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quotes[0]='Business networking puts more money in your pocket by helping you overcome the number one biggest problem facing new business owners. Prospecting for new customers. Business networking events can go a long way towards making the whole prospecting problem go away. There are two main kinds of networking opportunities available to the average entrepreneur. Passive networking and strong networking. Both have unique benefits and drawbacks.<br><br>The most well known example of passive networking is your local chamber of commerce. You can find a chamber of commerce chapter in almost every major city worldwide. Your local chamber of commerce gives you the opportunity to meet with many of the movers and shakers in your local business community. Through the many events they plan on a monthly and yearly basis, they offer you a chance to connect with a number of potential prospects for your products and services.<br><br>Weekly networking groups or clubs are an example of strong networking opportunities. These kinds of business networking events can be found in many major cities worldwide. A strong networking group will meet on a weekly basis for the sole purpose of exchanging business leads with one another and learning better ways of networking to grow their business. The most successful networking groups require your weekly attendance and insist that their members provide fellow members with referrals throughout the year. They also allow only one person from each profession or industry to belong to the group. This keeps the quality of the referrals high. One such group is Business Network International (BNI).<br><br>So what are the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of networking? They both have their place but strong networking groups represent a bigger commitment than passive networking groups. By belonging to a strong networking group, you are committed to be on the lookout for referrals for group members. Strong networking groups also usually meet on a weekly basis whereas passive networking groups usually meet monthly.<br><br>Passive networks can have multiple people from one profession or industry as members. They also have no requirements for passing on referrals to other members. Referrals do occur in a passive networking event but it is not facilitated by the meeting and is totally up to the business owner to initiate. You can belong to multiple passive networking groups. Any business you get from passive networking will most likely be a result of the amount of effort you put in.<br><br>Strong networks on the other hand restrict membership to only one person per industry or profession. This greatly increases the likelihood that you will receive referrals from participating members. Meetings are structured in a way to encourage referrals and there is a formal referral exchange that happens every week. It is strongly recommended that you only belong to one strong networking group in order to keep the quality of your referrals high.<br><br>In either case, it is important for members of these groups to see you as professional and competent. Referrals will go to people the referrer knows, likes and trusts.<br><br>Want more business? Start attending business networking events in your area.'

quotes[1]='On a scale of one to ten, having a good business strategy rates about a fifteen!<br><br>No matter what kind of business you have -- whether you sell products or a service, as the saying goes, \"if you fail to plan, then you\'re really planning to fail.\"<br><br>Creating a strategy can mean the difference between you working 60 to 80 hours a week all year long -- and then breaking even, or worse, losing money.<br><br>On the other hand, many successful entrepreneurs who have a strategy work fewer hours and make piles of money -- and they usually attribute their success to having a strategic plan and following it.<br><br>So what is strategic business management? Very simply, it\'s the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan so you can reach them and then following the plan.<br><br>How do you create a strategic plan for you business?<br><br>1. First, know what your vision for your company is. If there were no barriers, nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could -- what would that look like?<br><br>2. Next, what are your company\'s core operating values? What are its guiding principles? In other words, why are you in business and how do you do business?<br><br>3. Now create a 3 to 5 year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be.<br><br>4. Develop a plan for this year. These are the specific objectives you plan to accomplish this year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be \"SMART\" when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-oriented). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go. Figure out what resources you\'ve already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. And then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.<br><br>5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. This is very important, so that you can measure your progress.<br><br>6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in the process. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that will make sure everyone ends up at the same destination -- but to be effective, everyone needs the same map!<br><br>7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it\'s time to begin the journey.<br><br>8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then; to be sure you\'re still on the right road. If something isn\'t working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you\'ll be back on track.<br><br>9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check).<br><br>Creating a business strategy and following it will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.'

quotes[2]='The term \"market analysis\" is often confusing to entrepreneurs, especially for people who focus on a specific niche or market segment.<br><br>In fact, many small business owners don\'t understand the process or complain that conducting a market analysis is too complicated or too expensive and wonder why or if it is necessary.<br><br>What is market analysis?<br><br>In the most basic terms, a market analysis is an assessment of:<br>- A particular problem or opportunity in a market.<br>- The needs of the target market relating to the problem or opportunity.<br>- Ideas for marketing a particular product or service that fills the needs of the target market.<br><br>When should you conduct a market analysis?<br><br>- When you are starting a business.<br>- When you are entering a new market.<br>- When you are considering a new product or service.<br><br>Why should you conduct a market analysis?<br><br>- To minimize business risks.<br>- To understand the problems and opportunities.<br>- To identify sales opportunities.<br>- To plan your marketing/sales approach.<br><br>The process of conducting a market analysis can be divided into three parts:<br><br>Part 1 - Understanding Market Conditions<br><br>This gives you basic information about your entire market - the size, the competition, the customers.<br><br>Part 2 - Identifying Market Opportunities<br><br>This gives you more targeted information about potential problems or opportunities in the potential market, and includes information about growth, current and future trends, outside factors and more information about specific competitors.<br><br>Part 3 - Developing Market-Driven Strategies<br><br>Here is where we get into what market research does for you. It helps you to pinpoint opportunities to grow your business. By understanding the market and knowing what opportunities are available you can create a marketing strategy that leaves your competitors in the dust!<br><br>Here are 10 questions that can help you get started:<br><br>1. What is the market I want to reach?<br>- Who are they? (Basic Demographics)<br>- What is their biggest problem in relation to this market?<br>- Are their needs being met by the products or services provided in this market?<br>2. Who is my competition in this market?<br>- Are they successful in this market?<br>- Are they marketing a similar product or service?<br>- What is the market share of the three biggest competitors in this market?<br>3. Is there room for growth in this market?<br>4. What is the size of this market?<br>- Is there room for growth?<br>- Is the industry growing? Stable? Saturated? Volatile? Declining?<br>5. How is my product or service different from the competition?<br>6. How can I reach this market?<br>- How is my competition currently reaching this market?<br>- Is it the most effective way?<br>- What are the alternative ways of reaching this market?<br>7. What are the business models of my competition in this market?<br>- Are they effective?<br>- Is there a way to do it differently or better?<br>8. What do customers expect from this type of product or service?<br>- What are the core competencies of this product or service?<br>- What would make the product \"new\" \"different\" or \"better\" for the customer?<br>9. How much are customers willing to pay for this product or service?<br>10. What is our competitive advantage in this market?<br><br>Knowing the answers to these questions will not only help you figure out if there is a need for your product or service, it will help you figure out the best ways to reach your customers, price your products or service and ultimately make more sales!<br><br><br>'

quotes[3]='You have seen the ads: \“Join now and you will make over $5,000 per month with virtually no work\” or \“We will build your down line for you\”. Or have you heard this one: \“Six figure network marketing expert will teach you how to earn a six figure income in XYZ Company.\”<br><br>Each of these ads is promoting a business opportunity. The opportunity is the main theme of the ad. The product, if mentioned at all, is a secondary concern.<br><br>Ads that stress products are completely different. They tell you of the benefits of a product or service, stressing how using the product or service can change your life. Often the opportunity is not even mentioned in the ad.<br><br>What do you do when you tell someone about your networking business? Do you tell them how much you are making, or perhaps how much the golden diamond above you is making, or do you tell them about the products and what they have done for you?<br><br>Which of these two ways you use to approach prospects will make a tremendous difference in the future results of your networking business. Those who use the opportunity approach can build a large organization fairly fast. Leading with the product or service may take longer. However, the strength of the organization will be much stronger by leading with the product.<br><br>A tree that grows very fast has soft wood. It is easy to damage or destroy. A tree that grows slowly has a hard wood. It is much harder to damage or destroy a hard wood tree. Also, the slow growing hard wood tree will generally live much longer than the fast growing soft wood tree. Do you want your network organization to be like the hard wood or the soft wood tree?<br><br>When you lead with your product or service, your prospect will join based on your personal testimonial. If they use the product and like it, you then have a strong member in your organization. They are using the product and will likely continue to use it for a long time. Some of them will also participate in the opportunity, and some will be satisfied just using the products. Either way, they should be a fairly solid member of your organization. And they will probably follow your example and also lead with the product.<br><br>When someone joins your program based on the opportunity, they immediately have an expectation of what they will make. Usually that expectation is unreasonably high. They will also lead with the opportunity and recruit opportunity seekers.<br><br>Most of those that join based on the opportunity, will become frustrated after a few months because they are not making all of the money that they expected. Then they will hear of a new opportunity and will jump ship. Each time this happens your organization unravels some. Every time someone quits, others wonder why and some of them may also decide to quit. You keep getting holes in your organization, which results in an unstable organization, and its gradual collapse. Eventually you will also get frustrated and quit. In the meantime, the person that is leading with the product will slowly be building a strong organization. '

quotes[4]='Traditionally, decisions are made at the \"top\" of an organization and communicated to those \"lower down\" while feedback on the effectiveness of the resulting actions is sent back to the \"top\". We can see this pattern in all aspects of life, from our relationship with our parents, through our education, and on into our working life. However, in business such a hierarchical structure is not always an advantage. What options are there for a modern business?<br><br>Management science tells us that there are three distinct stages in the development of decision-making processes within organizations. Each of these stages has been fueled by advancements in communication and coordination technologies, starting with the telegraph (invented in 1832) or even with fire beacons and smoke signals in more ancient times.<br><br>The first stage of decision-making sees decision-makers, who are only aware of, and responsible to, their immediate environment make decisions independently of other decision makers in the organization. As the cost and efficiency of communication falls, information is gathered centrally and decision-makers become aware of, and responsible for, a wider environment. These more informed decision makers attempt to make decisions in order to maximize the benefits to their organization as a whole. Finally, as communication efficiency continues to improve local decision-makers consult with other related decision-makers to maximize benefit to both their own organization and to their wider business environment.<br><br>These three decision-making stages of development are characterized as follows:<br><br>Independent Decentralized Control:<br><br>In this model, individual units have independent decision-making powers. They act in order to serve their local needs. However, since there is little or no coordination between decision makers, it is possible that decisions made by units locally will conflict with other units\' decisions or even the global objective of the organization as a whole.<br><br>Centralized Control:<br><br>Here a central body makes all decisions. Changes affecting the whole organization can easily be made since the impact of the changes across the organization can be predicted. However, this approach is rigid and forces each organizational unit to conform to a prescribed set of rules governing how they act upon instructions from the central body and how they report on the results of their actions. Furthermore, as the number of distributed units increase, the information flow to the central point of control increases, thus this method lacks scalability.<br><br>Connected Decentralized Control:<br><br>Decentralized control encourages independent decision-makers to take responsibility for their local environment, however facilities are provided to allow them to consult with other related decision-makers. Because of this connectivity local decisions can be made with a view on their global effects. However, in this model all decision-makers are exposed to all potential information sources, thus powerful information management systems are required.<br><br>Since decentralized control brings many managerial benefits, companies usually strive to move from independent decentralized control, through centralized control and on into connected decentralized control. However, as organizations progress towards connected decentralized control they must find a balance between top-down control and bottom-up empowerment.<br><br>Too much top-down control will result in a lack of scalability as described in centralized control model, too much bottom-up empowerment will result in a chaotic decision making process with unpredictable results.<br><br>To achieve the \"perfect\" balance between centralized and decentralized control it is necessary to identify conflict points between individual units. These units must then co-ordinate their decision-making processes and knowledge bases. Such coordination requires the sharing of vast amounts of information, which brings with it the potential for \"information overload\", a situation in which it becomes impossible to identify the relevant data from the irrelevant data.<br><br>Further to the problems of information overload are the difficulties of communicating information between decision-makers of differing backgrounds. For example, how does an accountant communicate the impact of a marketing overspend, while the marketing people communicate the impact on sales if the budget is not approved, which in turn affects the underlying sales potential for the firm.<br><br>In an independent decentralize model there is no control over such decisions. In a centralized model we rely on one individual to understand all three points of view, whilst in a connected decentralized model we rely on a technique to communicate all information in a meaningful and manageable way. This need for efficient communications presents considerable technological challenges since individuals from different backgrounds have different domains of understanding, different decision making processes and different data collection, storage and processing techniques.<br><br>Today, ICT is moving towards being complete enough to support a full advancement to Connected Decentralized Control. However, this is not yet possible with an \"off-the-shelf\" solution. Information Management Systems and Decision Support Systems in particular, need considerable customization and adoption to your organizations needs.<br><br>While efficient Information Management Systems can bring massive benefits to your organization you should be aware that around 75% of large Information Systems are considered failures by those who commission them. Tread carefully when commissioning such systems and take your time, be one of the 25% who reap the benefits and continue to grow.'

quotes[5]='Positioning is the best plan that any business can implement.<br><br>Positioning is putting yourself in the right place in the eyes of your market. You get your market to know you as an expert that can be trusted. You get looked on as a reliable resource for information.<br><br>Positioning is easy to do. Just give free information of interest to your market. Your market is the people who would be likely to buy the services or products you offer.<br><br>Let\'s say your market is people who like to fish. What they buy are reels, poles, lure...things they need to fish with. You could tell them the Best Ways To Fish For Salmon, Bass, Trout...The Fine Art Of Fly-Tying...How To Cast For The Best Catch...How To Find The Best Fishing Spots...Cleaning And Cooking Fish In A Snap.<br><br>If you sell reels, poles, lure, etc. - then such reports will attract readership from your target market - the people most likely to buy from you.<br><br>Chances are if those readers found something useful in your report, then they would be interested in reading more. Give it to them - have them sign up on your list.<br><br>That is how positioning works, and the reward is great. Having a list built up of targeted, loyal, and responsive prospects is the very best thing a business can have.<br><br>Not only can you tell them how to catch more fish with the least possible effort, but also how your products can help them to do it even more so. Since you are an expert, it\'s only natural that you would have the greatest tools and tackle.<br><br>There is a special thing about having a list, so treat it special. Consider it for what it will be - the marketing life-blood of your business.<br><br>Most businesses, if they keep lists, just have lists of customers who bought from them, and yet do not even send them as much as a Thank You Note or Christmas Card.<br><br>The people on your list will have a more connected relationship with you. You are not just a seller to them, and they are not just a customer to you. They will look forward to contact from an expert giving out the latest fishing tips and you will be ready for any questions they might bring you. Your answer will most likely be of interest with your whole list, so share it with all of them.<br><br>The more you can make the people feel privileged to be on your list the better. You can give your list exclusive deals, free offers, deep discounts, holiday specials, even the chance to sign up for a paid subscription service where they get the meanest down and dirty underground secrets of fishing success where the fish don\'t stand a chance in Neptune.<br><br>This works for any marketing niche you happen to be in, not just fish. Positioning is the very best way to \'fish\' for prospects in your market. Lure them with the knowledge and service you provide, and soon you have your own stocked pond full of hungry fish that you can catch over and over again.<br><br>It pays to know as much about your market as you can. Communicate with your market about the ups and downs, advantages and disadvantages, progress and problems associated with it. Do what they do, read what they read, know their likes and dislikes, search and study resources.<br><br>Above all, look for answers and innovations. Then find a way to use them in your marketing and advertising. People will always be interested in new and better things and are drawn to those who have them.<br><br>This will not only help in positioning yourself as an expert, but also in finding ways to position your products or service as having unique benefits. You do this by finding unsolved needs and thinking up solutions. Being the first at something also affirms you as an expert par excellence.<br><br>If you do these things, you and your business will be positioned. You will have the MARKETING EDGE.'

quotes[6]='Whether you are marketing on-line or off-line, your potential customers are scared, scarred, and skeptical. Consumers, today, are quite resistant to sales messages.<br><br>In the mid 70\'s, a store could run a \"10% off\" sale and people would flock in. Then the big stores got into the discounting mentality. Now it is common to see \"70% off\" sales - especially in jewelry. The consumer is not too long a fool. These promotions do not produce the wanted response anymore.<br><br>Repeated, high powered sales events create a downward spiral. Eventually you cannot offer a big enough \"deal\" to get the public excited. The big three car makers played this game for three years. By January 2006 they found themselves in deep financial trouble. They had borrowed customers from the future by offering a bigger, better sale every couple months. It is a deep grave from which to crawl out.<br><br>Successful businesses, now and in the future, will be practicing \"soft marketing\". To make sales today, marketing efforts have to come in under the consumers\' sales-pitch radar.<br><br>Many of the big companies have known this for some time because of their on-going marketing analysis. You can take advantage of their research for free.<br><br>Look at Coca-Cola for example.<br><br>Coke was famous for their flashy, high-powered TV ads. Today you seldom see such ads. Have they cut back on their marketing expenditure? No. In fact, they are now spending more using soft marketing techniques. Most people do not even realize they are being advertised to. That is the beauty and power of soft marketing.<br><br>Here are two ways Coke is using a soft marketing approach to build profits and market share.<br><br>1. You may have seen Coke products displayed on TV shows and movies. \"American Idol\" is a popular TV show, with about 35 million viewers. The three judges are a big part of the success of the show. In front of each judge is a tall Coke cup. These characters, in effect, are recommending Coke to their viewers. Coke pays a lot of money for this and sells a lot of product based on this endorsement type advertising.<br><br>2. Coke brings new loyal customers in the \"back door\" using nostalgia products. Coke collectibles are a huge market today. And once caught up in the hobby of Coke collectibles, a person, and the whole family, become avid Coke drinkers. And Coke is being advertised to everyone who enters that home.<br><br>Coke\'s soft marketing techniques have made them almost bullet-proof in the soft drink market. They have built an image of being the most popular soda. Since it is human nature to want to be on the winning team, swarms of new customers are joining the group every day.<br><br>Here are three powerful soft marketing tactics you can start using today.<br><br>1. Become known as an expert. Credibility and trust are the two most important ways to succeed in any business. Write and submit articles and press releases. If you cannot write, hire someone to do it for you. There are several good writing service web sites on the internet. They are very cheap. Also, you should join a \"Private Label Rights\" content site. They provide already written articles that you can put your name on as your own. This is pure gold for on-line or off-line marketing.<br><br>If you have a business on Main Street, your local newspaper should be your best friend. Do whatever you can to develop a relationship with them. You may or may not be able to get your news articles and releases printed for free, but even buying the space will return big dividends.<br><br>2. Give away a free report on the topic of your product or service. Your local newspaper will probably give you some free editorial space in the beginning if the report is of interest and free to their subscribers. A real life example is a realtor in this area that offers a free report - \"10 Ways To Get Top Dollar For Your Home\". It reveals what is valuable, and what is not, when getting your home ready for sale. With this he becomes the expert in the consumers\' mind and a person who cares about them.<br><br>You can get a book or report written for you for a few hundred dollars by the same on-line companies that ghost-write articles and press releases or from your \"Private Label Rights\" membership site. This realtor has been using the same report for over ten years now. It is estimated this report has generated about $1.6 million in profits.<br><br>3. Partner with related, non-competing businesses. One dry cleaning operation partnered with clothing stores in the community. The store, when selling a garment, would give a gift certificate to the customer. The gift certificate was good for a free first-time cleaning and pressing of that new garment.<br><br>The customer thought the store was paying for the dry cleaning. The fact is the dry cleaner was giving the service for free. The customer saw the store as being a \"hero\" and the store saw the dry cleaner as being a \"hero\". Both stores gained a load of new and repeat customers.<br><br>Use these soft marketing strategies or think up your own to fit your product or service. Have some brainstorming sessions with other energetic, savvy business people, like you. The resulting ideas will amaze you, and your traffic and profits will increase as if by magic.'

quotes[7]='You may have heard the term \'speed networking\' bandied about a lot recently. It\'s become a very popular and fast growing form of networking and growing your business. So how does speed networking work?<br><br>Well, you may have heard of speed dating - It\’s exactly the same principle just adapted for business. Attendees are seated in pairs and each one has between 2 and 5 minutes (this varies depending on the event) to introduce themselves and what they do. At the end of the 2 minutes a whistle blows and one of the parties moves to the next person on the right until everyone has had a chance to meet. It\’s an excellent way for people who find networking difficult, to meet others. It also breaks the ice for any general networking which might follow afterwards and gets around the age old problem of only talking to people you already know.<br><br>So you\'ve booked your place in a networking meeting, but what can you do to get the most out of the session? As with all marketing for your business, preparation is vital.<br><br>Bear in mind that you\'ve only got a few precious minutes to get across what you do and more importantly the benefits of your product or service, so you really should practice what you are going to say before you go. What do you want to get out of the event? What is it about your company that you really need people to know?<br><br>Below are some useful questions which might help you figure out what you want to say:<br><br>1. Who is your ideal client?<br>2. Which companies are you trying to get into?<br>3. What services do you offer?<br>4. What is your Unique Selling Point (USP)?<br>5. Why should someone choose your company?<br><br>You could also practice your 60 second or \"elevator\" pitch - a very quick way to get across exactly what you do in sixty seconds or less. If you get that right you\'ll actually have time to spare on being specific about who you would like to meet and which companies you want to work with.<br><br>Further Tips:<br><br>- If you are seated opposite to someone you already know, tell them something they don\'t know about your business - have you set up something new recently, a new service or product? What do you currently need?<br><br>- If you\'re opposite someone new, help them out. If they\'re struggling to think what to say, ask them questions. What kind of questions? The ones above are a good start.<br><br>- Speak clearly - you can say more in 2 minutes than you think.<br><br>- When the other person is speaking, don\'t keep talking about you - it\'s your turn to listen.<br><br>- Be genuinely interested in what the other person has to say - as with general networking it\'s all about building long term relationships. Take time to see if you can help with any connections or advice your partner might need.<br><br>- If the organizers have allowed time after the speed networking for general networking then think about who you want to talk to again and how you can further the new relationship.<br><br>Speed networking, just like any networking isn\'t rocket science - it\'s thinking about what you want to say, being clear and to the point, listening carefully to the other person and seeing what you can both get out of it.<br><br>And it really is great fun, so don\'t be afraid to get out there and give it a shot.'

quotes[8]='A lot of people dream of owning their own home-based business. They dream of setting their own hours, working when they want to work and with whom. The reality is that very few of these people ever take the time to ensure that they have the right skill set - the right tools - to make the leap to a home-based enterprise.<br><br>The first major pitfall that most new home-based business owners face is a lack of scheduling discipline. They just don\'t plan out their work days. This can cause problems in two ways, under-working and overworking.<br><br>Let\'s look at the first one, \"under-working.\" It\'s very easy to sit at home, on the ol\' PC surfing the web. You might intend on working on your new website or putting up auctions on eBay, but, before you know it, you\'ve spent the entire day reading email and surfing for the latest news and gossip. Sure, you were online and you were doing something, but the things you were doing are not the things that will put a dime in your bank account.<br><br>Overworking is pretty easy to understand. Some people simply don\'t know how to keep business hours. When they work from home, the temptation is there to \"work \'til you drop.\" That\'s not good, especially if you are building your home-based business on the side and still work a day job. If you spend all your time working, you\'ll soon feel that you\'re never getting any \"down time,\" and burnout is sure to follow. Believe me, I know all about this one.<br><br>Here\'s the solution. You must be very disciplined in planning your day. Write down what you need to accomplish every day and how long you will work on each item. Be sure to include downtime in your plan - time for your family, relaxation, exercise, whatever. This is important. After all, you\'re building a home-based business to build a lifestyle, not to become the richest person in the cemetary!<br><br>Your daily plans and goals need to be very specific. It won\'t do you any good to write something like, \"work on project x.\" What does that mean? How exactly do you \"work on something?\" Your plan needs to include a definite finishing point, such as \"write a new article on dog grooming for page one of the website.\" See the difference? You can \"work on\" a project for years and never reach a point where you\'ve had any success. By contrast, when you \"write an article on x,\" you know you\'re done as soon as you\'ve typed the final period.<br><br>If you\'re in a marketing business, try to farm out as much of the non-marketing related work as you can afford to do. For example, if you sell products or services, it might be beneficial for you to hire someone to help build and maintain your website. The money you\'ll spend to have someone else do it will be more than offset by the amount of time it will free up. Other areas you can outsource might be bookkeeping, mailing, etc.<br><br>Be realistic when planning your day. If you\'re still working your day job, schedule that from the time you get up in the morning until you get home from work. Don\'t forget to include commute time. Then, plan out your evening accordingly. Don\'t schedule a four hour task to be completed in one hour. It won\'t happen. If you have huge tasks, break them up as much as possible and schedule your time accurately. This will allow you to have a feeling of accomplishment and you\'ll get a lot more done in the long run.<br><br>Don\'t multi-task. I know that this is the latest \"buzzword,\" but, in reality, multi-taking is one of the leading killers of productivity for most people. Schedule only one project at a time. You can work on more than one project during the day, but you shouldn\'t work on more than one project at a time. It\'s very difficult, if not totally impossible, to serve to masters at the same time. Give one project your undivided attention. Once you\'ve completed that task, move on to another tasks on that project or to another project.<br><br>You should also be a little flexible in your scheduling. In any business, there are bound to be interruptions that you couldn\'t possibly have planned for. In home-based businesses, the chance of distraction goes up exponentially. You\'ll be working on that hot new project, only to have the toilet overflow or a neighbor ring the doorbell. Plan on it. There will be things that happen that you can\'t plan for. That\'s why your schedule needs to include a little cushion.<br><br>What I like to do is plan out the items I want to get done and overestimate the time it will take to do them, by say 10%. Then, I have other items which are \"on deck.\" These items aren\'t quite on today\'s schedule, but I want to do them soon. If I complete all of my scheduled tasks for the day, I simply look to see what\'s on deck and start on one of them. It\'s a bonus.<br><br>Sometimes, no matter how well you plan, you just won\'t finish what you schedule. It happens to everyone. That\'s when you simply revise your schedule for the next day to include the missed item(s). Don\'t get hung up on the fact that an item or two didn\'t get done as planned. Just take it in stride and keep on moving forward. Now, if you find yourself routinely missing your deadlines, you\'ll need to reevaluate your scheduling. Are you being realistic in your time allotments? Probably not. Adjust accordingly.<br><br>Here are just a few tips to help you maintain sanity and get your work done. With a little planning and a little effort, you can balance your home life with your home-based business and literally schedule your way to success.'

quotes[9]='The headline of your sales messages, whether on-line or in the local newspaper, is responsible for 70% to 80% of the response from your sales message. The success or failure of any marketing effort rests, to a large degree, on the power of your headline.<br><br>David Ogilvy is one of the most respected modern day marketing authorities. He revealed that, with the average headline, only 200 people out of 1000 will go on to read your ad. And that is where your profit is sitting. Capture another 200 customers with a punch line headline and you will double your sales. Lose 100 readers with a poor headline and you lose half your sales.<br><br>Headlines are just that important. Even poorly written ads have been very successful because of the overwhelming power of punch line headlines.<br><br>Your prospects will decide whether to read your sales message in only two or three seconds. That is all the time they will give you to scan your headline. Really, you and I are no different. We do not READ a newspaper, we SCAN the headlines - article headlines and ad headlines. We are looking for only what interests us at the moment.<br><br>A headline comprises the first words at the top of a newspaper ad. It is the title of your article, the subject line of an email, or the top of your web page.<br><br>Here are four critical tips for writing those "double your sales" punch line headlines.<br><br>1. MAKE SURE YOUR HEADLINE IS THE FIRST WORD GROUP YOUR PROSPECT SEES. I know this may seem a "no-brainer" but I see this mistake time and again, particularly in local newspaper advertising. And, even more amazing, the ads the newspaper "experts" use to promote themselves seldom follow this rule. Take a look through your newspaper. Notice how many businesses start out their ad with their store name and location right at the top. This is such a terrible waste of their prime "real estate". It is an ego thing really, and can easily cost them 25% to 50% of their potential sales. Always keep in mind - the public does not give a hoot about you. If they are shopping for you, they will look in the yellow pages. They are only interested in themselves and fulfilling their current desires. Put your store name at the bottom. If the headline draws them in to read your ad, and you convince them to want it, they will find your business name, no matter how small.<br><br>2. MAKE SURE YOUR HEADLINE DELIVERS THE PUNCH LINE. The "punch line" is the unique and powerful part of your sales message. You aren\'t telling a joke here. Do not save the best part of your offer until last. Determine the most compelling part of your offer and put it right at the top of your ad in big, bold print. Virtually shout it out. And make the wording active, not passive. For example, "Save 50% on Recliners" is passive. "Take Home A Recliner for 50 Cents on the Dollar" is an active headline.<br><br>3. USE WORDS YOUR PROSPECT IS SEARCHING FOR. Here is another costly mistake you will see every day. Do not try to get everybody to read your ad by being vague or cute. "Everybody" is not your potential customer. Your prospects are only those who want today what you have for sale today. By trying to capture everybody, you will actually lose many of your most important prospects - the ones that want to give you money. Your headline should sort out the buyers. Be specific. If you are selling recliners, then say "recliners", not "furniture". Do not say "Storewide Furniture Sale". Say "Dining Rooms, Living Rooms, Bedrooms - As Little As 50 Cents On The Dollar". The more focused your headline, and your sales message, the better the response.<br><br>4. LIKE ANY PUNCH LINE, YOUR HEADLINE SHOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET. The headline should be as few words as possible, yet long enough to tell them what you are selling and why they should read your sales message. Usually ten words or less is a good target. The consumer will read longer headlines if the first four words grab their attention. If you need more words, start with a large, short headline leading to a smaller type, longer worded sub-headline.<br><br>Here are some very easy and fun ways to find profitable headline ideas.<br><br>1. Look through your newspaper every day. Watch for headlines on articles and ads that really grab your interest. Think about why those headlines worked on you.<br><br>2. While waiting to check out at the supermarket, read the headlines on the gossip tabloids. Those headlines are the main reason, if not the only reason, millions of people buy them every week. Supermarket tabloids have the high paid experts on staff who do nothing but write compelling and extremely profitable headlines. And these headlines are always good for a "laugh out loud" event.<br><br>3. Your junk mail is a virtual goldmine of great headlines and sub-headlines. Save the ones you like for future use. Mix, match and adapt these headlines to suit your business. If you see a headline used over and over again, it\'s because it is making a lot of money for that company. You do not have to re-invent the wheel. Somebody paid $1000\'s to write that headline, and $1000\'s more to test it - and you get to use it free.<br><br>4. Practice writing good headlines in the subject line of your emails. It is fun practice and your recipients will enjoy it too. "RE: This Weekend" is passive and boring. "RE: Let\'s Do It This Weekend" is active and compelling.<br><br>5. Buy a good book on marketing. One excellent book, if still available, is "Tested Advertising Methods" by the legendary expert John Caples (with a foreword by David Ogilvy). John devoted four full chapters just to the subject of headlines because he learned early on how important they are.<br><br>If you follow these tips, you will become an expert in no time - smarter than 90% of your competitors and 80% of newspaper advertising consultants. And when you experience the flood of sales that your headlines will create, others will want to know your secret to writing profitable punch line headlines.'

quotes[10]='If you\'re working a regular j-o-b and tired of the daily grind, you may be thinking how great it would be to have your own business and be your own boss. Or maybe you probably have ideas about how you could manage the job or department better. Soon you\'re thinking it would be great to start a business of your own and run it the way you like. It might surprise you to learn that thoughts like these are quite common.<br><br>Starting your own business is not easy no matter what you\'ve heard. Some people are in the right place at the right time and the stars are aligned and suddenly, they\'re a success. Stop and think how many people you know that have been this lucky. It\'s very rare to succeed the first time and in fact, many wealthy people don\'t succeed until they\'ve created or lost one, two or three businesses. The very reason they are a success in their own business is because of the failures they have had or great obstacles they have had to get past.<br><br>There are other people that have started their business only to find out later that it\'s actually worse than the j-o-b they had. This usually occurs when they have either failed to plan or have left out an integral part of the business plan. One of the most important steps in planning is your vision; not the vision of your success, but how you will get there.<br><br>For instance, it it\'s your dream to own a storefront, you\'ll have to consider the regular hours of the other stores in the location you\'re interested in. You\'ll have to be in your store, ready for customers usually six days a week, eight hours or more each day. If you\'re not open when regular foot traffic occurs, you\'ll lose money unless you find another way to bring in customers. And don\'t forget the extra hours you\'ll put in for bookkeeping, cleaning, organizing, etc., all time away from your family and friends.<br><br>Many people are giving up their j-o-b for the excitement of working from home, preferably in their pajamas. Usually, this involves doing business on the Internet or creating and selling services or products locally. Doing business in your neighborhood means you have to get to know a lot of people, either personally or through their business and related organizations. And doing business on the Internet is just another way of distributing your service or product.<br><br>To market your own service or product involves selling. Unless you\'re someone who could sell anything to anyone, you\'re going to need a lot of training and experience to make a sale. Even selling something you use and recommend yourself is quite difficult if you\'re not a social animal.<br><br>If you have an idea for a business that you run from your home, you\'ll have to consider the local zoning laws and association by-laws when applicable. Having employees arrive to your home could get you complaints from your neighbors or even worse, a violation when they call the city or the association to file a complaint.<br><br>Now let\'s think about when you\'ll make a profit. It takes time and money to establish a customer base and you will need enough money to support your business and yourself in the meantime. What will you do if it takes longer than you anticipated? Best to have a backup plan in case this were to occur.<br><br>If you\'re still interested in starting your own business, the key will be to know your target customer. Find out everything you can about them and make sure you are targeting them in your advertising and with the quality of your product or service.<br><br>If you\'re selling business-to-business, you will want to advertise in their publications, join the same organizations and generally hang in the same circle of business. If you\'re doing business with the public, direct your advertising efforts to local direct mail and neighborhood publications. People generally read local periodicals to know what\'s going on in their area. Writing an article for one of these publications is even better. And those direct mail coupons for residences are usually opened when received.<br><br>Running your own business is nothing like having a j-o-b with someone always assigning your next task or project. You will have to make those decisions yourself and make sure customer service is not affected along the way.<br><br>Once you have your business set up, it\'s going to take a lot of nurturing and long hours. Be ready for the day when you think all is lost and find a way to push through. If you don\'t push through these difficult periods, you will lose the business. For those having the ability to continue to push through, the rewards can be fulfilling and sometimes lead to surprising wealth.'

quotes[11]='If you are building an online shop, you will need to address the question of taking payments for orders. You can, of course, request that a check payment be sent to you in the mail. Most shopping basket software allows you to select this option when you are setting it up. If you already have an offline, bricks and mortar business, you may simply wish to accept credit card payments over the phone.<br><br>However, there are some basic problems with these solutions and it all comes down to the way people shop on the internet. Customers expect to be able to add items to their basket and proceed to the checkout to pay. If they then find they must telephone you or print out and send their order, they may simply abandon their order and hop over to another website. Shopping online is all about convenience and if you are unable to provide this, you may be losing customers without even being aware of it.<br><br>So, what are your options and what is it all going to cost? Well, the good news is you can do it all very simply and cheaply. Paypal does not have a set-up charge and is a large and trusted online payment processor servicing 78 million accounts worldwide in 56 countries. Your only cost is a small percentage on each sale; a transaction charge. Payments from your website go straight into your Paypal account from where you can transfer amounts to your bank account with the click of a button.<br><br>Once you sign up with a payment processor, you can either link to their secure server from your shopping basket facility or build \'add to basket\' buttons via a simple web query form. The html generated is then pasted next to items on your web page and your customers will be transferred to a secure server when they go to checkout.<br><br>Traditional merchant accounts are normally set up through your own bank and will become integral to your business account. Having your own merchant account gives you the choice of many different online payment gateways. Most, however, do charge a set-up fee, monthly fee and transaction charge. Just as you would offline, do make sure you research any company you sign up with on the internet. Print out and read their terms and conditions. Take particular notice of where they are operating from, their fees, when and how you will receive your money into your account.<br><br>Another point to consider is the question of chargebacks. This happens when a buyer requests a refund of an amount already paid to you. Reasons include not receiving goods ordered or items arriving faulty, damaged or not as described. Sometimes requests are made if the buyers card was used fraudulently.<br><br>If the chargeback request is successful, your merchant payment processor will charge you a processing fee. However, some companies will now provide you with insurance against chargebacks inclusive in your monthly fee. It\'s certainly worth shopping around for the right solution for you but knowing you have done your research will give you some peace of mind.'

quotes[12]='There is a critical element of thought that many Internet Marketers are missing about SEO techniques and getting websites ranked high in the search engines. And it all goes back to the elementary principle of the "whole" being the sum total of all of its parts. This simple, yet often forgotten principle is alive and well in Internet Marketing and search engine dominance.<br><br>These techniques are so subtle, so easy to implement and so minute in the bigger picture, that many people feel they are not worth doing simply because they seem so insignificant. Seemingly, if it is that easy, it cannot also be that powerful. And yet, each of these really simple techniques, when added together creates a commanding website structure that will result in search engine dominance.<br><br>These traffic generating SEO techniques are enumerated over and over again in articles, eBooks, teleseminars, and email marketing newsletters and ezines everyday. So much so, that many people have the tendency to overlook their effectiveness - even though they are some of the most critical and successful methods of structuring a website that will rank high in the search engines.<br><br>These techniques include, but are not limited to the following:<br><br>1. Keywords in title tags and descriptions.<br><br>2. File and directory naming conventions that include keywords.<br><br>3. H1 headline tags that contain keywords.<br><br>4. Keywords appearing as the first and last text on a page.<br><br>5. Internal links that are keyword rich.<br><br>6. Adding robot.txt and sitemap.xml files to a site.<br><br>7. Article submissions providing critical inbound links.<br><br>8. Blogging and RSS feed broadcasting.<br><br>How many times has an SEO expert shared one of the above tips or techniques and made the claim that it is a "little known secret," or the "one thing" that made all the difference in getting indexed faster? And for as many times as it\'s been written about, there are that many people and more who simply ignore the advice! It just seems too easy. It appears to be too insignificant to make a difference. And yet, it is exactly these easy and insignificant things that do indeed distinguish one person\'s success from another person\'s failure.<br><br>In pursuit of finding the magic bullet, Internet Marketing entrepreneurs frequently trample past these little gems as they are forging a path to finding the "next big thing" that will make all the difference in search engine dominance.<br><br>Please listen carefully... it is the sum total of all of these "little things" that IS the bigger picture! The answer is staring you right in the face - do not ignore it and continue searching for something bigger and better. It simply does not get any bigger than this!<br><br>There are, at most, ten to 15 little pieces of the SEO pie that will combine to form the whole of a powerful search engine friendly website. Use them. Embrace them. Get excited and diligent about them. Do not pass them off as being too insignificant to matter. They are of paramount importance and if given the weight they deserve, will yield results that will remain elusive to the majority of the Internet Marketing population who simply discount them on the basis of their simplicity. Heed this advice and you will suddenly see the amazing results they profess to achieve.'

quotes[13]='If you haven\'t heard the word \'niche\' being batted around by Internet Marketers then you haven\'t been listening. Finding a niche has become the antidote to competing in overly saturated online markets. <br><br>What is a niche? <br><br>According to Merriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary a niche is described as "a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted... a specialized market". <br><br>Have you noticed that despite the closing of many businesses in these harsh economic times, the local hobby train store is still around? That the \'hole-in-the-wall\' eatery is thriving? Or that trends such as scrapbooking can start with a bang and still close within a year when four similar businesses start up in the same area? <br><br>The online business world reflects the same trends as experienced in the offline world - often with faster turnover and startup rates. Those who promote a product or site that targets a small, select audience can tap into a market that is otherwise not being served. Despite the limitations of the client base, the targeted nature of the business creates a devoted and active market - the aim of any business. <br><br>HOW DO I FIND A NICHE? <br><br>Finding a niche requires diligent research. Whether you have access to software that harvests and sorts information or you take a manual approach you must first start with ideas. <br><br>With a pen and paper (or computer, if that\'s more comfortable) brainstorm a list of businesses, products and industries. Create a list of keywords and phrases you think would be used by individuals looking for these items online. <br><br>Use a software program such as Wordtracker or a free resource such as the Overture Keyword Selector Tool to find keywords for your niche that have a high amount of traffic. <br><br>Although a program like Wordtracker makes it easy to find details such as how many sites compete for that market, you can also do your own research. <br><br>Concentrate your attention on question phrases such as "how do I..." or "where can I...". These questions will clue you into potential markets that need servicing. <br><br>Next, look in Google Answers. Type one of your keywords into the search area. What questions are being asked and how much are people willing to pay for answers? If you find a group of keywords with a high number of questions then enter these words in your browser\'s search engine. <br><br>What sites come up? Do they provide answers or solutions to the problem? How are they making money? Can you see an opportunity to service these individuals? <br><br>Finding a niche can open the door to a profitable online business. Research the market and be certain that your product or service is valuable to this group. Find forums or groups that target this audience and pay close attention to their concerns. <br><br>If you can help these people you WILL make money. The best of both worlds!'

quotes[14]='NO matter what business you are trying to build online, you will need sales leads if you are ever going to make sales, and sales leads are what you are trying to generate if you are marketing on the internet. In order to survive, any web site needs a steady flow of qualified leads.<br><br>The aim of any lead generation campaign is to build your mailing list. Internet marketers often say \"the money is in the list\", which is totally true. A list of responsive buying customers that trust you is worth its weight in gold!<br><br>While spam filtering has lessened the impact of email marketing, it\’s still a viable means to getting your sales messages out there. In theory, email is marketing is free, although of course its costs you in terms of your time. The theory behind email marketing is that by using a \"hook\" such as a free product or some other incentive, you can \"funnel\" interested parties onto specific products and services.<br><br>When you consider generating leads via an email campaign there are basically three avenues you can explore: email signatures, joint ventures and safe lists. One word of warning though, and that is avoid spam at all cost, one spam complaint can seriously damage your online business. You should familiarize yourself with the laws concerning spam, and at the very least ensure you include a un-subscription link in ALL your marketing emails. Due to spam, it is advisable that you avoid buying leads, no matter how reputable the company, buying leads can easily lead to a spam complaint, you have been warned!<br><br>In its simplest form, email marketing is a matter of putting a signature in all your emails that contains a link to your main product.<br><br>If you are looking to vastly increase your list quickly then a joint venture (JV) may well be the key you need. In its simplest form, in a JV you supply the product and a fellow marketer supplies the leads and you share the profits. Hopefully, you will then get the emails of your fellow marketer\’s customers, so you can then mail them with further offers.<br><br>When considering a joint venture there are many considerations you have to think about, but the main one, before you consider contacting anyone about mailing to their list, is \"what\'s in it for THEM\", not \"what\'s in it for me\". NEVER write to a fellow marketer unless you can offer them something of value in return for their help, and that is not necessarily just a share of the profits, be inventive!<br><br>Finally you have safe lists. A safe list is a list of people that have agreed to receive marketing emails in return for being able to send their own marketing email. The value of this form of marketing has never been that good. After all you are trying to sell to people who are only interested in selling to you!<br><br>You can use pay per click advertising such as overture or Goggle adwords to advertise your site and draw in interested leads.<br><br>One other highly effective way of generating interested leads is posting in forums that are related to your area of business. Include a link to your site in your signature and people interested in your sphere of business will often click it if your forum post was interesting.<br><br>Three other popular sales lead generation techniques are submitting articles to ezine publishers and article directories, press releases and testimonials for products in your target market.<br><br>No matter what lead generation technique you employ you will need a way to capture your leads email address when they arrive at your site.<br><br>The traditional method has been to use a pop up or pop under which contains some incentive to get someone to sign up. With the invention of pop up stoppers their effectiveness has dwindled and therefore unstoppable pop ups (also know as hover ads or slide in ads) have evolved. This new generation of pop ups are built into your webpage and as such cannot be stopped. Simply do a search on Goggle for \"unstoppable pop up\" and you are sure to find a software solution to produce these types of pop ups for you.<br><br>The other alternative is to use what is called a \"name squeeze page\".<br><br>In essence a name squeeze page is a web page whose sole purpose is to capture an email address.<br><br>They generally contain a small amount of information about the product or service you are selling as a \"teaser\" for the reader and will contain a sign up form, with a message like \"to find out more simply fill in the form to be immediately directed to further details on this amazing product\".<br><br>A name squeeze page not only helps build your list, this information can also be used with certain software to help personalize your site for your visitor, a technique that has been shown to increase sales. Again, simply do a search for name squeeze page generators.<br><br>No matter how you generate sales leads there is one thing always to bear in mind, and that is to be effective your leads must be in your targeted market. If, for example, you are selling internet marketing products, then it\'s no use advertising on a site that is all about scuba diving!<br><br>When you start to build your online business, ensure you include a well thought out sales lead generation strategy from the beginning. Do not make it an afterthought; this should be in place from the very beginning if you want your business to be a success.'

quotes[15]='Do you want to know what it takes to successfully market a web site and generate repeat sales? <br><br>It\'s simple really. <br><br>You must position yourself as a perceived expert. It doesn\'t matter what product or service you are selling, this same premise will hold true. <br><br>What is a perceived expert, you ask? <br><br>Good question. <br><br>Gone are the days where you could build a simple company web site, list your products and send customers to an order page. New web sites are sprouting up like blades of grass and competition is intensely fierce. <br><br>The bottom line is this: why should a customer buy from YOU? <br><br>A small but growing number of small business owners have discovered the answer to this question and are kicking your butt. How are they accomplishing this? By positioning themselves as an expert in their industry and using their web site to communicate that fact to potential customers. <br><br>How can you become an expert too? <br><br>Offer your potential customers an education to compliment the product or service you are selling. You can write it, buy it or license the content you need. Whichever you choose, teaching your customers should be an essential component of your web site and its importance cannot be overstated. <br><br>Here are some examples: <br><br>If you are selling diamonds or jewelry online, offer articles, tips or even a free guide on \"How do I choose the right diamond for me?\" or \"20 ways to spot fake jewelry.\" <br><br>If you operate a job search or career database, offer a wealth of guides and tips such as \"20 ways to improve your resume,\" \"what to wear at a job interview,\" or \"how do I know if a job is right for me.\" <br><br>If you are selling health related items (ie: vitamins, pills or creams), don\'t simply throw up ad copy, a few product images and an order form. Educate your customers on the benefits of each ingredient and how it can improve their well-being. Take it one step further and provide an education on every vitamin and mineral known to man. Just make it fun and easy to read. <br><br>You get the picture. <br><br>How can this help your web site prosper? <br><br>People want to buy the best product they can, at the best price, from someone they trust. Given the fact your customers will never see or meet you, this task is accomplished by your web site. By offering them a wealth of expertise related to the products you are selling, you immediately create a foundation to build upon. You are helping them make a more informed decision as to what to purchase while at YOUR web site. In essence, your web site becomes the salesperson that the customer would normally see in the store or talk to on the phone. Customers always have questions. You have the opportunity to give them the answer and a whole lot more knowledge by becoming a perceived expert in your industry. <br><br>If you give your potential customers an education, they will reward you for it. Plus, they will likely tell their friends too!'

quotes[16]='The internet is a place where people often throw darts into the darkness hoping that someday, somehow they\'ll hit a bulls eye. Most people nurture a mistaken notion that huge amount of traffic can eventuate good business without paying any attention to what sort of people are coming to the website. This is the worst sort of Internet Marketing.<br><br>No matter how revolutionary your product or service is, unless it is backed by a well-thought-out Internet Marketing strategy, it is as good as being non-existent. You have got to be as sure as any of the conventional brick and mortar businesses.<br><br>Breaking the great wall of non-presence is the biggest challenge one faces while trying to set up an online business. When you set up your online shop, you don\'t know them and they don\'t know you. You need to make your presence felt; you need to set up an identity for yourself that tells your visitors that you are not an unemployed weirdo trying to dupe visitors from your dark and unheated basement. Your website should seem to represent a genuine business that can really deliver. How can you do that?<br><br>==> HAVE A WELL-MADE WEBSITE <==<br><br>A good website is quintessential to your online presence. It is your online office; people come there and draw an impression. Even the first glance can make or break a great business transaction. Your website should be neat and clean. It should be accessible to people of all abilities and it should have a well-structured navigation system. There should be no broken links and all the essential pages should be there.<br><br>==>> CONTENT IS, OF COURSE, KING <<==<br><br>If having a decent website is important, then so is having the right kind of content on your pages. As mentioned above, your website represents you amidst the din of the World Wide Web. Since you are not there to directly talk to your visitors, your website accomplishes that task. Make your content -- whether graphic or textual -- as convincing as you can. Utmost care should be given to the language and the tone to make sure your visitors get all the right information they need to take their visit to the next level.<br><br>==>> KEEP PERSISTENT CONTACT <<==<br><br>Establishing an identity takes time, and this is not just unique to the internet. Companies invest millions of dollars on establishing their brands. On the Internet, you need to establish your identity, you need your name to sound familiar, and you need to be there almost all the time. You should be accessible to your present and future customers and clients; you should always be in a constant conversation. A good way to carry out a regular conversation is publishing a regular newsletter (ezine) or blog where you post regular updates about your business.<br><br>Finally, although there are numerous \"killer\" methods being sold as the ubiquitous reports that claim to make you millions, there is no substitute for a thing called good old hard work. As in any form of business, hard work is need to build trust, to initiate a two-way communication, to render a countenance to your online presence your customers can relate to, and to deliver goods and services that set you on a path of long-term profitability.'

quotes[17]='Most of the Internet marketing community is at least somewhat familiar with Google Adsense at this point. Google Adsense can be a very lucrative venture for some so having a better understanding of Adsense is worthwhile.<br><br>Google Adsense is small contextual ads that are published on web sites with the consent of the web site\'s owner. The ads are created by publishers that are selling products and/or creating brand awareness. The ads that are created are called Adwords and they are also a Google sponsored program.<br><br>Google Adwords and Adsense run hand in hand. Every time someone does a search on Google or one of their partner networks and clicks on one of the sponsored ads, then the person who created that ad will pay Google a predetermined price. This is where the term \"pay per click\" comes from.<br><br>Now the beauty of Adsense is that the person who owns or hosts the web site that the Adwords ads appear on will split the amount of money that Google receives from the creator or publisher of the ad. It is a well guarded secret what the percentage of the split is, and it does vary, but for our purposes let\'s say it\'s 50%.<br><br>If a publisher is willing to pay .40 per click for his Adwords ad, then the host of the website that welcomes Adsense can expect to see roughly .20 every time someone clicks on that ad that appears on their site. The other .20 is kept by Google. So basically it is a partnership of sorts between Google and web site owners.<br><br>Adsense is shown in the most relevant way possible. What does this mean? Well, probably the best way to illustrate this would be through an example. Let\'s say Mary had a website featuring women\'s clothing. If Mary wanted to monetize her web site with Google Adsense the ads that would be shown would all be related to clothing, and more precisely, women\'s clothing. If a page of her site was dedicated to shoes, then the Adsense ads appearing on that page would be for women\'s shoes.<br><br>So how is the price per click determined? This is where the Adwords side of the equation kicks in. Adwords publishers bid on keywords. The more lucrative or sought after a keyword is, the more the publisher will be willing to pay for each click. Keywords range anywhere from a few cents to in excess of $50 per click.<br><br>It is not very hard to see how someone with a web site that generates a decent amount of traffic can make some nice money by putting Google Adsense on their site. Many Internet marketers will create web sites with specific content for the sole purpose of attracting high paying Adsense ads. Top Internet marketers can earn in excess of $10,000 a month on Adsense.'

quotes[18]='When writing a sales copy, all internet marketers know that a long copy will sell more than a short copy. This does not mean that the more words the better; the quantity and the quality of detail is what will improve its performance.<br><br>Having the correct sales structure will keep the reader interested from start to finish. These are the steps to follow to create a successful sales letter:<br><br>1. USE A POWERFUL HEADLINE. Express the main benefit of your product in a short sentence. Grab your readers attention and make them want to continue reading.<br><br>2. CREATE EXCITEMENT WITH A SUB-HEADLINE. In no more than two or three short sentences, expand on the benefits of your product and generate excitement in your reader. If you are offering a limited promotion, specify the limitations of your offer here.<br><br>3. OUTLINE THE BENEFITS OF YOUR PRODUCT. Give the reader three good reasons to buy your product. These reasons have nothing to do with the product\'s features; think about what your customer wants. For example, if you are selling holiday villas, say something like:<br><br>\"If you want to take advantage of the comfort of a luxury apartment, enjoy the Mediterranean sun and save money on your summer vacations, then this might be the most important letter you\'ll ever read\"<br><br>4. EXPLAIN YOUR UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION. This is the specific benefit that differentiates your product from all the others. At this point, you must mention your USP in one or two sentences. You will explain the details later in the sales letter.<br><br>5. PROVE YOUR CREDIBILITY. The most important thing to sell on the internet is credibility. Your readers have to trust you before they will buy anything from you. Give them three reasons why they should believe you. Try to prove that what you say is true.<br><br>6. EXPLAIN THE FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF YOUR PRODUCT. Explain how your product will improve your reader\'s life or how it will solve a problem. The more detail you can provide, the more convincing your copy will be.<br><br>7. PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT. Here is where you can tell the reader everything about your product. Use as much space as you need. Write until you get bored.<br><br>8. INCLUDE CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS. In order to continue establishing credibility, mention testimonials of customers that have already bought from you and enjoyed your product. Have them mention what they liked most about the product instead of making general comments like \"I really loved your product...\" or something similar. Mention at least five testimonials.<br><br>9. ELIMINATE THE COMPETITION. You eliminate your competition by giving your reader the information they need to see that your product is superior. Mention the elements where your product is excellent and much better than your competition.<br><br>10. BUILD VALUE. To build value in your offer you have to let your readers know that your offer is so good, that they cannot refuse to take it. One way of doing this is to compare the value of your offer with the normal value of your product.<br><br>11. PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF EVERYTHING YOUR CUSTOMER WILL RECEIVE. Make sure your reader understands everything he is going to get from you.<br><br>12. MENTION THE PRICE OF YOUR PRODUCT. Mention the regular price and the sale price of your product. The regular price must be crossed out and the offer must follow.<br><br>13. LIST YOUR BONUS PRODUCTS. The objective is to prompt immediate action by offering something extra. With this strategy, you are also adding value to your product. You can also try to create a sense of urgency by telling that the bonuses will only be available for a short time.<br><br>14. OFFER A STRONG GUARANTEE. The strongest guarantee you can offer is a \"money back\" guarantee. The willingness to offer your product at no risk will generate a lot of trust and confidence among your readers. You have to honour your guarantee for any returns you may get, but you can be sure that the sales you will generate with this strategy will be by far outnumber the number of returns.<br><br>15. RE-EMPHASIZE YOUR GUARANTEE. Remove all elements of risk by closing your sales copy with something like:<br><br>\"You don\'t have to decide now if this product is for you. Just get it and try it out. If it doesn\'t do everything I say and more, if you don\'t save money, or if your business doesn\'t improve, or if your life isn\'t better, or if you don\'t absolutely love it, just let me know and I\'ll give you every cent of your money back! So you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.\"<br><br>16. TELL THEM HOW TO ORDER YOUR PRODUCT. Provide detailed instructions about how to place the order.<br><br>17. SIGN THE LETTER. Use your full name and title.<br><br>18. CLOSE WITH A \"P.S.\" Use this part to emphasize the most relevant points of your letter.<br><br>Remember that this will be a long sales copy that will take your readers some time to read. With this in mind, you must work on the format and design of the copy so that it is as friendly as possible. Highlight the most important statements, so that the letter can also be read in one or two minutes.'

quotes[19]='In order to create the most effective ad for your business, you will need to test different versions of your copy and track the effectiveness of where you advertise. Experiment by changing the copy, tweaking the looks, rearranging the layout and testing where you place your ad.<br><br>Changing The Copy<br><br>Try several different headings for your ad. Just a one word change may have a significant effect on the response rate. Test different versions of your copy to find the most effective wording.<br><br>Tweaking The Looks<br><br>Change the font style, font sizes, and font colors. Emphasize important words and phrases by placing them in italics, making them bold, changing their color, and highlighting them. Add a border, a different border color and/ or a different border style. Try different combinations of these and find out which combination works best.<br><br>Rearranging The Layout<br><br>Rearrange the components of your ad to see if it affects the response rate. Add a short testimonial or two to see if that has any effect. Try adding more than one call to action link.<br><br>Testing The Placement<br><br>Track and test the response rate for your ad. An ad in one e-zine may result in 100 clicks while an ad in another may only result in 50. You will want to know where you get the best response for your advertising dollars.<br><br>You will want to track your ads for these four reasons:<br><br>1. To save money.<br><br>If you know where you get the best response from, you won\'t waste money by advertising on places where you get a poor return.<br><br>2. To maximize your profit.<br><br>While advertising on one place may bring you a better response than advertising on another, you need to take into account the cost of each ad. If you get 200 responses from one advertising source but each response costs you $4.00, it may be better to advertise on a place where you get 100 responses that only cost $1.00 each.<br><br>3. To improve your ads.<br><br>By testing different versions of your ad, you will find the most effective one. To obtain a true test of a particular ad, you will need to know how may people were shown your ad, how many people acted on your ad, and the result of that action. (For example, your ad was shown to 1000 people of which 100 clicked on your ad link and 2 bought your product.)<br><br>4. To find out what works and what doesn\'t.<br><br>You will want to know what components of your ad work and which don\'t. You can only find this out by tracking different versions of your ad.<br><br>While knowing how many people click on your ad and how many sales you make is important, you will want to know how much each click and sale actually costs you. In order to maximize your Return On Investment (ROI) you should monitor the following:<br><br>1. How many unique visitors each ad or promotion generates.<br><br>2. The number of sales each ad or promotion generates.<br><br>3. Which ad or promotion generates the most traffic to your website.<br><br>4. The Cost Per Click and Cost Per Sale of each ad or promotion.<br><br>5. The Click to Sales Ratio which will show you the quality of the traffic you\'re getting.<br><br>6. The ROI for each ad or promotion.<br><br>You will also want to track where your traffic is coming from. You may get traffic from an e-zine ad, from a forum post and from a banner ad. One of these sources may bring you a significant amount of traffic while another brings you little or no traffic at all. By tracking every ad and promotion you place, you will find out where to direct your advertising efforts, thereby saving you both time and money.<br><br>Only about 1% of your competitors track their traffic sources. By tracking your ads, you will gain an advantage over 99% of your competitors. At the same time, you will boost your bottom line as you will no longer be wasting money on useless advertising.'

quotes[20]='Many people will tell you that to get your web site noticed you need to \'optimize\' your site for the search engines. You are then led up a path where you have to keep changing your web site as the search engines change their ways of listing things. As fast as you \'optimize\' your site, Google and the others have moved the goalposts, meaning you have to keep optimizing over and over again.<br><br>Now consider some facts. Most people in the world are not users of the Internet. Let\'s repeat that. The vast majority of people who you want to reach don\'t use the Internet. It doesn\'t matter how well you optimize your web site, they simply will never find it.<br><br>Here\'s another fact. Some of the best Internet marketers make most of their sales \'offline\'. They sell their books, CD-ROMs and so on at seminars, workshops and conferences. Indeed, for many \'Internet marketers\' these \'offline\' sales represent the bulk of their income.<br><br>So what do these facts tell us? They show us that \'offline\' promotion is more important than online promotion. You may be able to optimize your web site to get high rankings in a search engine. But that doesn\'t mean you\'ll reach the vast majority of people who could buy your product or use your information.<br><br>This was confirmed recently by one study that showed most people go to an Internet address (URL) after having read it in a newspaper or magazine, been given it by a friend or colleague, or having heard it being mentioned by someone speaking at a meeting or on TV. In other words, it seems that significant numbers of people who get to your web site will do so having heard the URL somewhere outside the Internet.<br><br>You can get many people visiting your web site, even if you are not ranked highly by the search engines. You can do this in two main ways:<br><br>1. Write articles for use in regular publications - newspapers, magazines and so on. Always include your URL in the article and you\'ll get millions of people to notice your web site address.<br><br>2. Speak at every opportunity. Make presentations to business clubs, chambers of commerce, local societies - you name it, you should speak at it. Every time you speak, announce or your web site address.<br><br>Although these are the two principal ways of gaining offline publicity for your web site, don\'t neglect your business stationery, posters, car stickers and so on. The more your web site address is visible outside the web, the more visitors you will get regardless of how kind the search engines are to you.'

quotes[21]='There are at least 3 important steps to a successful plan when working on the internet. These 3 steps can be applied to just about any plan, and when coupled with the right amount of determination and perseverance, will result in success! But remember, you must persevere through the dry spells and difficult times. Everyone has hard times and this is just a fact of life. The key is to keep working toward your goal and never give up.<br><br>Three Important Steps<br><br>1) Develop the Right Philosophy<br><br>The first point is to develop the right philosophy. How you approach your business (and life) will determine your success or failure. Try to always be growing and expanding your horizons in some way. You might want to think about continuing your education or contributing to your local community in some way. (Make sure to set-aside enough money for personal development.)<br><br>Most successful people do not blindly follow someone else. They learn, evaluate, and make the necessary adjustments in their approach to career and life. Excellence is the goal, and continuous training and instruction are a very important part of the process.<br><br>As you continue to grow and develop, be sure to find other individuals who can help in the process. Good mentors are hard to come by, but indispensible when it comes to personal growth.<br><br>2) Decide What You \'Really\' Want<br><br>Determine your true inner desire and then do it! If you don\'t really desire to accomplish what it is you are currently doing, when the difficult times arrive you will simply quit. It\'s a fact of life! Thousands of dollars are lost by people who invest in ill-suited programs which they soon quit. The inner desire and \"real\" interest were not there in the first place.<br><br>Always remember...to be successful you must first determine your true inner desire. Identify what it is that you really want in your career and life. The answers to these questions will lead you to success.<br><br>3) Take Action<br><br>Do your homework, but by all means step out and do something. Not just anything, mind you...you can actually be busy and not accomplish anything.<br><br>Consistent action in the right direction will produce results. It is the law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. In other words, you get what you deserve, not what you need. Plant enough seeds and you will find growth. Ask enough people and someone will join or buy what you are offering.'

quotes[22]='So you had that fantastic business idea, the one that\'s going to be wildly successful and make you a fortune - and even better, you actually did something about it and started your own business. Good for you! Not everyone gets even that far. Most people sit and day dream about what they might do if only ....<br><br>\"The world is full of dreamers, there aren\'t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision\" - W. Clement Stone<br><br>But you got over the biggest hurdle, you took that first step and you actually created something.<br><br>Well done - you already did more than most. But once you\'ve got started and you\'ve maybe lost that first flush of enthusiasm with the day to day details of running your business how do you keep going?<br><br>There are several things to look at here:<br><br>1. What are you really good at and what do you enjoy doing? Make two lists - one of all the jobs you like and/or are good at, and one of all the jobs you hate and/or really don\'t do very well. Take the second list and have a look at what you might outsource or automate. Do you really love doing those accounts or would your time be better spent in forward planning while your accountant does the sums? Must you personally reply to every last enquiry or could you create a FAQ which you can post on your website and refer people to by autoresponder? Obviously in the early stages of your business you might find you don\'t have the money to pay someone to do the jobs you hate but you\'ve got to think about what is best for you and your business long term. Be creative - could you swap skills to get the help you need? The more routine jobs you can outsource or automate the more time you have to plan and to market your business, and to think about even more ways to bring in all that lovely cash - not to mention you get to spend more of your time doing the things you really enjoy doing.<br><br>2. Why are you doing this? You really need to be motivated to start a business and keep it going and the best way to do this is to know what all that effort is for. What really moves you to get up in the morning and do what you need to do even when you don\'t really feel like it? Write your reasons down and stick them on your wall. Even better find pictures of that house in the country, the Lamborghini or that \'must have\' holiday and put them where you can see them every day.<br><br>3. How do you deal with those inevitable bumps in the road? Not everything you do will be perfect - sometimes things you\'ve tried will be a total disaster - but it\'s the way you react to problems that matters. If you curl up in a ball and give up at the first sign of failure you\'d better not be in business. \"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.\" - John Quincy Adams. It\'s all about attitude.<br><br>4. Have a plan and stick to it as far as possible but always be prepared to be flexible and open minded. Sometimes the most unexpected opportunities come up and you need to be ready to seize them with both hands - as Joe Vitale says \'Money likes speed\'.<br><br>5. Get yourself a mentor - learn from someone who has done it before. Having someone to bounce ideas off and someone who can encourage you when things get tough is invaluable.<br><br>And most importantly, never let anyone put you down and never be afraid of failure:<br><br>\"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat\" - Theodore Roosevelt.<br><br>Don\'t ever forget that!'

quotes[23]='Raising capital to start a new business may seem like a daunting task, but it need not be overwhelming if you follow a few basic business practices. If you have a viable idea that will net a return for your investors and prepare a compelling business plan the chances are good that you can find investors to join you.<br><br>Your first task is to create a business plan, sometimes known as a “business proposal” or “prospectus.” Your business plan needs to be very detailed and concise. You should include information about your educational background, experience and training in the area of business you are contemplating. Just like a resume for a job, include references and any other favorable personal qualities that you feel reinforce the reasons why an investor should trust in your ideas.<br><br>It can’t hurt to include any information you feel comfortable sharing with regard to your positive credit history. If you have records of various satisfied loans along with the payment history, that information could be helpful to prove your stability with regard to financial obligations.<br><br>If you are requesting financing for an existing business the rules are a bit different than a new business startup. The current owner should be able to provide you with profit and loss statements. If you are purchasing an online business, statistical information pertaining to traffic, number of units sold and paid advertising are definitely necessary. The purchase price of the business needs to be included along with detailed information about how you intend to service the debt as well as how the potential investor will benefit from your request.<br><br>If you are seeking investors for a new business, the information required increases. In addition to the information outlined above, you will need to include market research, projected costs and a detailed summary of how you intend to generate income. This information needs to be projected for a period of three to five years. It’s a good idea to project your expenses on the high side.<br><br>Have some idea of what you expect to pay your investor. The only reason someone is going to lend you money is if they can see decent profits in exchange for lending it to you. Your market research had best substantiate that your plan is viable and will provide them with sufficient return on investment to justify their involvement.<br><br>Before you begin your search for investors, it’s a good idea to have an attorney and/or accountant take a look at your plan. A good professional may suggest specific points that you may have overlooked.<br><br>Once your paperwork is in order, it’s time to start looking for investors. One place to begin your search might be friends or family. You might approach them singularly or in a group. Whatever method, you need to have a complete copy of your proposal carefully outlining your research and what they can expect in return for their assistance.<br><br>Read the classified pages of your local newspaper. Venture capitalists often advertise this way. Their rates are usually pretty high because they have a tendency to take on “risky” investments. A twist on this method might be to run your own ad either locally or nationally. If you select this method, explain the particulars and emphasize how much they can expect to receive for the load of their funds.<br><br>Use local business directories to find companies that specialize in “investment services.” You can approach a local bank, but try and find a bank that specializes in industrial or business type loans.<br><br>You might consider incorporating and selling stock in the company.<br><br>Another option might be a “money broker.” This can be risky. There are some legitimate brokers and others who operate on the shady side.<br><br>Be creative. If you believe in your idea, don’t be afraid to do what ever it takes to launch. There are plenty of ways to come up with the capital you need. Think outside the box. Whether you are looking for $300 or $300,000 the money is there you just need to dig for it.'

quotes[24]='As a small business owner, every dollar you spend is a dollar that comes right out of your pocket and affects your profit margin, especially when you\'re trying to grow your business. If you\'re going to succeed, you have to pay close attention to your bottom line and look for creative, innovative ways to cut costs while still getting what you need.<br><br>That old saying that it \"takes money to make money\" has never been truer than when it comes to promoting your business.<br><br>So when it comes to spending money on advertising, how do you make sure that your advertising is working hard enough, without spending a fortune?<br><br>Thanks to the Internet, you\'ve got lots of options for finding cost-effective advertising that does what it\'s supposed to -- bring targeted customers who are hungry for what you\'re selling, right to your door. But don\'t forget about cost-effective offline methods as well.<br><br>Here are a few ideas to help you get started:<br><br>Focus your advertising dollars on your target market. The tighter your niche, the better your chances of finding the customers who are looking for exactly what you\'ve got to sell! So rather than going wide, and trying to sell to everyone, narrow your focus, and then, if possible, narrow it some more! Figure out who your \"ideal\" customer is, and then create an advertising campaign for them. Once you know who you\'re selling to, look for media that targets that demographic. Depending on your product or service, think community and neighborhood newspapers, high school sponsor advertising, chamber of commerce directories, etc.<br><br>If your ideal customers aren\'t defined by a specific geographic location, look at regional or specific demographic publications. Perhaps a regional paper runs an annual issue that focuses on an issue or activity that reaches your target market. Use local cable television to broadcast your ads only in certain markets. You\'ll get cheaper rates and a more focused demographic.<br><br>Always ask for a discounted rate. (Many publications offer an \"agency\" discount of up to 15 percent. If you are acting as your own in-house advertising agency, you might qualify for the special rate.<br><br>Some monthly magazines offer discounts for multi-ads placed over a 3, 6 or 12 month time period. Most publications have a different rate schedule for different types of advertisers -- so depending on your product or service, you could qualify. And if not, sometimes just asking for the discount will give it to you.<br><br>Buy leftover space or airtime. This is advertising that the publication, radio or television station hasn\'t filled by their usual deadline. Of course you\'ll have to take the spots that are available, but again, depending on your business and the product or service you\'re selling, that inconvenience could still be worth the discount and the exposure you\'ll receive.<br><br>Use classified ads. They\'re not just for employment offers any more. You\'ll find classified ads in magazines and newspapers. Before writing your ad, go to your local library, and look through the back issues of the magazine or newspaper that you\'re considering. Look at the ads that catch your eye, or that are repeated month after month. Those ads wouldn\'t be in there each month, if they weren\'t making the advertiser money. Use those ads as springboards for ideas when you\'re ready to start writing your own classifieds.<br><br>Test your ads. Start out with the cheaper publications, so you can find out what\'s working and what\'s not. Play with them, and tweak them. Once you\'ve got an ad that works, keep using it. You can run it more than once, or in more than one publication at a time. When it quits bringing in customers, or you start noticing a drop in effectiveness, then it\'s time to change it.<br><br>Do you own a retail business? If so, check into co-op advertising funds that may be offered by your vendors. Co-op programs provide joint advertising for your and your vendor, and you\'ll get a portion of the cost of the ad reimbursed because the ad mentions the vendor. (Note: most Co-op programs have strict guidelines, so check with your vendors and make sure you\'re following the rules).<br><br>Barter for goods and services. This can be especially effective with radio stations and local papers. See if you can provide your products or services in trade for the cost of advertising. (Also called \"trade\" or \"In-kind\" ads, the radio station or publication gives you the ad in exchange for products or services of equal value, and then uses those products or services as part of a promotion or contest for their listeners or readers). This can also be a great way to get additional free publicity, so if you decide to try this method, get creative and think outside the box!<br><br>Reuse your ads in other advertising medium. If you\'ve got an ad that\'s especially effective, or looks great, reuse it in a circular, brochure, handout, flyer or direct mail piece. Use the graphics on your Webpages.<br><br>Finding a healthy mix between online and offline advertising, looking for ways to extend your reach and your advertising dollar, and cutting costs creatively will help you ensure that your advertising is working hard for your success.'

quotes[25]='There has been much written about how to organize meetings, prepare agendas, make good presentations and motivate employees. However, not much attention is given to the employee’s responsibility to be an active participant at meetings. Not only is it a responsibility towards the company, but it is potentially career-enhancing for the individual.<br><br>Being involved at meetings is important because it sends a message that you are a contributing member with an interest in effective operations. Everyone wants to present well, but not enough people realize how their negative opinions about meetings might influence their moods and behavior and actually detract from their otherwise credible position in the organization.<br><br>Meetings are, regrettably, often the only time that senior personnel interact with their employees. That senior personnel interacts it’s fair or not, judgments are made about individuals based on their ‘performance’ at these meetings. You might well be a diligent employee who consistently does good work but if you never open your mouth at meetings others will never know what you have to contribute, they may think you don’t have an opinion about the issue at hand or worse, that you don’t care.<br><br>Even if you don’t have a lot of information to contribute, you can be involved in meetings and make a favorable impression on others. Start by entering the meeting room with a smile on your face and a positive mantra running through your head like ‘I want to be here. I have something to say. I can make a contribution.’ It may sound crazy, but this will actually improve your mood. Make eye contact with others and nod and greet them as you settle in your seat. If there is an agenda, scan it to see if there are any topics that directly relate to you or about which you might be asked to offer an opinion. Prepare your thoughts and jot down some notes. Once the meeting is in progress really listen to the presentations, discussion and ask good questions. Be careful to place your questions appropriately and don’t over do it!<br><br>There are many great questions you can ask. Ask questions to promote discussion – questions about the background or historical perspective on the issue and what other stakeholders might think about it. Ask questions to clarify or redefine the issue and questions about economics and efficiency of dealing with it. Finally, if the discussion has gone on at length, others will thank you for trying to synthesize the issue and discussion and then checking for understanding.<br><br>Being an employee usually presupposes attendance at meetings. You can turn these into positive, career-enhancing opportunities by getting involved during the meeting and being an active participant! Who knows, you might even start to like meetings!'

quotes[26]='Another phone call, email or someone just popping by – can\’t a person get any real work done around here? Sound familiar? But wait just a minute! What if those so-called annoying interruptions are actually opportunities knocking? What if those ‘interruptions’ are actually a part of our work that we can\’t afford to neglect?<br><br>Changing our perspective about interruptions can reduce the annoyance factor and any resulting pressure. It may also help us put the interruptions to a good purpose. If we take the time to answer that call or visit briefly with a colleague we may be building relationship bridges that will serve us in the future. Besides, courtesy and friendliness are as essential at work as in any other part of life.<br><br>That is not to say that we need to spend inordinate amounts of time in conversation, but a few minutes is well spent. After a few minutes, it is respectable to say something like ‘I\’d love to talk more about this with you? When are you available?’ If you really can\’t afford to be interrupted, close your office door – it\’s much more difficult to stop by. You could let the reception or your voice mail take messages until you are more at liberty to respond. Even if you decide that an open-door policy is more your style, you might consider placing your computer in such a way so your chair is partially turned away from the door and direct eye contact can be avoided.<br><br>When it comes to emails, instead of answering them as they come in, it\’s better to set aside some time each day to respond. That way, you\’re in control and can focus on your work projects. Messages from list-servers can overwhelm and take a lot of time to go through to find those ‘gems’. Organize your list-server and put emails into a separate file you can check periodically.<br><br>Why take the time for ‘interruptions’? In short, the more connections we have the more innovative we become. We learn from others, their opinions and advice and we can even draw on their professional network of contacts – if we have really listened and noted who they are. Knowledge flows through organizations not only in relation to the organizational structure but through channels of influence and trusted relationships that are often external to that formal structure. You will never know what helpful information you missed if you don\’t take the time to network in these ways.<br><br>Make your ‘interruptions’ work to your advantage! Sometimes they can actually help you stay connected, get new ideas and become more productive and innovative. Now that\’s a new perspective on interruptions!'

quotes[27]='Do you have trouble making money in your business? Do you not seem to be able to get people to buy from you? And the few who do...do they rarely if ever make a repeat sale...much less demonstrate any deep loyalty to your business?<br><br>You\'ve heard the business slang flying around the internet. You know, words like \'CRM\' (Customer Relationship Management) that we\'re supposed to spend thousands of dollars on to learn how to develop wonderful customer loyalty...deepen trust...to get repeat business.<br><br>And yes...it is true. All of those things are important. But it is so easy to get caught up in the details that we often lose sight of the \'BIG\' picture. We swallow the camel while straining at the gnat.<br><br>While I believe that CRM and all those other things are very important for running a business, we just need to use a little common sense. I know...I know...you\'re going to tell me that common sense isn\'t so common in most businesses this day and age. And you would be right.<br><br>But before I get to the point, let me try to illustrate what I mean with a short story. Maybe it will help clarify what I am getting at.<br><br>I had an employee I ended up firing due to some rather \'unloyal\' actions on his part. He soon got a job with one of my competitors...which turned out to be a really beneficial thing for me as he kept me up-to-date on what was going on over there.<br><br>He lives just a few houses down the street from me and would come by every once in while to say \'hey\' and shoot the breeze. Once he came by and told me about this big seminar that he was going to be attending.<br><br>His boss was paying for his \'ridiculously\' priced ticket to some \'CRM\' seminar. The idea was that they wanted everyone in the company to learn how to manage their customers. Right?<br><br>So anyway, after all is said and done, I asked him how it went. He said it went great. But the only problem they were having was that his boss wouldn\'t implement any of things they had learned there.<br><br>Listen! They had spent a lot of money to send the whole staff to this fantastic (expensive) seminar, but then wouldn\'t let the employees put anything they learned into practice. Can anyone say \'common sense\'?<br><br>Sometimes, we (yes, I am included here) get so bogged down with all of the little things we need to do that we lose our focus. If you want to \'manage your customer relationships\' just keep it simple.<br><br>Think \'Golden Rule\' simple.<br><br>\"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!\"<br><br>Can you imagine how loyal your customers and clients would be if you treated them like you would want to be treated all of the time?<br><br>Uh huh!<br><br>So, take a few moments to sit down and imagine yourself walking into your business. How would you most likely be treated vs. the way you would want to be treated?<br><br>Think about ways to wow your customers and give them more than they bargained for. Do you really want loyal customers or not? You say you do...but your actions don\'t show it now. Do they?<br><br>So, simplify your life of all that \'fancy CRM\' stuff you deal with...and get into your customers\' shoes. Give them the experience of a lifetime. They will give you the lifetime of loyalty you seek in return.'

quotes[28]='The difference between \'getting by\' at work and being successful is not solely dependent on technical skills or knowledge. We all know colleagues who have strong \'people skills\' and not the strongest technical abilities but who nonetheless possess a distinct position of leverage or influence at work. These individuals are focusing on their strengths and use the power of interpersonal skills and networking to their advantage. You can too!<br><br>One should never underestimate the power of influence gained through networking. The expansiveness and quality of one\'s social and professional networks can significantly enhance career potential. How can one go about building a supportive network? This article will explore two practical and simple ways that, when used strategically will yield the results you want to achieve.<br><br>The first things to do are collect and organize the business cards from the people you meet so that you have their contact information. Obviously collecting cards is just the first step. Find reasons to send contacts an email, call for advice or to give some information related to their interests. Don\'t do so incessantly, but regularly - once a week or biweekly is appropriate. It generally depends on the significance of your reason to contact them and their past receptiveness. Take the time to research their company website so you can make relevant connections and based on \'inside track\' information of what\'s important to them.<br><br>Keep in mind that just as it is sometimes awkward to reconnect with old friends or acquaintances after a period of not seeing one another, the same is true in regards to building a network. The longer you are out of touch with business associates the more difficult it is to reconnect and get \'back in the loop\'. To help you make this a consistent priority, be strategic about your contacts - jot down regular reminders in a planner or electronic organizer so that you don\'t leave your connections to chance.<br><br>Another way to expand and strengthen your network is to invite contacts to an informal gathering or information session that you organize about topics of general or mutual interest. You may facilitate the discussion yourself or bring in a speaker. You could arrange such meetings at a local coffee shop or restaurant - many will set aside a meeting room upon request. On the invitation - whether it be by email, fax or regular mail - outline the proposed agenda and indicate that \"coffee or tea is provided - other menu items are at the cost of participants\'\" - unless of course you are able and willing to cover the entire bill! This can be a relatively low-cost way of meeting with contacts and sharing ideas.<br><br>This intentional way of meeting your contacts on a regular basis strengthens not only the relationship you have with each of them, but also allows for your contacts to meet one another - an opportunity for which they will be grateful. Such efforts are similar to making an investment that you hope will grow at the opportune time.<br><br>These two ways of building your network - regularly connecting with contacts and organizing meetings or discussion forums are simple yet effective career-enhancers. Give them a try and get noticed at work!'

quotes[29]='Anyone who owns a website knows the importance of internet marketing tools. You may have a terrific idea for a website with an excellent product or service, superb design, content and functionality but if you do not use the right tactics, your site may not attract the all important highly targeted traffic. Getting a lot of traffic into a site has very little to do with the site itself but with how the webmaster or site owner advertises it. With hundreds of competing sites, you must employ the most effective internet marketing tools that will truly deliver results.<br><br>There are different internet marketing tools that you can use. All these techniques and methods aim at increasing your website traffic. You must find a way for web surfers to find your site. To do this, you must put yourself in the shoes of your prospective visitors and future clients and see the internet through their eyes. Where do they usually go whenever they are looking up something on the web? The answer is the search engine; in fact, the two most popular websites on the web today are both search engines and portals. Thus, you should focus your internet marketing efforts on the search engine.<br><br>People will usually search for something using a search engine and click on the top results that these engines give. Therefore, you must use the right internet marketing tools to get a high search engine ranking. To gain a high ranking in search results, you can use several internet marketing tools. Search engine optimization is a set of methods that are aimed at improving the visibility of your site in search engine results. Since a search engine indexes sites by looking at its keyword density, your site\'s content must have favorable keyword density that is search engine friendly. Content is one of the most important internet marketing tools itself. If you have excellent content that is geared towards achieving a high search engine ranking as well as provide information then you can expect a high search engine ranking. However, this is not as easy as it sounds. Countless other sites may be using the same internet marketing tools as you do. Thus, you must continuously find new ways of attracting more traffic.<br><br>Aside from the traditional marketing techniques such as print ads, billboards, brochures, testimonials, flyers etc. you must use other more effective internet marketing tools to gain more traffic. One of the most popular internet marketing tools today is the use of Pay per Click advertising. In this method, you will bid for a particular keyword in a specific search engine. If you have the highest bid then your sites link will be the top result. This internet marketing tool is now being used by thousands of sites. It is also gaining popularity because of its relatively high success rate in attracting high traffic.'

quotes[30]='It\'s a simple yet common question, \"How can I make my business more successful?\"<br><br>Success can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people but when it comes down to it, the success of your business should only be measured by one thing - profit.<br><br>At the end of the day, it\'s not how many people came in to your store or phoned in. It\'s not even how many widgets you sold. At the end of the day, what truly matters is how much of a profit you made.<br><br>It would make sense then that your efforts focus on profit as the end result. With that in mind, there are only three strategies to increase profits for your business.<br><br>1) Increase the dollar size of each order<br>2)increase the number of times people buy from you<br>3) Increase the number of people who buy from you<br><br>Most likely, your business is already primed to attack each of these three angles and implementing that attack should be fairly easy.<br><br>Let\'s say that you are the owner of Happy Wicks Candle Store. Let your customers know that for every $50 they spend they will receive a free 4-inch candle. When they are eligible for the free candle, offer them the option of upgrading the 4-inch candle to a 6-inch candle for only four dollars.<br><br>Implement a customer loyalty program. Whenever a customer spends $200 with your store they receive a 20% discount on their next order. Show loyalty to your customers, too. Create customer-only events and sales, even workshops on how to make candles at home.<br><br>Candles are also popular gifts. Be sure to place your contact info on each and every candle. This makes it easy for the gift recipient to purchase from you. Be sure to also use this tactic when co-promoting with similar businesses such as a flower and bath and body shop.<br><br>Looking at the example Happy Wicks Candle Store, the tasks of increasing profits was not a difficult one. Truly, it\'s a matter of putting systems in place that generate increasing profits.<br><br>Take a look at your business and examine the systems you have in place. Chances are there\'s undiscovered profits lying about. Put systems in place to gather those profits and you\'ll find your business reaching new heights of success.'

quotes[31]='It\'s hard to be in business today, certainly in the professional services sector, without having heard the term \'networking\'. Regarded by many as the Marmite of business, it is said that you either are a networker or you aren\'t. And if you think you aren\'t, you shouldn\'t even try to do it.<br><br>Rubbish!<br><br>First of all, networking is essential to any business - whether offline or online. The business you get from personal recommendation will be some of the best business you ever do - they have pretty much made up their minds to use you before they even call you, and they are a lot less concerned with price. And it\'s not just for solicitors and accountants - when your pipes burst, how did you decide on a plumber to come out and fix it? Was it someone you had heard good things about before? Maybe you didn\'t know anyone, so you called a friend and asked if they knew a good plumber? Joe Bloggs Plumbers just won the business of fixing your pipes through networking.<br><br>A good way to look at it is not as \'networking\' but as \'word-of-mouth marketing\'. Because it is part of your marketing mix - how\'s your advertising? Local papers? Spot on radio? Good, good. PR? Interview on local news this week? Fantastic. How about promotions? Give aways? Offers? All sorted? Great stuff. Got a website? Optimised for the search engines? Lots of enquiries from it too? Brilliant.<br><br>And how about your word of mouth?<br><br>Not enough people concentrate on generating referrals and getting people to mention their business to others. Millions of pounds of business is done every year through referral and recommendation. If you\'re not getting any of it, you need to think long and hard about why not.<br><br>So you\'ve got yourself to a networking event, you tell the people there about what you have to offer, and then ask if they want to buy it, right? Wrong! If you do this you have become the person at a networking event that everyone wants to avoid - the one handing out business cards like they\'re dealing a poker game; the one who asks you nothing and tells you more than you could ever want to know about what they do.<br><br>So how do you do it? The best way to network is to build trust, build relationships, to think about what you can do for the other people in the room before you think about what you might get. Be a \'people person\', be genuinely interested in the people you meet at events. Great networkers want to help as well as get help - because they like helping others, not just because it might get them some business in the future.<br><br>Networking is about building a relationship that eventually leads to business being done, either between you and your new contact, between you and someone they recommend, or between them and someone you recommend. Don\'t discount that last one - they have to get something out of your relationship as well, otherwise it isn\'t a relationship. If you help them get more business, they will do the same for you - in fact they\'ll feel obliged to.<br><br>Where can I network?<br><br>The short answer is absolutely anywhere! Remember Joe Bloggs Plumbers, the guys who fixed your pipes? You don\'t find many plumbers at networking events, but they still get referrals. Networking happens when you talk to your colleagues at work, when you go to the pub with your friends, it happens when you overhear a conversation in the bus queue. Networking is about the impression you leave people with, and you make impressions all day, every day.<br><br>Of course you will make more effective contacts for referrals at specialised networking events, but remember there are several different kinds of events you can go to. Some of the most established are breakfast meetings, which usually start around 7.00am and finish around 9.00am. Meetings are usually weekly and the format is very focused and regimented. For those who like this format, there is a lot of business to be done, but it is an acquired taste. Try it out, but bear in mind whether or not you can keep up with the regular early mornings and very formal structure. Also, most breakfast meetings are restricted to one person from each business sector, so you are not as likely to meet people you can form alliances and joint ventures with, which is a very important, and often overlooked part of networking.<br><br>There are also several different kinds of event organised by groups such as local government organisations, such as race days, golf days and others. These can be a lot of fun, but are very often filled with people who are there for the golf rather than to do business, and you may have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince. Networking events are really a matter of preference and perspective, and you should go to as many events as you can at first, and then stick with the ones that work for you.<br><br>In summary, there is a simple and effective way to network that anyone can do:<br><br>1. Get to know people as people, not prospects.<br>2. Everything happens after a meeting, not during. Always, always follow up.<br>3. Give referrals as well as expect to receive them.<br>4. Keep in touch on a regular basis.<br><br>Best of luck with your networking!'

quotes[32]='Do you know why your clients buy? Seems like a pretty simple question, right? Not really, when you dig deeper under the surface. How you answer is critical to the success of your business.<br><br>To begin, understand one simple fact: prospects and clients buy for their reasons, not yours. They could care less about your company and your mission statement or the long list of product features you so skillfully articulate.<br><br>They only care about the outcome your offer provides them. They want the benefit, the impact, the improvement, the comfort, or the security it will deliver. Most small business marketing fails to address these crucial client needs directly. Instead, they focus on the greatness of their product or service and miss what is important.<br><br>Small business marketers are often their own worst enemies. Frequently, they are not communicating on the buyer\'s level of motivation. They are too busy figuring out how to \"sell\" the product than finding out the reasons the client \"buys\".<br><br>The problem comes down to the marketing strategy that is employed. Are you pushing your product or are you pulling the client through the marketing process?<br><br>There is a very important distinction here. Since buyers only care about their needs and take action for their personal reasons, why should they pay attention to why you think your product is so great?<br><br>When you push your products, you are essentially telling the client that they should buy from you because of your reasons. With this egocentric approach you often run into a stone wall of objections and delays. Pushing the product forces them out of their comfort zone and places unnecessary pressure on their decision making process. A relentless assault of closing techniques pushes them away from a purchasing decision on their terms.<br><br>Pulling a buyer through the purchasing process is much more effective. When you pull you are leading them to the purchase like leading a horse to water. You gently guide them through your features and benefits and come to a decision on their terms. If they resist you have not educated them enough with information to motivate them or you haven\'t addressed their objections sufficiently.<br><br>The buyer will only make a decision when they are comfortably satisfied your offer has met all of their purchasing criteria. As a seller, you must pull them through the process and always let them stay within the limits of their comfort zone. It\'s by staying within these boundaries that trust is established and a long term relationship is built with the client.<br><br>Also remember that the purchasing process is completely rooted in the perceptions of the buyer. They have ultimate control over the process, not you. Your job as a marketer is to develop all your communications to make them comfortable and lead them to the best outcome...purchasing your product or service.<br><br>Always be aware of which method you are using - push or pull - and adopt it to the buyer\'s personal reasons for purchasing and you will enjoy continuous success.'

quotes[33]='Running an event can increase your income. Why on earth would you want to run an event for your business? Events take a lot of organizing and publicity, not to mention the time you might not have and, depending on what you want to do, they can also cost quite a bit of money.<br><br>So is it really worth all that effort?<br><br>In a word, yes!<br><br>An event is a fantastic way to get a whole lot of your clients and potential clients together so you can present to them all at once, saving you huge amounts of time and effort trying to reach them all individually – and even better, as the speaker, you come across as an expert in your field. Give your clients valuable information and they will talk about you and recommend you to others. Having an event is also a great way to encourage your clients to network with each other and see how they can help each other – and of course, it’s you they’ll thank for that opportunity.<br><br>Having your name on an event can be very good publicity for you and your business. If you pick a hot topic for your industry you could find yourself interviewed by the local press, on the radio, or even on television, all of which increase your chances of being seen as an expert by potential clients.<br><br>You may even make money directly from your event – either by charging admission, finding sponsorship or by having products to sell at the event. Regular events could produce a nice stream of new income.<br><br>You could generate yet another income stream just from one event by creating one or more products – you could video it, record it, transcribe it, turn the learning materials into an ebook or online course and sell it - the possibilities are endless.<br><br>So once you\'ve decided to go ahead - how do you pick a good topic? You\'ll need to look at what your industry is discussing right now and what they really want to know. There are lots of ways to find this out:<br><br>- Run an online survey - www.surveymonkey.com has a free option you can use to create some very useful surveys<br>- Ring several trusted clients and find out what they’d like to learn more about<br>- Go to online forums on your subject and see what everyone is talking about<br>- Post on online forums and ask people what they might be interested in<br>- Look at the bestsellers on Amazon, Barns & Noble and Clickbank<br>- Look at the most popular keywords using a word tracker tool<br>- Go to your trade association and ask what their members are interested in<br>- Look at competitor’s ezines and see what they are discussing at the moment.<br><br>Once you have your topic you’ll need to pick a date and an event format. What kind of event should you offer? Look at where your potential clients are based:<br><br>- If most people are in a particular area of the country, you should consider having a face to face meeting – this is always the best option if possible as you have much more chance to impress and to deal on the spot with any objections and questions, as well as providing that all important networking opportunity for your clients.<br><br>If your clients are scattered across the country or even across the world, you’ll need to look at running a teleclass or web based event:<br><br>- With a web based event using a facility such as www.hotconference.com, you have the option of using the whiteboard, showing a PowerPoint presentation, directing people to view a website and seeing the attendees online via webcam – this is a great way to give a presentation but make sure you are practiced at using all the features of the software first and consider whether your clients are technically-minded enough to be comfortable with this, and likely to have equipment such as webcams and microphones.<br><br>- If this is your first time running an event, the easiest option is to run a teleclass, where you set a date and time and participants simply dial in and listen to you. Many companies, such as www.freeconference.com, offer this service and a quick Google search should bring up a long list of companies you could use.<br><br>If you choose a live event you’ll need to find a good venue. Look at cost, position - find somewhere central with good transport links and parking. Make sure you see the room you’ll be using before the event so you can see the space you have available and plan your layout. Check maximum numbers the room can hold for fire regulations, find out where the fire exits and fire alarm are and make sure there is disabled access.<br><br>You’ll need to market your event very well to get good numbers:<br><br>- Use your own ezine, local press and radio, the chamber of commerce and online forums.<br>- Write articles on your subject and submit them to article directories and other ezines.<br>- Tell your trade association and use online event listings.<br>- Go to networking events and take leaflets with you to advertise what you are doing.<br>- Ask each client to bring one potential client to get a free place<br>- Offer to speak at other events on the run up to yours with a taster of what people will get on the day.<br>- Find another non-competing company who are aiming for the same market and do a joint event<br><br>Don’t just rely on one way to get publicity – think of as many different ways as you can and use the best ones for your event.<br><br>You\'ll need to be very organized and plan well ahead. Make sure you order any equipment you might need in plenty of time. Make up an event checklist and build yourself a kit with plenty of spares - pens, training materials, extension cables, flip chart paper, gaffer tape, scissors, etc. Check with the venue that everything’s ready for you the day before the event.<br><br>The more value you provide, the more likely you are to be seen as an expert in your area and the more business you will get from your event and from word of mouth after the event as a result, so don’t deliver a sales pitch – your content has to be high quality, entertaining and informative or people will feel cheated, particularly if they paid to attend.<br><br>Once the event is over make sure you follow up and ask for feedback – it’s the best way to find out if the event was what your clients wanted, to get ideas for future events, and also a great to chance to chat to prospective clients to see if they’re interested in working with you. You can also collect testimonials which will help you if you plan to run events on a regular basis, and which you can also use to promote any products you develop from your event content.<br><br>In short, pick a great topic, plan everything carefully, publicize what you are doing as much as you can, and check everything is in place the day before the event. On the day, don’t forget to relax and enjoy yourself – if you are having fun, the audience will too. Lastly and by no means least, whatever you do, don’t forget to follow up.<br><br>Just by following these guidelines you could find yourself with any amount of new clients, lots of publicity and several new income streams.<br>Worth it? Definitely!'

quotes[34]='No matter what business you are in it always helps to be seen as an expert. If you were calling someone to fix a drain or sell your house you would approach the person you saw as most credible and reputable in that area of expertise.<br><br>To become an expert takes hard work and experience. It can involve study or the honing of practical skills. It demands high standards of work. But after all this effort will you be perceived as an expert? If you feel you\'ve earned the mantle of expert but are not recognized as one, here are eight ways to start establishing your reputation.<br><br>Publish a book or series of reports or articles<br>The internet has made this much easier. You can now create an ebook that can be downloaded without having to involve a publisher. There are ezine owners always looking for good quality articles and reports for their ezines. A well-written book or series of articles will establish your reputation as an expert in your field.<br><br>Publish a newsletter<br>Set one up on the internet and distribute it to your customers. This is an excellent way to regularly keep your name in front of your prospects as an authority on your subject.<br><br>Write press releases<br>Used correctly these can gain you a lot of positive publicity. Make sure the press release looks like newsworthy information and not like an advertisement.<br><br>Create a website<br>Set up a user-friendly website that will appeal to customers and you have expanded the reach of your reputation. Keep it timely and informative, and people will continue to return to your site. If you don\'t know how to set up a website there are plenty of web designers who do. Alternatively enquire at a college teaching web design. Some students might want to build a portfolio.<br><br>Join associations<br>If you are a member of an association it will enhance your credibility. But don\'t just be a member. Be an active member. This will build your reputation among your peers and lead to useful introductions. Membership can have many benefits, and it will certainly keep you up to date in your field.<br><br>Networking<br>You can boost your reputation and influence by speaking to the right people. Keep your name in front of your prospects. Organize mutually beneficial ventures. You cannot predict what may come from a contact so make as many as you can.<br><br>Public Speaking<br>Even speaking to a local group of people can establish you as an expert and get you referrals that may lead to a wider audience. If you are not sure you can speak in public, preparation and rehearsal are the keys to success. Make sure your presentation is aimed at the right level, follows a sensible sequence and will not sound like a dry textbook-like monologue. Write your main points on small cards so you are not relying solely on your memory and start in front of a small audience.<br><br>Teach workshops or seminars<br>If you have knowledge that people would like to tap into you can pass on your expertise. If your presentation is well planned you will be seen as an authority in your subject. You will also meet people who are likely to recommend you to others. If you are teaching a hot topic you will also be gaining a useful income stream.<br><br>Any of these methods will start building your reputation as an expert. Use them all correctly and you will gain the sort of reputation that will have potential clients approaching you without having to seek them out.'

quotes[35]='Sooner or later, at some point in the business development cycle, every business owner asks themselves the following question:<br><br>How can I attract more customers who will spend more money and bring me more profits?<br><br>A perfectly reasonable question unless you are in business only to give away your product or service. Most business owners are not in business just to provide charity and they need some way to attract more customers who will spend more money.<br><br>The official name for getting customers is - customer acquisition - and it is the first system any business owner should put into place. Buying office furniture, designing business cards, applying for licenses, purchasing computer systems -- none of these counts more in a business than customer acquisition. To make a profit and stay in business, every business owner needs a reliable way to get more customers.<br><br>Hands down, the very best way to acquire more customers is through a direct response marketing system. This simply means that whatever method a business owner chooses to prospect for new customers should have a built-in way of tracking response so the owner knows where the customer came from. And here is the secret to attracting more customers to your business.<br><br>You must tell your potential customers where they can find you AND give them a compelling reason for doing business with you.<br><br>This actually is the secret behind all marketing. All marketing practices can be boiled down to this one thought. Tell your potential customers where they can find you and why they should do business with you. It sounds so simple when you think about it, but this is one of the major stumbling blocks to a successful business. The owner thinks potential customers will spend time and energy searching out a company to do business with.<br><br>Wrong, wrong, wrong.<br><br>Most potential customers will shop only at places they already know. Stop and really think about this for a minute. Most potential customers will only shop at places they already know -- AND they need a good reason to do business with you. If they do not know how to find you, they will not be coming to buy from you. You must find a way to tell potential customers where your business can be found.<br><br>Here are 5 simple ways to do just that:<br><br>1. Send everyone in your zip code a postcard announcing a sale at your place of business. AND have them bring in the postcard to receive the discounted price.<br><br>2. Distribute a press release detailing the latest breakthrough in your business field, available only at your place of business. AND include a special telephone number for customers to call for more information.<br><br>3. Give a speech at the Chamber of Commerce. AND hand out problem solving brochures with your address, phone number and a special code number for customers to use to get a discount.<br><br>4. Take out a yellow pages ad. AND include a discount offer in the ad.<br><br>5. Become the local expert in your business field by being interviewed on the radio. AND include a special phone number for customers to call during the broadcast to get more information.<br><br>Many business owners regard marketing only as a necessary evil. They would rather concentrate on their core business activities. But when they use these simple methods to harness the powerful secret to getting more customers, they can eliminate the pain of marketing. Then their businesses will be truly successful in bringing in more customers, more money and more profits.'

quotes[36]='Here is a secret that may be difficult for you to believe, so prepare yourself. It is an extremely important secret that can have a most profound impact on your small business success, or its failure.<br><br>Let\'s start by asking a simple question...Do you enjoy sales?<br><br>The truth of the matter is that when many small business owners are asked this question, they respond with answers like, \"No way\" or \"I can\'t stand sales, let someone else do it.\"<br><br>Why is your answer to the above question so important? No doubt you have seen headlines like the following, which glorify how easy and simple it is to succeed in business:<br><br>\"The Ultimate Lazy Way To Start Your Own Business\"<br><br>\"Cash In On A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry In Your Underwear\"<br><br>\"Easily Generate A Lucrative Income While Sleeping\"<br><br>We are constantly being bombarded with these \"easy ways\" to make a million bucks. Does success in business actually work this way? Not in reality! Is it realistic? Not even close!<br><br>The bottom line in operating a successful long-term business comes down to your ability to sell your product...period. It doesn\t get any simpler than that. You can either sell your own product or resell somebody else\'s product. Either way, your success or failure will ultimately depend on your ability to market it. If you don\'t enjoy sales, you have very little chance to succeed in business for yourself.<br><br>The most prevalent attitude of many new business owners is that their product, once launched, will miraculously sell itself. After all, the product is awesome and everybody will absolutely, positively want one. People should be lining up to buy it, right?<br><br>Here is another truth about sales. It will take 5-7 sales attempts to close 80% of your sales. Yes, you read that correctly. That\'s 5-7 attempts before people will say \"Yes, I want to buy your product.\" Running an advertisement one-time or making a sales pitch to a potential customer once in a while does not qualify as effort. Hearing that first "no" and subsequently giving up means the demise of your business and gives someone else an opportunity to turn that NO into a YES.<br><br>What most people don\'t realize or fail to accept is that it may take weeks, months or even years to get a product to sell according to your expectations. You may have to frequently change your sales pitch, web site, advertisement or even the product until you get it right. This dedication and determination is what separates the very few successful business owners from the many "wannabes" and fly-by-night hopefuls.<br><br>The bottom line is that to be successful in ANY business you will need talent and the ability to sell, sell, sell.'

quotes[37]='The success of an organization does not solely depend on management but on the work of its employees as well. An employee that enjoys his or her position and feels rewarded by their efforts will ultimately be the most successful in their careers and the most beneficial to the company.<br><br>There is nothing like being around happy, satisfied employees who bring their optimism and productivity to the organization. These are the employees who are the most attentive to the needs of the customer and strive to go that extra mile to be the most helpful.<br><br>A positive attitude is contagious and can change the attitude of every staff member around. However, just as a positive mindset is easily spread, so is a negative one. If a member of the team is unhappy, watch out! His or her negative attitude can become infectious - contaminating fellow coworker and customers alike.<br><br>Pessimistic employees can breed an atmosphere of low morale which equals decreased productivity, employee turnover, and unproductive time spent gossiping and complaining among coworkers.<br><br>In order to combat negativity in the workplace, it is essential that employees receive ongoing motivation from management to perform their work to the best of their abilities. Regular contact with employees is necessary to show that you care about their contributions.<br><br>Another way to beat low morale is to develop an employee satisfaction survey. This is an easy, anonymous way for employees to voice their concerns and problems without being identified. Issues that are brought up from the survey can be addressed during an organizational meeting.<br><br>Other ways that an employer can create an environment that motivates employees include:<br><br>~Staff lunches<br>~Holiday celebrations<br>~Employee of the month<br>~Continuing education programs<br><br>An organization that recognizes that its employees are valuable and deserve to receive a certain amount of praise and recognition will benefit from increased productivity and employee satisfaction and retention, which in turn, will positively affect customer satisfaction. Otherwise, the expense of training each new employee so that they may excel in some OTHER organization is foolish, time-consuming and expensive.<br><br>Management with the \"easy-come-easy-go\" mentality creates conflict, confusion and quite a bit of turnover in the workplace. Nothing positive can be gained by treating employees in such a manner. It\'s no wonder that some employees treat their positions as a 9-to-5 job.<br><br>Any organization can make changes for the better and help create an environment that is conducive to employee happiness. After all, the success of your business depends upon it.<br><br>The organization with the right approach will be the one to reap the rewards of success.'

quotes[38]='As we go through life, we pass many opportunities by. Sometimes we see them but do not recognize them as opportunities. Other times we see excellent opportunities, but cannot take advantage of them for one reason or another. It is time to open your mind to possibilities around you and how you can utilize them.<br><br>Do you write down ideas for future investigation? Could you do small things toward an opportunity and slowly make it a reality? Often we are overwhelmed by the size of a task. We are dwarfed by the monumental complexity of reaching a goal or taking advantage of a dream.<br><br>What can you do to start moving toward the possibilities in your life? Do little things. Little things add up to huge things over time. If you were to ad 1% a day to anything, at the end of a year you would have a tremendous increase. If you only added 1% improvement each week for a year, think of the amount you could achieve.<br><br>A 1% increase in your income, a 1% increase in your productivity, a 1% increase in any activity or skill you are involved in on a regular basis would me a huge change at the end of a year.<br><br>Maybe you will not be able to speak French or Spanish overnight, but learn a word a day and at the end of this year you will have a large vocabulary. Apply this to anything you do and at the end of a year look back at the results.<br><br>Could a 1% increase in your internet marketing activity each week bring you to an online income that would help your financial situation? Open you mind to the possibilities of small actions leading to great results. How about increasing the time you spend reading by 1% a day. Think of the books you will read in a year.<br><br>An oak tree grows slowly over time. The small actions of an acorn lead to a mighty tree. An axeman may decide to cut the tree down, but a single swing of his ax barely does damage to the tree. It is the continual swing of the ax and the blade biting into the tree that produces results. It takes time for the man’s efforts to even truly damage the tree and longer still to bring it down.<br><br>So it is with life. Small changes over time lead to large results. Maybe you can find areas in your life you need to change. Open you mind to the possibilities of change. Believe change is possible and you can move mountains. Then start today to make small changes, even insignificant changes. Everything counts and they all add up.<br><br>Look into areas of your life where you need or want to change. Now, make a decision that you will improve in that area 1% a day, week or month. Small activities can lead to large results in time. Make a commitment to yourself to do one small thing every day that leads toward your desired outcome. Look back in a week or a month and see the results. If you are consistent, you will be amazed.<br><br>This is all about the question, \"How do you eat an elephant?\" The answer is just what I have been talking about, \"One bite at a time\".'

quotes[39]='There\’s a difference between being a boss and a leader. Which one are you? <br><br>Webster’s definitions of a boss include: A person who exercises control over others and makes decisions, usually the person of highest rank or authority, a supervisor, a person who commands in a domineering manner. <br><br>In contrast the definitions for a leader include: A person who rules, guides, inspires, escorts, directs, influences, persuades, and is out and ahead of or at the head of others. They have influence, power, and commanding authority over those they lead. They tend toward a certain goal or result, are in the foremost position, and usually \"pull\" people toward what becomes a common vision. People usually follow a leader because they want to rather than have to. <br><br>Influential leaders, who lead with great ethics, whether they are Presidents, Kings, corporate CEOs, Girl Guide or Scout leaders, bear some traits in common. They are passionate about what they do and what they believe in; they are visionaries, can see the \"big picture\", and are driven inside to draw people into what they believe – to jump on the train with them. <br><br>A boss in a grocery store sees shelves that need to be stocked, employees that need to be scheduled, doors that need fixed, floors that need to be cleaned, and the year-end staff social that needs to be planned. They work toward these ends, seeing them to fulfillment, sometimes in very creative ways. <br><br>A leader in a grocery store sees those things too, but he or she also feels excitement about being in business, or about making profit from people\’s need for food and daily household products and how that profit can be poured back into the store to make it superior over other grocery stores. They care about and inspire, their staff, realizing that they are the front line ambassadors of the store. They not only see where the store is at now, but they also envision what it will look like or how it will impact their community ten years from now. Whether they actually own the store or not, they make the store their own. <br><br>With a good leader, people usually feel drawn, or \"pulled\", into the same vision. Have you ever gone into a store or restaurant and been treated so well by the staff there that you just knew that you would return again? Not only did you just receive knock-your-socks-off customer service, but you also met employees empowered by the vision of a true leader. <br><br>A leader usually develops and motivates leaders under them. People who get \"fired-up\" and captivated by the vision and rise to the occasion. <br><br>For leaders, leadership is a way of life. If there\'s leadership spontaneously required at a gathering, leaders will step up to bat, even if it\'s just to open a door as people arrive. <br><br>Can a boss be a leader? Definitely. <br><br>The question is: Which one are you? Or rather, maybe the question should be: Which one would you like to be?'

quotes[40]='Just think for a moment about the last time you bought a major item in a store. Did you consider several options first? Did you visit a variety of stores to check prices? Did you chat with a sales assistant to get some questions clarified?<br><br>If you are like most people who buy a major item, you will have done all three. But where, exactly, did you buy your big purchase? Was it the cheapest store? Perhaps. Was it the biggest store? Perhaps. Was it the store with the best reputation? Perhaps. What is almost certain - because research shows us this is true - you are most likely to have bought the item from the store where you liked the sales assistant the most. Why do you buy from WalMart? You like the people there. Why do you go to Maceys? You like the way you are treated there. Selling is a people thing.<br><br>The truth is we buy from people we like. The same is true on the Internet. Your web site will be judged on what kind of person you are and whether or not you are likeable. If you are, you stand a chance of increasing your sales.<br><br>So how do you get people to like you online, when you can\'t be with them, face to face, unlike in a retail store?<br><br>The first step is to build reputation. You need to get known. If people start perceiving you to be an \"expert\" in your field, they will start to trust you and will begin to like you. So how do you get known?<br><br>You need to have your name spread widely around the Internet, so that people get to know you and what you represent. This means writing articles, including private label content, as well as contributing to forums, chat rooms and so on. The more you contribute, the more people will see you as the expert.<br><br>Once you are established and your name is associated with your particular field, you will find it much easier to sell things on your web site. That\'s because people will associate your \"expertise\" with your web site and what you are selling. Suddenly they are buying from someone they \"know\" rather than from an unknown sales guy.<br><br>In other words you will gain the same advantage as a physical store. You will have created the opportunity to be liked. By getting a name for yourself and becoming a visible \"expert\" you will become likeable and will therefore be able to sell more online. '

quotes[41]='Every day millions of people start blogging. Indeed, the best estimates show that a new blog is created every single second of every day. As if this weren\'t enough extra material being added to the Internet, there are of course millions of blogs already in existence. There is a vast amount of new information being added to the Internet every minute of every day.<br><br>Many people have been told that blogging helps increase your visibility on the Internet. That\'s true enough, but if you are in business at what cost?<br><br>Let\'s assume your time costs $100 an hour and that you spend a total of two hours a week adding to your blog. That\'s $200 a week or $10,400 a year. That\'s the cost of blogging to your business. You really should calculate the amount of time and its value to your business.<br><br>Once you\'ve found out how much blogging is costing your business, you need to consider how much money it is actually making. How many people bought items or services from you as a direct result of your blog? If you don\'t know, you need to add tracking codes to your blog links to ensure you can work this out.<br><br>Also, add up all the advertising income or affiliate income you\'ve generated via your blog. Then look at the total. If it is less than the cost, you\'re wasting time and losing money by blogging. Don\'t let the fashion for blogging overcome traditional business requirements of profitability. For many people blogging is actually draining their profits, but they are unaware of this because they are not measuring their blog.<br><br>Ensure you measure your blog using tracking codes so you can check the real value of your blogging efforts. To do otherwise could seriously affect the profitability of your business.<br><br>True enough, blogs can raise your visibility on the Internet and can help boost search engine rankings. But being top of the search results for a particular keyword is of no value to you in business unless being top of the page actually translates into sales. Far too many people chase search engine ranking at the expense of chasing customers.<br><br>If you are using a blog to gain search engine ranking, but have not measured the income generated as a result, you could be wasting your time by writing your blog. As ever in business, measurement is essential if you are to do your best. So don\'t blog hopefully; measure its real impact.'

quotes[42]='The pain and pleasure principle, also known as the pleasure principal, is universal. It guides us in virtually everything we do, whether we are aware of it or not. Simply put, the pleasure principle states that people are driven to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. In other words, we are willing to do things that will bring us pleasure and we are unwilling to do things that will cause us pain. Sounds pretty obvious doesn\'t it?<br><br>It seems however that the two forces are out of balance. The avoidance of pain often wins from the desire to seek pleasure. Perhaps in the case of physical pain this seems logical, at least to a certain extent. But in most cases we\'re not talking about physical pain. Most often people choose to do things, or rather not to do certain things, in order to avoid emotional pain. Some people go even further and simply state that people avoid pain, they don\'t seek pleasure. People may know very well that in order to achieve certain results they desire, something needs to be done. They may even have a high degree of certainty that doing that something will indeed produce the desired result. But if that something makes them feel bad or even slightly uncomfortable, they\'re out. Of course logically this doesn\'t make any sense. Rationally we know that we can get to C is we just put A and B together. But the fact is: we are not as rational as we sometimes claim to be. Human beings are mainly emotional creatures. We take decisions emotionally and then we try to back them up with logic.<br><br>Most people would agree that the drive to avoid pain is stronger than the drive to seek pleasure. One of the reasons why this drive is this strong is because it is built into our biological survival system. Physical pain will cause people to automatically withdraw from what they perceive to be the source of their pain. Rationally we know that physical and emotional pain are not the same, but since the human brain has difficulty distinguishing real pain from perceived pain, most people react to it in exactly the same way.<br><br>\"So why is this relevant for my business?\" you might say. Well, first of all if this is true for most people, it\'s probably true for you too. You may not realize it, but you\'ve probably fallen into this trap more than once. More importantly; if you remain unaware of this, you will continue to do so. And regardless of what business you\'re in, that will hurt your bottom line. If you\'re in a business where you\'re dealing with other people, you should be aware that they are subject to the same exact principle. As a network marketer you are dealing almost exclusively with people. Therefore understanding this principle and applying it will prove to be crucial to your business success. Some of you may be using it without even knowing it. If you have a successful upline that teaches you exactly what to do and what to say there is a good chance that this principle is, at least partially, embedded into their training systems.<br><br>Many times we try to move people into action by getting them to focus on the pleasure they can get when they reach success. Although this can be very successful, there are many times when your prospect just doesn\'t seem to get excited about the potential rewards. You may have banged your head against the wall a couple of times. Perhaps you have mentally labeled your prospect as one of those poor unfortunate folks that just don\'t get it. People that aren\'t the least bit interested in improving the quality of their life. Granted, over time you probably will run into a couple of those, but the majority of people you meet will not fall into that category. Most people really do want a better quality of life; they want more free time, more money, more respect and more success. What\'s holding them back is fear. They fear change and associate pain with taking the necessary actions to make it happen. Obviously they perceive taking action as more painful than staying where they\'re at right now. And thus, they choose not to take the necessary actions.<br><br>In order to successfully move people into action you will have to apply the pain and pleasure principle on at least two levels. First you must apply it on yourself. Look closely at the way you conduct your business and you will inevitably find that there are many things you should do or do differently. You know you should be prospecting, presenting and duplicating and you also know that you have to be strong to lead your people. But why aren\'t you? Simple answer: you associate pain with either one of those steps. In order to change this it will help if you start associating pain with not doing all those things. Think of how it will hurt you in the long run if you continue not taking action. You will find that when the pain of not doing it gets worse than the pain of doing it, you will decide to do whatever it is that needs to be done.<br><br>The second step is to apply this principle on your people. If you do this successfully you will find that you can actually make fear work for you. To illustrate this, picture yourself in a face to face encounter with a wild - and hungry - animal, for example a lion. If it is in front of you and you continue facing it, chances are the fear will paralyze you. And if you\'re fortunate enough to come to your senses before the lion gets to you, one thing is certain: moving forward will be the last thing on your mind. You can only move backwards and we all know how fast that goes. Instead, if you were to turn around and get the object of your fear behind you, you would discover just how fast you really can be. You would probably have little problems with some of the hurdles along your escape. In fact you would give many professional athletes a run for their money.<br><br>So how does this apply to you and the people in your business? Simple. Help them become aware that it is their fear and perception that is holding them back. Help them see that they are simply trying to avoid pain and that they obviously perceive taking action as painful. Then help them associate even more pain to not taking action and continue this up to the point where taking action becomes the only alternative. Then just strap in your seatbelts and watch \'em go.'

quotes[43]='Use product recommendations to increase your bottom line. In affiliate marketing, there are many ways in which you can increase your earnings and maintain the account that you have worked so hard for already. Most of the techniques and tactics can be learned easily. No need to go anywhere and any further. They are available online, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.<br><br>One of the more important ways of increasing affiliate marketing bottom line and sales is through the use of product recommendations. Many marketers know that this is one of the most effective ways in promoting a certain product. If the customers or visitors trust you enough, then they will definitely trust your recommendations. Be very careful in using this approach, though. If you start promoting everything by recommendation, your credibility will actually wear thin. This is seen especially when recommendations are seemingly exaggerated and without much merit.<br><br>Do not be afraid to mention things that you do not like about a given product or service. Rather than lose any points for you, this will make your recommendation more realistic and will tend to increase your credibility. Furthermore, if your visitors are really interested in what you are offering, they will be more than delighted to learn what is good about the product, what is not so good, and how the product will benefit them. When you are recommending a certain product, there are some things to remember on how to make it work effectively and for your advantage.<br><br>Try to sound like the true and leading expert in your field. Remember this simple equation: Price resistance diminishes in direct proportion to trust. If your visitors feel and believe that you are an expert in your niche, they are more inclined to making that purchase. On the other hand, if you are not exuding any confidence and self-assurance in endorsing your products, they will probably feel that same way and will go in search of another product or service which is more believable.<br><br>How do you establish this aura of expertise? By offering unique and new solutions they would not get anywhere else. Show proof that what you are promoting works as promised. Display prominent testimonials and endorsements from respected and known personalities, in related fields of course.<br><br>Avoid hype at all costs. It is better to sound low key and confident, than to scream and seek attention. Besides, you would not want to sound unprofessional and have that thinking stick to your potential customers and clients, now would you? Best to appear cool and self-assured at the same time. And remember; prospects are not stupid. They are actually turning to experts and may already know the things that you know. If you back up your claims with hard facts and data, they would gladly put down hundreds, or even thousands of dollars to your promotions. But if you don’t, they are smart enough to try and look at your competitors and what they are offering.<br><br>While recommending a product, it is also important that you give out promotional freebies. People are already familiar with the concept of offering freebies to promoting your won products. But very few people do this to promote affiliate products. Try to offer freebies that can promote or even have some information about your products or services.<br><br>Before you add recommendations to you product, it is given that you should try and test the product and support. Do not run the risk of promoting junk products and services. Just think how long it took you to build credibility and trust among your visitors. All that will take to destroy it is one big mistake on your part. If possible, have recommendations of products that you have 100% confidence in. Test the product support before you begin to ensure that the people you are referring it to would not be left high and dry when a problem suddenly arises. <br><br>Have a look at your affiliate market and look at the strategies you are using. You may not be focusing on the recommendations that your products need to have. You plan of action is sometimes not the only thing that is making your program work. Try product recommendation in your affiliate program and be among those few who have proven its worth.'

quotes[44]='There is so much written on planning these days that it\'s hard for nearly anyone to argue against the value of planning.<br><br>Some people like to live by the \"seat of their pants,\" and no one would argue that a little spontaneity is great to have in your life. But you do need to plan something at some point, or your life will simply be one reaction after another. The non-planner will end up taking no proactive action to improve his or her life. The most successful people plan their goals and are motivated to accomplish them.<br><br>I believe that everyone needs a master plan. Do you have one? A master plan should include long term goals, short term goals, and objectives. You may want to build in some rewards to motivate you to accomplish them as well. Let\'s look at each item that should appear in your master plan:<br><br>Lifetime goals: The first things you should include in your master plan are your lifetime, or dream goals. These are goals that you want to do at some point in your life and they shouldn\'t be dependent on money, time, or skill. If you\'re afraid of heights but have the goal of someday being a professional pilot, write it down! Create a long list by finishing this sentence: \"If I had unlimited money, time and skill, I would want to...\"<br><br>Short term and Long term goals: Once you have your lifetime goals list, you should break it down into things that you can realistically do in the short term and in the long term. Short term goals might be anywhere from the present to the next five or ten years. Long term goals are likely anything five or ten years and beyond. (Don\'t worry yet about how you\'ll accomplish them; we\'ll get to that in a moment). Put them in order from the things you want to do sooner to the things you want to do later.<br><br>Objectives: Once you have developed your goals, now you need to create objectives for each one. Objectives are the steps that you need to take to reach your goals. If you\'re afraid of heights but want to be a professional pilot some day, your objectives might be to...<br><br>1. Overcome your fear of heights,<br>2. Ride in an airplane,<br>3. Take flying lessons,<br>4. Get your commercial pilot\'s license, and<br>5. Buy an airplane.<br><br>You might look at this list and say \"easier said than done!\" but by breaking down all of your goals into smaller objectives, it does become easier to do. You now have some small steps to work on to get you to the next level.<br><br>What does all this have to do with e-business? Simple: For many entrepreneurs, a long term goal might be financial freedom. Building your e-business might be one of the objectives to reach that goal.<br><br>And within that \"main\" objective of building your business will be the smaller objectives that must be reached to do the building. The more you break down the steps that need to be taken, the easier it will be to reach your goal.'

quotes[45]='For many of us, we went about starting in our 9 to 5 job right after graduating from school. Most likely, we start our working life in the corporate world without really questioning the convention. But who sold you this plan? Are we just merely blindly following somebody\'s plan, perhaps by following your parents?<br><br>You graduate, you find a nice job in a company, just like everybody. After years of toiling away at a 9 to 5 or 9 to 9 job, you are beginning to question the wisdom of remaining in your job. Perhaps you are beginning to hate your job, hate the office politics, the stress and the hours are increasing as you bear more responsibilities as the years went by. You are disillusioned. After the weekends and holidays are over, you still have to drag yourself back to office.<br><br>Today, many people in the corporate world are feeling exhausted. In fact millions of people have left the corporate world to become freelancer, independent contractors, small business owners and of course internet marketers working from home. It is gaining popularity as more companies are outsourcing their projects and hiring freelance employees. This is a new economy now.<br><br>Naturally as we become more educated and self aware, we demand more out of our life. We wanted more than just money and job security. We wanted to be passionate about the work we do, we want to make a difference and successful in our life. We want to do what we always wanted to do like traveling, compose poetry, write, dance, sing, volunteer for charity work, spend more time with our love ones, sail the seven seas, fly a plane, climb mountains...<br><br>All the possibilities are there for us to realize. But we cannot do this with a desk bound job tied to us. However it takes lots of guts to take the first step. Perhaps we worry too much. For those who dare to, many people are doing this successfully and you can too.<br><br>Before you quit your job, make sure you do your homework. Do all you can to find out what you need and to be successful. Get all the resources you need from books, seminars and workshops. The internet has a lot of resources available too. Most of them are free so look around. Network with as many successful entrepreneurs as you can. Work out your finances and budget. Hone your craft, make more calls and network.<br><br>Soon you can live a purposeful life. You can enjoy your life and be happy with living your dreams!'

quotes[46]='Anyone who has recruited more than a couple of people into their organization have experienced the \"revolving door\" syndrome - where you recruit one person and it seems two others drop out. Obviously, this is frustrating and makes you wonder why it is so difficult to get your downline to stay active. It is even more frustrating to see people leaving faster than you can recruit them. Realize this happens in every business that fails to implement the one often forgotten element of retention. <br><br>Too often we are so caught up in recruiting new downline that we forget about the downline we already have. We focus all of our energies on the toughest part of building the business which is recruiting. Yet we forget to take action on the easiest part: Follow-up customer service. <br><br>While follow-up customer service may seem difficult to get to sometimes, it is extremely important for future growth and improving your retention rates. The number of people in the downline who drop out should not be dropping out like they are. People drop out because they are often ignored or forgotten by their up line. <br><br>Your goal should be to improve the retention within your own team and to make your customer service to your downline a priority. It is far more difficult to recruit new downline than it is to follow-up and follow-through with those you already have. <br><br>Below are seven things you MUST do to ensure your \"revolving door\" in your organization stays locked and to keep your downline active for the long term: <br><br>1. Implement a customer service policy. If you truly want to build a solid and profitable network marketing business, you need to implement the following policy: Provide service and follow-up to your downline. <br><br>2. Follow-up is following-through. Just because someone signed on the dotted line, does not mean the sale is complete. You must follow-up with your new downline within one week. Call them within one week of their purchase to ensure they are happy and are using the product/service. If they want to build the business, call to make certain they are tapping into the resources and getting off to a good start. <br><br>3. Staying in contact shows you care. In your prospecting and recruiting efforts, you planted seeds to start the relationship building process. Stay in touch with your downline. Doing so will show you care and value their business. Staying in touch will also provide you with an opportunity to get additional business and to strengthen the relationship. <br><br>4. Anticipate the needs of your downline. By staying in contact, you can anticipate or stay ahead of your downline needs. You will strengthen your relationship and will more fully understand their current needs. This ultimately leads to anticipation of future needs. Try to always think ahead. This will help you keep your downline happy, satisfied and even can help you to exceed expectations. <br><br>5. Keep records on your downline. As your business grows, it will become impossible to keep all downline information and individual needs in your head. You must create customer files with personal information on your downline. This information should include notes on your conversations and on their current or potential needs. <br><br>6. Work closely and be supportive. No one is guaranteed success. However, you will be amazed at how high of a success rate you will have with those you personally sponsor when you work closely with them and are supportive of their efforts. Granted some people will never do what they need to do and you can\'t build the business for them. But, if you provide support and show you care, you improve the retention of your downline. <br><br>7. Create intimacy with your downline. What this means is to be genuine in your concern for your downline as a person. Show them you are not just in it to get their money. You must go beyond just an order taker and help people get what they want and need. The difference between you and your competition boils down to one thing - customer service. If you provide value through concern for them as a person and deliver quality customer service in every way possible, you will find your downline will be there for the long term. <br><br>Keep in mind, the stability of your residual income will be in direct proportion to your personal follow-up and customer service. Make follow-up and customer service your PRIORITY! As you build your business in the future, make certain you follow-up and follow-through with customer service.'

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