I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO FIRE YOUR BOSS USEING THIS SITE !

Your business card is one of the most important marketing tools you'll ever create. You give your business card to prospects and customers so they have your contact information. You tuck your business card inside of presentation folders, drop it in letters, and use it in a myriad of other ways to let people know who you are and what you do. And, if you run ads in local newspapers, your business card may even double as camera-ready copy for the publication's "business card ad" pages.

But no matter how you use your business card, it won't be the marketing workhorse it should be unless it looks professional, is easy to read, and helps customers and prospects remember what you sell and why they should buy it from you.

Making all that happen on a document that is only 3½ inches wide and 2 inches deep is a tall order. But it can be done. Here are several suggestions to keep in mind before you design or redesign your business card.

Use a logo
Have a professional designer create your business logo. If you provide products or services that can be represented with a symbol (ie, house painter, home builder, restaurant, dog grooming service), the logo should symbolize that product or service in some way. It should also be scalable for use on business cards, letterhead, brochures, and your website. (You can keep logo development costs down by using LogoWorks.com or one of the other the logo creation services on the web.)

Develop a one-line slogan
If what you do isn't immediately apparent from your business name, create a one-line slogan that will help people remember what you sell. Include the slogan on your business card.

Include your website address and/or email address
Customers and prospects will want to know your website address and your email address. If you're concerned about spam, have your webmaster set up two email addresses for you -- one to put on your business card and give out to the public, and another private email address that you only give to a few trusted business associates and friends.

Make your card readable
Use (or insist your designer uses) font sizes that are big enough to be easily readable without using a magnifying glass. Be sure the type color stands out against the background of the card, too. Light gray type on a white card makes it hard to distinguish letters and numbers. Remember, your goal isn't to produce a work of art. It's to produce a business card that clearly communicates what you do and how to reach you. If recipients can't read the contact information you'll lose sales.

Make your card stand out from the rest of the pack
Yes, your business card may wind up stuffed in a desk drawer with a stack of other business cards. Make it stand out from the rest by using bright colors, including your photo on the card, or using high gloss card stock.

Have your business cards printed on good card-stock
If the card feels flimsy or looks like you printed it yourself on a cheap printer, it will leave people with impression that they are dealing with a small company that will disappear as soon as the owner finds a real job. Have your business card professionally printed on good heavyweight business card stock.

Although some of the preprinted paper that you can buy to create your own business cards is heavy enough to pass for a "real" business card, most people will get better results by having their business cards professionally typeset and printed. Professionally printed cards may cost less than the print-it-yourself variety, too. If you order business cards online from a site like Vista Print , you'll pay about $20 (or sometimes less) for 500 full-color professionally printed business cards. (Shipping is extra.) By comparison, good, heavy-weight preprinted business card stock that you use to print your own business cards is likely to cost you $30 to $40 or more -- and that doesn't include the cost of the ink or toner to print them.

Print your own cards if you don't have time to order them elsewhere
If you need cards in a hurry because you've run out of them, the print-it-yourself variety is a viable option. Avery's Linen Textured Stock has a good feel to it and prints beautifully on an inkjet printer. For best results, use the "Best" printing mode of your inkjet printer. If you follow Avery's directions for separating the cards, there are no tell-tale rough edges or perforations.

Did You Know You recruit new affiliates and build lucrative residual income streams through EyeEarn, SFI's worldwide advertising co-op

You recruit new affiliates and build lucrative residual income streams through EyeEarn, SFI's worldwide advertising co-op. The basic concept of EyeEarn is to become part of our "personal advertising network" and get paid for doing simple forms of advertising while just "going about your day." Get paid for driving your car, walking your dog, wearing T-shirts, or even just drinking coffee! Get seen get paid! For more information about EyeEarn, see this FAQ.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

What is EyeEarn?

NEW !! ****************************************************************************** NEW !!

Join the EyeEarn network, and get paid to
drive your car, wear t-shirts, and more!

It's true! Just by outfitting your car with an EyeEarn cling-on sticker, wearing an EyeEarn T-shirt, etc., you can start receiving a monthly commission check!

What is EyeEarn?

EyeEarn is a new global advertising network that taps into simple, easy forms of advertising that everyone can do while they're going about their day. No experience is needed to participate. And it's fun and easy!

How do you make money?

Once you've activated your EyeEarn account, you'll start to receive a portion of all the revenues being generated by the worldwide EyeEarn network. This includes a share of all sales being generated at MaxMalls.com!

You'll share in the results of your own advertising, PLUS the results of the thousands of other "EyeEarners" advertising around the world!

How do I join?

Getting started with EyeEarn is quick and easy. Step one is to register below as an affiliate with the SFI Marketing Group. This is FREE and there is no obligation. This takes less than 30 seconds.

Once you've registered as an SFI affiliate, you can purchase an EyeEarn Starter Kit whenever you're ready. The starter kit comes with three automobile cling-on stickers, a cool, black EyeEarn T-Shirt in your choice of sizes, 100 full-color promotional cards, 20 mini-stickers, plus a Getting Started Guide and complete directions. The cost is just $20 (plus shipping) and comes with a 100% moneyback guarantee of satisfaction.

Outfit your car with a cling-on sticker, send us a photo to verify, and you're off and running making money with EyeEarn. It's that easy!

Register FREE now and become a charter member of EyeEarn!

Remember, there's no cost to register, and you can purchase the optional starter kit at any time (or never). No obligation. No risk. REGISTER NOW BELOW:

http://www.quickinfo247.com/8051555/EE

NEW !! ****************************************************************************** NEW !!

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Are You Allergic to Finding New Clients?

by Martyn Lewis

If you are like many small businesspeople, the idea of prospecting for new clients and customers makes you sneeze. Why? Because it conjures up the "S" word--selling--and many entrepreneurial types view themselves as visionaries, not salespeople.

I would argue, though, that adopting the traits of a successful salesperson will cure you of your allergy to sales. These are traits every business professional needs; they will help you clarify your business objectives and enhance your customer and client relationships.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Lindsey, an extremely nice person who ran her own business. In conversation I was interested to hear that business was quite good but she was having trouble finding new clients.

She shared with me how she found it difficult to write flyers and advertising copy, and of course, it is indeed a challenge for most people to write good marketing copy. I was quite surprised, though, when I heard her next words, "I don't want to be a salesman. The last thing I would ever want to do is have to sell something to someone."

This led us to talk about her primary concern of developing her own business, offset by the fact that she did not want to be viewed as a salesperson.

Now, I've been involved with salespeople for more than thirty years, as a former salesperson, sales manager, marketing executive, and now CEO of a consultancy that specializes in helping organizations maximize sales effectiveness. I recognized at once that Lindsey viewed sales as trying to push something on someone who had no need or desire to actually purchase what was being offered. Her notion of the salesperson was essentially a fast-talking, insincere person who manipulated people into paying for something they didn't really need or want!

And of course, Lindsey is not alone in this viewpoint. Unfortunately, this perception of sales is far too prevalent and remains a firmly imprinted stereotype in many people's minds. But keep in mind that there are poor examples of just about every profession. Just as there are occasionally poor dentists, bad architects, or disastrous engineers, there are poor salespeople.

This situation is further exacerbated by the general lack of certification or professional qualifications to grade individual salespeople. In the world of sales, both inside and out, there is the perception (which often becomes the reality) that there is really only one way of keeping score--commission dollars--and along with that perception are the horror stories relating the lengths to which some will go to win the game.

If you're allergic to salespeople, think back to a time when you have interfaced with a great one. Whether they are selling cars, stir sticks, paper, computers, power plants, aircraft, technical services, consulting services, or audio/visual equipment, most the successful salespeople I have dealt with share these ten traits:

Taking time to understand their customers.

Having extensive knowledge about their offerings.

Knowing the alternative and competitive options open to their customers.

Bringing insight to the interaction with their customers.

Listening to their customers, with a sincere interest, to truly understand their needs, anxieties, hopes, and dreams.

Being professional, courteous, and timely in their follow up in all business dealings.

Being candid and honest with their clients.

Having the ability to clearly explain themselves and their products to their customers, using words and meanings that their customers readily understand.

Always treating the customer's needs as their highest priority.

Being a credit to themselves and their companies in all their actions and behavior.

Read that list again and ask yourself--exactly what is it about being a salesperson you're uncomfortable with?

Regarding Lindsey, I learned that she had invested in her own abilities and was extremely proud of what she could offer her clients. She saw herself as being able to provide a better service than most of her competitors. From her passion and knowledge, I would guess she could.

If your business has reached a plateau, there's one obvious solution: Find new clients. The best way to do this is to become an exemplary salesperson. If you're not ready to sell, you may want to think twice about running your own business.

Most new businesses that fail don't fail because of poor ideas, products, or people. They fail because they don't find enough new customers--because not enough selling happens. Don't fall into this trap.

Learning to be a successful salesperson is rarely easy, often frustrating, and always challenging. But what makes it all worthwhile is the reward of seeing customers' appreciation and earning their respect because what they got from you or your organization met--and hopefully exceeded--their expectations.

If you strive to make every one of your clients better off for having done business with you, you will learn to love selling too.

Martyn Lewis is founder, president, and CEO of the consulting firm Market-Partners, which specializes in helping large and small companies maximize sales effectiveness. His new book is Sales Wise: A Journey Through Sales and Selling (Fenestra Books, $12.95). Learn more about him at www.market-partners.com.

DID YOU KNOW :

Studies show your chances of creating loyal customers soar to as much as 90% when you follow up within 24 hours of a transaction or inquiry. That rate drops to only 50% within 48 hours and 10% or less w/in 72 hours!

TIP OF THE DAY:

One good way to maintain your EA status is to have your Standing Order amounts automatically withdrawn from you bank account each month. Here's how:
In the My Account section, simply click the My Standing Order link.

( https://www.sfimg.com/MyAccount/StandingOrder.sfi )

Scroll down, and click the create or modify your Standing Order option.

If you're creating a new standing order, choose the product you want and click Continue. If you want to modify an existing standing order, just click the Continue button.

You'll see a summary of your Standing Order and account information. Click Continue at the bottom of the page.

On the Select Your Payment Method screen, you'll see an option for ACH Checking Account Deduction. Choosing this option will require that you mail in a check for the first month's payment, PLUS an authorization form to have future month's deductions automatically withdrawn from your bank account.

Now, click the Continue button and the appropriate order form will appear. Simply print it out, complete the form, and mail it in.

Q: How do I get people to my Gateway?

A: For a list of ways to attract people to your Gateway, see the Marketing Methods page for your particular Focus, or access the main methods index https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/Marketing/MarketingMethods.sfi. You can also check out a list of banners, text ads, and other aids for your Focus at this pagehttps://www.sfimg.com/Resources/Marketing/MarketingAids.sfi .

EyeEarn Program Marketing Methods

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEGINNER METHODS

1. Put an EE cling banner or bumper sticker on your car (s) and advertise to hundreds (even thousands) of people every day you drive your car around town.
2. Add an "EyeEarn signature" to your e-mail. Most modern e-mail browers allow you to set up a "signature" that gets automatically appended to every e-mail you send out. Choose one of these text ads to use for your signature.
3. Send an EyeEarn E-Card to friends and family members.

4. If you're not already a member of the EyeEarn Co-op Advertising Network, join now and you can start receiving a portion of the hundreds of affiliate sign-ups being generated daily worldwide (personally sponsored by YOU) by EyeEarn.

5. Give out this X-Card to friends, family members, co-workers, associates, etc.
6. Put this X-Card in every outgoing piece of mail you send out (like electric bills, water bills, NetFlix/Blockbuster DVD returns, etc.).

7. Leave this X-Card with your bill/tip each time you dine out at a restaurant.
8. Whenever you take a taxi or ride public transportation, "forget" one of these X-Cards on the seat before you exit.

9. Post this X-Card on public bulletin boards in your area grocery stores, fitness centers and gyms, college student unions, Laundromats, and anwhere else that has boards for public postings.

10. Insert one of these X-Cards in books about entrepreneurialism, starting your own business, making money, etc. at your local bookstore(s). When the book is purchased or browsed, your card will be found by someone who will likely be interested in EyeEarn.

11. Wear an EyeEarn T-shirt when you go out (One EyeEarn T-shirt is included in the EyeEarn Starter Kit. You can order additional T-shirts (black, 100% cotton) at the SFI Affiliate Store or check out our EyeEarn CafePress store for more shirt options. Then, when people ask you about EyeEarn, hand them this X-Card.

12. If you work in a large office where a conversation about a sideline home business won't get you in trouble, consider an EyeEarn Mousepad for your desk and/or an EyeEarn coffee mug from the EyeEarn "Shirts & More" Store. When you co-workers ask you about EyeEarn, hand them this this X-Card.

13. Do you regularly walk your dog in parks or other places where there are lots of people? If so, get a "Get paid to walk your dog"an EyeEarn dog-shirt. Because it's unusual to see a dog wearing garments, people will ask you about the shirt and/or EyeEarn. When they do so, hand them this X-Card.

14. Send this postcard to a mailing list of opportunity seekers. To find quality mailing lists, try searching Google.com for "mailing lists opportunity seekers."
15. Ask friends and family members to help you distribute your X-Cards. Just provide them with a supply of your EyeEarn X-Cards (stamped with your SFI ID number) and ask them to distribute them (via methods outlined on this page). Tell them to let you know when they run out of cards so you can get them more. Using this strategy, you can have a small army of people helping you grow your commission check. NOTE: Don't be surprised if your friends/family members ask to just sign up and start "eyeearning" for themselves. If they do, give them one of your X-Cards and tell them to go sign up directly under you. Congratulations; you've just added another PSA (Personally Sponsored Affiliate) to your marketing team and increased your personal earnings potential!

16. Distribute or post on bulletin boards these fliers.
What other methods belong on this list? Submit your ideas on this blog.

INTERMEDIATE METHODS

1. Post free or inexpensive classified ads about EyeEarn on Websites. Choose from these text ads. To learn more about how to get a classified ad campaign going, click HERE. Learn more about free advertising methods in Internet Income lessons #23 and #24.

2. Contact owners of small retail stores and arrange to have them give this X-Card to every customer with their purchase receipt when they check out. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them three to 10 cents for each card they distribute for you.

3. Contact local restaurants that deliver food (pizza, Chinese food, sub sandwiches, etc.). Offer to pay them three to 10 cents for each X-Card they distribute to customers for you with their deliveries.

4. Get your own domain and set it to redirect towww.quickinfo247.com/xxx/EE . Custom EyeEarn domains (e.g. EyeEarn.com/YourName) are also available from SFI.

What other methods belong on this list? Submit your ideas on this blog.

ADVANCED METHODS

1. Purchase "Pay-Per-Clicks" (PPC) advertising. PPC allows you to get your advertisements for EyeEarn listed next to the search results in major search engines like Google and Yahoo. Internet Income lessons #48-51 to learn more about PPC advertising.

2. Build your own Website about EyeEarn and/or featuring these EyeEarn banners. To learn about how to build your own Website, see Internet Income lessons #16-22. To maximize hits to your Website, be sure to employ the search engine tips covered in Internet Income lessons #10-15. For 20 big reasons why you need your own Website, click https://www.sfimg.com/Training/20Reasons.sfi.

3. Once you've built your own Website, contact other Website owners/publishers and offer to post their link/banner on your site in exchange for posting your link/banner on theirs. Learn more about this in this "Ask Gery" column. To learn more about Reciprocal Link strategies, see Internet Income lessons #34-35.

4. Create a blog about home business, Internet marketing, making money, creating residual income, or other topics that would draw people looking to make extra money. Include in your text information about EyeEarn. And/or attach one of these text ads. And/or include one of these banners on the page adjacent to your blog text. Learn more about blogging strategies in Internet Income lesson #25.

5. Write articles about home business, Internet marketing, making money, creating residual income, or other topics that would be of interest to prospective EyeEarners. Submit your articles to publishers of magazines, ezines, blogs, etc. For "payment," require only that the publishers include your "About The Author" blurb at the end of your articles, in which you refer to EyeEarn and include your http://www.quickinfo247.com/8051555/EE Gateway (or custom EyeEarn domain) to become an EyeEarner. Also include your contact information and solicit questions, which can then become fodder for future articles. Special note: Also consider submitting your articles to sites such as http://www.isnare.com and http://www.articlemarketer.com.

6. Sponsor a newsletter or blog. See this "Ask Gery" column for details.

7. Contact companies who ship goods and arrange to have them put this X-Card in every order they ship. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them three to ten cents for each card "piggybacked" in their packages.

8. Contact direct mail companies and arrange to have them insert this X-Card in every envelope/package they mail out. Provide them with a supply of cards and agree to pay them three to 10 cents for each card they mail out for you.

What other methods belong on this list? Submit your ideas on this blog .

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Kids, Work, Home Business and Choices

I was just about to leave for lunch when the switchboard operator told me I had a phone call.

Puzzled, since I was new on the job and not expecting any calls, I walked back to my desk and picked up the phone. It was my 10-year-old .

"Hi, Mom, it's me."

"Linda?...Linda?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why did you call? Is anything the matter?"

"I'm at Eva's house?"

"You're supposed to be in school. Why are you at Eva's house?"

"The school caught on fire and they sent everyone home."

"What do you mean the school caught on fire..."

"So I got on Eva's bus and went to his house."

" . . .If the school caught on fire and you're at Eva's house, where's Veroinca?"

"I put her on our bus and told her to go to Jackies's"

"Did Jackies say it was OK?"

"I don't know, I'm at Eva's house."

As it turned out, 6-year-old Veroinca was indeed at Jackies's, but that phone call made me start to reconsider whether taking the job as a staff writer on a business trade magazine had been the right thing to do. Although the job was exactly the type of work I had wanted and allowed me to schedule my hours around the children's school schedule, I just didn't feel comfortable about working away from home.

It wasn't long either, until I started to resent the hour and fifteen minutes each day I had to spend traveling to and from work, and to realize that the costs of going to work (need for new clothes, gasoline, tires, lunch from the deli on days didn't have time to make my lunch or forgot to take it with me) all were eating into the extra income I thought I'd gain by working at a "real" job instead of freelancing from home as I had been doing for the ten years prior to taking that job.

So, a few months later, when my husband took a new job and we had to move to another part of the state, I decided to give self-employment another go-round -- at least until the children were a few years older.

That was more than 20 years ago. These days the "children" come to visit on weekends. Stephen is an accountant with one of the largest accounting firms in the country and Vicki is a middle school teacher. I still work for myself and don't think I could ever work for anyone else again.

Over the years my business has changed and grown just as my children have. I'm no longer a one-person writer and copywriter. Instead, I run the Businessknowhow.com web site, which provides information, tools and resources to more than a million home-based and small businesses each year.

BusinessKnowHow.com was run from home until 2004. But I didn't run it entirely alone. Instead, I had - and still have - a network of small businesses and freelancers - mostly work-at-home parents - I call on as needed (and as they are available) for various projects. One of the freelancers I've used in the past was my daughter, who did some editorial freelancing while she was in grad school.

The business has grown over the years. So last year, at an age when most people are wondering where they'll get enough money to retire (and hoping they don't get forced into retirement before they're ready), I rented office space and moved my business out of the house. I hired employees to work in the office, but still call on my virtual network to do projects from their homes.

Instead of worrying about the financial and emotional ramifications of losing a job and being forced into retirement, I enjoy running my own business and working to do the things that will make the business be both saleable and valuable when and if I decide I to scale back my business activities.

Remarkably, I have never personally met many of the freelancers and business owners who work on projects for me. They are scattered around the country. We communicate primarily via computer or telephone, with fax or US mail filling in as needed to transfer documents or materials that can't be transferred by computer.

I believe in many ways, that my business - and the way it's run - is a model of the way many more workplaces will be run in the future. While there will always be glassed-in, climate-controlled, ulcer-producing corporate workplaces, today's technology gives us choices we never had before about where we work, when we work, how we work, who we work with, and how long we work. And working from home - or in your own business 5 minutes away from home- is a pleasant alternative to traffic jams and elevators and deli sandwiches gulped down between phone calls and meetings.

Dealing with Home Office Distractions

In today's business world it is not uncommon for many sales people to work from a home office. At first this may seem like a great opportunity, however, it does create some unique challenges. One of the biggest obstacles is the number of distractions that can take us away from our work and prevent us from achieving our objectives.

When you work from a home office it is easy to get distracted from work, especially if it is work that you do not particularly enjoy like prospecting or cold calling. Watering the plants, running errands or even doing laundry can be a welcome change from the daily drudgery of selling. And, if you have young children, the number of distractions increases dramatically.

I, too, work from a home office and have had to deal with this challenge. Here are a few ideas that can help manage these distractions and improve your productivity.

Create an office. When I first began working from home almost a decade ago, I used to work at my dining room table. Unfortunately, this put me in the middle of our household action. My wife would turn on the television and I would be instantly distracted from my work. In other cases, she would talk to me or ask me a question simply because I was in the same room. As a result, it was often difficult to focus on my work. Now I have an office and do the majority of my work there. If you don't have space to create an office, find somewhere in your house that has the least amount of traffic and opportunities for distractions.

Set specific "business" hours. This is particularly important if you have young children. It can be very difficult for children to understand that they can't disturb us while we're working. If you have an office, close your door and place a do not disturb sign on it. This is particularly important if you are making client calls because it prevents family members from inadvertently barging in on you during a critical call.

Use a "to do" list-everyday. Having a list of what you need to accomplish each day can help keep you focused; otherwise, it becomes too easy to do other things around the house. If you know that you need to accomplish a certain number of tasks by the end of the day, it can prevent you from getting distracted during the day. One of the challenges with this is that household duties or running errands are more enjoyable compared to work we have to complete. However, I have frequently found that once I get involved in my task, the desire to do something else fades.

Set deadlines for the projects you're working on. Although I don't have anyone holding me accountable to these deadlines, it find that this approach can help keep me on track. You can also share these deadlines with other people to help keep yourself focused especially if this type of accountability works for you.

Give yourself permission to relax from time-to-time. It's okay to allow yourself to get distracted once in a while. As long it's not a regular occurrence, you don't have to worry too much about it. However, if your relaxation time overtakes your work time, then you need to reconsider your priorities.

Share your goals and objections with a group of advisors. This type of accountability works well for many people because they know they will have to report their progress on specific projects.

Recognize that the results you achieve are a direct result of the effort you put into your work. When I first started my private practice, it was easy to put aside work and do chores or run errands. In my first year, I treated work like a part-time job, clocking an average of 20-25 hours per week. When I evaluated my results at the end of the year I realized I couldn't afford to maintain this mentality. So I started working more. And, I got better results. I eventually learned that the more effort I put into my work, the better results I achieved in terms of the revenue and income I generated. This made it easier to avoid the distractions and focus more on my work.

Lastly, you can try an approach I learned from Brian Tracy many years ago. When you find yourself procrastinating on a particular task or project, repeat the following three words to yourself over and over. "Do it now." This can be a great way to prevent yourself from getting distracted by other things you would prefer to do.

Distractions are sometimes positive. A break away from work can clear your mind, give you the opportunity to refresh yourself, and increase your energy level. However, it is important to remember that you have a responsibility to yourself and your business to limit these distractions

3 Simple Strategies to Build Your Home-Based Business Faster And Easier

One of the biggest mistakes new home-based business owners make is trying to do everything from square one.

You can rest assured that whatever you are attempting to do or build, it has already been done.

Sure, it probably won't be a mirror image of what you're doing, but it will have many of the same basic ingredients

The fastest and easiest way to get your business going and growing is by finding others who have already done what you want to do and learning and benefiting from their efforts.

A local business person recently told me he was in the process of building an autoresponder. Of course, this wouldn't be a strange thing to be doing if it was a service he plans to sell, but it has nothing to do with his business!

Instead of investing a few hours to explore those autoresponders already in existence, he is investing well more than a hundred hours trying to build one on his own so he can communicate with his customers.

By conducting only a couple of hours research, he would have discovered a variety of outstanding, affordable autoresponder services that are highly sophisticated and subject to continual upgrading and improvement to keep up with ever-changing technology and consumer needs.

Imagine the kind of business he could have generated for himself if he focused those one hundred plus hours acquiring new customers for his business and expanding and improving on his products and services!

Unfortunately, like him, many new home business owners are still of the employee mindset -- that they have to work relentlessly and do everything alone.

They haven't yet developed the entrepreneurial mindset that understands you have to work smarter, not harder.

Another time-consuming task many new business owners take on is spending hours, even days, trying to design the perfect logo. I'm embarrassed to say I spent DAYS searching the Internet for sample logos, looking for ideas, then sitting and drawing possible logo after logo.

Most people have more creative flair in their big toe than I have in my entire body, yet I thought that if I put enough time into it, even though it meant not focusing on increasing business, the perfect logo would reveal itself.

I eventually abandoned the obsession and as soon as I handed the project over to my web designer, I had a new, effective and eye-catching logo within 24 hours.

It was a costly mistake. I had spent so many years working in a support capacity that I didn't know how to make the shift to a leader capacity and delegate the task.

(Even more important, I later realized, having a logo is waaaay down on the priority scale and doesn't even have to be considered during the start-up period.)

As you are starting your business, consider the following tasks and ask yourself if someone else could be doing them while you focus on building:

designing brochures and marketing materials
creating your web site
setting up your voice mail and e-mail
purchasing supplies and equipment
stuffing envelopes and taking them to the post office, or delivering flyers
market research
hooking up your new computer, modem, fax and installing software
trouble shooting computer problems
writing articles, reports or white papers
These are not revenue generating activities and if you find them challenging or time-consuming, delegate these tasks to someone else like a family member, co-op student or part-time assistant.

For the more specialized items, seek the input of a mastermind member or business colleague on how they handle those responsibilities. Also, hire or barter with experts in marketing, web design and technology.

Another wheel you don't need to re-invent is that of processes, particularly in the area of marketing.

Marketing may not be your forte, yet it is the most important element of your business, and this is where many new home business owners bury themselves.

The good news is you don't have to develop your marketing process by trial and error. Commit several days to studying other businesses both in and outside of your industry. How do they promote themselves? How do they collect leads? How do they convert leads?

In other words, how do they catch the attention of potential customers, get them to express an interest to learn more, and how do they get them to ultimately pull out their wallets and buy?

The quickest and easiest way to create winning processes is to study already successful businesses, then model what they do. Sign up for their newsletters and request additional information. Let them begin a courtship with you and pay attention to what they're doing. Buy a product or two and see what tools they use to keep inviting you back for more.

This doesn't mean copy them word for word or action by action, but assimilate what works, mould it to your specific business and add the essential ingredient of uniqueness that allows you to stand out from the crowd.

These are just three simple strategies you can start with today to get on the fast-track to home business success.

Again, here they are in a nutshell:

Uncover what has already been created or invented, then implement or install. Don't reinvent the wheel.

Think like a business owner, not an employee. Delegate, hire or trade.

Model the processes of others who have already achieved the level of success you're seeking. They've already made the mistakes for you and know what works.

Incorporate these strategies and you will shave hours and dollars from your start-up curve and begin reaping the rewards faster than you ever thought possible.

3 Simple Strategies to Build Your Home-Based Business Faster And Easier

"How to Move Past 'Newbie' Status to Full-Fledged Affiliate Marketer"

"How to Move Past 'Newbie' Status to Full-Fledged Affiliate Marketer"

Every day there's at least one person who discovers 'affiliate marketing' for the first time. And, every day, there's at least one person, maybe that person is you, who goes back to the drawing board trying to figure out why they haven't yet succeeded as wildly as they'd hoped.

No matter which category you fall into, I'd like to share some concepts with you that might make all the difference in the world to your future success. In fact, you just might learn from this article the one thing that helps you start earning real money.

It really all comes down these two mistakes that beginner's make:

1. Promoting to many products at once (lack of focus), and..
2. Giving up too soon.

These two mistakes are related, and are actually self-reinforcing. It sounds obvious enough, but let me explain exactly how this scenario plays out.

Lack of Focus:

Experienced affiliate marketers do have the ability to promote several products, sometimes far afield from each other, at the same time. The reason they can do this is because they'd already learned and applied certain fundamental skills, and have developed a system for themselves which works to bring in sales consistently.

As a beginner, however, you're still learning what works and what doesn't. For that reason alone, you need a clearly defined testing ground - and this means limiting your promotion to just one product when you first start out.

Just imagine for a moment if you were in a laboratory. You're working with a new chemical and need to determine its boiling point, solubility, molecular weight and so on.

Would it be quicker and easier for you to accomplish this by working with just that one chemical, or by juggling multiple, other chemicals all at the same time...starting one experiment and then rushing over to another one midway through?

Obviously, it would be easier to work with just the one chemical, right?

Well, the same is true for marketing. Just like the variables in your lab experiment, you've also got variables in every product promotion you undertake. The variables include things like traffic generation, conversion rates, advertising response rates and so on.

So, how much data do you want to juggle? Do you want to keep track of, say, Google Adwords performance for ONE e-book...or for a dozen of them spread across more than one niche?

This is where a lot beginners get themselves into a rut. They try to juggle all of this information at once, get overwhelmed by it and simply give up.

Giving Up Too Soon:

Ok, so, information overload hits, and you throw your hands in the air in surrender.

There's no need to despair!

You can turn the situation around completely if you'll just make a commitment to do the following three things:

1. Pick ONE niche market
2. Pick ONE product from that market
3. Use just that one niche product as your testing ground, in order to solidify your skills as an affiliate marketer.

You see, its a lot like learning to ride a bicycle as a kid. You start off with a tricycle, then move up to regular bike with training wheels and from there onto riding any bike you choose.

The same is true for learning how to promote products as an affiliate.

*Learn how to generate traffic on just one product
*Learn how to capture subscribers to your opt-in list for just one product
*Learn how to write advertisements and promotional copy for just one product
*Learn how to track your advertising links and conversion rates for just that one product....

http://tinyurl.com/2juuel

....and THEN, you'll be able to turn around and apply that knowledge to additional products, in different niches.

The key is to get some real results established in one place, and only then start building on that incrementally.

If you'll follow even just this one simple rule, I promise you'll see an increase in your commissions - and you can drop that 'newbie' label for the title of: Successful Affiliate Marketer!

Saturday, May 05, 2007

You may want to use this letter to encourage upgrades to EA

I have the BOLD text below as my New Affiliate Greeting. My downline affiliates who haven't upgraded to Executive Affiliate also get a slightly revised version.

Enter your own personalized affiliate greeting at the SFIMG Affiliate Center, go to My Account - Miscellaneous Account Options - My New Affiliate Greeting

You'll need to modify your letter copy if you're not a Team Leader. And of course, replace [Your Name] with your name at the top and bottom. The SUMMARY in italics at the bottom, may be kept with the letter, or not, as you prefer.

By the way, if you're not an EA yet - WHY NOT?
Don't you want to be rich?

Hi New Affiliate,
Welcome to SFI!

My name is [Your Name].
I'm an Executive Affiliate (EA) and Team Leader (TL) in SFI.
And I'm absolutely delighted that you're now on my SFI team!

As your SFI sponsor, I'm here to help you get off to a fast and profitable start.
My success is tied directly to yours,
so feel free to contact me to assist you with anything, anytime.

The purpose of this message is to give you some really great news!
And also to tell you a little bit about why I'm in SFI
so that you'll understand how you too will benefit, like me, by being in SFI.

Here are 4 of my reasons.
> SFI is a good honest company.
> I want to use SFI to make a good income.
> SFI gives me all I need to make becoming rich possible.
> SFI's founder, Gery Carson, can be trusted to deliver these things.

Now then...
I already know a couple of things about you.
You're not an Executive Affiliate in SFI... yet.
And, like me, I'm sure you want to become as rich as possible.

So, here's your good news.
I know how to quickly make us both rich with SFI.
And I have an excellent plan which will do just that.

The plan is below, right here in this letter.
I call it "3 Steps To Riches".
It's my recommendation, a path for you to follow,
based on my experience having found out what works with SFI.

In a word, it's DUPLICATION.

1) Become an Executive Affiliate, like me... preferably TODAY!

Why...?
Because being, and staying, EA locks you into SFI's companywide Powerline
where you'll earn regular Executive Bonuses, a real live paycheck each month.
What you'll earn with this bonus is based on company earnings.
When SFI grows, your income grows with SFI!

*A single retail sale or a single purchase of SFI's products can make you EA.

2) Sponsor new affiliates... hopefully DAILY!

Why...?
Because here you build your team and earn the more lucrative bonuses - Executive Matches and Team Matches.
This income can be bigger and better because your teamwork will make it so.
As your team succeeds you succeed along with them!

*Showing your free SFI websites to people can produce sponsored affiliates for you.

3) Send this same letter I've sent you to all your affiliates who aren't yet EA... I recommend REGULARLY!

Why...?
Because Self-Discipline, Followup, Persistence, Duplication, and Teamwork
are what WILL make you a winner with SFI.
No one wants to be a loser.
SFI makes it possible, likely, and very easy for you to win, even win big!
SFI will indeed help YOU finally become the winner you've always wanted to be!

*People often need to see your offer several times before they can confidently respond.

That's it!
That's the plan!
It's as simple as 1, 2, 3!

A MAJOR HINT!
If you'll show your sponsored affiliates your personalized version of this letter and plan,
over and over again,
they'll eventually understand how they, too, can easily and quickly become rich with SFI!

===> Important <<<===

This plan is believable. It is not hype!
This plan has been tested, and it really does work!
This plan will work for you... but only IF you will execute the plan!

You must be EA, and stay EA, just like me, if you hope to become rich in SFI!
You can be EA by either selling or buying SFI's products monthly.
You will be EA sooner or later, guaranteed, so why wait?

For best results and most benefits, I suggest that you... BECOME EA NOW!

If you'll upgrade to Executive Affiliate, here's what I'll do for you.

If you need help sponsoring people into SFI,
marketing any of the fine SFI products,
or advertising your SFI websites,
that help will be yours!
Please let me know.

EXTRA Help Is Available, TOO!
What else can I do to aid you with your new SFI business?

Are there any questions I can answer for you?
Is there anything I can clarify for you about the SFI Powerline program?

Have you been to SFI's extremely valuable Discussion Board
where you'll find much more information freely provided by other affiliates?

If there's anything at all that I can assist you with, please, don't hesitate to ask... anytime.

Bottom line - I'm here to do what I can to ensure your success in SFI.
SFI and I will help you build a profitable, worldwide Internet business.

MORE Good News for YOU!
Become a Team Leader in SFI by sponsoring only 5 Executive Affiliates.
Achieving the TL level positions you to earn the biggest money SFI offers.

That's about it. But there's just one more thing I'd like you know.
You may wonder how I maintain my personal Executive Affiliate status.

I have a monthly Standing Order for IAHBE.
(IAHBE is a subscription to SFI's International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs).

See http://www.iahbe.org/.

Why do I buy IAHBE?
IAHBE is online (no shipping and handling) and accessible worldwide.
IAHBE makes it easy and fun for me to operate my SFI business.
IAHBE is worth at least 100 times it's expense in value to me.
IAHBE costs me only $29.95 a month, less than $1 a day.
IAHBE gives me the 10 SVP monthly I need to stay EA.

IAHBE was my first choice to be EA because I wanted to become rich with SFI, fast.
And many of SFI's top Executive Affiliates and Team Leaders agree.

OK, that's enough about me... now how about you?

Are you ready and willing to follow this plan?
So that we both can become rich?
I certainly do hope so!

Remember these 3 important things.
> Be EA - Simply retail or buy SFI's products each month.
> Become a Team Leader - Simply sponsor 5 Executive Affiliates.
> Make big money with SFI - Simply create a team that does as you do.

Are you willing to do what I've done?
You can easily and inexpensively do exactly what I do and teach what I'm teaching you.
Just follow my example, and use "3 Steps To Riches".
It's all you need do to be a success with SFI.

So...

Will you execute my plan?
Will you do what it takes for you to be EA
so that you can obtain wealth with SFI... just like me?

RIGHT THIS MINUTE...??

Or will you continue just barely getting by, by not becoming EA?

OK, it's time for you to decide - the next move is yours!

Join SFI's Top Earners... Go EXECUTIVE!
Click on the link below or place it in your browser.
http://www.sfimg.com/EA/

SUMMARY:
1) Become EA yourself... right away.
2) Sponsor new affiliates as often as you can.
3) Encourage as many of your sponsored affiliates as you can
to become EA like you as soon as possible, assisted by SFI, as
often as it takes for the few go-getters, the best ones you can
identify and help support, to understand what to do and do it.

Then repeat 1-3 each month, and advise them to repeat each month.
Nothing hard about it. No personal websites needed. It's free, or can be.

You can become rich as you want simply by doing steps 1-3,
but you and your team must do every step, over and over again,
or in other words, everyone must do his/her part
to do a little easy work for SFI before SFI will reward you with commission.

If you don't do your part, don't expect to earn anything from SFI.

But by doing your part, using the 3-Step Plan,
SFI will reward you and your team handsomely
for your efforts, your sales, and your teamwork!

With DUPLICATION... it's quick, easy, and fun!

Till next time.

Your sponsor in SFI,

[Your Name]

P.S. HERE'S Another Major HINT!

Try replacement buying.
Here's what I mean by that.

SFI products are of such high quality that
you might find it better to buy from your own SFI Store.
Find something you now get elsewhere and use frequently, and then consider getting it instead from SFI.

Thus, you'll have no extra out-of-pocket expense to be EA each month!
Neat, huh? You can be EA for FREE!
And you'll quite likely save money doing it too!

SFI's Earnings Calculator will show you the amount of money you can
earn by being EA and sponsoring EAs, from now on.
Login to the SFI Affiliate Center, then use this link for SFI's Earnings Calculator.

https://www.sfimg.com/PopUp/earnings_calculator.jsp/

Logon to the SFI Affiliate Center, then use this link for Success with SFI... "as simple as 1,2,3!"

https://www.sfimg.com/Reference/StepsForSuccess.sfi/

You can do it... just like I am. And I'll help you!

If each of us does just a little work each month,
in other words...
===>>> Use the Extremely Simple and Easily Applied 3-Step Plan, <<<===
to do your part,
then I can confidently predict,
we as a team WILL make very good money with SFI.

Finally a quote from Gery Carson, Founder and President of SFI:
"As for the comp plan, you simply have to be a TL. Period.
This keeps the comp plan clean, simple, and puts the big money within reach of every affiliate."

Visit the SFI Discussion Board
http://www.sfidboard.com/index.php?/
for an almost unbelievable amount of Fabulous FREE Information!

Here's to you and me getting rich with SFI... soon!

Remember, so that they'll eventually come to understand how SFI works,
and so that they and YOU will make BIG money in your new business,
ensure that affiliates you sponsor see this message regularly!

Q: I don't feel my sponsor is properly supporting me. Can I be provided with a new sponsor?

Q: I don't feel my sponsor is properly supporting me. Can I be provided with a new sponsor?

A: If you don't like your sponsor, you can opt of SFI for six months and rejoin under any SFI affiliate of your choosing. However, even without factoring in losing six months of productivity, it's a bad decision in my opinion. I say this because I believe focusing on what your sponsor does or doesn't do is completely irrelevant to your success.

Before I started SFI, I was extremely successful for many years as a distributor in several network marketing companies. I built groups numbering in the many tens of thousands—generating millions of dollars in sales. I was wildly successful, yet I essentially never heard from my sponsors or received any upline assistance. I knew what I wanted to do, and I went out and did it. I didn't need a sponsor to succeed...and neither do you!

A good sponsor should be looked upon as "icing on the cake" ONLY. That is, if you're fortunate enough to have chosen a sponsor who supports you to your satisfaction, that's great. On the other hand, if you're not completely satisfied with the support your sponsor provides, that's okay, too, because whatever success you achieve is always going to come down to what YOU do and no one else.

As most longtime SFI affiliates know, one of my guiding mottos has always been, "If it's to be, it's up to me." NEVER, EVER allow yourself to think your sponsor, other upline members, or anyone else controls what level of success you achieve. Blaming anyone else for your lack of success is a defeatist attitude that will keep you from ever achieving your dreams. YOU and YOU ALONE are responsible for your success! Don't' ever forget that!

Now that you understand that, let's look at this from another angle: What do you expect your sponsor to do for you? He or she can't magically turn you into a success (that's up to you, as I've explained above). What a sponsor CAN and SHOULD do, however, is help you with your concerns, help you get your questions answered, etc.

Hopefully, your sponsor is providing this service. If not, however, you're FAR from being left out in the cold. You can go to your upline Team Leaders. You have up to six of them listed at:

https://www.sfimg.com/MyAccount/upline.sfi

There's also the SFI "DBoard" (www.sfidboard.com).The DBoard is like having a hundred sponsors! Indeed, the DBoard is a place where thousands of experienced moderators and fellow SFI affiliates gather to discuss SFI topics and help each other with problems, questions, and concerns. You can get help 24 hours a day from the DBoard by simply posting a question.

Finally, there's SFI corporate support. Our staff stands ready to help you with any problem or question you have. Just e-mail us at support@sfimg.com and you will receive an reply, usually within one to two business days.
Q: OK, I see now how I don't actually need a good sponsor, but can't SFI make my sponsor answer my e-mails or at least penalize him for being non-supportive?

That's a very loaded question! First of all, realize that all SFI affiliates are INDEPENDENT representatives. They are not employees. Just as we can't force you to answer your e-mails, we can't force your sponsor or anyone else to do it either.

The vast majority of affiliates DO answer their e-mails because, of course, that's how you build a profitable organization. Beyond putting that incentive out there, however, there's not much else we can do, particularly because we have NO WAY of knowing the status of your or their e-mails.

That is, because of misconfigured spam filters, millions of legitimate e-mails every day are not delivered or are routed to "junk" folders where they're never seen. The fact is, your sponsor may not be receiving the e-mails you send him or her. Or, he or she may be receiving them and replying to them, but your ISP is not delivering or junking the e-mails.

There's NO WAY we can know exactly what is occurring. There's no way to determine if it's your sponsor who is not responding to your e-mails, of if your sponsor's ISP, or your ISP is dropping the ball.

Because this cannot be known, punishment for "non-support" just doesn't work. If we suddenly cut off your check because someone in your downline reported that they had e-mailed you and didn't hear back from you, you'd likely be very upset. You'd probably think a lawsuit was in order in fact. Especially if you actually DID respond but through no fault of your own the e-mails never got delivered.

Now, all that said, there IS something coming to SFI that will change this dynamic. It's called "A2A" and is our new Web-based messaging system that will allow messaging between upline and downline members.

A2A, which stands for "Affiliate To Affiliate" will also allow you to send messages back and forth with ANY affiliate in SFI. This will be particularly valuable because you can precisely select affiliates. You will be able to directly communicate with affiliates in your country, for example...or, of same gender and age...or, choose affiliates who joined SFI the same time you did...and so on.

In regards to your sponsor, however, A2A will provide SFI for the first time with the ability to know if a sponsor is not responding to requests from downline members. This is because A2A operates 100% on our servers. There are no outside ISPs used. When you send a message to your sponsor using A2A, we'll know it was sent and delivered. We'll know if your sponsor responded, and we'll be able to take the appropriate actions if not.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

New Addition To Affiliate Center

When a new affiliate joins SFI, they want to get started NOW. They don't want to have to invest a lot of time and money before they can see some results. And they're definitely not interested in pursuing complex marketing strategies that they're not familiar with. What new SFI affiliates want is "plug and play." And starting today, SFI has it.

Go to your "Getting Started" page now:

https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/GettingStarted.sfi

On step five, you see that you choose the Gateway you want to use. Once you've selected your Gateway, step six now includes a link to a detailed listing of promotion methods and strategies specifically for your chosen Gateway.

The listing for your chosen Gateway will include beginner methods, intermediate methods, and advanced methods.

The beginner methods in particular are methods that can be employed immediately and/or are methods that anyone can do without any special knowledge or experience. Not everyone can build their own Website or conduct a successful pay-per-click campaign, but almost everyone can hand out cards, wear promotional garments, mail postcards, etc. Indeed, now there's no reason why every affiliate can't start actively promoting SFI their very first day!

Because all new affiliates are automatically presented with the "Getting Started" page containing the promo method links, all new affiliates now have a complete "plug and play" opportunity in front of them the minute they hit the Affiliate Center. So more than ever, make sure you are directing your new affiliates to:

https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/GettingStarted.sfi

Referring your affiliates to this page is also the clear action to take for many of the "what should I do?" type e-mails you get.

You can check out the promo methods for the /FREE Gateway directly at:

https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/promo_free.sfi

You can check out the promo methods for the default (official SFI "Retail Store") Gateway directly at:

https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/promo_retail.sfi

Note: Additional methods and strategies are forthcoming for both of these and will be added as they become available. Similar listing of promo methods for ALL our Gateways are also on the way.

How do I organize a co-op?

The easiest way is to use Contact Manager. Send a message to the affiliates you want to invite to participate. Explain the type of advertising you're going to do, how you will set up the co-op (whether they'll receive an equal share of affiliates generated or a specific quantity of affiliates, etc.), and the cost or requirements to participate.
For more information about using the Co-op Manager,

see: https://www.sfimg.com/Resources/TLCoop.sfi

I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO FIRE YOUR BOSS USEING THIS SITE !

About Me

Make money with Triple Clicks

Blog Archive

COOL LINKS

Thursday, May 29, 2008

General Home-Business Articles:

Business Cards That Work

Did You Know You recruit new affiliates and build lucrative residual income streams through EyeEarn, SFI's worldwide advertising co-op

Sunday, February 10, 2008

What is EyeEarn?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Are You Allergic to Finding New Clients?

DID YOU KNOW :

TIP OF THE DAY:

Q: How do I get people to my Gateway?

EyeEarn Program Marketing Methods

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Kids, Work, Home Business and Choices

Dealing with Home Office Distractions

3 Simple Strategies to Build Your Home-Based Business Faster And Easier

3 Simple Strategies to Build Your Home-Based Business Faster And Easier

"How to Move Past 'Newbie' Status to Full-Fledged Affiliate Marketer"

Saturday, May 05, 2007

You may want to use this letter to encourage upgrades to EA

Q: I don't feel my sponsor is properly supporting me. Can I be provided with a new sponsor?

Saturday, April 21, 2007

New Addition To Affiliate Center

How do I organize a co-op?

SFI LINKS