Corporate directors can be personally responsible for these debts, notwithstanding that the business is incorporated. In many incorporated small businesses, the shareholder (ie, the business owner) and director are the same person.

3. If you can, avoid giving personal guarantees of your corporation's business obligations (eg, landlord, suppliers) unless it is absolutely necessary.

You will need a financial expert on your team to deal with the issues raised in this article. Therefore, I would strongly advise that you contact a CPA who can help you further.

For all you aspiring entrepreneurs out there, I hope that I've helped take out some of the "mystery" behind successful entrepreneurship. Use this tool wisely and never stop dreaming!

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Source by Victor Fong

Views: 0

July 29, 2022
How Transparent Do You Need To Be When Promoting Affiliate Products?

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If you promote affiliate products, this means that you promote someone else’s products and they give you a commission for each sale. There are many rules and regulations you must follow in order to practice affiliate marketing properly. The truth is, the more transparent you are, the better.

One thing to remember is that being transparent in business is beneficial to everyone. Letting people know that your link to that helpful product is an affiliate product promotes trust. Giving the link without telling may not seem like a problem, but some people do get upset about that and feel as if they were lied to.By law you are required to:

Provide Contact Information

You cannot hide behind your computer and not be who you really are in today’s online world, and you shouldn’t want to. You’re there to serve your audience and customers and they need to get in contact with you. Provide easy to find contact information in as many ways as you can afford.

Provide On-Page Disclosure

Every visitor that comes to your page should have the opportunity to read that you earn money via affiliate links and product promotion. That means that on any page you sell a product, you should include the disclosure. You can find a plugin to help with this, or use shortcode if you use WordPress.

A Policy Page

Create a whole page devoted to explaining all your policies so that any website visitors can look at that page to find out the nature of your business. You should address all partnerships, how things are fulfilled, communication, and so forth. For example, your customers should know that if they buy something from a link, they should seek customer service for that product with the place they purchased from – but that you still want to know if they have more problems.

Other Useful Data

The fact is, any data you can provide makes you more transparent. It also makes your audience’s experience feel safer and makes them more comfortable. For example, include testimonials, recommendations, short reports and so forth about the products you are recommending. Anything you think will help build trust and make you more transparent to your audience you should do.

But, even if it was not a matter of law, transparency really builds that know, like, and trust factor that everyone wants so badly. When you tell people that you are making money promoting something, it does not take away from the fact that you’re selling something that solves their problem.

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Source by Jon Allo

Views: 0

July 29, 2022