Why Sales Funnels Are The Next Thing In Affiliate Marketing

The term "Sales Funnel" might be new to you. It's a marketing technique that's been around for decades in the offline world. It's also a technique that's been routinely used by product sellers online.

It's a way for a seller to make more money from the people who visit their site.

What's new is that affiliate marketers are now also starting to use sales funnels to boost their own earnings.

There are two general types of sales funnel:

1. The Multi-Product Funnel

There's the funnel that's always used on the likes of JVZoo, Warrior Plus and sometimes on ClickBank.

This is where you buy a low-priced front-end product and are then subjected to variety of upsells and one-time-offers that are designed to part you with more of your money.

The goal of this type of funnel is to sell you multiple products in quick succession before you really have time to consider your options.

The offers often have timers showing how little time you have left to make a decision or you're told that limited quantities are available.

2. The Single Product Funnel

The second type of funnel is geared around selling you a single product.

The purpose of the funnel is to repeatedly expose you to the product and explain why it will be useful, if not essential, to you or your business.

This is often achieved by attracting a visitor to sign up to get a free product and then sending them a series of emails describing the benefits of the product you're trying to sell them.

A less common tactic is to provide free training and information to prospects regardless of whether they end up buying or not.

Sales Funnels In Use

If you've ever bought anything in the Make Money Online niche, you've already been exposed to the multi-product sales funnel.

They can often leave a bad taste and you end up feeling like you've been hounded into spending a lot more money than you intended. That can build some resentment in you.

If you recognize that feeling, is that something you'd want to bring out in your own customers?

Don't forget that those who look at your offers are real people, not credit cards with legs.

Treat your potential customers just like you'd like to be treated by a seller.

That's why I prefer the second type of funnel.

There's no hard sell involved. You're giving your prospects something free to entice them in the door.

From there, you start introducing them to your offer and why it might be a good fit for them.

You're trying to persuade them that what you're offering will make their lives easier or solve a problem for them.

If they buy, then they've made the decision to buy.

You haven't forced them to make the decision by using some false scarcity tactics like a countdown timer or saying only a limited number of copies are available.

Because a prospect has made the decision to buy on their own terms, they'll feel much better about their buying decision.

You'll have earned their trust and you can use that to further build your relationship with them so that you can market other offers to them more successfully in the future.

So How Does This Tie In With Affiliate Marketing?

In general, affiliate marketers are given access to affiliate links and resources like image ads and emails that they can send out.

These are used to drive traffic to an offer.

However, when a prospect buys or signs up on a squeeze page, they go onto the sellers email list, not the affiliate's.

That means that the affiliate has lost access to that prospect forever and it's the seller who can market to that customer time after time.

The better affiliate networks will also pay affiliates on products that are in a seller's sales funnel.

So yes, you can earn commissions on multiple products.

But what you, as the affiliate, don't know is if the seller is offering products that are not in the "public" sales funnel to people on their list.

So you could be missing out on commissions as a result.

Typically, a sales funnel starts out with a low-priced product, offers higher-priced products in the funnel, culminating in one or more high-ticket products at the end of the funnel.

This tends to be where sellers make the bulk of their money. It's far easier to sell one high-ticket product than tens of low-ticket ones.

The seller is quite within their rights to market products that you won't earn a commission on.

After all, they own the email list that the buyers are now subscribed to.

So, to counter this, affiliate marketers have been creating their own sales funnels.

They select the front-end product, the upsells and any high-ticket products to promote.

These can all be from different sellers. But you, the affiliate, may think that some products complement each other better than the products in a seller's own funnel do.

Yes, the prospect will be exposed to each seller's funnel as well as the affiliate's.

But the affiliate knows that a sale of any product in their own funnel will generate a commission.

That said, I still think that the Single Product funnel is the better approach from a customer-relationship point of view.

If a prospect ultimately does not buy into your offer, you still have them on your email list. And now it's time to promote a different offer to them.

You can market to these prospects as often as you want, as they're in your email list.

So the greatest advantages of building your own sales funnels are:

You get to add prospects to your own email list
Your email list is a business asset you fully own. It's usefulness doesn't depend on the whims or algorithm changes of Google, Facebook or whoever.
Email marketing is still the best way make money online.
You can market to your subscribers as often as you want.
You can build your own unique sales funnels, combining products from a variety of sellers
As an affiliate marketer, you should never send people directly to an offer. You're basically giving sole access to that person to the seller.
You should always send people to a squeeze page first - one that you own - and it's only after they sign up there that you send them on to your affiliate offer.

This way, you've captured their email address and they are now part of your 100%-owned business asset - your email list.

How Do You Build A Sales Funnel?

If you use WordPress, there are plugins that will build squeeze (optin) pages and other types of funnel page for you.

But creating an actual sales funnel is not the easiest. These plugins are great at creating individual pages rather than an entire funnel. It can be done, but you need to be very organized and keep track of how each page relates to another.

Another approach is to use a service like Clickfunnels that's designed exclusively for building sales funnels. There's a link to a review in my bio below if you want to know more.

With a service like this, you don't even need your own website. The tool can do everything for you.

I hope you now see the advantages in creating your own sales funnels, whatever tool you end up using to create them.

Read more »

How Online Entrepreneurs Can Make Money Online With a Website

Starting an online business can be freeing if the entrepreneur knows what they are doing. But what does a new entrepreneur do if they are not experience in online business? The key to an online business is to leverage how to make money online with a website.

The online business website is the heart of any Internet-based business and all detailed pertaining to the website need to be handled with care. Therefore, online business owners should take special care to create a website in a profitable market (also known as a niche), market the website properly using traffic generating techniques and have calls for action so that consumers will follow through with purchases.

Read on for a break down of the previous steps for more detail.

Selling products using your website

Online entrepreneurs have millions of online products that can be marketed that will translate into paid commissions. Companies like Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target use affiliate marketers to help promote their products and drive Internet traffic to their web pages. It is common for online entrepreneurs to earn commissions If a purchase is made, because a consumer clicked through to the Amazon page through the entrepreneurs marketing web page.

Decide on a market or niche

Now it is time to decide what type of products the online entrepreneur would like to market in. The online marketer will decide what specific market they are going to operate in. For this article, let's say the online entrepreneur chooses helping coaches find the right baseball gear for their teams. Many of the major retails deal in baseball gear and have affiliate marketing programs that online entrepreneurs can take advantage of.

Create a website

At this point the online entrepreneur will create a website that will be used to market various baseball products through affiliate links to the retailers' home site. The website should be clean and be in a layout that is suited for the consumer to find information easily.

Drive traffic to the website

Here is where the online entrepreneur would need to decide. Should organic traffic techniques be utilized through SEO optimization? Or should traffic be sent to the marketing website using pay-per-click technique. The pay-per-click would be the fastest way to get traffic to the website. The problem with pay=per-click is that sending traffic to the website can be expensive. Most online entrepreneurs choose the route of getting free traffic using SEO Optimization. Building traffic through SEO takes time.

Convert traffic to purchases

Now that the online entrepreneur has traffic, it is time to convert that traffic in to purchases. This is where the vendor weblinks come into play. The goal is to tweak your SEO Optimization so that most visitors are wanting to buy. Work on the SEO content to get your purchase-to-traffic conversion rate to 20%. That is the low end of what a conversion rate should be for a niche webpage. Try to get higher if possible.

Read more »

Truths and Myths About Passion-Based Business

Thinking of passion-based business and Eileen Fisher quote (see below), I am inspired to share my observations of myths I have observed over the years, and the truths I practice myself and with my clients.

From the time my daughter was young, I let go of asking her for A's at school. I invited her to follow her passion. I then gave her space to find her passion and her authentic voice. I also suggested that when she was not feeling successful, to check in to see if she had listened to her voice and was actually (still) following her passion.

Fast forward to today, following her passion, she speaks of how easy grad school is. No surprise she received straight A's to affirm her commitment to her passion.

THE PRACTICE

Let's be clear, she is studying at an ivy league grad school so the work is not easy. During the year I heard about late hours and assignments due over holidays. What she shared was her perspective on the work. Her feelings about the work from her place of passion.

Like many of you, she is multi-passionate. During her "free" time, she lives into another of her passions, creating graphic art for both peace of mind and profit (some of you may have seen my recent posts about her pet-commissions). Living into her heART as an entrepreneur. Somehow, she makes the time to do both and more. We often speak about how this "work" nurtures her passion-energy and balances the grad work.

My daughter, my tribe and I know this as the Way of the YINpreneur. It is about the true meaning of R.O.I. = Return On Intention. Getting clear on your passion and authentic voice is your #journeytocenter.

THE MYTH & THE TRUTH

Following your passion isn't only about you or the work you are doing in the world being all woo-woo or easy. It is about leading from your heart, being clear about your passion, and speaking from this passion in your authentic voice. In this way, you are renewing versus draining your energy and moving forward. From this place, you can accept the work as part of your journey to realizing your magic. This is what I believe people mean when they are busting their buns to get things done yet say, "it doesn't feel like work".

[[firstname]], speaking of authentic voice... I was inspired to use the time given to me as I waited out the pouring rain before heading out to connect with family members visiting from California to create a Facebook live video to complement this share.

For now, I send you wishes for clarity of vision, passion and the power to manifest magic.

Read more »

Setting Up A Network Cabling Service For A Small Business Entity

In a typical enterprise organization, the network is the central theme which becomes an essential component to run the small office network efficiently well.

The alignment of the network system for small office network works well and could possibly accommodate the digital transmissions in the days to come.

In this particular trend, when aligning a small office network, the cabling service plays a vital role in terms of connecting to the various network devices such as the switches and routers which in turn connects the devices for their specific IP addresses and other related devices.

The network devices have manifested as the integral components

Switches predominately connect the multiple devices:

• The switches have been instrumental in connecting the workstations, servers, and printers to mention a few.

• In the recent times, since organizations have provisionally permitted the BYOD devices; the switches have scaled up to even provide the network connectivity to certain smart mobile devices

• Since the entire world has changed into complete digitization, the switches have evolved and have been connecting the devices which generally transmit higher bandwidths and also accommodate the voice and data transmissions at faster levels.

Routers the gadgets to vehemently connect the IP address series:

• Routers are those devices which connects the IP address series in an office network,

• The router have been the devices which ardently connects the networked computers or the device which signifies the IP address to the internet, while connecting to the internet or the internet service provider (ISP) the routers are responsible to share the resources as one single internet connection.

• In simpler terms, the routers have been connecting the small office to the internet world and also become a barrier for the ongoing security threats.

The network cabling benefits:

• The modern day the data center management to efficiently function well has to be well planned which brings about the less down time? The cabling subsystems play a major role in the digital connectivity for the data center and the connected servers.

• A failed cable infrastructure often brings about the more breaks in the digital connectivity and translates into millions of dollars of lost revenue and decreased productivity.

• The structured cabling has been able to bring about the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and have been engaging the organizations with integrated messaging and wireless applications.

• If convenience is the primary reason to implement a wireless network, the wireless network has been the reason to bring about both the speed and the reliability.

Read more »

Umbrellas Are The Perfect Tool For Promoting Small Businesses

Small business owners often find themselves struggling to keep their business because of the competition and fund to keep them. While millions of businesses around the world try to get over each other with advertisements or promotions, smart business owners have found the right tool to use. Some small business owners have discovered that the umbrella factory can change their fortunes overnight. Despite the fact that the internet has taken over the world, advertisements online can be expensive and last a period of time.

Any promotional item or gift that bears your product or brand will always talk about your business even while you are asleep. Thanks to umbrellas that have become another affordable promotional material for small businesses around the world. The cost of advertising a brand can be out of reach to some businesses that are struggling with money.

When you want to reach a larger audience without spending a lot of money, you can go for umbrellas. It is easier to use umbrella as a promotional product because they are very affordable compared to TV advertising than is expensive. Umbrellas have become the perfect option for marketing your business for years at low cost.

These are some of the reasons why small businesses make use of umbrellas as a promotional tool:

The Golf Umbrella

When you want to add message, logo or a brand to your promotional material without missing out on anything, you can go for the golf umbrella. The spacious area on the canopy will give your designer that opportunity to create the right message for your business. The massive area of the umbrella makes it visible for a lot of people to see when it is placed outside.

The Mini Umbrella

Small business owners can take advantage of the mini umbrellas as their promotional materials. The size makes it easier to move around without stress and also ensures that the user is able to display the message wherever they go. Even the protective case of the umbrella can still serve as an advertising platform to add logo or business name.

The Beach Umbrella

When your business is boldly displayed on a beach umbrella, you are assured that your business will be known by many people. The beach is one of the few places on earth where business is mixed with entertainment and tourism. You can boast your business for people from all walks of life to see when you use a beach umbrella.

Read more »

Advice About Business Expense Management Software? Ask The Coffee Machine

Knowledge is power, they say, and it always has been. But these days it's to be found in the unlikeliest of places. It's in your coffee machine, your central heating system, and even your home lighting.

It's the Internet of Things; the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items with electronics, software, sensors, and actuators embedded into them, alongside the power to communicate with each other and exchange data.

Working together they can adapt automatically and change their behaviour to match changing circumstances; analyse and draw conclusions from data they've gleaning for themselves, and use it to decide what they should do next.

But if they're talking to each other and exchanging data, shouldn't you be part of the conversation? After all, in a world where the coffee machine can prepare itself to make coffee when the home central heating come on - because you've told it to during your commute, why should they cut you out?

Cut wasteful spending

But back to the 'knowledge is power' thought. If this information is being exchanged it has the power to impact your business expenses. Lights that don't need to be on don't have to be, and the heating won't be warming a space when no-one's there. Make no mistake; a warm office block with all its light blazing is making your electricity bill larger than it needs to be. And who wants to pay more than they should because of waste that could so easily be eliminated? Quite apart from the pain in your pocket, it's also bad for the environment.

Remember that you, as a business owner, probably take a different view of wasting your money than your employees. I recall one employee who didn't turn his work computer off for a little over four years - even when he went on two week's annual leave. That meant the computer was in standby mode for longer than he was actually using it, but he didn't care; his money wasn't paying the bill.

Manage energy

So what can you do with smart energy management? You can use electricity from the solar panels on the roof (you do have those, don't you?) to run appliances. At night, when everyone's gone home, devices on standby can automatically be switched off to reduce power consumption - and the size of your bill. Your heating and air con systems can learn the temperatures needed in any given room and maintain them at that level; and can turn them down when the rooms are not in use. It can even protect your assets by incorporating intruder alarms, or telling you about water leak, for example, so you can react promptly and minimise any potential damage ­- and the disruption and cost that invariably go with it.

Read more »

5 Reasons Why You Need An Executive Coach

Many of the top CEOs in major global brands have an executive coach on retainer, business ideas but small businesses leaders can also benefit from this type of expertise. On average, one of the primary reasons many small businesses do not hire a coach is because of the expense, even though it would make sense for their group. Granted, executive coaches can be a significant expense, charging rates from $300, $1,000 or even $3,000 or more for one session.

Because the business world is now moving at an incredible pace with minimal margin for staying ahead on the competition as new ways of doing business and disruption are now baked into our collective DNA, an executive coach can be a great benefit to your company.

Exploring Ideas: Business coaches have experience across a broad swath of clients, and they bring that experience to their work with you. One of the top benefits of a business coach is the chance to have someone that is unbiased and outside of your organization help you think through new ideas and strategies. In the process of your speaking to a coach about thoughts that you're thinking, a good coach will ask you questions that will test your thinking and in the process give you more insight.

Leadership Effectiveness: An executive coach can do something that probably no one on your small business team will do--give you feedback. Sometimes business owners have a trusted executive that works with them that will challenge their skills and effectiveness. But, more often than not, that is not the case. A small business owner can easily be in an environment where few people, if any, will inform the leader about how he's doing. An executive coach is someone that will not have any doubts helping you understand the "why" of decisions and courses of action you've taken. In the process, this will help you understand and gain insight into your own management and leadership.

Accountability: The reality is that a small business owner has his or her little fiefdom. Larger corporations have their boards to hold them accountable, but who does a small marketing or retail shop have to hold them accountable? The answer is usually no one. If you've meant to update your operating bylaws, launch a new marketing campaign, or figure out how to develop team members, a coach will hold you accountable. It will be this person's job to check in with you on the goals you're putting forward for your company.

Measurement: Typically, when you sit for your initial conversations with an executive coach, this professional will ask you about your goals for the process. Out of those goals will come ways to ensure that the goals are accomplished, and usually these goals are tied to making your business performance and leadership better. An executive coach will help you get better at measuring the success of your business because he will be working with you on core issues related to your company, which will come from the goals you prioritize.

Read more »

Running a Business Is Like Playing Tetris

Have you ever played Tetris? It's that game from the 1980s that requires you to strategically rotate, move, and drop geometric shapes that fall into a game board. These shapes build up on the board, and the only way to clear them out is by making horizontal rows of blocks without empty space.

It can be a pretty difficult game! In fact, the more you play, the more difficult the game becomes. The shapes drop faster and faster, and the possibilities of making lines disappear becomes nearly impossible. You may place a shape in the wrong place and- bam! Your game board is a mess. You're in a situation that seems hopeless.

Employers can find themselves with that same hopeless feeling when dealing with business paperwork that keeps piling up. The complications of having employees means keeping up with dozens of state and federal employment regulations and precise payroll management - just to name a few.

If you're not on top of these back office tasks, you 'll quickly find yourself overwhelmed. And unlike Tetris when the burden of the building blocks allow you to hit the restart button- there's no mercy given for late tax payments, inaccurate reporting - or a poor hiring decision.

When you own a company that specializes in a trade- painting, drywall, trucking, or anything else- you are prepared for the possible issues that come up with that trade. You can probably find a way to fix your machines, arrange schedules, or even clean up a job site if you have to. But you're probably completely unprepared for the requirements of tax filings and other issues that come with running your business. Things like new hire reporting, overtime, wage garnishments, and child support.

And once you get behind or make a mistake, those issues- just like the Tetris blocks- just keep dropping. Pretty soon, you're paying hefty penalties to the IRS and probably losing some sleep.

How would you like those blocks to stop dropping so you can focus on running your business? Thankfully, a solution for employers comes in the form of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), also known as an Employee Leasing Company.

These providers allow you to outsource payroll administration, access great employee benefits and big discounts on workers' compensation insurance. When these HR tasks are on someone else's shoulders,you gain the freedom to work on sales, service and growth for your business. Productivity across all operations seems to soar.

Other benefits Employee Leasing Services provide:

Workers' Compensation Claims Administration
Family and Medical Leave Act Administration
Risk Management
Direct Deposit/ Check Printing
Complete HR Administration, including safety and regulatory compliance

Read more »

Reasons Small Businesses Fail at Marketing

I often speak to groups of small business owners and I keep hearing the same comment over and over again with many of them saying that marketers don't matter or marketing doesn't matter anymore.

There are many reasons I've heard as to why marketing doesn't matter: "all my business comes by referral," "I never spent money on marketing and my business grew," "marketing is a waste of money," "I see no value in marketing," "marketing is all luck so why spend money on it," and so on.

Oh, how they are so very wrong! Below are the top 3 reasons why:

1. Their definition of marketing is wrong

When business owners tell me that marketing doesn't matter, they usually have a totally different understanding of what marketing is than those who recognise how marketing contributes to business goals where it enables you to charge the most money you can for your services and products.

Marketing is first about spending time building a solid foundation based on strategy before proposing a series of tactics aimed at lifting sales. Until the business finds a way to change the context of how their ideal customer views what they do, and then becomes become the obvious choice provider, they'll find that their marketing efforts never seem to build momentum or gain any return on investment.

You must be able to enter the conversation taking place in the head of your customers. Or, to look at it in a different way, to be able to address the number one question on your customer's mind at exactly the right time.

So, how do you do this? The conversation that is taking place in every prospective customer's mind revolves around two major points. There is a problem they have, and that they don't want... and there is a result that they want, and they don't have.

Those who often misunderstand marketing believe that it is only about advertising campaigns, brochures, flyers, website, email marketing, SEO, tradeshows, social media, copy, etc. These are the tactics - the way you implement your marketing. I'd argue that marketing is essentially the core of business strategy because it is about understanding the current customer, tapping into their fears, their goals and their aspirations and then creating products and services that the ideal customer is willing to buy from a brand they now they know, like and trust.

2. They believe either they or their co-worker can do it

Sometimes in the "do it all yourself" world of small business (or even big business when it comes to it), it's difficult to identify the areas that require outside help. A business may be able to set up their newsletter, add plugins to WordPress, write a Facebook or LinkedIn post, and clumsily create header graphics, but you need somebody who is trained, practiced, and skilled at looking strategically and holistically at the marketplace, understanding the customer, and then creating unique opportunities based on this understanding.

Just think about it for a minute; just because you have a calculator and excel does that mean you are an accountant? If you have a ruler, pencil and have watched some episodes of Grand Designs - does that make you an architect? If you post regularly to your friends on Facebook and Instagram - does that mean you are a social media expert?

So why do small businesses believe that by buying a Mac and some software they will become a designer, marketer and communications expert?

It needs to be led by a strategic marketer who can then develop an integrated marketing approach. Can you or your co-worker do this? In some cases, you can. But those who can are most likely to either come from marketing or consulting backgrounds where they have transferable skills and experience defining AND delivering against a growth strategy.

If you are a small business, you need somebody who will have a very solid, process, streamlined, consistent, repeatable approach. First, they will research and learn about your company in great depth, the dynamics of the marketplace and identify shifts, trends, and changes. From there, the strategic marketer will be able to present the different elements of your marketing plan in logical order of how you should construct them, update them, or revise them; and identify the key areas you should be focusing on - be it generating leads, converting leads, increasing transactions right down to changing prices.

Read more »

Rules To Getting The Competitive Spirit on the Right Track

Being a formidable player in the corporate world is no easy task. You have to be ready to tackle competition all the time. Here are six simple rules to beat them at their own game.

Market research comes in handy to get to know what people want; it also helps to understand what people expect from the competition. Understanding this in totality helps down the line as you build a brand from the get.
Up the ante in the value stakes of the product or service that is on offer. This is bound to reap huge rewards for an upcoming and even an established brand. The target and client base will notice these tweaks and be appreciative as you laugh your way to the bank. You also gain an edge over the competition.
Establish a rapport with the customer base and keep in touch with them throughout the journey. The idea here is not to spam them with constant drivel, but to keep them abreast of new developments, discounts, and encourage them to opt for early bird offers. It helps a great deal as you beat them through simple marketing methods.
An exciting promo never lost out in the campaign stakes. Use the online medium to generate hype as you build up a tempo with everyone interested in knowing what is trending and doing the rounds. Keep on with the momentum and once this gets to be a talking point, launch the product/service. The idea is to formulate the right time and then go for the kill, so to speak.
Quality is another most intelligent way to get ahead in the game. Testing the service or product needs to be the foremost objective before the launch. It establishes a credible angle and does not allow competition to sneak in with maneuvers and gain because of losing focus.
Never give up or give into negative chatter is one of the best pointers of all time. Most of us fight shy of getting ahead in the game primarily because of robust players in the market. However, that does not mean that you cannot do your bit and edge ahead in the game of competitive business sport.

Read more »

Small Business Owners Can Learn From the Disastrous

Imagine you are the marketing director of Ram Trucks. You have just sat down to hear a pitch from your big-time advertising agency on the creative concept for your Super Bowl ad.

"We are not going to do just another truck commercial with the usual imagery and messaging," says the Agency's Creative Director. "We are going to do something much bigger, something that touches the hearts and minds of truck buyers."

You are interested, even a little excited. This could be something that elevates your brand. A game changer. "Our theme," says the Creative Director, "is service to others."

That could work, you think. Trucks are, after all, a service vehicle. There is a connection.

And then comes the big reveal. "The sound track for this commercial will not be provided by a male with the usual deep-throated, whisky-soaked voice," says the Creative Director. "No, no. We are going to go with a man who spoke of service to others like no other -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Months later the commercial is ready for viewing. "It is even better than we thought," says the Creative Director. The lights go down and the commercial begins. You hear the soaring words of Dr. King while watching slice of life images of people in the service of others. Mixed in are some images of people next to a Ram Truck and, at a high point, there is the usual beauty shot of a Ram Truck. The commercial wraps with a black screen showing a single line of text, "Built to serve" and the Ram Truck logo.

The lights come up. What do you do?

Do you trust the instincts of your advertising agency? After all, they are the pros. Or do you trust your gut?

Here's the answer. Boil down the commercial to the core concept. Keep it short. Not more than 10 words. Forget about everything else. Do not consider the wonderful editing, the perfect casting, the spirit raising music. That is all secondary.

I would compress the Ram Truck commercial into these nine words: Use Dr. Martin Luther King to sell Ram trucks.

Now what do you think? My reaction would be swift and clear: not a chance. For every person who might buy the concept, there will be many more who will react negatively. At best, they will see the use of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s soaring oratory as inappropriate. At worst, they will be enraged by the attempt to make the civil right's leader a shill for Ram trucks.

Use the same thinking the next time someone brings you a great advertising idea for your small business. Don't be enticed by the prospect to be on the radio or TV for the first time. Pay no attention to all the bells and whistles as they just might be little more than "lipstick on a pig".

Read more »

Make Up Your Own Rules in Biz

There are many tried and true strategies and systems out there for growing a wildly successful business. However, use them only as guidelines, and make up your own rules to the business game.

Here are the top 4 reasons why you've got to ditch your preconceived notions of how to attract loads of clients and do it YOUR way.

You know what's best for you, not somebody else.
When you're calm and tuned in to your heart, you're definitely your own best authority. Now, if you're emotionally sideways or in the thick of a heavy issue, don't make any earth-shattering decisions. When you come back to a neutral place, you'll see more clearly and take actions that will serve you. You may listen to all the outside advice you'd like, but in the end, you have to make the choice that feels best to you.
Things go quicker, easier, and cost less.
When you look at the standard process for creating something in your business, you may accept it for the way it is. But what's possible when you create a new standard? If Eva Gregory and I had listened to Chicken Soup for the Soul's process for book publishing, we would've taken forever to write our book for them.
They said it would take about 1.5 years. We said we knew it could take less. When we finally got the green light, the process took less than a year. The actual writing took three months. Easier than I'd ever imagined!

Another example is the purchase of my first house. I had no realtor and neither did the seller, who was out of communication in rehab. I had no prior experience in real estate. I took the sale on as a learning seminar.

When I finally went in to sign the escrow papers, they couldn't believe how I'd completed the process by myself. (I found myself some loopholes.) Lots of people helped me, but my newbie spirit looked at everything as possible rather than as an obstacle.

Be a pioneer! If your mind can think it, you can create it.
If people settled for what was in front of them, nothing new would ever be created or invented. Sure, other people might tell you that you're nuts when you think outside of their box. So what! They'll try to convince you that your idea or way of thinking is impossible or illogical. If you have the vision, I promise it's a worthy cause to pursue.
Do you see something that can be improved upon in the world? Take action! Sure, the big dogs might already have a team working on it. But as history will show, newbies can and do prevail. Google took on Yahoo and MSN with some pretty sweet results.

Current rules and choices may not fit you. Create a new choice for yourself.
When options a, b, and c don't feel good, you've got to create choice d and maybe an e, f, and g. The best perspectives happen when you start looking for new combinations of the available elements.
Let's say you want to take some friends out for a special dinner. The two restaurants you had in mind are both booked solid for that evening. Don't settle for something less.

If you knew you were going to get the ideal food, service, and atmosphere at those two restaurants, how would you handle this situation? You might get an idea to call back the restaurants with some wild pitch for them to let you in. If you were grounded, you possibly might get a yes. You also might talk to some friends to get new ideas. But you definitely wouldn't let this minor setback throw you off.

The rules in the U.S. used to make it difficult to travel in Cuba. (Maybe they still do!) Do people find ways of doing it? Yes! And many of them are legal! You can always find a choice that meets all of your criteria. Stay in possibility and you will find your perfect solution.

When you're truly following your heart, you'll always make decisions that are in your highest good, as well as the good of others.

Read more »

Employee Suggestion Schemes

"Employee suggestion" schemes are an effective way of generating cost saving initiatives. In addition to the financial benefits, there is usually a positive impact on workplace morale. Encouraging and rewarding staff to put forward cost saving ideas is likely to result in many initiatives being identified, in part due to the number of personnel thinking about reducing costs. Sometimes ideas that appear inconsequential make a significant difference. Sainsbury's saved over £60,000 after a member of staff suggested repackaging mangoes. The shop floor worker noticed that the supermarket sold greater volumes of fruit as a result of a "two for £2.50" promotion. The mangoes were supplied in boxes of five, which resulted in considerable wastage due to the odd number. Repackaging the fruit so that it was supplied in boxes of six resulted in considerably less waste. The "Tell Justin" ideas scheme has generated over 50,000 ideas to date since it's inception in 2004.

1) Keep it simple

The most effective suggestion schemes are usually simple. Siemens Automation and Drives in Cheshire have a scheme called "Ideas Unlimited". The site employs around 400 staff and generates over 4,000 suggestions per year, of which approximately 75% are implemented. Savings identified through the scheme are estimated to be in excess of £1m per annum. There are no paper forms to complete, with ideas submitted through an intranet application comprised of just four screens; (i) idea generation, (ii) evaluation, (iii) acceptance, (iv) rejection and implementation. All managers are invited to appraise initiatives, with a culture of driving efficiencies embedded in the organisation's culture.

A straightforward employee suggestion programme could for example offer rewards of £50 (bronze), £100 (silver) or £200 (gold) for approved initiatives, with exceptions possibly made when remarkable cost savings are achieved. An alternative, more elaborate approach could be to offer employees a percentage of delivered savings. Whilst this sounds great in principle, it is often very difficult to quantify precise savings, leading to administrative effort in validating amounts saved, and the incentive due to the eligible employee.

2) Recognise and reward good ideas

Praise and recognition have an enduring impact on employee engagement. Some businesses have a monthly bulletin or intranet in which employees are given recognition for delivering successful cost saving initiatives. For example, Siemens Automation and Drives regularly publish a league table which reports savings by department. This generates healthy interdepartmental rivalry, together with conveying recognition for good ideas.

It is worth considering that rewards should ideally be commensurate with the level of saving delivered. Exceptional ideas should not only be acknowledged but rewarded accordingly. In 2017, Argos received bad press when an employee came up with an idea that allegedly saved the company £1.5m. Following Sainsbury's takeover of Argos, the individual suggested that delivery drivers only refuel at Sainsbury's petrol stations. The employee received a £10 gift card in way of a thank you!

3) Listen to your employees

A Gallup study in 2016 found that only 17% of workers strongly agree that their company has open communication throughout all levels of their company. Regular engagement with employees is likely to have a positive impact on overall participation. Encouraging, listening and acting upon feedback from staff will improve the likelihood of running a successful employee suggestion scheme.

4) Analyse results

Monitoring metrics such as: (Ii number of ideas submitted, (ii) number of ideas implemented, (iii) amount saved, and (iv) amount saved per full time equivalent (FTE) will provide useful data.

5) Other considerations

Read more »

Cost Per Fan in Facebook

Calculate the cost of each fan that joins your Facebook page to ascertain the effectiveness of your company's Facebook expenditures. A high cost per fan reflects a high overall Facebook budget but a low conversion rate, while a low per-fan cost indicates that your Facebook advertising is cost-effective. Use this information to determine whether you should increase or decrease your Facebook advertising budget.

Calculator
Add up all the labor costs that you or your company expended on managing your Facebook campaign. Multiple the hourly pay rate of each employee who worked on this project by the number of hours worked during the period. For example, you want to calculate cost per fan for the month of June. Linda earns $10 per hour and spent 40 hours working on Facebook; Mark earns $20 per hour and spent 10 hours working on Facebook. Use the following calculation:

($10 x 40) + ($20 x 10) = $400 + $200 = $600.

Determine your Facebook advertising costs. Click the "Advertising" link at the bottom of any Facebook page and then click "Manage Your Existing Ads." Click the "Billing" tab. Click a month to see how much you spent during that period. For example, assume you spent $500 on advertising.

Add together your labor cost and Facebook advertising costs. For the example, this would be:

$600 + $500 = $1,100

Divide your total expenditures for maintaining and promoting your Facebook page by the number of fans. If you spent $1,100 in June and gained 55 fans, this would work out to $1,100 divided by 55, for a net cost of $20 per fan.

Read more »

Advertise to Sell Insurance

Insurance for life, health, home, business and automobiles is a necessity for many people; therefore, leads are just about everywhere. Persuading people to choose your agency, however, involves lots of legwork, communication and the ability to stand out from the rest. Advertising plays a big role in attracting customers, locally and online.

Create an effective, memorable brand. If you are an independent agent selling insurance for many carriers, you have freedom to design your own logo. Employ a graphic designer or advertising firm to develop a design that clearly represents your agency. Exclusive agents will have use of the existing brand of the company for which they sell insurance.

Develop your own or hire a web design firm to create a professional website for your agency. Include all relevant contact information, business hours, locations, products and services offered, affiliations with local and national insurance organizations, and the insurance companies for which you sell products. Even if you don't have a large budget for marketing, you can create a relatively inexpensive landing page that will direct people to your brick-and-mortar office, display your logo and give an overview of what your agency has to offer.

Join social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, and seek people who are in need of your services. For example, if you specialize in commercial insurance, target small-business owners and entertainers. If you sell homeowner's insurance, seek new home buyers. Network with other agents as well, who may be able to provide advice and leads.

Purchase promotional materials. Business cards, pens, calendars and notepads that include your logo, catch phrase and contact information can be left with contacts and dropped off at local businesses.

Purchase space in local newspapers within your sales territory. Some publications have a separate Business section where local companies are featured. Contact these publications to inquire about getting featured. Space in the Classified section can be an affordable option if you don't have a large advertising budget.

Join and actively participate in local organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce in your community or a small-business association. Get to know other business owners in your community to help you obtain leads and referrals.

Purchase television and radio spots, if your advertising budget allows. Consider sponsoring programming for local PBS stations or community events held by local media, such as contests, concerts and food drives.

Read more »

Technology in Clothing Stores

The clothing and accessories industry is very lucrative and makes hundreds of billions of dollars per year. While there are many types of apparel retailers, from those just for children to those that sell designer shoes, one thing they all have in common is the need for technology. In clothing stores, different forms of technology are used each day to make operations more efficient.

Inventory
Keeping track of inventory is extremely important for clothing stores--running out of a certain style that happens to be popular can result in a great loss of revenue. It's also imperative that inventory be accurately tracked to see trends in external and internal theft. Inventory software that works in conjunction with a clothing store's sales system makes ordering and tracking inventory a much easier task than doing inventory by hand.

Point of Sale
Most cash registers in clothing stores run on software that not only adds sales tax, but processes coupon codes, scans item bar codes and updates store inventory after each purchase. It used to be much more tedious to ring up clothing sales; cash registers from just a couple decades ago were little more than fancy calculators. Technology is also employed at the point of sale in clothing stores through payment systems. Modern clothing stores have systems that scan credit and debit payments and run personal checks through a system that guards against fraud.

Security
Not long ago, the main source of security in clothing stores was an actual guard or security officer, or a team of loss prevention personnel. While some apparel stores still use people to protect their employees and inventory, most have now turned to digital security systems. These sophisticated systems are cost efficient and enable store management to see all around the store via small cameras that transmit images--some security systems also record activity in clothing stores at all times, making thieves easier to catch.

Promotion
Because there are so many clothing stores for consumers to choose from, the stores must use different forms of technology to stay competitive. Social media is the latest form of technology used by clothing stores not only to promote themselves, but also to connect with customers, handle customer service inquiries and even handle public relations. Many clothing retailers also establish a Web presence with a blog or website, with a great number of them selling their items online as well as in a physical store.

E-commerce
The advancement of technology has made it more feasible, and more sensible, than ever for apparel retailers to sell online. There are a wide variety of online store programs, platforms and software, and many can be tailored to a store's image and brand. A popular e-commerce solution for large clothing retailers is eFashionSolutions, but smaller stores often opt for companies such as Core Commerce, Pro Stores and Big Commerce.

Read more »

Product Strategy in Marketing

Product strategy is a core component of the overall marketing strategy. The product itself guides decisions that a business makes to achieve marketplace success. Decision-makers assess the product attributes, industry and competitors. The information is used to develop a product strategy designed to achieve short-term and long-term sales, revenue and distribution goals. The product strategy is developed and written by the organization's marketing team, and requires final approval by the chief executive officer (CEO).

Market Research
Research is used to identify needs and desires of target customers to develop the product strategy. This is not limited to consumer products; it includes products for businesses as well. In the trade, this is referred to as a B2B (business-to-business) product strategy. Airlines used B2B product strategies to identify special needs of business travelers, and subsequently introduced business-class seating and loyalty rewards programs. Food manufacturers leveraged the identification of busy working parents to introduce a wide array of frozen complete meals and “heat and serve” food items.

Product Development
Consumer-products manufacturers heavily depend on strong product strategies. Because billions of dollars and market share are at stake, manufacturers of nationally recognized food and household-goods products will spend millions in product development to introduce new brand variations. The term “new and improved” is used to advertise reformulations of existing products to generate new life and consumer interest, and to upstage competitors. For example, the product strategy for a laundry detergent can be based on the addition of a fragrance, a fabric-softener additive or use in cold water.

Product Positioning
Companies market products to meet the needs of targeted customers. They develop a “positioning” for the product to compete against other products and brands in the marketplace. Positioning is also referred to as a “unique selling proposition” (USP). The positioning or USP claim often results from product research. For example, a toothpaste manufacturer may position its brand as one that “prevents cavities four times better than other brands.” The product strategy would then incorporate the positioning statement as required language to be used in advertising, packaging, product displays and promotions.

Distribution
Distribution plays an important part in product strategy. In some cases, the distribution strategy may even determine the positioning. This is often used for direct-to-consumer (D2C) products that are advertised as “not available in stores” or “as seen on TV,” and that require mail or telephone ordering. Conversely, some companies may limit the availability of products to a select group of one or more retail stores. This strategy provides exclusive distribution of the product in order to drive and increase sales.

Pricing
In some instances, product strategies are based on price alone. This is often used for store brands (also referred to as “private label”) found in grocery stores and “big box” super stores. The store brand is often priced up to 20 percent less than major nationally advertised brands. Shoppers purchase items like toilet paper or canned foods at a lower cost, but also complete the rest of their shopping at the store. Membership-based or “club” stores are totally driven by a product-pricing strategy. Car dealerships use pricing as a part of their product strategy to clear out older inventory and make room for new models by offering discounts below the manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP).

Read more »

Ideas for Business Model

At its most general, a business model is a general plan for converting new technology or an innovative idea into actual economic value, such as liquid money or market share. It differs from a business strategy in its level of generality. While strategy is aimed at specific distributions of wealth (e.g. to shareholders), business models are abstract visions of the mechanism that will create wealth and profit.

Features
A gap analysis is the first entity in a business model. A new technology or idea exists, therefore, a market must be found for it. There is a specific problem that will be solved by this specific innovation. From this, customers must be targeted. A specific segment of the market must have a specific problem solved by the existence of the innovation. For example, an inventor is working on a new outboard engine for boats that operates with less gas than the normal engine. The problem is high gas prices, and the market is boaters and fishermen.

Function
The purpose of a business model is to translate innovation into profit. Therefore, the “value chain” must be laid out at some level. The value chain is made up of five elements: inputs such as raw materials; operations, including the actual shop floor activities; outbound value, including delivery to customers; marketing, or getting the word out about the innovation; and service, or maintaining the value of the product over time, after it is in the hands of the customer. The value chain is a subset of the business model and specifically deals with the day-to-day functioning of the firm.

Benefits
The business model is meant to rationalize the nature of the innovation, that is, to place the innovation into practical, production terms. It is particularly useful when applying for financing, since the plan exists in abstract form, easily visualized by those who are interested. In other words, the idea is not enough. A practical plan is necessary to attract investors.

Considerations
Several other important features are necessary to round out the concept of a business model. The most important are the product and the identification of the market. But beyond this, complementors must be identified. These are firms and products that can help your own innovation actually work. If you are working on a new, more efficient type of outboard engine, then working with firms that provide outboard oil or propellers might serve to give the new firm a leg up on the competition. From the identification of complementors, the business model should also have something that shows how the firm will supersede its competition. This is often called competitive advantage.

Effects
The basic effect is to put an idea into the heads of all who see the plan, or model. The idea is one thing, seeing it come to life is another. Therefore, the model must explicitly show the product filling a need, making profit and being part of the "value chain" that can make rational sense out of the plan. The writing of a business model should also show the viability of the product and the market niche it is meant to fill.

Read more »

How to Profit in Food Delivery Business

The appeal of a home business is easily understandable: being your own boss, making a profit rather than a salary and the freedom to set your own schedule. A home business, however, can be hard work. The food delivery business, a rapidly expanding business model and a near recession-proof concept (people always need to eat), is no exception. By following a few simple guidelines, you can easily maximize the profits of your food delivery business.

Choose a simple menu catered to your clients. If most of your clients are office workers, select items that are easy to eat in a workplace and light, such as salads and wraps. Add a few deluxe items to set your business apart from the competition, but on the whole, keep your menu simple and accessible. It also can help to get in touch with frequent customers and ask them for suggestions to make sure you are meeting their needs.

Offer discounted weekly programs for frequent customers. Your clients will appreciate the stability of never having to worry about their meals and the reliability will help you control overhead.

Get in touch with your food suppliers and discuss bulk discounts or higher commissions for frequently ordered items. You may also want to look into personal chefs to reduce costs and be able to customize meals more. The United States Personal Chef Association offers complete local listings of personal chefs nationwide.

Purchase food containers and other necessary items from wholesalers to reduce your operating costs and make sure you always have the necessary materials on hand.

Decide on a unique offering for your business. At a time when many of your clients are concerned about health, advertise balanced weekly meal options to distinguish your business as a healthy alternative and attract more clients in regular delivery programs.

Market your business aggressively to increase profits. Get in touch with local offices to discuss regular delivery options, produce fliers to distribute with every meal and call local suppliers and potential clients in your area.

Research competition in your area and stay up to date. While Internet and e-mail ordering might not be important in the short-term, make sure you are keeping up with the competition in the long term regarding products, prices and ease of use.

Read more »

Structure of Textile Industry

The structure of the textile industry has changed significantly. While a hundred years ago the majority of textile production was concentrated in Europe and North America, most textiles and clothing are now manufactured in Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, Malaysia & China.

Identification
According to Textile Exchange, many international textile and clothing firms have moved production to Asia to take advantage of the rich supply of raw material and cheaper labor. China produces around 45 percent of the world's textiles and garments, and India makes approximately 20 percent. Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh are also becoming increasingly influential within the structure of the textile industry.

Growth
The global textile and apparel market attracts revenues of approximately $500 billion per year and is expected to grow to around $800 billion by 2014, reports Textile Exchange. In terms of the textile industry's structure, figures from the EU suggest the U.S. continues to be the biggest consumer of textiles and apparel, with a 9.6 percent share. Other major consumers include Turkey, Tunisia, Switzerland, Morocco, China, Russia, Hong Kong, Ukraine and Japan.

Fun Fact
The global textile and clothing industry comprises a reasonably long chain. It starts with the polymer, which is used to make the textile fiber. This textile fiber becomes a yarn; either by being spun with other fibers of the same type, or with one or more different fiber types to give it a wider range of properties. The yarn can then be used alone or combined with other yarns to make a fabric, which then becomes a garment, home furnishing or other textile item. Some textile companies cover all of these phases, but the majority work with other industry partners within the textile supply chain.

Read more »