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We live in a world where there is a plethora of options – we are deluged by products, gizmos and gadgets, some of which we don’t really have any use for and most of which tend to get obsolete in no time at all. So if you’re a marketer, you must know how to sell your products effectively so that customers know what they stand to gain by buying and using them. A successful marketer avoids making fatal errors, mistakes that could kill their chances of success. There are many marketing don’ts, but the most important of them are:

• Being too intrusive: No matter how badly people want to buy something, they’re not going to buy from you if you’re too intrusive. I hate callers who ring my doorbell when I’m busy and refuse to go away; I get irritated with cold calls from salespeople who gain access to my mobile number through mass marketing lists that they purchase and hound me at all hours of the day; and I find pop ups that block the web page I’m trying to view a big nuisance that I must close immediately. So when you’re intrusive and in your customers’ faces, you don’t start off on the right foot or make a good impression on them. You tend to drive them straight to the arms of the competition at times. It’s hard enough earning a good reputation, and your job is made even more difficult when you have to overcome a bad one.
• Treating the customer badly: Some salespeople and marketers believe they are above certain customers and don’t treat them well. Remember Julia Roberts in the movie Pretty Woman? The man who refused to attend to her because of the way she was dressed had to eat dust a little later. So don’t prejudge your customers or assume that you know what they can or cannot afford. Your job is to sell your product and so your focus must be on closing the sale alone.
• Failing to offer follow up service: Your job is not over once you’ve sold a product, and if as a marketer you think it is, you’re making a huge mistake. Very often, people become repeat customers because of the after-sales service you offer – no one wants to buy a product for which they are forced to put up with shoddy service and maintenance. When I buy a car, I want to know that maintenance is going to be a hassle-free experience and that spares are not too expensive. If I feel cheated after the initial promises made at the time of the sale, I’m certainly not going to buy from the same company again or recommend it to my friends.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of accelerated online degrees . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com .

photo credit: ManojVasanth

6 Tips to Start and Run a Successful Business

It’s not something that most of us would dare venture, but starting your own business venture does have its share of excitement. There are pessimists who say that 9 out of 10 new ventures fail, but then, failure is a relative term. It depends on how you define it – if you don’t make a profit in the first few months, are you a failure? If you are not busy all the time, does that mean that you’ve failed to succeed? And if you are going through a bad patch, would that count as failure?

The point I’m trying to make is that we all want to succeed, but success means different things to each of us. So when you’re starting your new business, here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• Do something you love: When you’re passionate about your work, it becomes a labor of love, not a chore that has to be endured. And this encourages you to strive harder for the success you dream of. When you’re able to make a business out of your passion, you know you have a surefire recipe for success.
• Do your research thoroughly: You need to use a little of your head as well when starting a new business. Study the market thoroughly and see if there is a need for the product or service you are selling. Only then can you rest assured that all you need to achieve success is a combination of hard work, dedication and initiative.
• Be prepared to work hard: Hard work never killed anybody, especially work that is well planned and equally well executed. Plan your operations ahead so that you get things done efficiently. Know how to delegate tasks so that you don’t overwork yourself. And know where to draw the line when it comes to taking the office home with you.
• Invest in a good team: You are only as good as the weakest person in your team, so ensure that you invest time, money and effort in hiring talented and skilled people who are not afraid of hard work and are willing to learn what they do not know. When you are supported by a good team of employees who work with you rather than for you, you know you’re well on the route to success.
• Remember that the customer is king: And last, but certainly not the least, without your customer, you have no chance of making it big. So treat your customers with courtesy and provide them with services and products that are of good quality. Be ethical and transparent in all your dealings with them, because it is their goodwill and continued patronage that works in your favor to bring you new customers and help your business grow.
• Continue to innovate: So now your business is up and running and you have a steady stream of income coming in. Stay one step ahead of the competition and prevent your business from becoming obsolete or defunct by innovating. Keep in tune with market trends and find out what your customers expect. Cater to their needs and watch yourself taste success after success.

About the author:
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of executive mba programs. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

Trevor Emdon and I met over the internet a few months ago, and we hit it off right away — something about personalities meshing that just can’t be explained. He offered to write a series of guest posts for The Savvy Entrepreneur blog, specifically to help you, my dear readers, with ‘out of the box’ strategies to get more of what you want in your business. Enjoy!

The Savvy Mindset – Time Management While You Sleep!

Working from home means you can run your own schedule. That sounds great until you get a “to do” list so long that clocking off time becomes when you can no longer keep your eyes open.

Here’s an unusual tip for time management. As you go through the day you’ll accumulate things to add to your to do list. Jot them down, but if they can wait, don’t do them yet. Before leaving your desk for the day, sort the list into these two categories:

• Down to Earth, and
• Inspired Required.

Down to Earth will be things like pay invoice number… and phone supplier X. By contrast, Inspired Required should include such things as, find the perfect marketing agency/publisher/virtual p.a. or write sales/advertising copy or need perfect product for Xmas sale and so on.

Read over the Inspired Required list and just let them roll around your mind without attempting to solve them yet. Now, before you go to sleep, just mentally issue an instruction to your subconscious mind:

“I’m going to sleep now. While I’m resting, I want you to take care of all the things on my Inspired Required list.”

Then go to sleep. In the morning, deal with the Down to Earth ones that need handling – or, better still, get your p.a., partner or friends to do them. (If you hate accounts and you have a friend who enjoys them, there’s always some skill or favour you can exchange even if you don’t have a budget, isn’t there?)

Now turn your attention to the Inspired Required list. You’ll be amazed at how many of the those tasks will seem to “do themselves”! I bet you didn’t know you had a “silent partner” living in your head who will willingly work while you sleep, did you? Try it. There’s no penalty for sacking them if they don’t come up to expectations!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Trevor Emdon, aka the “Wizard of Wisdom” writes and creates, (from his very soul), self help and law of attraction programs, such as Stop Worrying And Grow Rich, one of his most popular as it is about how to attract money.

Basic Tips to Establish Yourself as a Brand

Becoming a brand has lot of advantages. A strong brand doesn’t only give financial advantages but you also get loyal customers who connect themselves with your brand. Companies with established brands can introduce new products easily and effectively under their same family brand. Branding gives you a significant advantage over your competitors when customers start associating advantages with your brand. Don’t think that branding could be done for only big companies with an unlimited ad budget. You can also establish your small business as a brand. In this article I will be discussing some tips which you can implement to create an effective branding strategy for your own business.

• Relevant Tagline: Your brand should have a relevant tagline with its name which represents what your business stands for. The tagline would give an idea to your customers about your services. For example, the tagline for Apple is “Think Different.” Taglines help your customers to connect with your brand. Make your tagline small and short.
• Educate Customers: Everybody likes to get new information. Educate your customers with unique and useful information. The more you will educate your customers, the more you will be able to sell. Providing great content for free would help you to establish your brand as the most reliable brand among your target audience.
• Create a Website: Register a domain with your brand name. You can register a domain name for less than $10 for year. Create a professional and beautiful website which contains all the important information about your brand.
• Use Web2.0: Web2.0 is one of the most powerful ways to create your identity online. Create accounts on various Web2.0 sites with your brand name like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. Start interacting with your target audience in such websites and develop relationships with them by telling them more about your brand.
• Take Your Brand Everywhere: Take your brand with you wherever you go. Wear t-shirts with your logo while meeting clients in professional meetings.
• Promotional Products: Create useful promotional products relevant to your brand. For example, if you are a travel agent, you can create backpacks imprinted with your logo. Distribute such promotional products among your customers so that they remember your brand whenever they use these items.
• Trade Shows and Conferences: Participate in trade shows and conferences related to your business. Speak up about your brand anywhere you get a chance.
• Sponsorships and Charity: Sponsor local events or do charity for good causes. These events usually get covered by the media and gives you lots of free publicity which will put your brand in the good books of your audience.

About the author:
Gagandeep Singh is working as Internet Marketing Executive for Fortepromo, which provide high quality promotional products to help companies in promoting their brand.

Normally, October is Anti-Procrastination Month here on The Savvy Entrepreneur blog. Since all my time is spent working on my new venture, Mompowerment, I decided not to post daily procrastination-beating tips, tricks, resources and suggestions this time ’round.

However, Chris Lloyd was kind enough to submit an article for me to share with you here!

Enjoy!

Planning To Beat Procrastination

Scientists have conducted research into procrastination and what causes it. You can read the report for one study here (pdf), but I’ll try and sum up the results and what they mean for you without all the big scientific words.

The researchers gave two groups of people a task to open a bank account. The researchers made one group think abstract thoughts about the task by asking them to imagine what a bank account can mean for their life. Researchers tried to make the other group think concrete thoughts about the task with questions about the specific steps of opening an account. It probably won’t surprise you to find out that the second group completed the task much quicker than the first group. In some cases, the first group never completed the task.

This contradicts some procrastination advice. People have advised imagining the benefits of completing a goal to get the motivation to overcome procrastination. This research suggests that advice will make your problem even worse. You probably already know the benefits of starting your own business. That’s why you’re reading this blog. Daydreaming about good things that might happen probably won’t help get the job done.

Instead, when you find yourself procrastinating, try and break down the task into smaller, concrete steps. Write them down or just think about them. This will make you more likely to actually do the task. You’ll be on the road to accomplishing your goals instead of just daydreaming about it.

This has been a guest post by Chris Lloyd. He still daydreams more than he should about helping people find great Austin apartments.

Do you use money as an incentive (like cash discounts) to attract new clients? Science may not be on your side on this one…

Watch as Dan Pink presents his case, then decide.

Last week I asked an innocent question on one of the VA discussion boards about VAs opinions on the work-at-home-mom label. An animated and passionate conversation ensued!

Based on the conversation, most VAs feel the work-at-home-mom label casts a negative or unprofessional light on their services to their clients and prospects.

It created such a buzz that it got me thinking — Is having an open conversation about this topic worth pursuing?

I thought it would be nice to get all us women together and talk about the challenges virtual administrative assistant moms face and how to overcome them.

But that’s just me. I really want to know if you feel the same!

If you’re a Virtual Assistant, would you take 2 minutes to answer a short 5-question survey to know your level of interest (even if you’re not)?

Click Here to take survey

Or leave your comments here and let’s keep the conversation rolling!

Taking care of my body these past few years has been put on the bottom of my priorities.

During my 3 pregnancies I diligently avoided prohibited foods, but — and I’m sure I’m not alone — I used the discomforts of pregnancy as an excuse to overindulge in everything else.

Jasmine will be 1 next week, and I’m still carrying around WAY too much baby fat from having 3 kids back-to-back-to-back. More recently, my face has broken out as if I were a teen again. I just feel yucky and ugly all over.

In fact, embarrassment over my physical appearance has spilled into my social life. I come up with excuses to not to be seen in public.

When I have no choice (supper at the in-laws, for example), I’ll agonize over what to wear, cry in front of the mirror, and reminisce about the good old days, when I was beautiful, fit and sexy.

My imagination goes wild, anticipating how friends and family will look at me in disgust, watch me eat and judge my lack of — whatever.

In conversation, I’ll preempt criticism by saying disparaging remarks about myself (you know, before others can say them!).

I could go on, but all this self-disclosure is making me uncomfortable. You get the point. I hate my body, I hate hating my body, but I’m too darn lazy to do anything about it.

I finally just had to drill the reality of the situation into my psyche: I am my business. I am my childrens’ only mother. Neglecting self-care is tantamount to neglecting my business and my children. OUCH! Touché.

Now what?

As much as I’d love to start endurance training again, I just don’t see how I could make it happen right now. What else could I do?

Then it came to me: A good cleanse could help kick things off… a detox of sorts — something I’ve never done before. But I want nothing to do with cleanses involving expensive supplements and powders and crap…

So, on Tuesday I sent out a tweet asking if anyone could recommend an all-natural cleanse. Within minutes, Jenn Givler suggested I take a look at what the Raw Divas site has to offer.

I was all gung-ho about starting the free 7-Day Raw Food Detox Program next week, until I found out detox is forbidden while breastfeeding (toxins get released out of the body in any way it can, including breast milk which baby then drinks — not good).

Jenn highly recommended I try the 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge. It’s safe for anyone, including breastfeeding moms.

I immediately signed up and, starting Monday, I’ll be drinking tasty, healthy green smoothies, boosting my immunity and giving my insides a much-needed scrub. Heck, my face might even clear up!

If you’re ready to take care of your business by taking care of yourself, will you join me in the Green Smoothie Challenge? Join today to get the preparatory emails. I will be doing this on a monthly basis, which I’ll try to incorporate here, on The Savvy Entrepreneur. If there’s enough interest, I’ll start a monthly support group!

Are you in?

Here’s to your body’s health and the health of your business!

A huge thanks to Nicole Munoz for writing this article especially for The Savvy Entrepreneur. Enjoy!

Best Practices When Outsourcing from One Virtual Assistant to Another

Author: Nicole Munoz

It’s the best feeling in the world to get a job done to perfection for your client. Your reputation gets better, the positive feedback is there for prospective clients to see, and your business volume increases. What do you do when you need help with a client’s project and decide to outsource that know-how to someone else in your field? There are some very specific things to look for, to be cautious of, and steps to follow before outsourcing to another Virtual Assistant (VA).

For the person outsourcing to a fellow VA:

1. Make sure you know who you are dealing with. Research the person beforehand being sure to check other client’s feedback, see how long they’ve been a VA, read their profile and portfolio, and don’t be afraid to ask for sample work!
2. They should be reliable. Define what needs to be done and when it should be completed. Make a timeline of goals and the dates they should be met. Follow through with your VA and be sure projects are getting done on time!
3. Their level of expertise, quality of their work, and their skill set should closely match yours, yet be specific to their area of knowledge. Remember, it’s your reputation on the line!
4. It’s recommended that they submit all completed work to you, not directly to the client. This is to ensure that the work is done in a timely manner and that the content meets the quality you pride yourself on.
5. Consider having an agreement drawn up (if one is not already present through an outsourcing service) outlining the above expectations as well as any others you see fit for your circumstance and clientele.

For the outsourced Virtual Assistant:

1. Have integrity in the work you produce and in your communications with your hiring VA. The better your work is, the more likely you are to be hired again for a future project.
2. Become an expert! If some research is necessary as to the exact industry the client is in, do a Google search on the subject and get informed. Your content will reflect a better presentation.
3. Plan to abide by the partner VA’s rules and written directions. Payment is usually contingent on projects being completed as directed, so make it happen; get paid, and plan to get hired again when they need you next time!
4. Always check with your hiring VA before directly contacting clients or promoting yourself. Just like you, the other VA is trying to run a business and grow their client base.

Most of these best practices are common sense, but should still be stated and agreed upon prior to working together with another Virtual Assistant. It’s good to stay on caution’s side until you get the chance to know and trust the people who help you. After you’ve reached that point, the benefit is building some lasting and professional relationships with others in your field and referring business to each other on a mutual and regular basis. Both of your businesses will inevitably grow as client’s needs are met…and isn’t that the whole point of outsourcing?

About the author: Nicole Munoz is the owner of Start Ranking Now, an SEO outsourcing company providing articles, blogs, and SEO ranking expertise. She is a Link Building Expert who also conducts SEO training in San Diego.

8 Steps to a Profitable Teleconference
By Kathleen Gage

Teleseminars are likely one of the most effective methods for promoting a product or service, building an opt-in subscriber list, increase credibility and establish your expert status.

However, to achieve optimum results you must have your systems in place. It takes more than simply hosting a call to make this work.

Countless individuals have attempted teleseminars as a route to business success, yet failed miserably when they have attempted to make money from teleconferences. Often it is because they have not been trained in how to position the call, create enough of a market demand for what they are selling, there is no call to action, nor do they have a solid follow-up plan.

With the right vision, planning and action steps, you can do extremely well with teleconferences. Here are a few of the steps involved in successful teleseminars.

1. Decide on the purpose and topic of the call. Is it to inform, educate, motivate, inspire or promote?

A simple way to determine the topic (and purpose) of the call is to address a problem your market needs a solution to. Ask your market using an online survey or even by sending a fax or letter to a portion of your market to receive great input.

2. Pick a suitable date and time based on your market. For some markets, daytime works best. For others, evenings. Find a time that works best for your audience.

3. Secure a bridge line. A bridge line enables callers to dial a single phone number and hear each other as if they were in the same room. There are numerous services available ranging from free to very high fee. I use Instant Teleseminars for my primary service.

4. Market the session. How you do this will be determined on whether or not the call is open to the public or only a select group of your current clients are invited.

5. Host the call.

6. Develop support materials. You may want to consider providing a handout or learning guide for the call. This allows listeners to easily follow along, write down points that are especially important to them and refer back to the notes long after the call is over.

Additionally, you can use the learning guide as a promotion piece for other products and services you have available.

7. Record the session. There are software programs available that allow you to record from your phone and computer. Some experts prefer this method while others prefer to outsource all the recording, editing and distribution of the audio file and call transcripts.

8. Follow-up. After the call you should have a definite plan of when and how you will follow-up with those who were on the call and those who were unable to make it. If you are selling a product or service, sales are often made hours, or even days, after the call is over.

Access the FREE report, The Truth About Making Money with Teleseminars.