<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' version='2.0'><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:46:46 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>Small Business Tips And Insider Secrets!</title><description/><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/</link><managingEditor>Ian McConnell</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>50</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-364895281117060813</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-12-03T21:33:42.558+09:00</atom:updated><title>Entrepreneur Makes a Killing With Forex</title><description>50% of the people that trade forex lose money, even in the long run?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For many people, trading equals gambling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is where the problem is, to make money CONSISTENTLY and increase your bank account, you need a &lt;em class="yellowbreak"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PROVEN AUTO PILOT NO-GUESSWORK SYSTEM&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is even better to have a proven  software that does the thinking for you and therefore eliminates the &lt;strong&gt;"human  error"&lt;/strong&gt; factor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://wazak.andreaskir.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=BLOGPF"&gt;Rest of the story here...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/12/entrepreneur-makes-killing-with-forex.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-3089285818457438856</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2007 02:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-11-26T11:24:04.943+09:00</atom:updated><title>I'm back</title><description>&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;How to create a flood of new customers and cash into your business.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/11/im-back.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-250335546672225730</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-04-11T17:02:56.153+08:00</atom:updated><title>The Instant Profit Multiplier</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.profitfitness.com/uploaded_images/a-765088.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.profitfitness.com/uploaded_images/a-765079.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Would you like to know how to:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1 - attract more genuine, pre-qualified enquiries for your product or service than you can handle?&lt;br /&gt;2 - learn how to convert those enquiries to sales, quickly and easily?&lt;br /&gt;3 - get existing customers to keep coming back time and time again?&lt;br /&gt;4 - constantly increase your profit per transaction everytime a customer buys?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then click here now =&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;For Our Must Have Small Business Secrets"&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/04/instant-profit-multiplier.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-7415195150298161549</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-04-11T16:19:19.919+08:00</atom:updated><title>Critical Small Business Tips On Vision!</title><description>Do you have a clear &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;small business&lt;/a&gt; vision?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A small business vision can be compared to planning a holiday! People usually decide where they want to holiday based on the offerings of the destination.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If it's a relaxing holiday they are after, they may go to Fiji. But if it's for shopping, then Dubai may be their choice. If it's to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge then they will go to Sydney, Australia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Holiday destinations are determined by desires, with a few restrictions like budget and time available.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The same should apply to your small business. In 5 years time what do you want your small business to look and feel like?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do you want a large street frontage or small office at home?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do you want to be actively involved or have a manager controlling your employees?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How many employees do you want?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do you want a business with excellent &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;cash flow&lt;/a&gt; or a business that is worth a large sum of money when sold?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Answers to these questions and much more will help to provide a clear vision of your small business in 5 years time. And often this will completely shape your growth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The majority of small business owners start a small business based on their trade or what they know. They never usually give much thought to their small business vision.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While it's comforting running a small business using the skills you have, sometimes this can be a recipe for disaster.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;Business is a game&lt;/a&gt; - it should be simple and fun. But Business Owners tend to complicate things and the business ends up controlling them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Owning a small business should mean a better lifestyle - flexible and shorter working hours and more money. But this is hardly ever the case; it's more like working 60+ hours a week for about $4 an hour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why is this so?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Because &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;small business&lt;/a&gt; owners don't have that vision. They don't know where they are heading, they have nothing to aim for. They have no idea what the finished product will look like, so the business eventually takes control.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Decisions are based on what happened that day, instead of the business vision you are working towards.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Take the time now and think of your small business vision.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What will your small business look like in 5 years?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why will your customers continue to buy from you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How will you beat your competitors?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What will make your small business attractive to any buyers?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What are all the potential risks?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Think carefully about these questions and then write your vision down. This will immediately tell you, the universe and anybody else, exactly what you are creating.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It gives you a defined target to aim for and achieve.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;br /&gt;Why do some business owners plod along, while others effortlessly succeed? Ian McConnell has the answers in "&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;The Instant Profit Multiplier&lt;/a&gt;" an absolutely "must read" for any business owner.&lt;br /&gt;FREE Details here ==&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/04/critical-small-business-tips-on-vision.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-5108413770373806454</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-03-14T12:54:13.490+09:00</atom:updated><title>5 Ways To Permanently Avoid Your Biggest Income Killer!</title><description>You are excited, it's a new business day! You glance at your &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;business plan&lt;/a&gt; on the pin board in front of you. A shiver of excitement races up your spine as you think of your business potential. Just 8 hours a day on this plan will mean a better life for you and your family, all within 2 years. Then the phone rings…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's a customer! They are enquiring about that widget they bought from you yesterday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Will it do x and y?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So you explain that it will do x and y. And because you are focused on providing the ultimate customer service, you talk them through the steps on the phone. After all you need to go the extra mile, don't you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You hang up and think "Another satisfied customer, but I wished they had read the owners manual before calling me!" You glance at your watch, then look at your diary and realize you are an hour behind schedule. Then there is a knock on the door…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sound like your typical day? Full of unscheduled interruptions, and at the end of the day wondering where all the time has gone? You only managed to complete 10% of the stuff on your to-do list today?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So do you take yesterday's unfinished business and add it to today's business? Or just cross it off in your diary and try and catch up next week?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's easy to get overwhelmed when this happens! The important stuff never gets done because you are constantly trying to deal with all the little stuff. We all know it's important to provide the best customer service, but taking on these interruptions in the belief that it will result in more referrals in the future, is a recipe for disaster.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;Business&lt;/a&gt; is a numbers game. If your bottom line is not healthy, there will be a greater temptation to go and do something that has a healthier bottom line. You will lose the drive, the passion, it will become too hard.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If your daily activities are not constantly growing your new enquiries, improving your sales conversion rate, growing your transaction size and increasing the &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;customer&lt;/a&gt; buying frequency, you will have an unhealthy bottom line, lose interest and give up!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As harsh as it sounds, it's reality!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And it all comes down to the enforcement of your sensible &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;time management&lt;/a&gt;. We all know there will always be interruptions and your time management should allow for those, within reason.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So how do you avoid the biggest killer of your business profits?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;1) Plan your week before it starts. Block out your focused hours for marketing, research, administration, business planning, etc. But also allow limited time, to deal with interruptions and urgent matters, although these should be kept to an absolute minimum. Your business must run like a well oiled machine with no unexpected breakdowns.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2) Tell everyone around you, (yes, even your customers) when you are available and when you are not available. Remember, scarcity is a powerful &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;marketing&lt;/a&gt; tool. Make yourself scarce.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3) Keep a record of all the interruptions and make it your goal to completely eliminate them by improving owner manuals, having an online manual with a frequently asked question area, changing systems or forms. You will notice a common thread with your interruptions and eventually you will be able to reduce them to a bare minimum.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4) Always plan any meetings for the end of the day. Meetings have a horrible habit of taking longer than they should. By scheduling them for the end of the day they will become focused and to the point, as everyone is keen to go home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;5) Remove the "I'm always available" sign. In this world of mobile phones and technology, customers believe that business owners should always be available to take their call or answer their email. If you decide to take every call or answer every email the moment it arrives, your business will suffer. Use voicemail and answer emails in a focused hour once per day. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Remember scarcity? You are not available immediately because you are busy. You are busy because you provide a quality product or service and are building a better business, which will benefit the customers and you. Scarcity works!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why do some business owners plod along, while others effortlessly succeed? Ian McConnell has the answers in "The Instant Profit Multiplier" an absolutely "must read" for any business owner.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;FREE Details here ==&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/03/5-ways-to-permanently-avoid-your.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-4509856116238871636</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-02-20T12:35:13.135+09:00</atom:updated><title>One Focused Hour A Week Will Almost Quadruple Your Small Business Income!</title><description>In your business, does it feel more productive, to be fulfilling the orders, or spending half a day on marketing or planning?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You see, the majority of people go into business to escape working for a boss, or the long commute to work or the 9 to 5 boredom. They want freedom, flexibility and a better income.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, they take the incredibly gutsy move and go it on their own. They step right out of their comfort zone and they become the boss!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They are enthusiastic, because everything is new and exciting. Their mindset is in exactly the right place, and they attract the orders with their enthusiastic personalities. This could be as simple as attending a networking function, or dealing with the local printer, who knows someone that requires their services or product.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They are dedicated and everything gets done just right. The orders flow in, the business owners are happy, the suppliers are happy, now it's time to fulfill the orders.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So the mindset changes from "let's go and get some orders" to "let's get these orders filled." The conversation changes at the networking functions and the local printer, to "Wow we've got all these orders to fill" and they inadvertently stop attracting any potential orders, with what they are saying.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eventually they get all the orders filled and realize they need new orders. So they change their mindset and off they go again. The problem is though, that every time they go back to the "let's get some orders" mindset they get less and less enthusiastic.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why? Why do they get less enthusiastic? Because when they are fulfilling the orders they are in their comfort zone. That's what they know best and humans will always gravitate towards the comfort zone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When they are marketing or selling, it is outside of their comfort zone. It becomes a lower priority and a task that is only completed when they have their back up against the wall.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When they first started the business their back was firmly up against the wall. There was no comfort zone. It was a case of "Get out there and get those orders" or we don't eat, basically. But, when the orders are flowing the comfort zone is the fulfilling of the orders, so the selling gets neglected.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Small businesses have an extremely high attrition rate, especially in the first 12 months of operation. Going from being comfortable one week with lots of orders, to the next, where you have to go and make new sales becomes too hard.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sales will have huge peaks and troughs when plotted on a chart over 12 months. Emotions will be just as wild trying to deal with this, but there is a very simple solution.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No matter how insanely busy you may become, always set aside one focused hour a week for new customer attraction. Block out that hour, on the same day every week, for the next 12 months.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Treat that one hour like a prized possession, because this will be the secret to leveling out those sales and emotional peaks and troughs. This will be the secret to the longevity and success of your business.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In this hour find a place that you will not be disturbed or distracted by absolutely anything and focus intensely on attracting new customers, that's all!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This may be by producing a new ad, hiring a copywriter to produce a direct mail piece, calling 10 potential customers, writing an article for the newspaper or engaging a joint venture partner or anything else. Make it your goal to attract at least 5 new customers every week with whatever you do. Over 12 months you should have attracted at least 250 new customers which will compound because they will tell their friends.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your total focus in that one hour should be generating new relationships and attracting customers that have never dealt with you before.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now you are probably thinking, if I'm so busy fulfilling orders how am I going to deal with the extra orders? Well, that's where your growth comes in, that's when you hire people, sub-contract the work out or find creative ways to get the orders filled.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It puts you in a very powerful position because you get to call the shots. You decide which customers to deal with and which ones to send to your competitors. You can negotiate better discounts with your suppliers and generate more profit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You gather momentum and it will be very hard to slow that momentum down.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's easier not to set aside the hour, especially when you have orders coming out your ears. But if you want to survive and be successful it is critical that you have a system in place to constantly attract new customers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And the thing is... new customer attraction can be accomplished in as little as one focused hour per week. One hour per week is the difference between having a business that plods along and having a business with highly profitable work booked for the next 12 months. A business where you get to decide which customers you want to deal with, a business that charges a premium price and a business with a far greater value.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Block out that hour in your diary now. Do it for every week for the next 12 months, no excuses because it's going to quadruple your income, guaranteed!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why do some business owners plod along, while others effortlessly succeed?&lt;br /&gt;Ian McConnell has the answers in "The Instant Profit Multiplier" an absolutely "must read" for any business owner.&lt;br /&gt;FREE Details ==&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/02/one-focused-hour-week-will-almost.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-3572150528018281702</guid><pubDate>Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-02-14T23:01:30.561+09:00</atom:updated><title>Why Testimonials Are The Only Proof You've Got?</title><description>Who do you think is better at selling your product or service, you or your customer's testimonial?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are trying to close a $10,000 deal, would it help if the prospect could talk to a satisfied customer?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's obvious, your satisfied customers are your best sales people, and they will outsell you by 100 times. You can say how good you are, until you are blue in the face, but a 2 minute conversation between a satisfied customer and a prospect will close the deal quickly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Testimonials are the only proof you've got.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you say how good you are, you're blowing your own trumpet, you're bragging, but when someone else says the same thing, it's proof, it has clout.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So if this is true, why do I see quotations, proposals and sales material being distributed without any proof? If the credibility is so much higher, when someone else says how good you are, why are quotations, proposals and sales material not laden with testimonials?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How do you market and quote?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is your sales material and proposals laden with testimonials, like a fruit tree, with branches dragging on the ground from the weight of the fruit?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If not, then why not?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A simple strategy of collecting a testimonial from every customer, and displaying them in all your sales material, is guaranteed to immediately increase your conversions. It will magnify your credibility and will be the most read part of your sales material.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But don't get the wrong kind of testimonial.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I would recommend XYZ Computers as they provide outstanding service. I have used them for 5 years."  from Joe Bloggs (ABC Trading)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That testimonial may make you feel good, but its too general. A great testimonial should be written in a way that is focused and specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I was wasting up to 10 hours a week trying to overcome computer glitches. Within 24 hours of calling XYZ Computers they had not only solved my problem but provided a solution that would prevent this from ever happening again. I paid less than $100 to solve a problem that was costing me $600 a week in down time and causing a lot of stress. If you have any doubt about using XYZ computers, just give me a call."  from Ian McConnell (ProfitFitness.com)  tel - 7777 7777 7777 &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now that's a specific testimonial. Note the option for prospects to call. You need to convince your customers to insert their phone numbers, as it is &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com"&gt;free advertising&lt;/a&gt; for them. Explain to them that less than 5% of prospects will call. It will make the testimonial 10 times more powerful. However if a prospect does call, make sure you reward the customer for this, it's well worth it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But how do you get testimonials like that? Well first you need to EARN them and then you need to ASK for them. It's ok to prompt the customer to get a more specific outcome, but be truthful and don't exaggerate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A feedback questionnaire, that is well thought out, could not only be used to improve your service, but also parts of it could be extracted and put together to make up the testimonial, with the customers permission of course.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Testimonials are a great tool for closing sales. They remove any doubt, reduce the risk, confirm the value and smooth the way to a sale. Great testimonials will sell much more product or services than you ever could!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So if you don't have any testimonials, you need to correct this now! List your 10 best clients, call them, offer to buy them lunch and get those testimonials. And if it feels awkward to ask them, then your relationship is weak to the point that you could lose them to your competitors at any time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ian McConnell is the author of The Instant Profit Multiplier. This is must have information for any business owner that wants to know how to create a constant flood of customers and cash into their business. Have a look at ==&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/02/why-testimonials-are-only-proof-youve.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-4122838707036650025</guid><pubDate>Wed, 07 Feb 2007 06:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-02-07T16:07:35.338+09:00</atom:updated><title>The Power Of An Hour</title><description>Show me a business having financial difficulties and I guarantee you they will have lost focus on sales and marketing...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why is the focus lost?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Because the business owners don't understand sales and marketing. To them it is not quantifiable or manageable and so they don't focus on it. They look at the bottom line and if it's growing, they think that whatever they are doing is working and, if it's not growing they think something has to change. The only problem is, change what?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sales and marketing is outside of the comfort zone for most business owners and like all humans they gravitate back to their comfort zones. They do what they know best... which is usually working in the business, which destines them for a mediocre business life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately the business owners that don't master sales and marketing will never succeed... it's as simple as that!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And the thing is... marketing can be accomplished in as little as one focused hour per week. One hour per week is the difference between having a business that plods along and having a business with highly profitable work booked for the next 12 months.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you want to make some fast, profitable changes in your life and business by focusing on critical areas for an hour then you have to read this book.&lt;br /&gt;Click here for more =&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471780936?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwprofitfitn-20&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0471780936"&gt;Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwprofitfitn-20&amp;amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;amp;a=0471780936" alt="" style="border: medium none  ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471780936?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwprofitfitn-20&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0471780936"&gt;&lt;img src="http://www2.blogger.com/0471780936.01._AA_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwprofitfitn-20&amp;amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;amp;a=0471780936" alt="" style="border: medium none  ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/02/power-of-hour.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-686038631328403121</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-01-17T20:00:43.524+09:00</atom:updated><title>Why Some Business Owners Almost Always Create Winning Ads!</title><description>&lt;div id="article_body"&gt;&lt;p&gt;So you've spent your hard earned cash on a great copywriting course. You know exactly what to do and what not to do. You have collected a file full of great example ads and created a great ad for your business. You run it in the local newspaper every week for a month... But the phone does not ring, the customers don't come rushing in the door... &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;WHY?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;You may have all the knowledge about copywriting, but there will always be times when your ad or sales letter just does not get that phone ringing or the customers rushing through the door. And it can get frustrating especially when you have spent hours creating the ad.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;But remember this:&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Persistence is the secret to this game!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you test and measure your advertising, you can afford to fail many times more than you succeed. As an example, let's say you invested $400 in an ad, and the phone doesn't ring, and the customers don't coming rushing through the door.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;You write another 4 ads and they all crash and burn as well. You don't get ANY results from them. Not one enquiry. You've now spent $2,000 and don't have any enquiries?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;However on your 6th ad, you hit a winner and the phone runs hot and you struggle to deal with all the customers coming in.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;So, you 'failed' 5 times out of 6.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Was that a successful advertising campaign?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;'YES'&lt;/strong&gt; without a doubt!&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Why?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because all along you would have been testing and measuring the return on investment of your ads. You would have been making adjustments along the way until that winner came along. But once you find that winner, how many times would you continue to run that winning ad or sending out that winning sales letter?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;As often as you could, until it stops working.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;There are ads that run in newspapers and magazines, on TV and online, they run week after week after week, for years and years. There are &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;sales letters&lt;/a&gt; that are mailed to millions of people month after month, year after year.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Think about it. If every time you spend $400 on an ad, it produced $800 worth of profit. Would it not make sense to run that ad as many times as possible, until the return on investment dropped off?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;That's what a winning ad or sales letter gives you the ability to do. Yet many business owners stop after one failure, and never see the real rewards of &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;effective advertising&lt;/a&gt;. They give up and say advertising doesn't work!&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Remember we said '&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Persistence is the secret to this game.&lt;/span&gt;' Well, it is truly worth persisting because the rewards, when you find that winning ad or sales letter, are huge.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Success in advertising is as much about 'mindset' as it is about skill. The right mindset to persist until you find that winner that you can use over and over again. And never make the mistake of changing the ad because you believe people are bored of seeing your ad or sales letter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You will get bored with it long before they do. Let the numbers do the talking. When that return on investment drops to an unacceptable level, that is when you make the changes and only then.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The secret is Persistence.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Ian McConnell is the author of &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;Instant Small Business Profits&lt;/a&gt; - compulsory reading for any small business owner. This step by step guide contains valuable information on... "How To Dominate Sales In Your Marketplace, Create a Flood of Customers Chasing You For Your Product or Services And Turn Your Business Into a Powerful Profit Magnet!" For more information click here =&gt; &lt;a target="_new" href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/01/why-some-business-owners-almost-always.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-3887612047695536406</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-01-10T19:44:04.195+09:00</atom:updated><title>Business Is A Game, But What Is Your Score!</title><description>&lt;div id="article_body"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Business is a game, or is it!&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;If it is a game where is your score card? Are you winning or losing? Are you operating your business because it is a passion and wait until the end of the financial year to find out if you've won or lost? Maybe that's how you started, but things probably changed when the bills came in. In fact I guarantee you've wondered more than once 'Where is all the money going?'&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;You see, business is about filling a need in the market place and being profitable while doing that. But to retain the passion and the excitement, it is very important to be highly profitable. The old idea of 'You make your money when you sell the business' is just that, old. In today's world it is about cash flow, making a profit every month. Buyers don't want a business that runs at a loss every month. Unless they have money to burn or you've got something they really want. In most cases the price of the business is dictated by the cash flow generated.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;So, if cash flow is so important, why do business owners hire sales representatives and rely on them to generate the sales to support the business. I've seen business owners completely neglect the marketing of their business, thinking that because they have hired a sales representative, everything is taken care of? Very scary, especially if the sales representative decides to jump ship.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;In any business whatsoever, marketing generates the enquiries, which generates the sales, which generates the cash flow, which generates the growth in the business.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Marketing is incredibly important!&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Marketing is the seed that grows into the tree. It doesn't make sense to delegate the marketing. It's a high priority task? In fact, if marketing is the seed that the tree grows from, doesn't it make sense that the business owner takes on this task and learns to market their service or product effectively.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;It makes so much sense. Business is a game and your competitor is the opposing team. Their mission is to make sure that the score card is in their favor. But a score card is not only effective in maintaining your lead over your opponents. It's also useful to use as a benchmark for improvement within your business.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Can you answer these questions with accuracy (no guessing allowed): &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;How many enquiries did you have last month?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How many of those enquiries converted to sales?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How do those figures compare with last year?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How often did the average customer come back to repurchase in one year?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;What is your average transaction size? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;p&gt;What if you knew the answers to all those questions and as the business owner made it your goal to improve all the benchmark numbers by 10%?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Improve enquiries by 10%, improve conversions by 10%, improve your average transaction size by 10% and improve your average number of customer transactions by 10% will compound and potentially quadruple your business.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;To win the business game you need to keep the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly score and keep winning by constantly improving the score!&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Ian McConnell is the author of &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;Instant Small Business Profits&lt;/a&gt; - compulsory reading for any small business owner. This step by step guide contains valuable information on... "How To Dominate Sales In Your Marketplace, Create a Flood of Customers Chasing You For Your Product or Services And Turn Your Business Into a Powerful Profit Magnet!" For a free copy and other bonuses click here =&gt; &lt;a target="_new" href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2007/01/business-is-game-but-what-is-your-score.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-1934602840006885942</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2006 07:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-12-20T16:55:01.516+09:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Self Help</category><title>How To Use Brain Entrainment For Business Success!</title><description>It has always amazed me, how some days I struggle to solve complex problems, but if I sleep on it, and come back to it the next day, I solve it in 10 seconds flat!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How often has this happened to you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's almost like your brain has had time to reset overnight and is fresh the next morning. Or has your brain been working on the problem while you sleep?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The worst case of a short term &lt;a href="http://www.OptimiseYourMind.com/"&gt;memory problem&lt;/a&gt;, is when you see someone walking towards you in the street. You met them the day before and can't remember their name. But as you stress your memory to remember their name, it just becomes a no win situation. Their name appears to get further and further away from your memory.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How can such a small problem make us want to cross the street to avoid greeting the person?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And then 5 minutes later, their name just mysteriously pops into your mind!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Very frustrating, to say the least.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.OptimiseYourMind.com/"&gt;Brain entrainment&lt;/a&gt; has been around for a very long time. Many years of research has proved that brainwaves provide a valuable insight into a person's mind and body. Not only that, but they can be stimulated to actually change a person's current state of mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How many times have you felt like you needed to change your state of mind? Some days things just get done easily and without effort, while other days it is a struggle, and things don't flow as well. This is largely due to the state of your mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Research has shown that, by causing the brain to produce or decrease specific types of brainwave frequencies, it is possible to bring about a large variety of &lt;a href="http://www.OptimiseYourMind.com/"&gt;mental states&lt;/a&gt; and emotional reactions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is &lt;a href="http://www.OptimiseYourMind.com/"&gt;brainwave entrainment&lt;/a&gt;. The process of enhancing your normal brainwave state has been known to scientists and doctors for many years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But why would you bother?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, the documented benefits include, but are not limited to, improvements with:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;temporary pain relief,&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;temporary stress reduction, &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sleeping disorders,&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;general relaxation, and&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;meditation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;Binaural beats were the most recognized form of brainwave entrainment, until the recent discovery of the more effective isochronic tones. Binaural beats were first discovered in 1839 by a German experimenter, H. W. Dove.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The human ability to "hear" binaural beats appears to be the result of evolutionary adaptation. Many evolved species can detect binaural beats because of their brain structure.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In humans, binaural beats can be detected when carrier waves are below 1000 Hz, approximately. This is because wave lengths below 1000 Hz are longer than the diameter of the human skull. Therefore, these wave lengths actually curve around the skull by diffraction and are heard by both ears.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As the sound wave passes around the skull, each ear hears a different portion of the wave and it's this difference that allows for the accurate location of sounds below 1000 Hz.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So by listening to a specially designed brain entrainment CD, you will hear sonic tones that will induce low frequency energy which your brain will attempt to duplicate or 'entrain' to.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These frequencies are normal, everyday frequencies found in the EEG waveforms of humans, and it is well documented that increases in the following areas are possible:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Memory capability&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Mental absorbency&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Intellectual stamina&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Thought power&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Mental acuity&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;And overall intelligence&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;So, is brain entrainment vital for business success or any success?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I certainly believe so and wouldn't live in a business environment without it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ian McConnell uses brain entrainment to constantly enhance his creative thinking and ability to focus. Creative thinking and focus is imperative for success in any business. Optimize your mind today, Click Here =&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.OptimiseYourMind.com/"&gt;http://www.OptimiseYourMind.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/12/how-to-use-brain-entrainment-for.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-116358286886392696</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Nov 2006 09:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:17.148+08:00</atom:updated><title>Narrow Your Focus To Triple Your Income!</title><description>Some say, diversify - Make sure you have every possible service and product available - Give yourself every opportunity to make a sale - Make your shop a 'One Stop Shop!'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't call this diversifying, I call it de'worse'ifying!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The truth is, when you try and be everything to everyone, you spread yourself so thin, that you end up being, nothing to no-one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;Proceed with caution&lt;/a&gt; - One stop shops are for the big boys. The big players, with huge budgets to spend on marketing. In small business, the trick is to do exactly the opposite to one stop shops. And that is to specialize and become exceptionally good at this area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Specializing means better focus on one area. It allows you to research deeper and become an expert in that area. Experts are usually paid much more. An example is an Electrician turned Home Theater Specialist. By doing this the Electrician increased his rates by 40% overnight!&lt;br /&gt;Specialists are, on average, more profitable and attract customers faster. But how do you decide what to specialize in, and, if you will survive?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, start by:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Defining which is your most profitable service or product you presently offer. Define who your &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;ideal customer&lt;/a&gt; is for that service or product. Do some research. Find out how many of those ideal customers are reachable, willing, and able to invest in your services and/ or products.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then write down a detailed description of them:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;where are they located? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;what age group are they? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;what do they read?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;where do they socialize? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;how often would they have the problem you are solving?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;how quickly will they pay?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;and more.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Make sure you know your &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;ideal customer&lt;/a&gt; like the back of your hand. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to market to them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And then research your competition. Make 2 lists:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Direct Competition - they are also specialists offering exactly the service or product you do.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Indirect Competition - they offer a similar service.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;Your likelihood to thrive will depend on a quick calculation. Divide the amount of ideal customers you believe you can reach by the amount of competitors (including yourself). The answer to this will be your potential share of the market.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For example: Number of customers I believe will require my service = 300. Competitors = 3. Therefore my potential market is 300 divided by 3 = 100. It will probably be more, because I know how to market more effectively, but we'll use 100 for this calculation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now calculate your potential yearly profit by multiplying your potential share of the market x your average profit per transaction x your average transactions per year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For example: Potential share of market = 100 x $120 (average profit per transaction) x 12 (average transactions per year) = $144,000 (potential profit per year.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Can you &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;thrive&lt;/a&gt; on this yearly profit? If not try another service or product that may have a higher potential share of the market, transaction profit or transactions per year or a combination of all.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The trick is to focus, maximise profits and have the same awesome &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;customers&lt;/a&gt; coming back, again and again. The net result will be greater profits for less work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here's what happens:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;You gain expert status and become more attractive to prospective customers.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;You confidence grows, you have much more clarity.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Your profits grow with much less effort.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;It is easy for people to refer you to others and the one stop shop will refer customers to you.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Your job becomes easier, as systems and procedures are streamlined for that service or product.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Marketing becomes laser focused and the same material can be used over and over again.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Hiring staff becomes easier.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Bigger supplier discounts can be negotiated because of bulk buying.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;and more.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Do you see that by narrowing your focus you could easily triple your income?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Granted some industries are harder than others to do this in, but I have never seen an industry where this is not possible. It's often just a business owners belief, that they need to be doing and selling everything they possibly can, if they want to survive.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If that's your belief then hopefully I've convinced you to &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;'Change It Today!&lt;/a&gt;'&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Copyright 2006 Ian McConnell&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ian McConnell is the creator of "&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;The Instant Profit Multiplier&lt;/a&gt;." A step by step system that provides the tools to "Quickly And Easily Attract A Constant Flood Of Customers And Cash Into Your Business." Click here for more =&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/11/narrow-your-focus-to-triple-your.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-116296614237372688</guid><pubDate>Wed, 08 Nov 2006 06:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:17.063+08:00</atom:updated><title>How To Create A Memorable And Interesting Marketing Statement!</title><description>&lt;div id="article_body"&gt;&lt;p&gt;You're at a networking function and somebody that you've just met asks "So what do you do?"&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Do you hesitate and think a while? And then say something boring like "Oh I sell xyz" or "I fix xyz?" First impressions, we all know, are important. When you are asked a question about what you do, it's an invitation to sell yourself, so make the absolute most of it, don't miss the opportunity.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;But your answer should be interesting, clear and confident. Answers that are interesting will always encourage conversation and be memorable. So how do you create that 30 second elevator speech?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;First up, remember interest is created by what you can do for other people. People don't want to be bored with how great you are or how fantastic your business is. It has to be about "What's in it for them!" How can you benefit them?&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Relate what you do to a known situation, something that everyone is aware of. Most times you don't even mention your profession.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;My own answer to "So what do you do?" is "I show business owners how to triple their income while working less." This answer always generates huge interest because everyone can relate to small business, with the long hours and high failure rate. There is no mention about my success, profession or how qualified I am.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The next question is almost always "So, how do you do that?" and then I tell them "By implementing new customer attraction techniques, measuring and improving enquiry to sale conversions, encouraging existing customers to come in more frequently and increasing the transaction size."&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;And, because I always choose networking events that give me the best opportunity to meet new customers (that are likely to require my services), my answers are guaranteed to interest them. Almost every time I email or send them a free report the very next day. It's important to get them into my marketing funnel as quickly as possible so I keep reminding them about what I do.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Using my example you can now create your own elevator speech. Some other examples are:&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Life Coach - I help busy executives spend more time with their families.  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Financial Planner - I work with professional people who want high returns on their investments.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Landscaper -  I create beautiful gardens for busy executives that have no time to garden.  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt; And then create your answer to "How do you do that?" Because that will be the next question.  &lt;p&gt;Make sure you are comfortable with your answers, as it will show if you are not. It should flow and feel natural but fit with you are.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;When you have the interest and attention of potential customers make sure you have something that you can give them or send them as a follow up. A free report that can be downloaded from your website is a great way to get their permission to send further marketing material, and keep them in your marketing funnel. Always get something to them quickly so they don't forget you!&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Whether you are self employed, an entrepreneur, a professional, or just work for someone, always remember the elevator speech is a magnificent way to market yourself. You just never know who your next big customer is going to be.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Copyright 2006 Ian McConnell&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Ian McConnell is the author of The Instant Profit Multiplier. This amazing step by step sytem will help any small business owner triple their income quickly and easily... Without having to be a marketing genius or paying for expensive advertising.&lt;br /&gt;Click here =&gt; &lt;a target="_new" href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;How to create a flood of new customers and cash into your business.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/11/how-to-create-memorable-and.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-116238612042287746</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.964+08:00</atom:updated><title>Who Else Wants To Double Their Sales Quickly And Easily!</title><description>The quickest and easiest way to boost the sales in your business is to ask existing customers for referrals.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, just simply ask!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But why do most business owners and sales people hesitate, and often don't bother to ask customers for referrals? Is it because they are embarrassed to be seen as asking for more, just forget, or maybe they inwardly know their service is not as great as it should be?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A customer that refers once will refer again and again and can be worth a great deal of money to you. This simple and easily implemented &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;strategy&lt;/a&gt; has the ability to double the size of your business profits very quickly, just by asking a question.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Research tells us that each person has an average immediate circle of influence of 50 people. That means your average customer could bring you 50 other customers!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Research also tells us that the average satisfied customer will tell 3 other people about their experience. If each of your customers referred just 3 people, what impact would that have on your bottom line?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I suspect it would have a huge impact! But what if you offered an incentive for referrals and each of your customers started referring 5 or 6 people? Would this have a huge impact to your sales, just for asking? I suspect it would.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But before you go asking for referrals, make sure you are 'referable.' To be referable you need to go way beyond just showing up on time and delivering what you promise. You need to perform well above the expected standard, so that when you ask for the referral, there is absolutely no risk. The customer has to be absolutely confident that you will provide their friend/ family member/ associate with such &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;exceptional service&lt;/a&gt; that it does not jeopardize their relationship or friendship in any way. They need to be thanking them for having been referred.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Referrals are powerful, but delicate. You must become 'risk free' in order to earn them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To remove all the stops and hesitation in your customers providing referrals you need to be at least:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Likeable - customers need to see you as a friend, not just a sales person.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Reliable - customers need to know that you will always deliver when and where you say you will.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Well informed - customers need to know that you have the &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;latest information&lt;/a&gt; and can advise of the best solution at all times.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Trusting - customers need to know you will always advise them in their best interests.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;When customers refer people, show them your gratitude. People that are not recognized as having referred people will not be motivated to refer any other people. They will probably never say anything to you but will never refer anyone again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Remember a referred customer is the easiest person to sell to, as the credibility has already been built; they are already qualified and ready to buy. You have not had to pay for this lead, so make sure you show your appreciation. You will be amazed how a small gift and thank-you card will motivate people to continue referring others, especially when the gifts are not something you sell, are useful and get bigger and better after each referral.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;Want to know more? Click here...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Copyright 2006 Ian McConnell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;Free Report - "How to create a flood of new customers and cash into your business."&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/11/who-else-wants-to-double-their-sales.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-116118641710652528</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.871+08:00</atom:updated><title>How Many Customers Would You Like With That?</title><description>How much should you be paying to convince a customer to buy?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The advertising in the local newspapers, the business cards, the brochures, the signage on the front of the building, the signage on the vehicles, the give-aways, the promotions, all provide a professional image that attracts enquiring customers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Business Owners put a lot of effort and money into attracting enquiries only to have most enquiries slip out of their hands like a slippery fish.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Customers have a choice, they can deal with you or go next door and deal with your competitor! So it is important that when your marketing pays off and that &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;customer&lt;/a&gt; rings or walks through the door, that you convert them to a life-long customer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The lifetime value of your customer is the total profit generated over the lifetime of his or her patronage to your business.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Say an average customer generates an average profit of $75 on the first sale, then repurchases on average 3 times in 12 months with an average repurchase profit of $150. And the average patronage life span is 2 years, then your average lifetime client value is $975.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You could theoretically afford to spend up to $975 to bring in a new customer and break even. And that's not including the referrals they may provide in those 2 years.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Business is about creating relationships with people. Most businesses make the fatal mistake of making it far too hard for &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;customers&lt;/a&gt; to start a relationship with them. They make it too hard to get potential customers to start trusting them and start using their products or services.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you take away those hurdles and objections to use your product or service far more people will develop a relationship with you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you provide great value, service and results these customers will continue to deal with you. They would have no reason to go anywhere else. The fact that you had faith in your product or service and absorbed the perceived risk will be remembered by the customer resulting in loyalty and a customer that will talk about your great service.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is therefore very important to develop those relationships very quickly and nurture them so these customers turn into life long clients.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most businesses fear that the customer will come in once and never again, so they try and maximise their profits on the first sale.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a fatal mistake because it is 6 times more expensive to sell to a new customer than to an existing customer. Your existing customer has experienced your service, trusts you and has been through your system. If they are happy they will even recommend you!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many businesses increase their profits and client base by shifting their focus from making a profit on the first sale to making an ongoing profit from repeat purchases over the life of the &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;customer.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I heard of a Refrigeration Mechanic that installs heating and cooling systems in houses and offices. Now once someone has bought a heating and cooling system there is usually no need to buy another one for many years to come, unless they move.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But what he does is sends out a 6 monthly mail out offering a $19.95 service to the unit, which is usually a $49.95 charge. He offers it to his existing customers and also advertises to the market.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now every service he completes he is actually losing $30 but by testing and measuring, his results show that 49% of people responding to the $19.95 service requested him to complete additional work resulting in an average of $124.00 of profit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Even though he loses $30 on the initial service, in 49% of cases he makes an average of $124.00 profit. Net result is a great profit and new life-long customers in his system.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Copyright 2006 Ian McConnell  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;Click here for a FREE report&lt;/a&gt;  to "Discover Insider Business Secrets That Painlessly Help You To Double, Triple Or Quadruple Your Income This Year, And Create Massive Wealth In the Next Few Years... In ANY Business Whatsoever!"&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/10/how-many-customers-would-you-like-with.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-116066334940044682</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.789+08:00</atom:updated><title>The Ultimate Profit Producing Formula</title><description>&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Why do some small businesses become glorified jobs for the business owner, often earning the owner less money per hour than if they had a job?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;I see this happening very often in small businesses. The owners start out enthusiastically, then experience all the extra paperwork, organising and chasing that needs to be done and slowly the novelty wears off. For the majority of business owners it gets too hard and they give up, adding to the high failure rate of small businesses in the first 12 months. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;It doesn't have to be like that! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;There may be some tough times in any small business and there is nothing worse than wondering if you are going to sell something today. Wondering if the sales in the month will be enough to cover the bills. As a business owner you need to know, with a level of certainty, what your income will be next week, next month. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;In lean times it may seem that the only solution is to cut costs, like cutting back on the advertising budget. But by cutting back on costs you may save 10% or maybe even 20% but it is far better to improve your income by 50% or 60%? There is a limit to how much you can cut costs but there is no limit to how much you can improve your income. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Take the time and energy that you would normally use to try and save money and refocus it on 4 areas of your business:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;li&gt;Improving enquiries &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Improving the conversion of those enquiries&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Improving the average transaction size&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Improving the average transactions per year&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Focusing on these 4 areas of your small business is guaranteed to ensure success. A 10% improvement in each area will multiply to a huge increase in profit. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Start measuring these 4 areas and keep a record of the results on a weekly basis. Your goal should be to gradually improve all 4 areas by 10% per month.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;Improving enquiries&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt; - being creative in generating enquiries is the secret to customer attraction. The coffee shop offering a free muffin will win over the coffee shop next door without the free muffin. Find a point of difference... ask yourself "what will make a customer choose me over my competitor?" And when you find your unique selling proposition shout it out in every way you can possibly think of.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;Improving the conversion of those enquiries&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt; -  after all the cost and effort of attracting a customer it's now up to you to sell them something. You need to answer every objection, have a strong risk reversal guarantee with a product and service range for all their needs. Often this area can be dramatically improved in many businesses. I ask businesses what they believe their conversion rate to be and they usually say around 50%... They are always shocked when they start to measure it and it is less than 20%. This is a good thing though, as it leaves lots of room for improvement!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;b&gt;Improving the average transaction size&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/u&gt; - your total sales over the last year divided by the amount of transactions will give you your average transaction size. Again it comes down to creativity - how can you get customers to spend more. The easiest way is to offer a freebie if they spend over a certain amount. Look at McDonalds with their "Would you like chips with that?" &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;b&gt;Improving the average transactions per year&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;b&gt; &lt;/b&gt;- your customer may buy from you several times a year, once a year or even once every 7 years. So how could you encourage them to come in more often and buy from you? What other product or service could you offer them?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Whether you are a plumber, a salon owner or a dentist, focusing and improving on these 4 areas will guide you to business happiness and prosperity. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Copyright 2006 Ian McConnell&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Ian McConnell is the author of Instant Small Business Profits - compulsory reading for any small business owner. This step by step guide contains valuable information on... "How To Dominate Sales In Your Marketplace, Create a Flood of Customers Chasing You For Your Product or Services And Turn Your Business Into a  Powerful Profit Magnet!"&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;For a free copy of "Instant Small Business Profits" and other bonuses&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Click Here =&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;http://www.small-business-secrets.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/10/ultimate-profit-producing-_116066334940044682.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115924523970667371</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 Sep 2006 03:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.312+08:00</atom:updated><title>New Customer Acquisition vs Customer Retention?</title><description>Every business owner wants new customers and often their sole focus is the acquisition of new customers. They spend the majority of their time looking for new customers and often neglect the fact that their existing customers could be buying from them more often.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Often business owners don't realize how big the cost is to attract a new client. This is because most people don't measure the process. This calculation is as simple as taking all the costs involved in attracting new customers and dividing it by the amount of new customers acquired in the same period.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The costs should include advertising, the business owner's or a sales person's time, a portion of the car lease, a portion of the office rent, computer costs, stationery costs, etc. - Yes, these must all be added in to get a true reflection. Do this calculation in your business and you will be shocked as to how expensive it actually is.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, the value of a business is largely determined by the customer base. If the customer base is dominated by A-grade customers with a great average lifetime value then this business will be much more valuable than say, a business with a customer base of one-off buyers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, if it's so much cheaper to sell to existing customers, shouldn't you be focusing the minority of your time on new customer acquisition and the majority of your time on keeping your existing customers coming back for more? After all, the focus on existing customers will make them raving fans who will talk about you anyway... Right there is a huge sales force.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can hear it now... Some of you saying &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;"but I sell a product or a service and there is no reason for the customer to come back."&lt;/span&gt; Well then find something! Look at software. You buy the software and it does the job, but then they come out with an upgrade. More bells and whistles that you probably don't need, but most people will buy just to have the latest version.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Look at other industries, how do they encourage repeat sales? Take the strategies and adapt them to your business...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html"&gt;Here's how to create a flood of new customers and cash into your business.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/09/new-customer-acquisition-vs-customer.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115915443763012988</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 2006 02:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.229+08:00</atom:updated><title>The Single Most Powerful Way To Easily Create Profits Is Joint Ventures</title><description>The single most powerful way to create great wealth as a small business is to joint venture with other businesses.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If Microsoft had to sell their software products to each individual end user, imagine the resources that would have been required to market the product. How hard would it have been to sell software with no credibility? Bill Gates had a little unknown company and approached IBM with an idea to put his DOS software on all of their PC's.  IBM, thought the money was in building the computers, so they agreed. Now windows is the platform used for 90% of computers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Take a look at your business right now.  Think about whatever product or service you sell and then think of which businesses share the same group of clients.  An example would be a landscape gardening business could joint venture with developers, with the builder, with the lawn mowing contractor and with the window cleaner. Every business needs an extra income stream and if it's as simple as providing a recommendation for a 10% commission, or sharing clients, why not.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have seen auto workshops joint venture with tyre suppliers and offer a free service (valued at $197) with every set of new tyres sold. It attracts the clients looking for a new set of tyres to their business, rather than the competitor, because of the free service. In most cases the tyres may be more expensive but the free service draws them in. The perceived value is what the client looks at. The win for the auto workshop is that they gain a new client with a great lifetime value.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are thousands of examples of Joint Ventures and several variations of how they can work.  The one thing in common is to think in terms of businesses that share the same customers.  Then think of logical steps in the sequence.  If you buy a garage door, there is about a ninety percent chance you're going to need a garage door service in the future.  If you buy a house there is a ninety percent chance you're going to need a mortgage.  If you buy a car there is almost a hundred percent chance you're going to need auto insurance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Keep thinking about different opportunities, joint ventures are the single most powerful way to catapult yourself into an almost overnight success.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;How to improve 4 areas in your business and multiply your profits... FAST! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/09/single-most-powerful-way-to-easily.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115901638588875881</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Sep 2006 08:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.156+08:00</atom:updated><title>Insanity is Not Taking The Time To Think</title><description>Sometimes I wonder if business owners think... Yes you read right, do they actually think?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do they take the time to stand back from their business and just think about what they are actually trying to achieve!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do they think about how they could improve their results - do more with less?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do they think about how they could add extra income streams and earn while they sleep?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do they think about potential problems - a new competitor, different market requirements, interest rate hikes, staff leaving and competing against them...?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do they think about sickness... What if the business owner is the sales person and they get sick. I remember getting pneumonia a few years ago and being unable to work for over 6 weeks. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It would be completely insane to ignore these things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Take the time today to stand back and THINK!  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;more here...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://surefiremarketing.com/copy/?44611"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/09/insanity-is-not-taking-time-to-think.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115891337529735795</guid><pubDate>Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:16.050+08:00</atom:updated><title>The Customer Is Always Right... Or Are They?</title><description>Don't you just hate it when businesses treat you like trash? You get the distinct impression that you are not welcome, you are just another annoying client, another customer that will make their day even worse. But what about when the business owner treats you like that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think these employees and business owners should remember who pays their wages. Now, I know that dealing with the public can be hard and there are some people out there who make it their sole purpose in life to make the business owners life hell. But they are in the minority so don't paint us all with the same brush.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Being a property investor we get targeted by mortgage brokers. Normally we tell them politely to go away because we have an ongoing relationship with a bank. But one persistent lady broker got our attention and after listening to a presentation about why we should use her as a broker and how much money we could save... We decided to give her a go.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She had put a lot of effort into capturing our business, which was impressive. We wrongly assumed that was the benchmark and that we could expect some great service. We spent over 4 hours in total looking at different bank proposals, wading through forms, applications and listening to why this bank had the best deal but we shouldn't deal with them because... She was so detailed it was driving us crazy. We just wanted a recommendation with a few options to choose from... SIMPLE!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eventually we got to filling out an application form, only to be called the next day, to say that she had found a better deal. She had destroyed the initial application and could we come in and sign the other application....  aaaarghh. Why had we ever entertained this idea!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it got worse... The application was rejected by the bank and we got sent a $660 bill for the cost of valuing 2 houses. We had seemingly agreed in writing to paying for these valuations, but our file had been destroyed by the broker within 4 weeks of the application being submitted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This broker now has a very disgruntled customer. She spent all that money, time and effort to get us in the door only to have us walking out, vowing never to use her services again, potentially $660 out of pocket and telling everyone that asks. Fortunately I walked back into our original bank and received the finance within 24 hours.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What a huge waste of effort. She had hooked us and just needed to close the deal to have clients for life... But she blew it, massively.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The broker could have been earned just over $50,000 in commission, on this loan, over the 30 year period, if we never refinanced. But even if we had refinanced in 6 years she still would have earned $10,000 and probably would have got the commission on the new deal anyway.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We tell our friends, because they ask, and they tell theirs and the loss of business to this broker is huge.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately I have heard of 2 other cases where this broker has treated clients the same way and I don't believe she can see what damage she is doing. She is not analyzing why she is not closing and is making matters even worse by going in for the attack by demanding the $660.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some people just don't get it...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What about your business, how are you and your staff treating clients. Remember it's the small things that count. Always consider, not only what the client will spend with you today, but in their lifetime and, even more importantly, how many other people will they refer to your services.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Add it all up and you will be astounded at the dollar value... It'll make it much easier to smile and do everything you possibly can, to ensure that client has a fantastic experience. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Click here to find out more...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/09/customer-is-always-right-or-are-they.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115820634376324111</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:40:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:15.975+08:00</atom:updated><title>Is Marketing An Expense</title><description>Ask your Accountant and they'll probably tell you that advertising is an expense. Advertising is recorded on your profit and loss schedule as an expense. And I guess if you pay to run a large ad in the local newspaper and make no sales directly from it, then it's definitely an expense.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But if you spend $200 to run an ad and it produces a profit of $1,000 then I would say that was money well spent... It was a &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;great investment.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Every now and again there will be times when your cashflow is tight, the budget is stretched and the first idea that may pop into your head will be, were can I cut my costs. And usually it's the advertising budget. But if you cut back on the &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;advertising&lt;/a&gt;, the new enquiries will dry up and it becomes a no win situation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What about if you learned to market effectively, so that every $1 that you spent returned $5. Imagine having a consistent amount of new enquiries every day, week or month. Imagine having your schedule booked 6 months in advance and watch every week as your profits multiply... &lt;a href="http://www.small-business-secrets.com/"&gt;click here to learn more. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://surefiremarketing.com/copy/?44611"&gt;Click here for (at least) 21 compelling reasons why this 'Copywriting Seminar-In-A-Box' will wind up putting more money in your bank account than any other business tool you've ever acquired.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/09/is-marketing-expense.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115623786933269276</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:15.898+08:00</atom:updated><title>Learn How To Market And The World Is Yours...</title><description>It amazes me how many people blindly spend money on their &lt;a href="http://www.instantmarketingtoolbox.com/?44612"&gt;marketing&lt;/a&gt; without ever measuring the results. They limit themselves by inserting a small weekly ad in the local newspaper and maybe an ad in the yellow pages, without thinking "Am I advertising in the right place?" or "What would happen if I changed the ad headline."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Without measuring you can never improve, you have no benchmark to work from.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.instantmarketingtoolbox.com/?44612"&gt;Advertising&lt;/a&gt; is all about getting the best return on investment. It is very simple to ask someone "how did you hear about us?" the next time a customer calls your business or walks in. A simple notepad next to the phone, with a daily, weekly and monthly total will give you immediate answers to how well, or not, your advertising is working.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Change one thing at a time with your &lt;a href="http://www.instantmarketingtoolbox.com/?44612"&gt;advertising&lt;/a&gt; and monitor it for 1 month. Try different headlines, different copy, different offers and anything else you think of. Get creative. If the results don't improve when you change the headline, try another one and constantly try and beat the results of the original one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.instantmarketingtoolbox.com/?44612"&gt;Modelling success&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; is great for improving your results. Watch and learn from other successful industries and borrow ideas. Especially the ones that you know are successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; ============================================================&lt;br /&gt;&gt;&gt; Free 10-Day Trial...&lt;br /&gt;If you're too busy running your business to even think about marketing - this is what you've been waiting for!&lt;br /&gt;With practically zero work on your part here's how to get all the customers you want, create cash on demand and add a bare-bones minimum of $50,000.00 to your bottom line...100% guaranteed!&lt;br /&gt;=======&gt;  &lt;a href="http://www.instantmarketingtoolbox.com/?44612"&gt;Click here now!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;============================================================&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/08/learn-how-to-market-and-world-is-yours.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115460087589865564</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Aug 2006 09:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:15.821+08:00</atom:updated><title>Trade $1501 For $102,058 Worth Of Profits</title><description>Everybody loves getting something for nothing. I know I sure do... Ask me to complete a survey without an incentive and it's not getting done. Competitions are the easiest and best way to get people to give you their name and details. And building a database of pre-qualified buyers is the easiest way to produce ongoing income, because you can market to them on a frequent basis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Everybody loves a freebie or the free chance to win that great plasma TV or that trip to Hawaii. And 90% of the time you can get someone else to pay for or donate the prize. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just last week Jane (my favorite Florist owner) told me how she generated $102,058 in sales from an investment of $1501. A month before Valentines Day this year she approached a few travel agencies and asked for a discounted trip for 2 to Hawaii to run as a competition. The normal price would have been just over $7,000 including airfares and accommodation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jane's idea was to advertise the competition and 1 entry would be provided free for every bouquet purchased (minimum cost $60) within the next 60 days. The competition entry form requested their name, their spouses name, address, phone number, and birthday dates. With this information Jane could remind the Husbands of their Wife's birthday, remind both of Valentines Day, tell them about specials during the year and lots more. Jane's objective was that when they thought "flowers" they would immediately think of Jane's Florist shop. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now Jane had calculated that the $7,000 prize would mean making no profit in the month of February but the database created from this strategy would generate about $50,000 worth of sales in the next 12 months. So it was a good investment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well one travel agency offered to discount the trip to $3002 and then offered a further 50% off if their name was included on the advertising!! Total cost for the Jane's $7,000 prize was $1501.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jane advertised the competition in February and was astounded with the results. Because the condition was a minimum purchase of $60, people that had come in to spend $40 upgraded and spent $60, just to be entered. Some people that spent less than $60 still provided their contact details, because they were asked and loved the idea of being reminded about birthdays and Valentines day. People that usually used another florist came to buy from Jane, because of the competition. 5 people actually came from other towns to buy, again because of the competition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The amazing result after 60 days was $102,058 in sales and a database of 1123 people that can be marketed to... So at an average customer spend of $200 per year and an average of purchasing lifetime of 4 years, that equates to $898,400 of lifetime value for a $1501 investment!! Jane was a very happy lady. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jane is now running 2 competitions a year and the prizes have not only got bigger but there are 3 prizes per draw. In a short time Jane has dominated the industry, been able to hire the best staff and has suppliers and businesses competing to provide the prizes for free!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A simple strategy... How can you apply that to your business??  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://surefiremarketing.com/copy/?44611"&gt;Click here for (at least) 21 compelling reasons why this 'Copywriting Seminar-In-A-Box' will wind up putting more money in your bank account than any other business tool you've ever acquired.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/08/trade-1501-for-102058-worth-of-profits.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115389469275054544</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Jul 2006 05:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:15.640+08:00</atom:updated><title>What Business Are You In...?</title><description>If you had to ask a Business Owner what business they are in... the Hairdresser would probably say hairdressing, the Mechanic would probably say auto repairs, the Plumber would say plumbing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;90% of Business Owners wrongly define their business by what they do.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But if you are a Business Owner, why did you start up the business?&lt;br /&gt;So you could do what you want to everyday?&lt;br /&gt;So you could do your job better?&lt;br /&gt;So you could pick and choose who, or what, you dealt with?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Business Owners tell me it was for the money...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They thought that with their skills, they could do the job better and make more money... ultimately leading to a better lifestyle.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They really started a business to generate more money... so they are in the profit making business, right? But, to generate business, and profitable business, they need to get those clients or customers in the door or on the phone booking appointments, placing orders...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;They need to know how to market and market well. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ultimately Business Owners are in the marketing business of whatever they sell or do!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The hairdresser is a marketer of XYZ Hairdressing Salon, the Mechanic is the marketer of XYZ Auto Shop, the Plumber is the marketer of XYZ Plumbing and so on....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now I'm not talking the flashy branding, ego-boosting ads that say look at me and remember me. No you probably don't have a budget big enough, yet! I'm talking direct response marketing that makes you an invited guest not an uninvited pest... no door knocking, no telemarketing, no cold calling and no making people cringe when they see you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You have to be a guru at marketing your product or services. You have to buy customers with your marketing for less than they spend with you. This is the biggest secret in business and mastery of marketing results in profits, massive profits.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.profitfitness.com/mini-course/"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"  &gt;Click here to find out &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;why                          &lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;your customers will never consider buying from                          your competition again &lt;/strong&gt;and only consider you...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/07/what-business-are-you-in.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400881.post-115345367014807263</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Jul 2006 03:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2006-11-15T22:25:15.542+08:00</atom:updated><title>How To Take Your Business Online - Free Videos (valued at $427)</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.profitfitness.com/uploaded_images/UWVeCover.Medium-798649.GIF"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; 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margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="left"&gt;                                                        &lt;a href="http://www.profitfitness.com/download/UWVideos.pdf"&gt;&lt;siteheadline&gt;                                  &lt;span style="font-weight: 700;font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;"  &gt;Click here for the Ultimate Website Videos&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/siteheadline&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.profitfitness.com/2006/07/how-to-take-your-business-online-free.html</link><author>Ian McConnell</author></item></channel></rss>