Make Your Next Move Your Best Move - Now It's On You

In the 24 + years of working as an entrepreneur, there have been some unique characteristics that separate pioneers and industry leaders from the rest.  It doesn’t seem to matter what organization they work for, or the services, the client base or the economic climate. These individuals are in fact the top 3% of the professionals in their field.  In addition to learning to think as CEO’s, Presidents, entrepreneurial leaders of Business Development units, we’ve discovered they have acquired the behavioral characteristics of a leader. They have learned how to set strategic and operational objectives in putting together plans, how to be visionaries and see opportunities for their organizations that other individuals may miss, and in the role of Business Development, they have mastered the 12 Core Competencies, a benchmark to measure leaders. When asked if leaders are born or bred, the general consensus is that leadership can be taught.  While few of us have had the opportuni...

While reading some very informative material recently, I found myself inspired by a concept that enables a person to soar to higher heights.  The concept of adding value to everything you do, when applied to specific areas of a person's life, can bring that person to be highly sought after by those receiving the added value.  The material I was reading focused on business and what this concept will do for the success of a business.  Another way of looking at this concept is in the idea of doing more than is expected, or doing more than that which you are compensated to do.  When doing this a person will be "weighed" against others who do not.  In comparison, the person who adds value to all he/she does will be sought after to the degree that there will be keen competition for his/her service.  As a person becomes more and more recognized for doing more than he/she is compensated to do, he/she will begin receiving more and more compensation for their service...

I am constantly asked the following question: “What should I put on my content sites?” They are asking about our Autoblogging strategy where we recommend creating content sites and pushing the traffic to create income streams. Here are some things to consider putting on your content site: 1. A Resource Directory Resource directories provide visitors with resources relative to their search inquiry. Though it is not always the case, these directories are also Link Directories. According to Merriam-Webster, a directory is an alphabetic or classified list . Yahoo actually got it’s start as a resource directory. They are now one of the top visited sites on the entire internet. The search engine ranking data (http://www.RankingFactors.com) shows that outbound links are still a positive ranking correlation factor (even though so-called SEO “experts” moan about PR leak and other such nonsense). However, in this " ever-changing SEO industry " (and according to Moz ), the quality of t...

At a retail store in Hernando not long ago, the owner and I exchanged business cards. I looked at his logo, and he studied the name on my card. "I know that logo. We've been in touch in the past," I said. "That's right. I know your company name," he said. Although we weren't able to pinpoint when or why we'd exchanged mail previously, we guessed it had been at least five years back. Neither one of us remembered any details. Rather, he had created a distinctive visual identity for his store, and I had devoted effort to linking my name with creative marketing. For at least five years his look and my reputation had lurked in the other's memory banks, while thousands or hundreds of thousands of other business identities had come and gone without leaving a significant trace. Why? Memorability. It illustrates a key element of successful branding. What is Branding? Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable imprint in the minds of consu...

Although on the books, marketing is an expense, it’s really not when you stop and think about it.  What do you need to do to generate sales?  You have to let people know what you do and what you can offer them.  It’s called marketing. So when times are tough, why would you stop using your main resource outside of referrals to get more money in the company? With that in mind, forget what your accountant labels marketing as, you have to treat it as an investment. Allow me to go further on the subject to clear it up. In accounting, sure, marketing IS an expense.  But here's what happens when marketing is viewed purely as an expense: You think of marketing solely as an expense.   When business gets slow, many people cut marketing.  Now you are letting less people know about your products and services.  Results:  You get even less business. If you think of marketing only as an expense, the odds are, your marketing is nowhere near as effective as it ...

One of the greatest problems that businesses face is getting the pricing strategy right. This article explores the three key factors all companies need to consider when getting this vital element on target. Missing only one of the three can have disastrous consequences. As with everything, it does not take rocket science to get this right, however one slip, could seriously damage your bottom line. The three factors, equally weighed are as follows: The value that your customers put on your product and service (" Perceived Value "). Take a look at our article from 01/30/2018, Your Web Site's Success Are You A Perceived Expert Will you make a profit ? What your competitors charge for the same or equivalent (some use this pricing strategy based almost entirely on competition's prices. This is a common error. But don't take my word for it... ) Understand that competitive pricing is one strategy that involves many factors. Check out this article here . So ho...

You are now a business owner, congratulations! You have everything you need right down to the business plan but one thing is missing. Customers. As you sit in the darkness of your living room at night, you wonder how you can afford to advertise and where. The next morning you drag out the Yellow Pages looking for a company that specializes in marketing or advertising, make the call and to your dismay the person that you speak to informs you of the prices for their services. They tell you that it will cost from several hundred dollars to as much as 15% of your total business. You have a little bit of money left from the loan that you obtained to get the business up and running, so you agree and set an appointment to meet later in the week. What is wrong with this scenario? Nothing if you have a lot of money to spend. The problem is that most small business owners have limited budgets to work with and expensive advertising campaigns are simply out of the question. So what is the alternat...

Unfortunately, not all of us have a budget to fit what we believe to be our marketing needs. No need to get down, here are a few very simple things you can do that have stood the test of time, and are proven to attract more business. 1. For starters, enjoy your life. Do things that make you smile from within. I’m sure you are familiar with the phrase “smile, it’s contagious.” Well it is. Think about it, would you want to speak with, or do business with someone who is upset or unhappy all the time? It just is not attractive and it turns people in the other direction. The way you feel says a lot about your personality and attracts people to you. It tells a potential customer if you are friendly, upbeat, and most of all it tells them that you enjoy what you do. When someone approaches you about your products and services, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to do so. By creating the conditions in your life that make you smile from within, you will have easily accomplished th...

Nothing happens in business until a sale is made. Marketing is simply about getting new customers and keeping them. If you’re not doing something everyday to market and promote your business, your competitors are. Here are ten easy-to-implement tips to effectively market and grow your business: 1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross promote each other. The list owner will advertise your event, product, or service to their email database and you’ll offer to do the same to your list. 2. Create your own blog which is like an online journal with regularly updated posts to provide key information and continue to add value to existing and potential customers. It’s more personal and immediate than a website and keeps people engaged and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at http://www.blogger.com. 3. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Lube offers fast and affor...