30K in 30 Days DVD – ON RELEASE!

Just released and selling like hotcakes – the sensational new product everyone everywhere wants to get their hands on straightaway…

This is not a humdrum download but a physical creation; a dynamic 2-Hour DVD featuring a discussion between 13 millionaire online marketers as they hatch a plan to make 30K in 30 days, repeat the process, month after month after month, and then show you how to do it for yourself.

You will see this extraordinary presentation being advertised elsewhere for $197 and more - but you’ll save yourself a bundle if you buy it from me RIGHT NOW for only $97.

There’s a problem though; I’m fast running out of stock already…

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http://www.netofficetoolbox.com/app/?af=432350

I’m Giving Away My Proven Formula on How to Get a Book Published

If you are going to follow any formula on how to get a book published you’d better make sure it comes from an established bestselling author.

My proven formula does…

During the last ten years I’ve had over 30 fiction and non-fiction books published; published in hard copy format; published and selling in bookstores world wide – and selling in huge numbers online at Amazon.com.

The secret to my success hinges on two essential factors:

1. Quality of output
2. My own proven formula for getting published

So why am I now giving away the formula?

As I approach my 75th birthday I doubt I will have many more books published - although I have 3 more coming out this year bringing my total output up to 33 :-)

Writing has been good to me and publishing even better and so I would like to give something back in the shape of my formula to writers following in my footsteps; writers aspiring to publication.

What My Proven Formula Contains...

How to locate an appropriate publisher for your work
Matching your writing output to publisher profiles
Researching the marketplace
Where to find 1000s of publishers online
Guidelines for submitting a book proposal for fiction
Guidelines for submitting a book proposal for non-fiction
How to prepare your proposal acceptance
When to submit your proposal
What to ensure before you sign a contract
Addressing the author questionnaire
Employing the services of a literary agent
What to do when you cannot place your book with a traditional publisher
Self publishing without incurring substantial costs

How You Can Get the Formula Right Now for Free

I have set up a temporary page on one of my websites for your convenience. Complete the brief form and the download link for the formula will be sent to you by return.

Enjoy…

Jim Green

Collect Your Copy of My Formula on How to Get a Book Published

http://formula.howtoproducts-xl.com

Getting what you want with gentle persuasion

Persuasion is the art of getting people to do something they wouldn't ordinarily do if you didn't ask. When meeting with a prospective client for the first time, you are trying to understand their problems, determine their objectives, explain your services and outline the many benefits of working with you. But what if it's not going anywhere? No matter how much you ask, how well you present your advantages or how sincere you are about helping this prospective client, things don't seem to be clicking.

SELLING THE FUTURE

What I mean by this is going beyond outlining objectives, value and measures of success (which most of us don't do a good job with to begin with) and helping the prospective client get in touch with their real motivation to take action, to move in a new direction. This motivation always lies in the future and it lies inside the client, not outside. You need to go beyond the surface and discover their highest aspirations, their most compelling dreams.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

Once you've learned about their situation, their problems, and discussed objectives and outcomes, what you need to do now is dig deeper and learn why those solutions or outcomes are important to them. You're really always asking the same question: 'If you got X, then after you have it, what do you want that's even more important?' But as simple as this might seem, the ultimate result can be very powerful.

What happens in this process of selling the future is that your prospects get in touch with what they really want, what's really important to them. And when that is clear, people become motivated to move heaven and earth to get that result. If you have helped facilitate this process, they will see you as a partner in producing that result. You've asked the right questions, you've listened, and you have resonated with what was important to them. You've clicked...

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Strategies for developing self confidence

Ø Emphasize your strengths. Give yourself credit for everything you try. By focusing on what you can do, you applaud yourself for effort rather than emphasizing end product. Starting from a base of what you do well helps you to live within the bounds of your inevitable limitations.

Ø Take risks. Approach new experiences as opportunities to learn rather than occasions to win or lose. Doing so opens you up to new possibilities and can increase your sense of self-acceptance. Not doing so turns every possibility into an opportunity for failure, and inhibits personal growth.

Ø Use self-talk. Use self-talk as an opportunity to counter harmful assumptions. Then tell yourself to bin unreality and substitute more acceptable assumptions. For example: when you catch yourself expecting perfection, be aware that you can't do everything perfectly, that it's only possible to do things as well as you can. This allows you to accept yourself as you are while still striving to improve.

Ø Self-evaluate. Learn to evaluate yourself independently. Doing so allows you to avoid the constant sense of turmoil that comes from relying exclusively on the opinions of others. Focusing internally on how you feel about your own commercial performance will give you a stronger sense of self and will prevent you from giving your personal power away too easily to others.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Mastering the art of providing good service

You might just get away for a time with marketing a substandard product, but you'll never get away at any time with providing inferior service.

You'll be found out in a hundred different ways. In the bricks and mortar environment the essential elements in the provision of good service tend to vary from one industry to another, but they are all directed towards the one end: keeping the customer happy.

No one lasts long in retailing, for example, unless time and energy are constantly expended on matters such as enhancing store lighting, improving ease of traffic flow, extending the range of options to pay, and excelling in customer care.

AVENUE OF OPPORTUNITY

The pressure is unrelenting and the demands increase in tandem with the changes in trading patterns occasioned by the phenomenal growth of information technology. And yet in this very technology lies an avenue of opportunity if we but take the time to examine it.

Most small businesses nowadays have an Internet presence of sorts in the shape of a modestly constructed web site. But how many use it for the purpose the web was invented: the receipt and distribution of valuable information?

Your web site provides the cyberspace way to foster good customer relations and to engender loyalty by providing a constant stream of variable information on all matters relating to service.
It's called 'e-service'...

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Survey your website visitors

A good way to kick off your e-service project is to set up a simple 'feedback' form. Asking for feedback from visitors to your site is one of the best ways to obtain suggestions about improving your merchandise—and an online survey is a fast, convenient and inexpensive method to gather information, including:

Ø What do your customers and prospects want to buy?
Ø How do they like your current product or service?
Ø How would they improve it?
Ø What do they think of your competition?

Always respond quickly with a 'thank-you' email for their participation. This helps create a bond that keeps customers and converts prospects.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Strategic planning for opportunity

When opportunity comes knocking at your door (it does so many times) you will want to be in a position to take full advantage, and the best way to achieve a state of readiness is to be constantly honing up your skills on strategy making. The more you practice, the better prepared you will be to handle any challenge.

When you get the call, some healthy self-talk and your A4 sheet will come in handy. Let's assume you are the owner operator of a small graphics house and out of the blue you are invited to pitch for a sizeable chunk of new business.

There is a comprehensive brief attached to the invitation and it specifies the requirement for a full-scale presentation. There is also an offer from the prospective client of further clarification on any aspect(s) of the brief. Be on the safe side and take them up on that before committing hefty expenditure to this 'wonderful' opportunity.

Enter stage right: your sheet of A4…

On the up side

1. This is a prestigious account.
Winning it will lift us right
up there among the big boys.

2. We must come highly recommended.

3. Adrenaline is running on high
in the studio - best get the
presentation online straightaway.

4. We'll recover the presentation costs
By amortizing them across future work.

5. We stand to make a lot of money.

On the down side

1. Or is it yet another 'cattle call'?
And have you been brought in
just to make up the numbers?

2. Oh really? Check that out.
There are lots of Machiavellian
people out there.

1. Hold up. There's no mention of a
presentation fee in the brief.

2. This is a fee-based account remember. They'll spot recovery of costs a mile away.

3. Look again at the fee base. Will there be irrecoverable costs over and above?

Conclusion

Ø Request an early meeting with the prospective client
Ø Tie up loose ends before committing to presentation

Action

Ø Ask for a complete list of the contenders
Ø Ask why invitation was rendered
Ø Ask did it come by way of recommendation
Ø Ask for a presentation fee
Ø Ask for a complete analysis of the fee based payment structure

Subsequent action

Ø If no presentation fee is forthcoming, decide whether to proceed
Ø If proceeding, trim costs accordingly

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Why Most Start Ups Flounder and Go Under

It is well documented that the failure rate for new business propositions of every description is extremely high in the early years of trading. This is not by coincidence, bad luck or happenstance; it is underpinned by a unifying factor.

Start ups that set sail in a sea of excitement, then flounder and go under, invariably do so because they discard the very compass that will guide them safely from port to port in their quest for survival, yet alone success.

The devising of this compass was their initial act in the art of strategy making, and yet it is usually the first piece of equipment to be jettisoned.

The business plan

Those who refer to it every working day, revise it, refine it, are all the time developing a strategy for lifelong success. Those who use it once for funding and then consign it to gather dust on a shelf are developing a strategy for imminent failure.

And there are no exceptions, no exemptions.

Pop music, for example, is just as much an industry as any other you can think of, so why then are there so many one-hit wonders? Is it because the participants have no talent or because they're working with rubbish material?

I doubt it, because they have already evidenced a degree of competence through early albeit transient success.

Those few who make the grade and manage to capitalise on initial attainment do so because they have a strategy for the future, a plan of action for fulfilment.

The many that fall at the first hurdle are invariably represented by management that has neither the experience nor the wit to develop winning strategies.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

The amazing power of words in minding your own business

Communication is the universal platform on which all business is conducted. And yet, how often we take for granted the very instruments that constitute the basis of our ability to communicate effectively. Words. They have the power to inspire or depress, the power to evoke acceptance or rejection, the power to clinch or lose a deal, the power to make or break a business.

Diction - What you say and how you say it are of equal importance. Always choose your words carefully, and never use a word where you are uncertain of the precise meaning. It could rebound on you, creating an outcome you'd rather not have.

Correspondence - Every written communication you issue is an ambassador for your enterprise, be it directed to customers, suppliers or employees. Never dispatch anything until it has been thoroughly checked for accuracy of structure, content and syntax. Mistakes jar, they stick, and they reflect badly on professionalism.

Telephone - Even the smallest concern needs telephonic communication for sales, service, ordering, collecting dues, etc. It is good business practice to ensure that everyone in the organisation follows a set pattern for making and responding to calls.

Marketing - Advertising, marketing, promotion all depend heavily on the amazing power of words to get the message across. A superbly crafted illustration might paint a thousand words in realms of art appreciation, but in the context of hard tack marketing your super-duper graphics won't get you very far unless they are accompanied by compelling, persuasive dialogue.

Selling - When you are walking the talk in a face-to-face sales pitch, it isn't your beloved product or service that wins the day; it is your powers of expression. Prospects aren't there to be sold to, but they will willingly buy from you if they like what you have to say, and how you say it. This is not to imply that he/she who barks loudest in the marketplace, always brings home the bacon. On the contrary, the best presenters are invariably quiet, introspective individuals who have a firm grasp on the essential tenets of word power and who know instinctively how to put the message across to best effect.

Internet - People the world over use the Internet to source information. They choose a search engine, insert a word or several key words, which in turn leads them to more words and so on until they have compiled a catalogue of data on what they want to know. So, when are setting out to create your own commercial presence on the Internet, make words your prime priority. Words are what cyberspace is all about. Web creation tools, graphics, sound, animation, gizmos are all available to be downloaded for free, but the words - the most essential ingredient - are all down to you. Make sure you spend the bulk of your time on their composition before you tackle the packaging.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Prepare to persist in your quest for achievement

Once you are clear in your own mind what it is you want to achieve, be prepared to persist until you have accomplished it. There is no point in putting thought, work and effort into developing a plan if you fail to carry it out. The real achievers in life are not necessarily the heralded captains of industry or high profile personalities; they are those ordinary people who go about their business quietly and efficiently, ticking off each goal on the list as it is accomplished.

Plans don't just fall into line because progress never just 'happens'. You have to make it happen through persistent effort.

Ø Persist in the pursuit of your goals - Many small business owners conduct their affairs on a haphazard basis, bouncing from one crisis to another and snatching at fortune whenever they catch a fleeting glimpse of opportunity. You don't fall into this category or you would not be reading this book. You have identified your goals; prepare to persist through thick and thin until you have achieved them all.

Ø Persist in all your daily undertakings - Systematic progress in all you undertake to accomplish each working day is the cornerstone to fulfilling your ambitions in the long term. There is no other way; there are no quick fixes. Tackle your 'things-to-do' list with enthusiasm and when you have completed it, you will have taken another giant step forward.

Ø Persist in developing your marketing applications - The more curious you are about marketing techniques, the more inventive you will become in their application. Observe, study and learn the techniques with which you are not yet familiar; then put into practice those with which you feel most comfortable. That is how to test market for future achievement.

Ø Persist in evolving your sales policy - There is more than one way to sell your output, be it tangible merchandise or a personal service. Look around at how others are doing it; spend some time on the search engines identifying competitive web sites to determine whether you are perhaps lagging behind in the evolvement of your sales policy.

Ø Persist in grooming your staff - Send them on training courses or better still, conduct a seminar in your own premises. Persist in grooming them to make the best of themselves because when they do, they will bring out the best in you.

Ø Persist in collecting your dues - Never settle for customers paying you when it suits them. Persist until you fine-tune your systems to ensure that you get paid at your prescribed time, every time.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Eight Secrets for Successful e-Service

Effective e-service, despite the apparent obstacles, is actually a very achievable goal. As numerous successful implementers have demonstrated, it simply requires the right principles, practices, and tools. Eight basic attributes make web-based customer support work for any business, no matter how small:

Ø Making sure your web site 'listens' to customers - Every successful salesperson knows the most important part of their job is listening - both for explicit and implicit messages. Web sites should do the same. Explicit messages are clear requests for specific information. Implicit messages are patterns of queries or usage that imply a lack of or difficulty in finding some type of content. An effective web presence requires mechanisms and/or practices that ensure an attentive ear to both types of online customer requirements.

Ø Giving customers what they want - It's not enough to ascertain which types of content users are asking for: the content must also be provided quickly. The atmosphere of the web is driven by a sense of immediacy. Delays in delivering customer-driven content can be deadly. An e-service solution must capture customer requests and use that information to automatically enhance site content for future visitors.

Ø Responsive content and response mechanisms that are easy to find and easy to use - It's remarkable how many web site designers allow customers to wind up in places where they can't easily find a way to ask for more information or send an email request. On many sites, the ‘Contact Us’ button simply launches a pre-addressed email screen - with no information about how soon they can expect a reply or where else to look for information. Many sites don't even provide a phone number if a customer really needs to talk to someone right away. If customers can't even find the company phone number, what are the chances that they will be able to find an even more obscure piece of information? Hidden content is the same as no content at all. Of course, this is true of all types of content, but it's especially critical for response-related pages. So e-service must be easy for customers to use.

Ø Appreciating the 80/20 rule - While it's great to make sure web site content is as comprehensive as possible, the fact remains that - on average - 80% of all site traffic is aimed at 20% of the content. In other words, a relatively small amount of content can take care of a tremendous amount of business if it's the right content. So small businesses that delay putting up sites because they're trying to make sure they can answer every possible customer question online are making a mistake. It's much smarter to get the most important information up first, and then add to it over time as dictated by customer needs.

Ø Why it pays to get pushy - You don't have to rely on customers coming to your site to get them the information they need. By offering a variety of email notification options, you can turn a customer's email box into an extension of your web site. A good way to do this is to ask visitors if they would like to be notified if there is any change in a specified content area, such as a product catalogue or a press release archive. Such notify-on-change ‘push’ mechanisms allow you to leverage your web site and build an ongoing electronic relationship with your customers.

Ø Respond quickly or risk losing the customer forever - As highlighted in a recent major study based on consumer feedback (Right Now Technology Study, 2002) many businesses make the mistake of being too slow in their response to online information requests. Once a customer or prospect has been disappointed by how slowly their question has been answered, they are unlikely to try again. They might even become disillusioned about the operation as a whole. If you're going to offer even a bare bones email contact mechanism, make sure it results in a fast reply - preferably as early as possible on the following working day.

Ø Track for information as it comes in - Because a large percentage of site visitors tend to have the same narrow set of questions, it's critically important to track requests for information as they come in. Consistent tracking of requests allows those in charge of site content to determine where to direct their efforts - allowing for much more efficient use of resources. Effective e-service applications perform this tracking automatically and dynamically rank information based on historical usefulness to customers. This ‘sameness’ in questions is all the more reason to include a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on the Web site.

Ø Automate, automate, automate - All the tasks required to create a truly responsive site - assimilating and analysing user queries, developing appropriate content and posting it in a well-organised manner, handling ad hoc and ‘push’ email communications, etc. - can be extremely labour-intensive. As site traffic increases, these tasks can pile up even more. Many sites are spoiled by their own success, as the volume of communications exceeds the resources dedicated to supporting that communication. So, it is critically important to deploy effective automation tools that can scale to meet rising demands. Such tools significantly increase the return on staff and infrastructure resources invested in the web. Good e-service applications automate site maintenance tasks and eliminate time-consuming knowledge collection and engineering functions - functions that, when neglected over time, result in out-of-date content and dissatisfied customers.

These simple procedures can make the difference between online success and online failure. As so many operations continue to demonstrate, online success not only has an impact on how a company is perceived by its customers, but also on how it is perceived by Internet users en masse.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Strategies for developing self confidence

Ø Emphasize your strengths. Give yourself credit for everything you try. By focusing on what you can do, you applaud yourself for effort rather than emphasizing end product. Starting from a base of what you do well helps you to live within the bounds of your inevitable limitations.

Ø Take risks. Approach new experiences as opportunities to learn rather than occasions to win or lose. Doing so opens you up to new possibilities and can increase your sense of self-acceptance. Not doing so turns every possibility into an opportunity for failure, and inhibits personal growth.

Ø Use self-talk. Use self-talk as an opportunity to counter harmful assumptions. Then tell yourself to bin unreality and substitute more acceptable assumptions. For example: when you catch yourself expecting perfection, be aware that you can't do everything perfectly, that it's only possible to do things as well as you can. This allows you to accept yourself as you are while still striving to improve.

Ø Self-evaluate. Learn to evaluate yourself independently. Doing so allows you to avoid the constant sense of turmoil that comes from relying exclusively on the opinions of others. Focusing internally on how you feel about your own commercial performance will give you a stronger sense of self and will prevent you from giving your personal power away too easily to others.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Devising a strategy for every situation in business

To win more often than you lose in the world of commerce, you will require to develop the knack of devising strategies for every type of situation; the good, the bad, the indifferent. There is nothing difficult about this. Start off by undertaking the exercise outlined in the previous chapter. Take a sheet of A4; adjust the sequence of instructions to your particular requirements, then crack on devising strategies. Practice the technique and you will be rewarded by the labyrinth of your subconscious providing you with a steady stream of viable strategies for every type of problematic situation or avenue of opportunity associated with your operation.

You could try it another way of course by steeping yourself in academe. You won't be stuck for choice.

Thousands of articles and hundreds of books have been published on the subject of strategy; strategic planning, strategic marketing, strategic overviews, strategic this, strategic that, strategic the other. But they all relate to the same premise; the ability to think on your feet. Read such tomes by all means (if you have the time or the inclination) but be selective and always remember that the only real masters of the business arts are the ones who are actually out there doing it, day in, day out. What they have learned in the hard school of knocks says it all:

Strategy = Planning = Resolution

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Develop Skills Based on Qualities You Already Possess

Ø Inner strength
Ø Innate kindness
Ø Boldness
Ø Pride
Ø Humor
Ø Realism
Ø Humility

And the greatest of these is humility. Great leaders always exude a pronounced sense of humility in their dealings with fellow human beings. They can be tough but never rough, gentle but never soft. The effects of genuine humility are awesome and have the power to inspire loyalty in others.

Ø Learn to be strong but not rude - It is an essential step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide ranging 'reach'. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even close to being a good substitute.

Ø Learn to be kind but not weak - You must never mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a special type of strength. You must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. You must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. You must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

Ø Learn to be bold but not a bully - It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you’ve got to walk the talk in front of your group. You’ve got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, and discover the first sign of trouble.

Ø Be proud but not arrogant - It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It’s when you don’t know that you don’t know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that up to a point. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that’s just too much to take.

Ø Develop humor without folly - This is important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it’s okay to be witty, but not silly. It’s okay to be fun, but not foolish.

Ø Deal in reality - Save yourself the agony. Just accept life as it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but in fact it’s unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It’s fascinating. Skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another but the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.

Ø Finally: learn to be humble, but never timid. You can’t get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Expressed another way, humility is a grasp of the distance between the stars, and yet giving out the feeling that we’re part of the stars. Humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

The Danger of Self-Defeating Thought Patterns

Subscribing to harmful assumptions leaves you vulnerable to self-defeating thought patterns:

Ø All-or-nothing syndrome. "I feel like a total failure when my performance is less than perfect". This is a surefire strategy for screwing things up big time.

Ø Seeing only dark clouds. "Disaster lurks around every corner and comes to be expected". For example, a single negative detail, piece of criticism, or passing comment darkens reality and sets off alarm bells.

Ø Magnifying the negative/minimizing the positive. "Winning doesn't count nearly as much as losing. I bagged three deals in a row but losing out on this one makes me feel terrible about myself". This has to be the ultimate in negative thinking.

Ø Uncritical acceptance of emotions as truth. "I feel inadequate so it must be true". So no one remarked today how great you are, so what?

Ø Overemphasis on 'should' statements. 'Should' statements are invariably reflective of the expectations of other people rather than expressive of your own wants and desires. 'I should have listened to Fred, and then I wouldn't have blown it.' Dependence on the opinion of others is a self-defeating pursuit.

Ø Labeling. A simplistic process that often conveys a sense of blame.
"I am a loser and it's all my fault." Never put labels on yourself. They have a habit of doing exactly what you say they will do.

Ø Difficulty in accepting compliments. "Do you really think I did okay in that presentation? I thought I was bottling it towards the end". Do this and you are inviting acquiescence.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Everyday Strategies for Personal Development

You can also pull down ready-made strategies any time you like, strategies to put into practice at will to further personal development and enhance aptitude. For example:

Ø Make something happen. Make initiative your target for next week. Taking the initiative doesn't mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It means recognizing your responsibility to make things happen. If you want to motivate your staff express that motivation through action. If you want to increase sales, lower overheads, or solve a vexing operational problem, take the initiative and make something happen.

Ø Increase your visibility. Leaders can be quietly competent, but they must be visible. Your task is to work side by side with one of your front-line employees for at least a half a day. Discover what it's like to work in the factory, or to sit on the phone fielding vexatious customer service calls. By participating you'll convey that no one is above doing the work that needs to be done. Be bold, and do the work with gusto even if you've never done it before. Be visible. The word will get around.

Ø Look for trouble. Take on a tough assignment. Show your followers that you're willing to tackle their problems hands on.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Being in the right place at the right time...

Luck is best defined as "The intersection where opportunity and preparedness meet"
(Author unknown)

Preparedness meaning that you have availed yourself of the facts and are inspired to embrace those facts and move forward. And so being in the right place at the right time is more often than not down to developing the nous to spot an opportunity and carve a niche for your particular expertise. Occasionally you might luck out and hit the big one without effort but that doesn't happen often enough to get fazed about.

The trick is to plan to be in the right place at the right time.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Cultivate intuition by listening to the inner voice

Intuition is becoming increasingly recognized by psychologists as a natural mental faculty, a key element in the creative process, a means of discovery, problem solving, and decision making. Once considered the province of a gifted few, it is now recognized as an innate capacity available to everyone--not a rare, accidental talent, but a natural skill anyone can cultivate. A key ingredient in what we call genius, it is also an important tool when applied to everyday business affairs.

It is an incredible weapon to have at your command in an arsenal of strategy making techniques, but it doesn't just happen and you cannot switch on at will until you first learn how to cultivate intuition by listening to the inner voice that resides within you.

There are several excellent books on the subject that you can purchase at good bookstores or perhaps borrow from your local central public library but here are some basic pointers to help you get started on your quest to reach the inner voice.

SLOWING DOWN AND LISTENING TO THE INNER VOICE

Information is proliferating at such a frenzied rate today that even with personal computers and cellular phones (or perhaps because of them) your attention is stretched to the extreme. Not only do you have more facts about more diverse fields of information than ever before, you are also subject to a greater array of outcries and opinions.

Fortunately, beneath all the cacophony of the information age, the quiet truth about problem solving, decision making, and opportunity seeking in business is always available to you. By learning to slow down and pay attention to what’s right under your nose, you have a chance to find your own authentic answers, unaided by media and technology. To do that you must build up your 'intuition muscle' and learn to centre yourself in the present moment. It’s only at your core, in the here-and-now eye of the global information hurricane, that you can hear the inner voice.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Staunching Business Pressure Before it Reaches Boiling Point

No matter how well organised you are, sometimes something comes at you out of the blue to catch you unawares and create pressure.

It doesn't have to be a crisis; just some matter sufficiently vexatious as to warrant your immediate attention.

Such unexpected happenings can have an unsettling effect, knocking you off your stride unless remedial action is undertaken at the outset.

Identify the issue, isolate it, and address its resolution before the pressure builds up to reach boiling point.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Selling the Future Pays Off for Small Business

What I mean by this is going beyond outlining objectives, value and measures of success (which most of us don't do a good job with to begin with) and helping the prospective client get in touch with their real motivation to take action, to move in a new direction. This motivation always lies in the future and it lies inside the client, not outside. You need to go beyond the surface and discover their highest aspirations, their most compelling dreams.

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

Once you've learned about their situation, their problems, and discussed objectives and outcomes, what you need to do now is dig deeper and learn why those solutions or outcomes are important to them. You're really always asking the same question: 'If you got X, then after you have it, what do you want that's even more important?' But as simple as this might seem, the ultimate result can be very powerful.

What happens in this process of selling the future is that your prospects get in touch with what they really want, what's really important to them. And when that is clear, people become motivated to move heaven and earth to get that result. If you have helped facilitate this process, they will see you as a partner in producing that result. You've asked the right questions, you've listened, and you have resonated with what was important to them. You've clicked...

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Learning to ask for what you want...

The old adage - If You Don't Ask, You Don't Get - is also a truism, and yet some people balk at the prospect of asking someone else for what they want. No one is going to hand you a million pounds just for the asking but, if it's within their orbit of expertise, they might show you how to set about earning that amount of money for yourself. Information is the commodity that business people want; they want to know how to do this, that and the other, and if they don't ask around, they miss out.

They miss out because what they want is freely available if only they would take the trouble to ask. Only the twisted and bitter will refuse a reasonable request for information which is within their domain to impart.

WHO CAN YOU ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT?

You can ask whom you like, providing it's someone with the wherewithal or the power to provide you with what you are seeking. I once wrote to Tony Blair asking what he thought about the concept of a book I was about to write, Selling to the Public Sector, How To Books 2000. By return I received a reply from one of his aides stating that the Prime Minister thought it was a good idea and a worthwhile project.

Now, I wasn't asking for the PMs permission to write the book because I didn't need his approval to proceed. What I wanted was to create awareness at the highest level in the public sector that such a book was in the melting pot, and I succeeded. I got exactly what I wanted with the proviso that I didn't use the 'endorsement' for promotional purposes. That was not an issue because I had already indicated in my request that such was not my intention.

Ask at the very the very pinnacle of the information tree wherever you can...

It is always a good policy to go straight to the top in your quest for what you want, especially when dealing with institutions. While it is not always possible, try it wherever you can because you will knock out the middleman and anyone else empowered to block your progress.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Is Selling a Talent, a Skill, or a Process?

Selling is all of the above, and if you're going to be successful in your small business you've got to first understand sales technique and then master it. There are many misconceptions about the art of selling: 'Sales is about deception'; 'Sales means being pushy'; 'Sales is manipulation'. If you believe this sort of stuff, you're going to have a very hard time.

How about a change of belief?

Selling is about honesty; selling is about listening; selling is about helping. If you start to think of sales in this way it will be a lot easier for you. After all, don't you want to be an honest, listening, helping salesperson for your services? The good news is that excellent salespeople are exactly this way.

Ø Selling as a Talent. - You are actually a born salesperson who lost the talent as you matured. It used to be easy to ask for things and to present your case. But you became 'professional' and stopped doing what was natural. So don't worry about talent. Just learn the skills and the process.

Ø Learn some basic Sales Skills - And all the talent will come back to you naturally. What are the key sales skills? (1) Listening for what people want and need; (2) Asking questions to find out more; (3) Presenting what you have in terms of benefits; (4) Answering objections and questions with logical arguments. And finally, simply asking your prospect to take action. Yes, it takes time and practice to master these basic skills, but the truth is they are at the heart of all selling.

Ø How about Selling as a Process? - For me this is the most interesting part of selling and often the most important. Selling (especially for high-end products and services) is a multi-step process that can take quite a long time. It is not a one-call proposition. So for your particular requirements you need to map out the process from A to Z before anything else. For instance, here's my sales process for selling marketing services to major prospects.

1. Pre-qualification - They call on me as a result of a referral or from other marketing I've done and I find out something about their needs and their situation. I tell them a little about what I do.

2. Information - I make sure they have enough information about me so they can at least determine if I might be able to help them or not. For this I send them a brochure or direct them to my web site.

3. Appointment - If I can help them and they are interested, I set up a presentation.

4. Presentation - I then give them a presentation to better understand where I'm coming from and so they can see the possibilities of us working together.

5. Needs Assessment - Next I find out everything I can about them in a face-to-face meeting to determine exactly what they need, their budget, etc.

6. Proposal - I write up a very specific proposal outlining exactly what objectives we will accomplish and how I will go about doing it.

7. Negotiation - We discuss the fine points of the proposal and come to an agreement as to how we'll proceed.

8. Consummation - The client signs the proposal (contract) and we start working together.

To effectively accomplish the entire process you need to be aware of what step you are on at the moment and be clear about what step you want to get to next. For the sales process to be successful, you must actively guide it. If you don't it can go in any direction. This guiding of the process is not manipulation in the traditional sense, but it is control. And believe it or not, prospects like to work with people who are in control, who know where they're going, who know what to do next. So yes, selling is a talent, a skill and a process. But perhaps understanding the process is the most important aspect. When you do, you are likely to close a great many more sales.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Creating Your Own Distinctive Style in Business

Few if any of us are as talented as the Saatchis but that is no reason why we should not examine how we currently conduct business to determine whether there are areas we could revitalize by adding a touch of style to our approach. Here are some aspects you might consider worthy of review.

Ø Marketing - Do you continue to use the same marketing methods year in, year out? Look around, see what's fresh, and try something new. If you use an advertising agency, spring a surprise now and then by asking them to re-pitch in competition with other agencies. That will be enough to sharpen their style and in the process provide you with a range of disparate approaches.

Ø Sales and distribution - Could your sales policy do with a spring clean and are you up to snuff on the changing patterns in distribution? Sometimes staying in the comfort zone can cost you dearly. Put your style to work and discover areas of opportunity you may be currently missing out on.

Ø Presentation - If your business involves presentation and demonstration, could you improve on performance by adding a little style to the proceedings? Think about it. There are lots of good books and tapes available to help you add zing and zest to your technique.

Ø Buying - Does your buying policy revolve exclusively around automatic knee jerk reactions to diminishing stock levels? Have you been out and about recently to see what's new on offer? When did you last consider adding new lines of merchandise, perhaps on a sale or return basis? Press the style button and get cracking.

Ø Customer service - Inject some style into your service strategy by being bold enough to ask customers what they really want from you. The famous bandleader Joe Loss always knew exactly what his customers wanted. On tours around provincial dance halls and when his musicians were taking a break, Joe forswore the coffee and elected instead to mingle and talk with the patrons, assessing their disparate tastes in popular music. That is why is the Joe Loss Ballroom Orchestra topped the polls from the 1930s through to the end of the 1970s.

Ø Collecting dues - Style in debt collection? You bet there is. If you struggle to get the cash in on time, investigate your options on alternative ways to collect outstanding dues.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to Handle the Introspection Process When Addressing Business Problems

Ø Identify the warning signals. How, where, when and why did they come to light? Have you missed any others that might have a bearing on the eventual outcome? What the ear doesn't hear, the eye cannot visualise - so listen, observe and analyse.

Ø Evaluate the situation. Do it calmly but with a sense of urgency, using this strategy for swift and decisive evaluation. Take a sheet of A4, draw a line down the middle, put a 'plus' at the top of one side, a 'minus' at the other. If you end up with no plusses, you have a real problem on your hands.

Ø Analyse the risks. Do this conscientiously even if it scares the hell out of you - but don't start yet on searching for solutions.

Ø Discriminate between types of risk. Not every risk results in the same outcome. Review your analysis and scale the risks in order of gravity.

Ø Devise risk strategies. Now you can start looking for solutions. Devise a series of remedial strategies starting with the most serious risk on your list.

Ø Avoid analysis paralysis. Accomplish all of the foregoing rationally and rapidly; leaving emotion out of the equation (you can handle the demons later). Above all, resist the temptation to cover the same ground over and over again or you will contract analysis paralysis and end up in total frustration.

Ø Discuss your findings with others only if you must. If you are a one-man operation, keep your findings to yourself for now. If you have partners or co-directors you may be obliged to open up but restrain anyone from pressing the red alert.

Ø Take your own counsel in the final analysis. It is your own business you are minding, so make sure that any proposed course of action is based on your own findings.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How a Unique Little Workbook Helps Seniors Earn Money Online in Retirement

How would you like to wake up in the morning to messages in your email inbox with a subject line that reads, ‘You have new funds in your PayPal account’ or ‘invoice @clickbank.com’; messages from electronic payment processors that confirm you have been making money passively while you were asleep?

I have a unique little seniors’ workbook that helps me do just that.

And you too can do this in retirement even if right now you consider the concept beyond your capabilities because the little workbook to which I refer is a practical tome that will show anyone how to earn money online in retirement irrespective of personal circumstances.

You can do this even if your knowledge of online marketing is currently at zero;
You can do it with just an email address to start;
You can do it on the tightest of budgets;
You can do it without ever interfacing with anyone;
You can do it even if you think you can’t;
You can do while you sleep.

Retirees represent the world’s largest demographic market (Source: marketresearch.com 2006)

This being so, even if you decide to deal only with fellow travellers in the third age journey, you would nonetheless still be operating in the single biggest marketplace online.

Think about that for a moment or two…

But you don't have to restrict your efforts in making money online in retirement; cyberspace in its entirety is at your disposal…

You can choose the direction in which you wish to travel…

You could take the quick route;
You could take the slow route;
You could take both routes in tandem.

Why bother with the slow route?

We all like to make money quickly but you must bear in mind that marketing on the internet is not a virtual get-rich-quick destination. The quick route is where most successful online marketers start out but the clever ones quickly switch direction, boarding the slow train that leads to sustained online income generation; the train that is perpetually fuelled with proven strategies.

Remain closeted on the quick train and your retirement online money-making journey will be over after a few stops along the way.

If you would like to learn more about my amazing little workbook or even download your own copy, visit this website...

http://earn-money-in-retirement.com/workbook.html

How a Unique Little Workbook Helps Seniors Earn Money Online in Retirement

How would you like to wake up in the morning to messages in your email inbox with a subject line that reads, ‘You have new funds in your PayPal account’ or ‘invoice @clickbank.com’; messages from electronic payment processors that confirm you have been making money passively while you were asleep?

I have a unique little seniors’ workbook that helps me do just that.

And you too can do this in retirement even if right now you consider the concept beyond your capabilities because the little workbook to which I refer is a practical tome that will show anyone how to earn money online in retirement irrespective of personal circumstances.

You can do this even if your knowledge of online marketing is currently at zero;
You can do it with just an email address to start;
You can do it on the tightest of budgets;
You can do it without ever interfacing with anyone;
You can do it even if you think you can’t;
You can do while you sleep.

Retirees represent the world’s largest demographic market (Source: marketresearch.com 2006)

This being so, even if you decide to deal only with fellow travellers in the third age journey, you would nonetheless still be operating in the single biggest marketplace online.

Think about that for a moment or two…

But you don't have to restrict your efforts in making money online in retirement; cyberspace in its entirety is at your disposal…

You can choose the direction in which you wish to travel…

You could take the quick route;
You could take the slow route;
You could take both routes in tandem.

Why bother with the slow route?

We all like to make money quickly but you must bear in mind that marketing on the internet is not a virtual get-rich-quick destination. The quick route is where most successful online marketers start out but the clever ones quickly switch direction, boarding the slow train that leads to sustained online income generation; the train that is perpetually fuelled with proven strategies.

Remain closeted on the quick train and your retirement online money-making journey will be over after a few stops along the way.

If you would like to learn more about my amazing little workbook or even download your own copy, visit this website ...

http://earn-money-in-retirement.com/workbook.html

Myths About Customer Loyalty Programs

Building customer loyalty makes good commercial sense but as with most aspects of highfalutin marketing, there are certain myths surrounding the ethos of the sculptured and much vaunted program approach. Here are a few.

Loyalty Myth 1:

Loyalty Rewards Programs Prevent Customer Defections

You can't apply a loyalty reward 'sticking plaster' to a customer defection problem that is in need of stitches. No matter how good the loyalty currency, it cannot make up for deficient produce, uncompetitive pricing, or servicing problems. When customer defections are endemic, the root causes must be identified and treated accordingly. Loyalty programs won't do it. The solution lies in asking customers what they want, listening to their feedback, and implementing solutions focused on resolving issues.

Loyalty Myth 2:

All Customers Are Equally Valuable

Some business owners mistakenly believe that all customers need to be treated with equal levels of service and attention. Yet, are all customers equal in their levels of value to the business? Are some customers unprofitable? Do they deserve the same attention as profitable customers? In the context of customer loyalty it is acceptable to play favourites, yet many designer loyalty programs set out to provide something for everyone. The sensible loyalty reward program should be structured to attract and motivate profitable behaviours and nothing less.

Loyalty Myth 3:

Acquiring New Business Costs More Than Retaining Existing Customers

This statement would be accurate if all customers were equally profitable but the hard fact is that not every customer is worth keeping. Some customers are worth losing to the competition if they are causing the business to lose money. Interestingly though, some operators have a hard time letting go of the revenues from under-performing customers because they fail to appreciate that revenue does not equal profit.

Successful loyalty programs should not only be capable of retaining preferred existing customers but (when marketed to the competition's clientele) have the propensity to attract profitable customers from them as well.

Loyalty Myth 4:

Customer Loyalty & Incentives Programs Are One And The Same

There may be similarities but they are not the same; they are representative of two different customer strategies. Incentives programs function primarily as customer acquisition tools and are generally characterised by low award values such as small amounts of cash, coupons and merchandise. They do not have the power to drive long-term customer loyalty.

Loyalty Myth 5:

If You Reward Customers They Will Return

Oh yes? Try telling that to operators that invested sizeable chunks of money in loyalty programs and got nothing back in return. Creating a loyalty program is not as simple as choosing a reward and giving it to loyal customers. Most designer programs make the mistake of failing to offer rewards that are sufficiently motivating - and then they wonder why the program takes a nose dive.

Loyalty Myth 6:

Customer Loyalty Hinges On Strategic Marketing

No it does not. The most successful loyalty program is the one that has highly empowered leadership from the top and is fully supported by all members of staff.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to cope with treachery in business

Treach•er•y, [n]:

1. Willful betrayal of fidelity, confidence, or trust;
2. The act or an instance of such betrayal.

Treachery creeps up on you like a thief in the night. It doesn't make appointments nor does it leave a calling card; it just strikes at the core of your being and your business. Acts of treachery can occur at any time within your own ranks, with a customer, a supplier or a competitor.

It is well said that, 'By seeing your defenses through the eyes of your worst enemy, you become your best guardian.'

TREACHERY WITHIN YOUR OWN RANKS

Employees can betray your trust in ways that are not easy to detect. They could be gossiping out of office hours about sensitive matters germane to the security of your business. They could be surreptitiously stealing from you and not necessarily cash or merchandise; your very livelihood could be the target.

TREACHERY FROM A CUSTOMER

How could a customer commit an act of treachery against you?
Easy; you wouldn't be the first to have invested time and money in preparing expensive confidential specifications only to have them passed over to a competitor with a view to inveigling the receiver of your intellectual property into providing the treacherous customer with the prescribed goods or service at cheaper rates.

TREACHERY FROM A SUPPLIER

The majority of supply providers are trustworthy and respectful of sensitive customer intelligence imparted to them in the line of duty. However, you might have the misfortune to stray into the path of an unscrupulous merchant who would use the information for spurious purposes and leave you hanging out to dry in the process.

TREACHERY FROM A COMPETITOR

We all have a living to make and most of us conduct our affairs with integrity, but whatever line of business you operate, beware the fly-by-night competitor who would commit an act of betrayal against your reputation without flinching.

COPING WITH ACTS OF BETRAYAL

When you are the victim of a treacherous act it is only natural to want to lash out and exact vengeance, but fighting treachery with treachery is counter productive. This is not to imply that you should do nothing. On the contrary, what you should be doing is taking stock and devising ways to exact not vengeance but retribution appropriate to the offence.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to manage in a crisis

“Crisis n. a crucial or decisive moment; a turning point; a time of difficulty or distress; an emergency"

Note: crucial, decisive, emergency. Your business is motoring along successfully when suddenly something happens to turn everything on its head, the very thing you least expected. That's what a crisis is; something nasty arriving on your doorstep without prior warning. After the initial shock, you are faced with two options:

(1) Panic, freeze, do nothing, and watch the crisis intensify;
(2) Feel the fear, reflect, and start thinking positively.

Feeling the fear is good because it galvanises you into action, positive action that prompts you to tackle the crisis with the as much energy as you would apply if it were an opportunity you were handling.

Now, if the crisis warranted it and your business could bear the cost, you could call in one of those ever-multiplying crisis management consultancies. Choose this path and you will be presented with a formula for management (accompanied by a high priced ticket for accomplishment) that would look something like this:

Ø Identify the crisis
Ø Isolate the crisis
Ø Manage the crisis
Ø Crisis communications
Ø Media relations
Ø Damage control
Ø Assemble a crisis management team
Ø Create a crisis management plan
Ø Crisis forecasting
Ø Crisis intervention
Ø Decision making under crisis-induced stress

Yours is a small business that can ill-afford to hire a consultant who might well resolve the crisis but perhaps drive you to the brink of bankruptcy in the process. So, what to do?

Take the formula and do it yourself. It's your business, your future, and your crisis.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to react to pressurised situations

As we go about our business day in day out, situations arise to put pressure on us. We cannot eliminate pressure altogether but we can minimise it if we go about matters in the right way. Pressure that remains unchecked builds up quickly and drains away vital energy that would be better deployed on the more constructive aspects of everyday affairs.

WE ALL GET THE SAME 24 HOURS A DAY

How we use the hours of the working day greatly impacts upon how we react to potential pressure, and so how we set about prioritizing tasks and addressing interruptions is essential work.

Ø Identify and take responsibility for time-management - It's your business and your day, so manage your time to your own best advantage.

Ø Fend off casual, drop-in visitors - If they have nothing of importance to contribute, just tell them to go away.

Ø Maximize workspace through better organization - The working environment ought to be more than ever-increasing corners of clutter. Sort it out and help cut down on needless pressure.

Ø Set time limits for projects and meetings - Projects that take too long to complete and meetings that go on for too long invariably do so because set time limits were not imposed. Make sure everyone knows the cut-off point.

Ø Prevent phone calls and emails from taking over the day - Instigate strict disciplines, starting with you.

Ø Plan for the unexpected, while building in enough time for projects - Contingency is the key to avoiding unnecessary pressure. Always have something in reserve to legislate for the unexpected.

Ø Set goals and prioritize daily tasks - Get it all down in writing

Ø Break down tasks into smaller segments - Do it this way and delegation becomes easier.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Why Most Start Ups Flounder and Go Under

It is well documented that the failure rate for new business propositions of every description is extremely high in the early years of trading. This is not by coincidence, bad luck or happenstance; it is underpinned by a unifying factor.

Start ups that set sail in a sea of excitement, then flounder and go under, invariably do so because they discard the very compass that will guide them safely from port to port in their quest for survival, yet alone success. The devising of this compass was their initial act in the art of strategy making, and yet it is usually the first piece of equipment to be jettisoned.

The business plan

Those who refer to it every working day, revise it, refine it, are all the time developing a strategy for lifelong success. Those who use it once for funding and then consign it to gather dust on a shelf are developing a strategy for imminent failure.

And there are no exceptions, no exemptions.

Pop music, for example, is just as much an industry as any other you can think of, so why then are there so many one-hit wonders? Is it because the participants have no talent or because they're working with rubbish material? I doubt it, because they have already evidenced a degree of competence through early albeit transient success.

Those few who make the grade and manage to capitalise on initial attainment do so because they have a strategy for the future, a plan of action for fulfilment. The many that fall at the first hurdle are invariably represented by management that has neither the experience nor the wit to develop winning strategies.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Decisiveness: the key to achievement

There are two age-old adages proffering cold comfort when facing difficult decisions.

1. When in doubt, do nothing
2. To decide not to decide is also a decision

Such statements are dangerous because they advocate procrastination, the thief of time, the destroyer of ambition. Decisiveness is the key to achievement, as William Shakespeare succinctly encapsulates in his famous one-liner,

'T'were done, t'were best done now'

Every day we face challenges in our business dealings, situations obliging us to make a decision, one way or the other. Most of these are simplistic and the response automatic. Others though are more problematic and call for painstaking introspection. Analysis is good, essential more often than not but avoid over-analyzing the situation. That invites your mind to consider doubt followed by procrastination, leaving you wide open to missing out on a solution or an opportunity.

Analyze, decide, and then act. There may be risks involved in your calculation but they will far outweigh those that infest procrastination.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Mastering the art of providing good service

You might just get away for a time with marketing a substandard product, but you'll never get away at any time with providing inferior service.

You'll be found out in a hundred different ways.

In the bricks and mortar environment the essential elements in the provision of good service tend to vary from one industry to another, but they are all directed towards the one end: keeping the customer happy.

No one lasts long in retailing, for example, unless time and energy are constantly expended on matters such as enhancing store lighting, improving ease of traffic flow, extending the range of options to pay, and excelling in customer care.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Exchanging conventional retirement for profitable activity

When we become third age people it is vital to keep the mind firing on all cylinders if we are to be all we can be - and if this mental activity can be converted into profitable pursuits, so much the better.

My book Your Retirement Masterplan (ISBN 1857039874) is devoted to the myriad elements that combine to make for a rewarding and fulfilling third age experience. This post focuses exclusively on just one of these elements:

The evolvement of a money-making plan to add to the meagre income on which the majority of retirees struggle to subsist

We have choices…

1. We can conform to what the misguided still believe retirement is all about:
doing nothing, wallowing in boredom, eating half the day, sleeping the other half, aging rapidly, and throwing off the mortal coil prematurely.

2. We can drift along and fritter away time and whatever income or savings we have at our disposal.

3. We can (if we have oodles of spare cash) indulge ad nauseam in perpetual vacationing or….

4. We can apply ourselves to ensuring that our native abilities are kept alive, active, and sufficiently energised to augment the quality of life.

5. We can stretch our abilities to make some extra cash in retirement.

And for some, the final option isn’t so much a choice as a necessity.

http://earn-money-in-retirement.com

Starting an online business

Starting an online business calls for precisely the same disciplines that you would face were you undertaking any other form of commercial venture offline.

ü You must understand the nature of the marketplace
ü You must have a practical idea for your business
ü You must learn how to transform your idea into a reality
ü You must have a plan of action
ü You must have an appreciation of the tools you’ll need
ü You must know where to locate them
ü You must learn how to use them
ü You must have a marketing strategy
ü You must learn how to sell on the Internet
ü You must manage your information efficiently to maintain progress

At first glance this may look like a formidable list of things to do but in point of fact, there is nothing difficult about any of it. You may already be familiar with certain of these elements and the remainder you can learn for free as you progress in your initial planning. After that, it’s all down to application, and application is the keynote to launching and successfully managing an Internet business.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to Earn Money in Retirement and Beat the Pension Crisis

The call to earn money in retirement is fast becoming a necessity and this is so because when you retire from the workplace you continue forevermore to face the prospect of escalating living expenses: food, shelter; clothing, power supply, insurances, communications, income tax, etc, with less left over than you had at your disposal before for enjoying the minor luxuries of life.

For the majority of seniors the prospect is doubly daunting as a direct result of vastly reduced incomings due to the world wide pension crisis and so the need to earn money in retirement becomes imperative.

What do you do when there is too much month left at the end of your pension - do you bite the bullet and settle for cutbacks in the quality of life?

Not inevitably so because with tried and tested guidance you can stretch your abilities to make some extra cash in retirement and for some this is not so much an option as a necessity.

How do you visualize life in retirement?

You have reached or are approaching your 60th/65th year and are eligible for retirement. Or maybe you’re only 50 and opted out early.

o Do you punch the air with a tightly clenched fist now that you have finally escaped from the workplace?

o Or do you ask yourself, ‘What do I do now?’

For many retirees, lounging around the house or lying in the sun in a deck chair is not a prerequisite for third age enjoyment and fulfilment.

While the world is undoubtedly aging and the number of elderly people is increasing, the current crop of senior citizens is in better health and lead longer, more active lives than their parents did.

o They want action, not eternal relaxation;
o Excitement, not enforced leisure;
o Accomplishment, not resignation.

Conventional retirement is just too dreary, and many remain emotionally unprepared to throw the working life concept entirely to the wind. Some could also make good use of opportunities to increase basic income.

So, in lieu of conventional retirement, a significant number of third age people are turning to entrepreneurship as an alternative.

With valuable commercial skills acquired through years of practical experience, many of these retirees give serious consideration to launching their own businesses. They believe they still have what it takes and are highly motivated to succeed on their own.

Is it hard to earn money in retirement?

o Is it so restrictive that only a small number can succeed?

o Is it so demanding that only able-bodied retirees can make a go of it?

o Is it so difficult that only the super-intelligent stand a chance?

No – anyone can do it. If, for example, you are disabled or handicapped to some degree and would find it impossible to engage in a physical money-making activity you can still participate in ‘online’ enterprise - for which alternative route you will find many options.

So who is Jim Green and why should you read what he has to say about how to earn money in retirement?

Jim Green is 75 years young and as active in business as he was 50 years ago. He is also a bestselling author with 24 titles to his credit including "Your Retirement Masterplan" and "Earn Money in Retirement"

http://earn-money-in-retirement.com

You keep all the cash you generate from this opportunity

Affiliate commissions range from 10 to 50 per cent but with the opportunity I am about to reveal you get to keep all the cash you generate: 100 per cent.

Master Resell Rights Products Package

Unlike alternatives you can find everywhere on the internet, this set of products comes complete with, master resell rights; resell rights and certain private label rights.

What does ‘master resell rights’ mean?

It simply means that when you sell on the resell rights to the entire collection or any individual product, your customers also get the resell rights. By giving away the rights, the deal becomes ultra-attractive to prospective buyers.

What's included in this package?

A set of 30 digital information products (the most popular online purchase) covering a variety of topics including:

Health
Making Money
Playing Poker
Card Games
Music
Wine Making
Creating software
Guitar Instruction
Mastering Mathematics
Visiting Japan
Interpreting Dreams
Brewing Beer
Interior design
Cheesecake Recipes
101 Home Cooking Recipes
Dessert Recipes

What can you do with this package?

Resell the entire package through Keith Wellman’s affiliate program and keep 100 per cent of the profits;
Sell individual products with or without resell rights;
Giveaway individual products to your website visitors and grow your lists;
Bundle any or all of these products as valuable bonuses to increase the perceived value of your own offer;
Form profitable joint ventures with other marketers using any or all of these products.

How much does it cost?

Incredibly, only $9.97 (approx £5.73)

Where can you acquire the package?

At this website http://www.keithwellman.com/resell/thankyou-page/440

Open Up Your Site as a Training Center

This is a site that contains information and tools to help subscribers learn or enhance a particular skill.

Online classes, real audio and video lessons, teleclasses are a few of the features that you could offer.

Big Stock Play is a good example...

It’s a training center for investors and offers its subscribers a variety of packages.

It’s worth a visit just to see what goes into planning a training center website.

http://www.bigplaystocks.com

Choosing an Effective Online Trading Name

There’s a lot in a name but even more in trading name. You should make a start on developing a suitable name for your enterprise by listing as many ideas as you can come up with. Getting it right from the start is crucial because you don’t want to be obliged to change it after a few months of trading. There are a few house rules to observe and ideally, your trading name should meet these requirements.

o Maximum of nine letters in the composition of the core word (preferably less).
o Maximum of three syllables in its pronunciation (preferably two).
o The name must look and sound right.
o It should fit the purpose of the enterprise.
o It should be apposite to the marketplace.
o It must be acceptable for use on the Internet.

Composition

The crisper the trading name, the more memorable it will be. Consider the composition and the number of letters in each of these famous Internet names: MICROSOFT (9), HOTMAIL (7), YAHOO (5), FREESERVE (9), NETSCAPE (8). Keep it short and simple and providing it complies with the other guidelines, your name will work for you.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to Start Your Own Internet Business From Home, Shop or Office

The growth of the Internet is phenomenal and its propensity to create moneymaking home, shop or office based business operations is equally staggering.

How does one go about launching such a business?

Where do you start?

How do you research the market?

Where do you find the opportunities?

What about start up costs?

Is it better to stick with one opportunity or hedge your bets with several?

What are the available options for promotion?

How do you create an Internet marketing strategy?

Do you need to be an experienced Webmaster to succeed or can anyone participate?

Which levels of Internet expertise are required?

This tutorial provides the answers. But it does more, much more, in a comprehensive review of 45 opportunities encompassing all levels of Internet expertise; skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled. Chapter 4 looks at 10 of the leading cyberspace reseller opportunities and in Chapter 5 you will be introduced to 35 ideas for an Internet business, ideas that are already being successfully worked by other Networkers.

Can you really make money from a home, shop or office based Internet business?

Yes, you can, but how much will be governed by how well you apply yourself to preparation and how seriously you take your enterprise once you are up and running. Starting an Internet business is a whole new way of life that can be as exciting as it is rewarding.

http://www.start-a-business-masterplan.com

Open Up Your Website as a Training Center

This is a site that contains information and tools to help subscribers learn or enhance a particular skill. Online classes, real audio and video lessons, teleclasses are a few of the features that you could offer. Big Stock Play is a good example. It’s a training centre for investors and offers its subscribers a variety of packages. It’s worth a visit just to see what goes into planning a training centre Web site.
http://www.bigplaystocks.com

Are you a skilled trainer? Are you willing to share your accumulated knowledge with others? Do you have the technical ability? If so - on all three counts - then go for it. You will earn a very handsome income for your efforts.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to manage your information

Information begins to build up rapidly once you really get going in this business and because it’s coming at you from every direction, it can just as easily drift away from you unless measures are taken to organize it all efficiently.

CREATING A WORKING MASTER LIST

Your first job will be to make out a list of every aspect of your operational activities so that incoming information can be correctly apportioned.

WHY CATEGORIZING YOUR MONEY-MAKING ACTIVITIES IS VITAL

Be sure to include in your listings all the moneymaking aspects of your opportunities; some will be commission only on sales; some sales commission plus additional revenue on referrals; some both of these together with incentive bonuses. Don’t go into detail. Just include enough information to remind you where your profit centres are.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

What Exactly is Affiliate Reselling?

In a nutshell: for affiliate reselling read sales agency.

There are literally thousands of commercial concerns operating on the Internet who will grant you an agency and remunerate you on a commission basis to represent them and sell their produce through your own cyberspace marketing applications.

In effect then, the term ‘affiliate reseller’ is simply universally accepted Internet jargon for sales agent.

Although the concept was first introduced on the Internet by a purveyor of tangible merchandise (Amazon Books) the produce is mainly information packages and participants make money in one of three ways.

o Selling the product online
o Recruiting others to do likewise
o Combination of both

These information packages (as evidenced in the Harvard Business School survey) centre on inducements to lifestyle enhancement.

THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION

Many established home based business operators start out as affiliate resellers; some remain so, while others put the accumulated knowledge they glean from handling other people’s business to developing an idea of their own.

There’s a flexibility surrounding affiliate reselling that makes it an attractive proposition to newcomers to the Internet. Servicing several reliable and profitable programs can evolve in time into a business in its own right while still enabling the reseller to use the learning curve the concept provides as a stepping stone to bigger things.

Why so many people set out on their Internet adventure as affiliate resellers can be summarised as follows:

ü There is no long term commitment

ü You can join many of these programs free of charge

ü Where fees are applicable, they are usually modest and sometimes refundable

ü There are no trade restrictions

ü You may take on as many opportunities as you wish

ü There is no requirement to buy stock for resale

ü Marketing strategies and tools are provided free of charge

ü There is no personal interfacing with prospects and customers

ü Commission statistics are normally available in real time online

ü Reimbursement is monthly by check or direct debit

ü No cash handling

ü No creditors

ü No debtors

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Discovering Gems in Your Mailbox

Once you are up and running you will soon create an Internet presence, and your incoming email will gradually begin to increase in both quantity and quality.

Make a point of checking all of your messages because you will discover little pieces of gold nestling among them: You will receive invitations to join affiliate reseller programs of course, but you’ll find more, much more in your emails: tips on free training, free software, free mailing lists, free virtual office suites, etc.

I was only a few weeks into my own Internet venture when I received an email offering me free participation in a ten week course of instruction on Internet marketing.

The invitation emanated from an acknowledged leader in the field of cyberspace training and the knowledge I gleaned from this exercise proved extremely useful. It filled in many gaps in my appreciation of the wonder that is the Internet and the instruction cost me absolutely nothing.

Here is the syllabus for my free training course.

o Introduction to Internet marketing
o Generating traffic with free reports
o Setting up your own free classified ad sites
o Effecting sales via your ‘signature’
o Composing persuasive email messages
o Configuring email programs
o Where to find safe free opt-in lists
o How to send out bulk mail without fear of spamming
o Marketing free affiliate programs
o The pros and cons of downline clubs
o Offline marketing

There are many other free Internet training courses available. Look for invitations in your incoming email.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Finding a Good Idea to Start a Business

You'll need a really hot idea to get your enterprise going, but that's no great problem. There are hundreds of great business ideas, if you know where and how to look for them.

LOOKING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU

Ø Which subject did you enjoy most at school?

Ø Were you good at what you did when you were in full-time employment?

Ø Did you enjoy what you did for a living?

Ø If you are currently in employment, are you happy doing what you do?

Ø Could you do it successfully without any supervision?

Ø Are there aspects of your work you could improve upon if only someone asked for your advice?

Ø Does what you do (or did) make money for your employer?

Ø Is there still a market demand for the product or service?

Moving ahead by changing direction

Think, too, about how you might use your experience in launching out in business but taking a body swerve in direction -- poacher turned gamekeeper. I did just that; for many years I had bought advertising space in large quantities for my clients.

Then I changed to selling it in even larger quantities to subsidize the production of my publications. The experience gained in one aspect of the industry paid off handsomely on the other side of the fence. You might well find a similar application for your experience.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Striking a Balance Between the Thought Processes

Mind power is awesome when you learn to strike a balance between the thought processes.

We all live in a mind world and how each of us sees in the mind's eye what's happening out there in the real world actually makes it how it is.

We look at the world through our own eyes and immediately start making judgements solely on the evidence of what we think we see. In other words, we interpret situations as they occur in our lives.

If we're not careful, mind power can work against us if we fall into the habit of permanently locking ourselves into one side of the brain.

To use mind power effectively, strike an equitable balance between the left and right hand sides of the brain.

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Cashing in on someone else's grey hairs...

Why would you want to shell out hard earned cash to some old duffer (like me :-) to call in on you now and again and tell you where you're going wrong? Well, you wouldn't.

That is not how it works...

Cashing in on someone else's grey hairs means taking on board the services of an elder statesperson to provide an objective overview on your undertakings. Small businesses tend to expand faster when there is someone around with a few grey hairs to cast an experienced eye occasionally on overall activity.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN SELECTING A PART-TIME 'MASTERMIND'

Naturally you'll want to be assured of a candidate's suitability, but before you go taking out references, here are some points to consider. You should be looking for…

 Someone with a quantifiable track record in industry or commerce - but not necessarily in the sector in which you operate.

 Someone you would find comfortable in confiding in.

 Someone with a quick grasp on disparate aspects of commercial activity.

 Someone who listens, observes, and is qualified to render objective overviews.

WHERE YOU WOULD FIND AN ELDER STATESPERSON

This is a matter of personal choice but you have options at your command.

 Look around your circle of acquaintances to determine whether you can identify your elder statesperson. This is by far the safest route. Someone who perhaps owned their own business and is now retired; someone who held a senior executive position in industry or commerce; someone whose expertise you admired when they were strutting their own stuff.

 Visit your local Enterprise Trust, Enterprise Council or Small Business Bureau. These public sector entities invariably hold on file the names and qualifications of retired senior executives who have expressed an interest in providing a service. This is also a safe route inasmuch as these bodies frequently use the services of those on the list and are therefore in a position to make qualified recommendations.

 Place an ad in your local newspaper and see what comes up…

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How To Avoid The Costly Mistakes That Cripple Small Business

Whether you have been in business for years or are just starting out, you need to recognize these costly errors before you can learn how to avoid them.

These are the deadly traps that too many small business owners fall into:

1. Getting wedded to an idea and sticking with it for too long - Don't stay married for life to a single idea. Ideas are the currency of entrepreneurs. Play around with as many ideas as you like to discover which ones create money and lasting success.

2. Operating without a viable marketing plan - A winning marketing plan captures the attention you need to surround your enterprise with the right calibre of people; employees, customers, suppliers. There may be a 100 disparate ways to market your business but an exclusive viable plan implemented effectively, efficiently, and consistently will be results driven, eliminating guesswork.

3. Failing to appreciate market forces - Changes in customer preferences and advances in competitive products and services can leave you stranded in the dust unless you take the trouble to get to know your market and your customers well. It is essential that you appreciate what customers want now, what they're likely to want in the future, how their buying patterns are evolving, and how you can become a constant resource for them even if you don't have the right products and services for them right now.

4. Ignoring your cash position - Customers do not always respond to superior products in the time frame that you think they should. You'll need plenty of cash to sustain operations in the interim. Cash is king, so be on your guard as to how it flows in - and out.

5. Ignoring employees - The management and motivation of staff is one of the biggest challenges facing the business owner. Without patience, persistence and people skills, problems quickly multiply - and morale, productivity and profits can easily be destroyed. Always make your people your first priority.

6. Confusing likelihood with reality - The successful entrepreneur lives in the world of likelihood but spends money in the real world. Be realistic in all of your commercial undertakings.

7. Operating without a sales strategy - Without a strategy for selling, there is no effective way to gauge the financial growth and progress of a business. You need a realistic map that identifies where the sales will come from, how they will come - and from whom.

8. Playing the Lone Ranger with no back up - You are the key to it all but you cannot do everything yourself and continue to grow at the same time. Even modest success can overwhelm you unless you hire the right staff and delegate responsibility.

9. Operating with no mastermind on board - Most small businesses expand faster when there is someone around with a few grey hairs to cast an experienced eye occasionally on overall activity. Your elder statesperson could operate for you as an executive director or part-time consultant.

10. Giving up - Not every successful entrepreneur gets it right first time; some fail several times before they strike the core formula that does it for them. So, if you are failing, go ahead and fail. But fail fast and learn from the experience. Then try again with this new wisdom. Never give up and never suffer either.

Knowledge is the key

The birds of the air have the knowledge (and the wings) to get from one destination to another on time, every time. They have no need of travel schedules, passports, currency exchange, traveller checks, or any other restrictive man-made paraphernalia to staunch their progress. Flocks of swifts, for example, are so confident of their navigational prowess they catnap on the wing on journeys spanning thousands of miles.

They have an instinctive fail-safe route plan.

So too will you when you learn how to avoid the ten most deadly mistakes in minding your own business....

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How To Excel In The Race To Keep Pace With Online Marketing

The day you stop learning about online marketing is the day to start your closing down sale.

You can never learn enough let alone too much about the enigma that is online marketing.

Change is ever in the air and when it strikes, it strikes like lightning, and leaves no calling card. New technologies appear overnight; old systems vanish into the ether just as quickly. Obsolescence pulls the rug out from under established multi-nationals and replaces it with it with ‘blades’…

Even if you’re just tapping away at computer keys to turn a buck at home you must always be up to speed or you too will hit the dump truck and your online marketing activity will rapidly become little more than a hobby.

So, what to do?

Keep on learning.

Over the years I have gathered together a catalog of ‘how to’ tools which have assisted me and countless others to keep pace with the ever-changing cyberspace marketplace.

They comprise a mix of innovations for creative writing and strategic commerce.

Why include creative writing?

Just this…

The essence of all effective marketing is communication; the ability to express your thoughts, aspirations, ideals in any marketplace.

Without that attribute no one cuts the mustard in strategic marketing.

Browse this list and see if anything takes your fancy:

Creative Writing Products

Make Money Writing Part Time
160 Vital Steps to Getting Published
Discover the Secrets to Churning Out Bestsellers
Get into Print with the Writing for Profit Tutorial
Use Your Creativity to Make Money in Retirement
Increase Your Skills with the Writers Friend
How to Write Great Headlines in Quick Easy Lessons
How to Write Killer Net Ads that Sell
Software, Books, Supplies for Writers of All Ages
How to Write Newsletters that Get Read

Strategic Business Products

Access the 2005 Masterplan for Starting a Business
Create and Sell Products Online
How to Promote a Product
Easy Ezine Toolkit
How to Present Toolkit
How-To PDF Creator
Easy-Download Clickbank Protector
How to Start a Forum
Create-a-Product Seminar
Ezine Editors List

It’s never too late to start learning and it’s always too early to stop…

http://howtoproducts-xl.com

Build Your Own List of 2,000+ Subscribers in Under 30 Days!

I will be real quick with this posting…

You will have to act immediately if you want in on this opportunity…

For the first time ever you will discover how to build your own list of at least 2,000+ optin subscribers in less than 30 days - and make $3,000 every month with it from scratch.

Be prepared to be amazed!

Go For It Now - This Is A Steal – But It Won’t Last

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