April 2023 - Page 7 of 12

Managing Your Working Day in Inside Sales

To CRM or not to CRM – that’s the question

Most organisations I work with have some form of customer database or CRM – customer relationship management – system in place. If you do, then you should learn every aspect of it and use it to run your working life. Simple.

A good CRM will allow you to track every contact with a customer, what you said, what they said and the progress you made along your company’s sales process. CRMs can be useful in curating data such as key performance indicators – KPIs and many of them have calendars and email management built in.

If you don’t have a CRM system either buy one, lease one that’s in the cloud such as Salesforce or use the latest version of Microsoft Outlook with the CRM add-on. Better still, obtain Office 365 for yourself and your team, add the CRM bolt on and you’re cooking on gas. If you’re familiar with Outlook and the Office suite of products then your learning curve for Office 365 will be negligible. I’m going to show you how you can do this and finally get to grips with time and email management.

Office 365 is an Inside Salesperson’s dream. Add on Dynamics CRM Online and you have the perfect intuitive solution. Your emails, tasks and appointments from Outlook can automatically be synchronised into the database. Your Word docs and Excel files can be stored there too. Your conversations will be noted and saved. And not just for you – but for your whole company.

There’s nothing worse for a customer than when he or she calls a company and they’re treated like a stranger. That doesn’t happen with a good CRM system. You and your employees are sharing all interactions with your community in the system. You have the system integrated with social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. You have emails, activities, notes, conversations and documents linked to every contact and account. Let’s get into Office 365.

Use the Cloud

Office 365 sits in the cloud, in other words, it can be accessed from any device via the internet. It doesn’t sit on an old fashioned hard-drive. This means you can pull data from any device, so set them all up first. Your phone, laptop, PC, tablet. Whenever an entry is made on any device, the database is updated in the cloud in real time so anyone can see the information from their devices.

365 Contacts

The best feature here is the merge option where you can link your social media accounts to your contacts. So when you link in with a new contact, their details automatically transfer into your contacts, with a picture too.

If you get into the habit of photographing people you meet with your phone, incorporate this into the contact details. So when they phone your mobile, their name flashes up and a photograph too. A picture brings back memories far quicker than text.

Emails from new contacts can be dragged into the contacts box and a contact entry is automatically made with all the details harvested from the email.

365 Calendar

Firstly set the options so your calendar looks like you want it to. Decide you working week, which may include Saturday, mine does. Sort out the default view for your calendar.

Now decide colours for differing items. Here’s my suggestion:

Red – making money
Blue – marketing activities
Yellow – administration
Green – self development
Orange – personal activities

You can then see at a glance whether you’re being productive or not.

Microsoft provides an enterprise quality web meeting software platform called Skype for Business. It uses the Skype engine but it’s not connected to your personal Skype. It allows you to run a web meeting with anyone or any group at the click of a button. Make sure you obtain this and link it into Office 365. It’s far better than GoToWebinar and more cost effective too.

365 Tasks

Office 365 comes with a stable task management engine which is underused. Many people just list all their tasks into one giant “to do” list and this can be very bewildering.

There’s a couple of ways you can convert your tasks into something more digestible. The first manner is to put dates on each task – start and end dates – so they appear at the bottom of your calendar for the relevant day. Handy if they must be done on that day.

I do it differently. I categorise each task so I can group them on my calendar. I believe I’m more productive when I’m doing similar tasks in clusters rather than free-wheeling.

Firstly, I’m crystal clear as to my objectives, supporting projects and goals I need to achieve. I’m sure you are too. With that in mind you should be choosy whether you add an item into tasks. You should only do this if it moves you forward in your objectives. If it does, it’s known as a Tactical Next Action – an TNA.

I have TNAs for:

TNA: Calls
TNA: Online
TNA: Do
TNA: Write
TNA: Someday maybe

The last one is true; I have 35 items in that category at the moment but none are deal breakers, but the first four are what my calendar carries most.

When a new task comes into your task list, put it in as unassigned – it will automatically find its way to the top, so when you do your task management, you can allocate an TNA to it. Use your phone to add tasks whenever you think of something or someone gives you a job to do. Don’t rely on the brain to remember, it won’t, but the phone will. The task will whiz into the cloud and synchronise across all devices.

365 Email

The foundation of all communications and one of your collection points. I’ll talk about collection points shortly. But let’s tame your email once and for all; I’ve known salespeople to drown in it. Here’s how.

Before we go any further, turn off your email alert feature. This has to be one of the worst distractions known to the Inside Salesperson.

You are allowed to check email regularly for important items but it’s best to do this every couple of hours – say 9am, 12 noon, 3pm and 5pm. But only to deal with urgent ones, leave the rest till later when you clear your inbox. For a quick reminder of urgent versus important you won’t do worse than Stephen Covey’s Time Management Grid. You can see below that he creates four boxes which determine whether a task should be done or delayed or even ignored.

If you really do need to keep tabs of urgent email as they come in, buy yourself a smartwatch and Bluetooth your inbox. I have a Microsoft Band which does this for me, it vibrates and you glance at the tiny screen without accessing email.

And you must clear your inbox every day. Here’s how.

Choose a 60 minute window every day at some time, best before the close of play. Start with the first email. Can you handle it in less than 2 minutes? If so, handle it. If it’s going to take longer than 2 minutes, then put it into a task to be dealt with at another time. You can simply drag the email into the task area on Office 365 and it will automatically populate a task, which remains unassigned to be assigned an SNA later.

If it’s something you don’t want such as a subscription, see if you can unsubscribe. Be ruthless with these.

If it just needs filing somewhere, just drag it into the folder on your PC where it belongs.

Work your way through your emails in this manner and you will clear your inbox. And you must do this every day. Believe me, you’ll feel good when you do.

Collection Points

This is my term for where information and communications come into your business. Have a quick think about what collection points you have. Here’s mine when I first did this exercise:

Texts
Email
Post
In tray on my desk
Desk
Car dashboard
Post-it notes on my computer screen
Unassigned tasks on my phone
Mobile voicemail
Land-line voicemail
Social Media direct messaging
WhatsApp communications
Ideas stored in my brain

The aim is to reduce them, I was ruthless because the more collection points you have, the more difficult it all becomes to keep in control and you’ll soon be overwhelmed. Here’s my culled list:

Texts
Office 365 Email
Unassigned tasks for ideas etc.
In tray on my desk for all paperwork including post
Plastic folder in brief case for receipts etc.

Email is king for me, so I channel everything through to my email inbox and because I can access this on my phone, I don’t miss a thing. All social media messages come through to email, eBay notifications everything. It does mean I have a full inbox every day but I do clear this each day.

Do all these things and you too will manage your time really effectively so you can concentrate on selling. I do.

WhatsApp – The NewGen Marketing Tool

WhatsApp Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform instant messaging subscription service for smartphones. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other images, video, and audio media messages. The client software is available for Android, BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, iOS, Series 40, Symbian (S60), and Windows Phone

Competing with a number of Asian-based messaging services (like LINE, KakaoTalk, and WeChat), WhatsApp handles ten billion messages per day. According to the Financial Times, WhatsApp “has done to SMS on mobile phones what Skype did to international calling on landlines. The service is free for the first year then costs $0.99/Yr.

Everyone knows that WhatsApp is a great tool for messaging friends however what you did not know is that WhatsApp can be used as campaign tool to generate marketing leads. The App is free and it can serve as a strong marketing channel with the potential of getting clients for your business more than anything else.

Why Choose WhatsApp for your marketing Campaign?

The App is almost free!

You can send large amount of messages with no limits. It’s available for all smartphone platforms including iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Nokia, Blackberry, Symbian. Everyone is using it because you don’t have to go to a website to fill in details or confirm your identity to use it. It just needs your mobile number and you are done!

Better features than traditional SMS/MMS

WhatsApp supports many different message types, from simple text to pictures to audio files. Usually a MMS message would cost a fair bit of money to send, so the fact that these can be sent to as many customers and prospects as you like for free is great.

You can also send GPS location of your stores! Product videos, Product images and audio messages (a short personal message from your CEO could be sent to multiple clients and prospects at one go!) this wonderful App supports just everything. You can start your own WhatsApp group and can invite your clients and prospects to join, or you could create an internal marketing group which will help you stay connected with your campaign peers 24/7.

So WhatsApp as a campaign tool can perform everything a traditional e-mail or SMS campaign could do. To top it all Whatsapp is close to our heart, people can’t take their hands off their phone because of this App. Hence any message communicated through this medium has the immediate and maximum outreach.

Can You Really Make A Living From Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a business model which lets anyone benefit financially by using other people’s products on the internet. It’s a kind of referral based marketing in which affiliates are rewarded for sending website traffic to various products and services online.

Amazon is probably the best known website for selling products on the internet. They have a program which allows anyone to refer customers to them, for a commission on the sales.

Anyone can become an affiliate marketer. However, the truth is that affiliate marketing is no quick fix. It does work yes, but depending on which direction you choose to set sail with your affiliate marketing business, you can be very disappointed, as I was, many times!

But, if you stick with it, and find a path which both works you and your working style, the rewards can be fantastic. It’s taken me a while to get to the point of the light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m definitely sold on affiliate marketing now!

Before I found a community and direction which I could trust in and believe in, I jumped from one strategy to another. Having a mentor helped immensely because not knowing whether what you’re doing will work is incredibly difficult.

A lot of what I did when I started simply got me nowhere. I build various websites and my initial tactic was to get my content ranked on Google. This is incredibly difficult, even if your content is unique and offers huge value. You need to keep plugging away and sharing your content. You simply can’t rely on Google to rank your content to get it seen.

Then I faced an AdWords account shut down shortly after one of my biggest breakthroughs. This hit me hard and I gave up for a while. What kept me going was the idea of affiliate marketing which I never let go of. My ‘why’ was that affiliate marketing was a way out of low paid work and grumpy bosses! It also offered a potential income which far outweighed what I could possibly earn by trading my time for money.

Granted, I wasn’t earning anything for a number of years. But it was the thought of escaping my difficult circumstances which kept me going.

I eventually discovered subscription products which paid ongoing commissions for previous sales. When I noticed that the subscriptions were coming in, month after month, my eyes really lit up! It wasn’t a huge amount at first, just a few $20 commissions which were steadily coming in regardless of the sales I made that month.

Over time this adds up. Combined with high commission affiliate programs which offer up-sells and in-house sales teams who close sales for you, I thought I had finally found the holy grail of affiliate marketing success!

I wouldn’t say my affiliate business is a “living” just yet. But I’m now confident that I’m on the right path and taking the right action steps towards that as a real possibility. That for me was the goal; to find my way. For years I struggled for a number of reasons. Scepticism keeps you from making decisions. I got burned with a number of systems and spend months on building content and websites which got me nowhere.

Even in the business community I now belong to, I was full of scepticism at first. It was very difficult for me to take the necessary steps to get myself into the position I am now in. Lack of money is usually a reason which people have when they come to learn about affiliate marketing. This is a double edged sword. All the years I had no money, I couldn’t afford the more costly business ideas. I only focused on the cheaper ones. It cost me dearly in the time that I wasted.

It’s still no piece of cake building a profitable internet business. Even with a good strategy, a mentor and a community behind you. People will still drop out. But if you keep going, your chances of success are far greater! It took me a long time because I focused on content generation to build my income up. If you can, I would definitely recommend using paid marketing over content generation, but only with the right products.

With high ticket items, subscription products, up-sells and a built in sales team, your return on investment is far greater than with many of the affiliate products you’ll be told to sell.

This was something I didn’t understand at first. I tried to sell digital and physical products without thinking about how much I would actually earn; selling books off Amazon for pennies worth of commission!

Getting the right knowledge from the start is a massive bonus. Without it, you can work really hard in the wrong direction for a number of years, as I did. It’s hard to reconcile affiliate marketing as a legitimate business model if you’ve failed at it for years. But then, giving up after all the work I had put in was worse still!

I’m glad I continued to the point I actually started seeing some results. It’s a place I wanted to be for a long time, and one which I held myself back from because I continued to hang on to my comfort zones while seeking new outcomes.

One of these comfort zones was holding on to the idea of what I wanted to do on a daily basis. I wanted to keep doing what I had always done – blogging! Here I am writing more content. It fitted with my comfort zones but didn’t achieve the result I wanted fast enough. Eventually I started using more paid marketing strategies and this gave me a much faster result. However, it was only after reassessing that my blogging wasn’t getting me anywhere and taking some uncomfortable action steps.

I’ve noticed many affiliates make much faster progress than me by taking the necessary steps I was too fearful to take. Once I started doing what they did, results came much faster. You can make a great living with affiliate marketing. Just don’t expect it to fall in line with your comfortable parameters. Sometimes to get to somewhere where you’ve never been, you need to do things you’ve never done!

Stock Option Trading – Fundamental Flaw in Fundamental Analysis and Stock Picking

Clinging on to Fundamental Analysis and stock picking software, only keeps you stuck in trading equities. Trading this way, compounds concentration risk in one asset class and fails to adequately diversify risks across Equities, Bonds, Currencies and Commodities. There’s much more to stock option trading, than stock itself.

I cite Benjamin F. King’s study, quoted repeatedly since 1966, because it remains valid and has yet to be disproved to the point of dismissing its logic.

Market and Industry Factors, Journal of Business, January 1966: ” Of a stock’s move …

31% can be attributed to the general stock market,
13% to industry influence,
36% to influence of other groupings, and the remaining
20% is peculiar to the one stock.”

There must be a more compelling reason for you to trade stock other than just for the movement, if only 20% is unique to the underlying equity in question. Consider this, in context of the Fundamental Analysis or stock picking software that you bought on a per $1 basis. For each $1 dollar you spend, you “outsourced” the analysis at a cost of 80 cents, only to receive back 20 cents worth of work. Shouldn’t the 80:20 rule of “outsourcing” be the other way round? The problem is that you are still stuck with 80% of the work, to analyze price movement! Plus, the more you use FA techniques/stock picking software, the more trading capital is stuck in equities alone.

Now, you can say “special” research papers help you pick stocks. Let’s have a look at some of the more common fundamental metrics in these research subscriptions:

1. Dividend Yield: the problem is in the variability of yields as firms are in different stages of their business development. A Mature company that dominates in a well established sub-segment/sector is going to being able to afford a different dividend yield; versus, a Young company in a growth-oriented field; versus, a Small firm in a growing area that may not be able to afford a dividend payout. Bear in mind there is nothing special about firms that pay a dividend.

A company that gives away a portion of it’s retained earnings – which is what a dividend is – effectively gives away part of its valuation, which means it is not worth as much as a company that does need to give investors candy to commit capital to it. So, a dividend paying stock has to be far superior to a non-dividend paying stock for reasons other than the dividend. If it is not, there’s no point looking for dividend paying products to trade, there are plenty of non-dividend paying Indexes to trade.

2. Price/Book Ratio: the problem is this metric varies across industries and from company to company, as the asset base and capital structures of companies change over time. It lacks cross sector applicability and accounting complexity arises from a firm’s capital structure as it changes due to acquisitions/divestments/CAPEX for new product lines; or, product line cut-backs, as recently seen in the restructuring of major US car companies.

3. Price/Cash Flow Ratio (the cousin of the P/E): accounting laws on depreciation vary across Asia, Europe and US. As accounting rules are driven by tax codes, which change considerably across regions despite adoption of global accounting standards, there is a lack of uniformity in homogenizing a fundamental ratio that will fit as a common benchmark across geographies.

These metrics fail to help you compare say a Dell parented in the US to an Acer parented in Taiwan; but, is listed as an ADR in the US, even though both are competitors in the same sector as computer manufacturers.

Furthermore, the current dislocated cost of capital in credit markets, impairs the ability of corporations to optimize the operating cost of their balance sheets. In essence, corporations are left with the working capital cash flows remaining on their balance sheets, as testament to their financial strength. Do not waste your money on Fundamental Analysis software or research paper subscriptions.

As there is a fundamental flaw in fundamental analysis and stock picking, how do you select trades? Trade the options of a broad-based Equity Index to replace single stock exposure. To replace Fundamental Analysis, use the Relative Strength measure based on Point & Figure methods.

What is Relative Strength? It is nothing more than taking one price as the Numerator, divided by another price as the Denominator, then multiplied by 100. RS = (Price 1 / Price 2) x 100. Typically, RS calculations use daily closing prices. Though simple in its mathematical construction, RS is ingeniously powerful when it is applied not only within a sector; but, across sectors and between asset classes.

Let’s start of within a sector. For example, if you choose 2 semiconductor stocks trading at different prices, how do you know if one stock is outperforming the other in the same sector, when the 2 stocks have price changes at different rates; plus, the sector’s price itself is also changing?

SOX = Semiconductor Sector Index, trades up from 452.24 to 467.81.

Numerator1: Price1 = BRCM 33.15     RS1 = 7.33     Price2 = 33.80     RS2 = 7.23

Numerator2: Price1 = TSM 9.91      RS1 = 2.19      Price2 = 13.43    RS2 = 2.87

Common Denominator: SOX Price 1 = 452.24   Price 2 = 467.81

BRCM’s RS1 = (33.15/452.24) x 100 = 7.33. BRCM’s RS2 = (33.80/467.81) x 100 = 7.23.

TSM’s RS1 = (9.91/452.24) x 100 = 2.19. TSM’s RS2 = (13.43/467.81) x 100 = 2.87.

BRCM’s price rises from 33.15 to 33.80 and TSM’s price also rises from 9.91 to 13.43. Simply because BRCM is a larger stock, does that mean it benefits from the SOX trading up? No, the RS reading (RS1 compared to RS2) shows BRCM’s RS reading dropped (7.33 down to 7.23) against TSM’s RS reading, which increased (2.19 to 2.87). RS confirms TSM as the outperformer rising in price strength versus BRCM’s weakened price. RS is constructed on pure price rules. Using an Index as the denominator, acts as a much more durable benchmark and is structurally more reliable, compared to any “magical” TA indicator; or, combination of income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements touted in stock picking programmes.

You can replace BRCM or TSM with Indexes or ETFs. Using Indexes with Relative Strength enables a common denominator to compare Equities against Bonds, Commodities and Currencies, to crossover into asset classes other than stocks to trade. It’s not that Relative Strength is infallible. But compared to the fundamental metrics cited above, Relative Strength fails the least. Break the mould on what you learnt about stock option trading.

Is there an example of an optionable and consistently profitable portfolio that trades using Relative Strength across multiple asset classes? Yes. Follow the link below, entitled “Consistent Results” to see a retail online option trading portfolio that excludes the use of single stocks and Fundamental Analysis, using broad based equity Indices, Commodity ETFs and Currency ETFs. There is no need to trade FX directly. Just trade the options of Currency ETFs.

Is Fashion Ecommerce Still a Financially Viable Business Model?

With the ongoing economic turbulence many sectors including that of fashion have seen significant global disruption. The fashion retail sector in particular has seen profitability move southward in the past number of years, we have seen many high street brands simply drop off the radar. This is derivative of two major factors namely, challenges by way of online technology and also due to the fact that fashion is an elastic sector and is duly affected by economic downturns.

In the last eight years we have seen an increase in the number of fashion e-commerce platform start-ups. Many have survived and many have simply “disappeared into the ether” yet this trend continues to grow exponentially? Ever since Natalie Massenet former CEO and founder of Net-a-Porter launched the phenomenal online luxury fashion powerhouse, she has set sail a thousand ships of fashion start-up converts.

Yet every other week there are whispers of fashion start-ups “blowing up”, that the Fashion E-commerce industry is simply a dead saturated market, too easy picking consisting of low hanging fruit. Furthermore, it is thought of as being very capital-intensive to maintain, innovate and even more expensive in terms of marketing requirements for customer acquisition.

So is there a magic formula? A significant number of fashion start-up firms flounder and very few survive without significant angel or VC funding. Each one seems to be looking for the next explosive formula. Perhaps there isn’t a grand design and maybe the answer is right here beneath our noses. It could simply involve keeping adept with the times.

We have seen the impact of social media on the bottom line in many industries maybe these methodologies need to be employed? It should no longer be about shopping it should be about social shopping. Women are the largest demographic in terms of online purchases and we all know that they are a “social species” when it comes to shopping! The advent of facebook and twitter have somewhat alleviated the strain of marketing overheads and some relatively new start-ups such as Farfetch.com have gained a significant proportion of their user base from facebook so social commerce seems to be one way forward.

The Fashion e-commerce sector is like any industry and will fluctuate with tastes, availability to credit and economic climates. There are still opportunities up for grabs; the market is set to grow to 380 billion USD by 2015. Over 20% of fashion purchases are done online by 72% of women. It is therefore, nonsensical to think that returns will consistently evade the voyeurs of this industry? Maybe, the answer is to potentially look at new and innovative ways of monetizing the industry as opposed to the pure rigid top down techniques that the fashion industry consistently uses. Additionally, to create models that allow for flexibility, that can readily pivot and recoil if need be, to be less virtual and more engaging and to enforce into action information garnered via customer feedback mechanisms.

The Big 3 Factors in Choosing a Sports Handicapper

Are you a sports fan who likes to bet on his favorite team? Are you a casual bettor or do you bet on sports seriously? For casual bettors who enjoy plopping down a few bucks on a game of interest, there is not so much a need to pay for a professional service that provides betting advice. It’s just a little money on an interesting game, and it makes spectating a little more enjoyable. But for those individuals who take their sports betting seriously, they may want to consider hiring a sports handicapping service.

In many cases, it can make sense to hire a handicapping service, but you need to understand exactly what you are paying for. You’re not hiring the handicapper (also known as “capper”), for some additional counsel. They shouldn’t be viewed as just another opinion. If you are going to pay handicappers, then you should take their tips and bet them accordingly. Picking and choosing which bets to play may not be the best strategy.

So let us assume you have made the decision to hire a capper because you are serious about making money in the world of sports betting. What should you look for in your search? Although there are many similarities in the various cappers, there are also some differences as well. In this article we will review three of the most important considerations.

Look for an Experienced Handicapper

There is an old saying that there is no substitute for experience and that is very true in the world of sports handicapping. Make no mistake that capping sports games successfully takes a lot of hard work. There are many variables to consider and these guys need time in the business to really figure out how to do their jobs effectively. That usually involves many years in the business. Thus, look for a handicapper with at least ten years of solid experience handicapping sports.

Find a Handicapper Who Posts Results Publicly

In the business of sports betting, there are many handicappers who prefer to keep their identities and results private. That may serve their own needs well, but for me, I want to know who I am hiring and what their track record for successful capping has been. Look for someone who isn’t afraid of being transparent, if not with their identity, at least with their results. It is common knowledge that even the top handicappers are only successful 55-60% of the time. Make sure the handicapper has a success rate of a minimum of 55%, so that you can bet profitably over the long run. After all, you are paying him for his expertise and he should therefore be willing to own up to all of his picks.

Ensure the Pricing Structure Fits into Your Budget

The bottom line in professional sports betting is making money. The bookmaker must get paid. The handicapper must get paid, and you, the bettor, wants to get paid too. Before you hire a handicapper, make sure you have a complete understanding of his prices. Are you paying for a subscription? If so, how long does it last, and is the renewal rate the same? Calculate the handicapper’s fees into your formula to determine how successful you need to be to profitable. Higher priced handicappers are more suited for the bigger bettors.

Conclusion

Who is the best sports handicapper? The answer may surprise you. There are quite a few good ones out there. If you choose one that has been capping for at least ten years, posts their results publicly, and has a fair pricing structure, then you have done your homework and are ready to dive into sports betting with a good partner.

Free Domain Names Online

With the way the internet is growing these days, it’s no surprise that there are a ton of people that want to own their own website. There are even more people that want to have their own domain name. Having your own can become a bit difficult. There is of course the option to own a sub domain but that will not help most people, because while they have a domain name by using this method, it will never end up at the top of the Google hit list, no matter how many great keywords they use. For those who don’t care about it, that’s great because sub domains are generally free so long as you use the free ones, and they are offered by many different websites. So the question on everyone’s mind these days, is it possible to get absolutely free domain names?

It is possible to obtain a free name that you actually own, but even free comes with a certain price. One of the biggest issues is that you’ll generally end up filling out a lot of different offers. Yes, we’ve all been through this, the scenario where they offer you something for free, and you get excited thinking you’re going to have the newest video game console, or absolutely free domain names in this case, and then they make you answer a bunch of questions. You’re fine with the questions, until you get to the one that requires a paid subscription to some ridiculous magazine in order to proceed. That’s where you end up drawing the line and clicking on the X.

If you do manage to get your own, and somehow manage to get it without giving up any money, then you’ll probably notice that you have to pay for the hosting. Without it, your site will never go live because even though you have your website made, with all of its cute little flash buttons and the like, it’s never going to be live on the internet until you shell out the cash for the hosting. Normally you’ll discover that the company offering the paid hosting is the same company that you got this free domain from. They’re going to get their money no matter what. If you do manage to get free hosting along with absolutely free domain names, then you’ll probably find that your page is littered with advertisements over which you have no control. You might be okay with this at the moment, but later on you’re going to realize that this isn’t the website you had in mind when you went looking for absolutely free domain names.

One more problem you run into, is that if you did not acquire the rights to .com, .org, .net and every other extension under the sun, people will be free to copy your name with a different extension. Say you have rubblecake.com, and someone makes rubblecake.org. This means that others may accidentally navigate to that site instead of yours, costing you both traffic and ratings.

All in all, it’s better to buy your domain name if you are serious about having your own website. It’s better for you, and it’s definitely better for everyone that visits your website on a daily basis.

Don’t Hang Up! How CIOs Can Add Value

So at a high level, we all know that a CIO can add value to how a company is run. We know that by managing the IT department and motivating the IT staff, the CIO can keep the email system up and the network running. However, that’s not good enough. How can the CIO really transform the company? What does he / she need to do to make a difference? Turns out that over at Ascend One, they know the answer to this question…

Who Is Ascend One And What Do They Do?

Ascend One is a company that works with consumers who have built up a lot of debt. As you can well imagine, a key part of the service that they offer is agents who talk to customers who are drowning in a sea of debt.

Ascend One had a problem. Their contact center and its staff were both a critical part of the company as well as a major expense. Back in 2000, this part of the company occupied two buildings and was located near Baltimore, Maryland.

One of their biggest challenges was trying to keep the computers that their 600 call center staff used up-to-date. Every time there was an update to any of the software that they used, it would require that the IT department shut down and spend their time attempting to push 600 software updates out to the 600 workstations that the staff used.

To make things even more challenging, the workstations that the staff were using weren’t getting any younger – as the software become more demanding, the end of life date drew closer and closer for this expensive corporate asset.

What Did Ascend Do?

Ascend One’s IT department knew that they needed to do something and do it fast. What they decided to do was to bite the bullet and create a virtual desktop environment for use by their call center staff. What this meant was that no longer would the call center agent’s aging PCs run their desktop applications, instead all of the heavy lifting would be done on backroom servers and only a browser would be needed to display the results on each PC.

The ultimate goal of this transformation was to allow the customer agents to stop worrying about upgrading their PCs and allow them to spend more of their time performing credit counseling with their customers. Centrally storing and managing all of their applications on virtual desktops allowed them to do this.

What About Security?

You may have already guessed this one – a side benefit of virtualizing desktops was that it meant that Ascend One’s call center staff no longer HAD to come to a fixed location to perform their job. There was just one problem: how could they securely access the virtualization servers from their homes?

It turns out Ascend One didn’t want to have to send staff out to each remote worker’s house in order to configure their bewildering array of different computer types. Instead, what Ascend One did was to sit down with Dell and spell out exactly what the minimum configuration that they needed was and then they created a disk image that permitted a computer to access their back office securely. Now each new call center employee has a brand-new Dell computer shipped to them and it works correctly right out of the box.

This has had the additional benefit for Ascend One that they’ve been able to hire workers on the West Coast. This means that they are able to run their call center for an additional three hours each day without having to work multiple shifts.

What All Of This Means For You

In the end, every CIO gets judged based on the value that they’ve been able to bring to their company. Just keeping things up and running is not enough: you need to do things that will allow the company to truly run better.

Ascend One’s IT shop has shown how to do this. They were faced with a challenge in that their front-line staff was spending too much time doing IT work and not enough time working with customers. The IT department implemented a Desktop virtualization solution and it has paid off handsomely.

As CIO you are going to have to keep your eyes open for opportunities to add value to your company. It’s not always going to be the big CRM implementation projects that will advance your career, sometimes it may be as simple as finding something else to virtualize…

Global Gas Card Review – Is Global Gas Card A Legitimate Business Opportunity?

Why are so many people joining the Global Gas Card Opportunity? Is it even a legitimate business? In this article I will cut through all the hype and give you my up front honest opinion with the hope that you will have enough information to decide whether or not the Global Gas Card Service or business model is the right fit for you.

First Of All What Is The Global Gas Card Opportunity All About? Is It Really A Legitimate Opportunity?

Global Gas Card, AKA GGC, is a Legitimate Opportunity that helps to solve two important problems arising from the global economic crisis.

To save on fuel prices at the pump is an obvious one since High fuel cost effect our daily lives in so many ways: From delivery of vital resources like: food, transportation, commuting cost which drives up the cost of every thing else.

The other problem it solves is it provides a simple way for it’s members to make money by helping others save money.

Those two reasons above are the fuel that drives so many ambitious entrepreneurs to use Global Gas Card as a vehicle to ride to financial freedom.

Yet Still Was Global Gas Card For Me? – First Impressions

I was first exposed to Global Gas Card by a friend who is one of the top producers in other opportunity which will have to remain anonymous for legal reasons. (Sometimes MLM companies can be very possessive of their key leaders.) As soon as he mentioned it to me the first thing that came to mind was “Now that all of the gas prices are beginning to spike watch out for a lot of new MLM’s companies will come crawling out of the wood work to cash in.” In general I usually have no interest in these types of programs, especially forced binary matrices where people could sit on their butts and benefit only from being in the right position from the right sponsor.

That statement may seem to have negative overtones but I told you I would keep it real.

It Seems Everyone Was Getting In On The Act!

After doing some research I noticed not only other MLM’s but numerous banks and credit card companies were also getting in on the act. I was first a little worried about unwanted competition just in case I decided to join and then realized those bank and credit card companies are not offering “The Average Joe” a chance to cash in on the wave. Most of those banks were only offering about 2% to 5% on average. I guess a good opportunity works best when it’s seized in a timely fashion by the ambitious so I won’t hold that against my potential competitors. A little competition is a good thing anyway. Looking back I guess that what my friend was trying to tell me.

Well after I thought about it a little and realized I had a good relationship with him in the past and respected him as a marketer I thought I owed it to myself to investigate it a little deeper. Him showing me how much money he made in such a short time did not impress me because I knew he was a strong leader with a huge list. He even told me this was not from his downline in his other opportunity but from a few leaders he had recently met and he wanted me to get in to help take it to the next level. What did impress me was how fast the company was growing.

Are There Any Nay Sayers (You Can Lie About The Numbers But The Numbers Don’t Lie)

After doing a little research and ran into a few nay sayers. Sometimes it’s just competitors that want you to join their poor choice alternative that they may have invested too much time in. Often you also find experienced professional complainers that blame their failures on the product, service or opportunity they were trying to promote;even though record numbers of people in the same opportunity enjoy success. You know the type… “it’s my Up-line, it’s the company, it’s the weather… blah, blah, blah.” It’s often the same two types of complainers everywhere all over the net spreading false information. Perhaps if they spent less time complaining they would have more time to promote their business.

Well anyway, after doing my research I got really excited and jumped in with both feet. Here is the simple 7 point check list I used to see if Global Gas Card was worth my time. See if any of my check points match up with yours.

Is there a need in the market place for the product. service, or opportunity? (In other words would people become a member even if there is no opportunity attached to it.)
Is there a competent experienced management team in place at the helm of Global Gas Card?
Is Global Gas card simple enough for a newbie to get in profit mode quickly?
Do the owners of Global Gas Card pay on time?
Is the Global Gas Card Compensation Plan fair and simple?
Are there excited people all ready making money with Global Gas Card.
Can I market Global Gas Card world-wide by using the internet?

A Closer Look – When Did The Global Gas Card Mania First Begin? By Who?

Globalgascard.com located 14 Wall Street NYC opened it’s doors for pre-launch March of 2011. Since it has grown to close 24,000 subscribers and is positioned to reach 100,000 members in it’s first year of business. That makes it one of the fastest growing companies in MLM history. Founded by CEO and President Mr. Allan R. Lowe who brings 24 years of direct sales and internet marketing experience means the company not only knows what works but also what doesn’t. Who hasn’t made mistakes in the past? However, when your hind site goes back 24 years in the direct sales industry you have more than likely hit more homeruns than you have struck out.

Allan Lowes’ Vision – To Break All Sales Records Of Other MLM’s

His vision is to break all sales records of other MLM companies by rewarding GGC members a subscription with an incredible benefits package which include:

10% gas rebates on all gas purchases at the gas pump of your choice anywhere in the world. (Just make sure to keep your receipt)
Global Gas Tabs which can increase your efficiency right at the pump.
Members saving 30, 40, even up to 50% discounts on their cell phone.
How about saving up to 85% on all your FDA approved prescription drugs.

That’s just for starters; as the membership expands they plan to include: medical, dental, vision, roadside assistance and even prescription plans for pets as well, There is more these benefits won’t stop there… these plans are ever expanding as the membership base grows. Some of the future plans include: global tours that can be included on cruises, as well as a global internet purchase mall to name a few.

How Much Will All This Cost You As a Member?

Only a $150 annual enrollment fee and a one-time $10 processing fee, to full access to the benefits with more on the way.

That’s How You Save Money… But How Do You Make Money?

The compensation plan is based what’s called a holding binary plan that pays daily. This means you basically have two teams… one on the right and one on the left. Every time some ones cycles on your left and right side you get a $25 commission… and that’s paid daily until infinity.

Other Rep Rewards & Bonuses

You also receive fast start bonuses where you can receive $1-$5 over-ride on everyone in your organization until infinity. This included 100% residuals for all renewed prescriptions as well. In addition you can earn up to $750 per month with Rep FREE Gas Rewards Program… which mean you may never have to pay for gas at the pump again.That perk alone is giving a lot of people a strong incentive to join. When you look at the marketing support structure it’s only 2% which is extremely fair since they give free replicated sites, conference calls ‘and live events to assist you in getting the word out so you can tell and not sell if you don’t want to. I have been with other companies where they charge up to $30 per month for these services…With Global Gas Card it’s free… How cool is that?

The Highlights Of Joining The Global Gas Card Opportunity

Ideal for marketers who are looking for an easy additional income stream.
Your personalized website is designed and ready for business from the moment you join.
It’s still a ground floor opportunity so you can benefit fro first movers advantage.
You can save money yourself or make money by helping others save money.
Back office: support, training, promotional tools, and resources.
World wide market which can be leveraged through the internet marketing.
Global Gas Card works on a system of duplication: if one person can do something to succeed, so ther can do the same thing to duplicate their success.
Overview calls that explain the system in detail to your prospects. I highly recommend you get on these calls if you haven’t already.

The Drawbacks of The Global Gas Card Business – What the Sales Letter May Leave Out

In order to keep it real there are a few things you should know.

In addition to the $150 annual start up cost, you will also have to pay a one-time $10 processing fee.
As with all business, there is no 100% guarantee that you will succeed. Hopefully you have not read into the hype all over the Internet about “join xyz company and make a gazillion dollars”. If you see a web site like that, or get on a phone call with someone like that… run away… fast, and call them a scam artist just before leave. That being said…
Not everyone makes money from their Global Gas Card Business.
But honestly, do you mind telling me of any business that has a guaranteed 100% success rate? That’s what I thought.
The discounted price of $125 has ended since the pre-launch is over.
This is not a forced matrix where you don’t have to do anything you still have to get your two to begin maximizing the compensation plan.
Although very valuable, the training that is instantly available to you can only teach you so much. A lot of training and education vital to your success in the world of internet marketing (such as search engine optimization, and attraction marketing) are things that you will have to learn elsewhere.

To Put It Simply

Global Gas Card saves consumers 10% off their purchases at the gas pump anywhere in the world. GGC members also receive numerous benefit perks,and rewards. Global Gas Card Reps only do two simple things: 1. Save on gas purchases at the pump. 2. Teach others to do the same. The company has experienced management at the helm.Over 23,000 have already joined since March of 2011 making it one of the fastest growing MLM’s in internet history. Global Gas Card provides: back office training, live events, conference calls, lead capture follow up, and contact management systems for all of it’s members who participate in the opportunity. I highly recommend Global Gas Card as an easy reliable additional profit center. However, to truly maximize one’s marketing efforts in a global opportunity additional marketing tools, resources and focused planning should be used for best results.

How to Develop a Powerful Marketing Strategy

Introduction

As you launch your new real estate business or wish to elevate it to the next level of success, it will be critical to have an efficient and cost effective marketing strategy. Having a great product, deal, or service will not bear any fruits of your labor if you are not reaching the proper audience. The following information will highlight many concepts and recommendations you may want to consider as part of your marketing plan. Because of the general nature of this material, all information may not apply to your specific business model.

Marketing and Advertising Concepts

Recommendations Go a Long Way

Perhaps one of the most powerful tools you can ever have in your marketing arsenal that you can’t buy for any price is to have people who have done business with you, or are familiar with your business ethics and professionalism to provide positive recommendations. You need to capitalize on all of the hard work and service you have provided in the past to instill confidence among your new relationships that you will continue to provide the same premier performance. We have all been exposed to testimonials and recommendations throughout many aspects of our life. Clearly, most people don’t need any further convincing beyond a sincere recommendation from someone not benefiting from the referral.

Use Referrals And Recommendations As A Marketing Tool

As you establish your history of past success stories, you should compile this information and share it with people you are trying to influence with regards to your ability to perform. An example of this could be a presentation folder that could include a summary of past projects as well as copies of any written letters of recommendations. In addition, you should have readily available a list of past clients that have given you permission to give out their contact information as a reference. You will have far more credibility if you provide this information in advance as part of your presentation material instead of your new potential client having to request this information; proactively providing this information will demonstrate your confidence in your services.

Know Where Your Leads Are Coming From

To have an effective marketing program, it will be critical for you to know what strategies are making the phone ring. When you fully understand what approaches are producing results, you can shift marketing efforts and capital away from the methods that are not producing the desired results and apply them to the methods that are successful. During your day to day activities when making inquiries on services and products you need, I’m sure you have been asked “Where did you see our ad” or “How did you hear about us”. This is their attempt to do their own marketing research on what is working for them.

There are a number of techniques you may want to consider that will help you to understand where your leads are coming from. Of course you can just come out and ask them. Alternatively, you could use the following methods:

– The use of different color stock on forms can help you establish what “color area” is responding.

– Have each different ad have a unique “offer number” and ask for his number during your conversations.

– Have a different response phone number for each ad or location.

Keeping Your Marketing Plan Going

There is one mistake that is common to new smaller businesses, once they get busy with the business that is coming from their marketing efforts, they become distracted and lose focus on keeping the marketing plan going. An example of this is getting wrapped up in a flip you are directly involved with that is taking away from your time to send out direct mail letters. Remember, with most of the common business models, once you’re done with the current deal, you need to get another one in the pipeline; otherwise, the flow of income may stop or be reduced. As another example, have you ever tried to get an estimate for a repair on your house? It seems they are all too busy on the job they are currently on to stop and work on new business.

Delegate Or Outsource Your Marketing Activities

As you are developing or expanding your business, the day to day challenges of running your business along with everything else going on in your life can stand in the way of you working your marketing plan. If you feel this is occurring and is affecting your potential business success, it may be to your advantage to either delegate or outsource some or all of your marketing activities. Using this technique will allow you to free up some time that could be used to work on items that will help you grow the company. Some examples of the marketing tasks that could be delegated or outsourced are highlighted below:

– Preparing and mailing marketing materials and direct mail letters

– Distribution of flyers

– E-mail support

– Covering phone calls

Keep in mind that before you let other people get involved with your marketing and speaking with potential clients and customers, make sure they have been adequately trained and the process has been documented in your company procedures (see “How to Write Your Business Plan” for information on the development of standard work modules).

Dealing with Rejection

As you develop your marketing strategy and “hitting the streets”, you should be prepared to face some level of rejection. The level of rejection you will experience will be determined based upon your approach, persistence, and what is the current situation and state of mind of the person you are dealing with. If for example your marketing model is focusing on homeowners in foreclosure, there will be a very high rate of rejection. In some cases they may be in denial regarding their current situation and also because they have been overwhelmed with the interest in their property from all of the investors who saw the Lis Pendens filed. You must recognize that this type of marketing is a numbers game and the more people you have an opportunity to make contact with, the higher the probability to secure business.

Even Rejection Can Make You Money

As you work through your targeted marketing area and encounter rejection, remember that each door closed in your face or phone call hang-up will get you closer to a completed transaction. If for example it takes 100 calls to close a deal worth $5,000 than each rejection is worth $50.00! Although difficult at first to imagine that rejection makes you money, it could help motivate you to move on to the next door slamming or phone-hang-up opportunity.

Your Marketing Should Have A Look

As part of your marketing efforts to “brand” your company, you may want to consider the use of logo’s, slogans, and trademarks in all of your ads and promotional merchandise. In addition, the use of “company colors” that is used exclusively in all of your marketing will also help to create a unique look that will help to set you apart from your competition.

Marketing and Advertising Techniques

The following section will provide you with some specific recommendations on marketing techniques you may want to consider. Since this information is generic in nature, all recommendations may not apply to your particular business model.

Due to the significant impact on operating budgets to fund marketing and advertising activities, you should be very critical on what methods become part of your Business Plan.

Buy A Ton Of Business Cards

One of the most inexpensive and effective ways for you to market yourself and your business is through the distribution of your business cards. During networking and casual meeting opportunities, the exchange of business cards will be a critical tool for you to assemble your contact list. Even if you are just starting out and don’t even have a company or services to offer, the small investment in business cards will allow others to have your contact information. At a minimum, the card should contain the following information:

– Your name

– Title or company name

– Fax number

– Phones number(s)

– E-mail address

– Websites

In addition, you can add information with regards to the specific business models you are involved with, for example:

– Foreclosures

– Short Sales

– Property Management

– Rehabs

Business Cards Design Suggestions

– Make your business cards stand out with bright colors or interesting artwork or graphics.

– Avoid the glossy type of paper because it is difficult to write on (in the event the person you are giving them to would like to make some comments on meeting you or your services).

– Use the back of the card as well to provide additional information on your business; why waste valuable marketing space?

– Have a powerful hook on the cards to include statements like:

– “We will close in 7 days”

– “We buy all houses in any condition”

– “We buy with all cash”

– “Get a $250 referral Fee”

Bandit Signs

Bandit signs are a great way to attract attention from people on foot or in vehicles. These signs are usually 2′ X 3′ or smaller and are designed to either stick in the ground or mounted to a pole. This method of advertising is very economical and when using the plastic version will allow for repeated use. It is suggested that you get them printed on both sides if you plan or placing them in areas where people will be coming from both directions.

Displaying Ads and Signs

Proper utilization of the various types of ads and signs will help support your efforts in establishing high visibility and presence in your targeted marketing area. The number of ways to display your company name, logo, and services you provide is limited only by your imagination. The following section will highlight the most common locations and methods you may want to consider for posting your ads:

– On billboards (very popular in rural and city areas)

– Sponsor or adopt a community bench, garden, or road clean-up.

– On buses

– On railroad cars and stations

– Local community and church newsletters

– Placemats in diners and restaurants (I always read these things while I’m waiting for my food)

– Place signs on your property while you are working on it and marketing it.

– Advertising lettering or magnetic signs for your vehicles.

When using lettering or magnetic signs for your vehicle make sure to check local ordinances; by placing a sign on your vehicle could make it be considered a commercial vehicle. Also when using magnetic signs, make sure they are secured properly. I have heard instances of these signs flying off during high speed travel and when exposed to rain. If you can also have a sign on your trunk, it will make it easy for people to read it as they follow behind you or at stop signs and traffic lights. Make sure to use large text size on your contact number.

Marketing Flyers

When designing flyers, it will be important for you to use bright colors to attract the eye. When placing them in stores, your flyer may be among dozens of other items that are posted so it must have some punch. To help minimize the chances of someone just taking the entire flyer, design it to have tear-off tabs at the bottom that contains minimal information on your services and a contact number.

Check Local Ordinances

When using signs and flyers as part of your marketing program, make sure you check with your local town regulations to ensure you are not in violation. Most towns have laws on the books that prohibit the display of signs and may come with substantial fines.

People Love Giveaways

Another marketing tool that will help you with your company exposure is to give out small gifts that promote your business and services. The possibilities are endless on the type of give-a-ways you can come up with and is limited only by your imagination and budget. The following list will provide some recommendations that are typically used for this purpose:

– Shirts and jackets

– Calendars

– Recipe cards

– Hats

– Letter openers

– Golf balls, tees, or towels

– Refrigerator magnets

– Stationary items (pens, pads, binders, etc.)

– Cups

– Totes and bags

When selecting the product give-a ways, you want to pick items that are designed to encourage use (nobody will wear an ugly tee shirt; it will be probably used as a rag). Avoid one time use products like candy, cookies, etc. Many companies offer these types of products at various price point budgets. Do a web search on “marketing merchandise” and you will get some great ideas. To reiterate, you may want to keep a consistent look to all of your marketing gifts.

Be An Exhibitor Or Sponsor

Another outstanding marketing method you may want to consider is to participate as an exhibitor or sponsor at conventions and investment organization meetings. These events can be very effective in reaching people that may benefit from your services. Sponsorship and exhibitor costs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands depending on the venue and size of the organizations. With many organizations, you may have an opportunity to set up a display table as well as a speaking slot to highlight your services. One comment with regards to this marketing option is that people typically feel more comfortable doing business with you when they see you as a “regular” sponsor and not a one shot deal because it adds more credibility that you will be around. This type of marketing could be a significant drain on your allocated budget and it will be critical for you to determine if the appropriate level of business is being derived from this approach to justify the expense. By doing a web search for Investment Clubs and organizations you can select particular groups you would like to focus on.

Advertise In Hard Papers

Running ads in hard papers such as newspapers and trade magazines can be a great way for you to keep your company’s products and services in the eyes of the readers. Although this method of advertising can consume a majority or your marketing budget, it can represent a tremendous opportunity to reach a large mass of people. When considering using this advertising method, you may want to implement some of the following recommendations:

– Have a “hook” to your ad like “We will close with cash in 72 hours”.

– Advertise constantly

I’m sure you have observed ads that always seem to be displayed. This constant exposure although costly, will help to develop your company’s long term credibility.

– If your ad is listed in column form, consider adding a blank space above and below the text, this will make the ad stand out.

– If possible, use a contrasting or reverse color or text from the standard format.

Out of State Newspapers

Based upon the particular business model you are involved with, it may be necessary to either advertise or receive copies of out of state newspapers.

Using Public Records

Depending on your particular marketing areas or contact group, you may have good success accessing the public records that are available on-line. The information available will vary from state to state and also based on local township on-line capabilities.

The Use of Purchased Lists

An effective method to locate a particular group of people or businesses is to purchase a list from companies that specialize in generating and selling information about specific groups of people. An example of these types of lists includes the following:

– Recent graduates

– Recently relocated

– Recently sold their home

– Recently turned a milestone age (example:18,21,50,62,65)

– Recent Lis Pendens filings

The lists of possibilities are endless. Companies that generate and/or sell these lists are marketed by “List Brokers”. Try a Google search on this and you will see how big this information industry really is.

Be Prepared to Get Responses to Your Marketing Champaign

There is one area that many people fear when launching their marketing strategy and you need to get properly prepared for this and that is getting responses to your marketing efforts. The last thing you want to exhibit to people who are reaching out to you is your lack of confidence in being able to help them. In addition to having a strong foundation of knowledge in the particular business model you are marketing, you will need to develop a standard process on what you will do when they start calling you or responding to your calls. It is suggested that you put together a scripted dialog or bullet list that you will use when speaking with potential clients. The dialog or bullet list should be used as a guide as you are speaking with them to ensure you are gathering the appropriate data from them and presenting all of the critical highlights of why they should consider working with you.

Practice Makes Perfect

It will be absolutely critical to make sure you are projecting confidence when speaking to potential clients. I have spoken to many people who have left the leads hanging because of their fear in making contact with them; one way to mitigate this fear is by practicing and learning from your good and bad experiences. It is suggested that you conduct role playing to practice your approach. Another strategy that works well is to record your conversations and listen back to them. It will be critical to extract lessons learned from the calls and to apply these lessons to future calls. Keep in mind that the more you do this, the more effective and successful your “close rate” will be.

Don’t Touch That Mailbox

Keep in mind that you are prohibited from placing anything in a mailbox that does not have the appropriate postage. If you practice this technique, there is a very good chance you will be contacted by a representative from the postal service.

Creating Your Buyers and Clients List

Whether your real estate business model is wholesaling, rehabbing, selling notes, or any other model that requires you to rely on someone “taking your deal” will require you to understand the investment goals of your potential clients. To achieve the highest degree of project turn-over efficiency and to minimize your risk exposure, you will need to have investors and clients in a stand-by mode waiting for you to hand them your next investment opportunity they will consider. It will be very important that as you begin to launch your marketing and networking activities, you have a method to compile the investment criteria of your buyers or clients. It would be very efficient to have this information as part of a spreadsheet database. To help gather this information, you could create a form that can be filled out that will highlight the investment goals of your buyers or clients.

Having a comprehensive buyers list that includes the specific criteria of your buyer will help you to align available investment opportunities to the appropriate investors. In addition, understanding these criteria in advance will allow you to go out and seek new investments that you know will fit into the investment strategy of your buyers and clients that will be willing to pull the trigger if you bring them a good deal. The following list will provide examples of common criteria you would want from your investors (let’s assume for this example we are involved in the flipping business model)

– Specific locations

– Price point

– Age of property

– Class of property (A,B, C, D)

– Type of property (single-family, multi-family, commercial)

– Financial expectations

– Cash flow

– Cash on Cash returns

– Minimum percent of equity position

– Capitalization Rate

– Condition of property

– Creative Financing

Also keep in mind the relationship you develop from your Buyer’s List may also be a source for deals they bring to you. Perhaps a deal is too big or too small for a particular investor or they are too busy to get involved in another project at this time. The fact that you have presented them with investment opportunities in the past can set the stage for them to feed you a deal.

Qualify Your Buyer’s List

It will be critical for you to establish if the contacts on your Buyer’s List are able and willing to take deals that meet their investment criteria. The last thing you need when you are trying to wholesale a deal is to find out your buyer’s are just tire-kickers. One way to help avoid this situation is to get to know your buyer’s and become familiar with their past success. Through your networking and relationship building with these buyers’s, you should be able to feel them out with regards to their ability to pull the trigger.

I’m sure you’ve heard before, “If I find a great deal, I know the buyers will follow.” Although there is some logic to this statement, if you have buyer’s queued up in advance knowing their investment criteria, it will help to minimize your risk of not being able to close the deal; this can be a real concern when you are in a stale or decreasing market.

Your Extended Marketing Team

In addition to your planned direct marketing efforts, there could be past clients, family, friends or business associates that may provide additional sources of leads and business for you. This circle of contacts if properly utilized could be another informal arm of your comprehensive marketing plan. Although most people would normally pass along any services or products you provide to someone they know in need with no compensation; one sure way to motivate them to help bring in additional business is for you to offer a referral program. Depending upon the business model you are involved with, you could compensate them on a per deal basis. It is suggested that you provide these contacts with some of your marketing material.

Using Bird-Dogs To Augment Your Marketing

To bring the concept of an extended informal marketing team to the next level, you may want to enlist the help from people whose specialty is to locate deals for clients and present them for consideration. These people are called Bird-Dogs and they do this work as part of their business model. When using Bird-Dogs, it will be critical that they understand your criteria so they will not waste your time or theirs. Usually Bird-Dogs will only get compensated if a deal closes. A Bird-Dog fee is usually paid at closing.

Using Technology To Market More Efficiently

Have Your Own Website

Having a website can be a powerful tool to provide current and potential clients information on the products and services your company offers. The use of websites is so common that omitting it from your marketing campaign could certainly lead towards lost business. Remember, there is a very good chance that your competitors will have a website.

The subscription or development cost of your website can have a very large range depending upon the features. You should expect to pay $30-50 per month for a web design service provider that uses pre-designed templates you can edit. On the other extreme, you can pay thousands for a custom designed site.

When selecting a domain name, it is suggested that you use a name that reflects your business and is also easy to remember

Although having a website can be instrumental to the success of your business model, it will be useless unless you can attract visitors to your site to see what you offer. There are many strategies you can consider to help direct visitors to your site, some of techniques are listed below:

– Have a reference to your website on all of your printed material and e-mails you generate as well as marketing giveaways you hand out like coffee mugs or pens.

– Write on-line articles for websites like e-zine.com where you contribute articles for free in exchange for an opportunity to discuss your expertise as well as what you have to offer. In addition, you will be able to provide a link to your website.

– Have your website listed on other websites as a link, you can have an agreement with the website owner to mutually display links to each other.

– Pay to advertise on other sites that have the type of traffic you are trying to attract. Usually, there is a monthly fee for this service or in some cases will be a “Pay Per Click” where you will be charged a predetermined fee when anyone clicks on the link to your website.

– There are many options to consider when developing your website from do it yourself templates where you just fill in the blanks to a full blown custom site. It is suggested that you speak with an experienced website designer to see what option is best suited for your needs and budget.

Tele-Conferences

A very popular marketing method is to utilize teleconferences to highlight the services and products that you offer to a large audience by speaking with them via a phone line. This marketing technique will allow your company to provide another vehicle for your potential clients to get to know who you are. The process of setting up a teleconference is very easy; there are many third party providers that offer teleconference services for either a flat monthly rate or on an as-needed basis. Once set up, you just need to provide the attendees with a dial in number and access code (given to you by the service provider) and they will call in at the appropriate time.

Webinars

To bring the benefits of a teleconference to the next level, you can consider reaching out to your audience using a webinar. A webinar is an opportunity for you to provide a presentation to your audience by accessing a web site on their computer. Two-way communication is also possible using a dial in phone number. Like the teleconferencing, a webinar can be arranged by a third party. The cost of this service will be determined by how many “seats” are required.

E-Mail Blast

An e-mail blast can be a very effective way to contact a large group of people on your mailing list. Depending upon how many people you are trying to reach, you can either send the mail through your own mail service like Outlook or if a very large list of people need to be contacted, you may need to consider the services of a third party provider. As you compile your contact list, it is recommended that you create “groups” within your mail program. By using groups when sending e-mail, you can easily fill out the “to” field by selecting the appropriate group you are trying to make contact with. It is recommended that you sort your address book into categories that make sense for your business model. Examples are as follows:

– Bankers and private money lenders

– Past clients you are trying to stay in touch with

– New prospective clients you are trying to conduct business with

– Tenants occupying your properties

Mail Merge

Mail merge will allow you to take your contact information from your Outlook (or equivalent) address book and add these contacts to envelop and form letters you generate. Although mail merge can save you a considerable amount of time in preparing mailed letters, it is not encouraged when preparing envelops for initial contact letters. Computer generated envelops look too much like junk mail and not even be opened.

Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to keep your contact list up to date on what is going on in your company and to help attract new business. All of the popular word processor programs have templates that you can use to generate your own custom newsletter. When considering the use of newsletters in your marketing campaign, you may want to implement some of the following recommendations:

– Make your newsletter releases monthly or quarterly; you want to periodically remind them who you are.

– Add both business development information as well as education and public interest sections. Don’t make every issue overflowing with sales hype. You will turn off your audience.

– Give each newsletter a release number or volume

– Format the pages so they can be added to a three ring binder

– Publish articles that continue in a future newsletter

– Add photos and charts to help illustrate text

– Have featured segments that are part of each newsletter release. The following are some examples:

– Rehab trick of the month

– Bloopers sent in from audience

– Deal of the month

– Success story of the month

Using An Internet Video Site

A very popular tool that can be added to your marketing plan is to utilize internet sites that allow you to download videos. On these sites, you can download your video that will be part of the site database of searchable videos. It is suggested that you add in your title a “hook” that specifically identifies the scope of the video so when someone searches the site for your topic, you may get a “hit”. An example of this would be “Learn Short Sales from John Doe.”

Sales Lead Software

As your marketing and networking strategies start to generate leads, it will become an increasing challenge to manage the large volume of leads effectively. Without managing leads appropriately, you run the risk of losing the ability to “convert” them to a deal or sale. Although there are many manual methods that you could use to manage your leads, you may want to consider purchasing lead generation and management software. There are a number of companies that provide this product. Perform an internet search for available products.