Stopping All The Talk And Getting Readers To Read

Stopping All The Talk And Getting Readers To Read

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

Majority of salesperson talk too much. That is what they are there for and that is their trade. Oftentimes, this technique of nonstop talking can be quite effective. People get interested by what the salesperson is rambling about and some even get some new and fresh ideas from the. Most of the time though, with many already trying to talk people into getting their products and services, people get tired of listening and simply ignore these salespeople. Not all people like to listen to same things over and over again. Also, not all have the patience to try to pretend listening even for just a few minutes. If you want people to take notice, putting something in printing would be more effective than talking about it.

It is said that 80 percent out of 100 would rather talk than listen to someone talking. So that leaves the remaining 20 percent who really listen. If you think about it, would you rather read about something than have someone talk about it for you?

Many buyers try to listen closely most are not actually listening closely enough to take them all in. The many statements and promises tend to overwhelm them if they are given all at the same time. Putting them into brochures or catalogs give them a choice when to read the information. They can either spare some time for them or try to give a bit of attention during free times when they do not have to think of anything else. It is important to think that the busiest of people want some time to breathe and relax for awhile when they are not working. And it is during these times that they may remember having been given one of these print materials. With clear minds and a lot of space to think things over, they may enjoy what you have presented in these printing materials and get to browse through them leisurely without pressure. Without having to squeeze them all in mind for fear that they might forget later on.

It is most effective to try putting statements and questions together. Asking a question initially, even if the answer is a simple yes or no, can have the readers involve almost immediately in what you are talking about. Even if they are not aware of it, they tend to have some answers in their mind upon seeing a question. It does not matter if the answer is positive or negative. As long as it formulates an answer, then it is altogether a successful way in getting through your readers.

The trick in getting an probable response from your readers is to be able to get them involved in what you are into. People, being selfcentered only want the attention to themselves. Sometimes having others beside yourself think and talk is a good way to attain positive results. What better way to tell them than to have them read it, on their own and in their own time?

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.losangelesprintingservice.com.

About The Author

Florie Lyn Masarate got the flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.

This article was posted on September 07

by Florie Lyn Masarate

Ashes to Ashes, Bytes to Bytes

Ashes to Ashes, Bytes to Bytes

by: Kent E. Butler

She didn’t have to die. She was young, she was beautiful, and, yes, she was exciting. Now sheกs gone, and it was all so unnecessary so, so senseless!

Dare I say what he did to her? Do I "point the finger" at him? Someone has to, I guess. Actually, it was a case of what he didn’t do. You see, she was a charming new website and he well, he was an inexperienced owner who thought all he had to do was open a welldone website and the world would zeroin on her and make him scads of cash. He even called her "Carly Cash". The poor, misguided fool.

If only he had known, there are a great many things he could have done to save her, indeed to help her thrive and fulfill her exciting promise. He could have:

used business cards to promote his website. Probably the cheapest, most effective form of dirtside advertising is an attractive business card. He could carry them everywhere (alright, smartie, not in the shower). Post them on supermarket, community and college bulletin boards. Drop one in the envelope when he pays a bill. Leave one, or more, at the video store, dentistกs office, doctorกs office, library, county jail wherever. Maybe not the jail.

issued a press release to the world. Huh? He could have sent a press release to his local media, after determining the names of the appropriate editors and news directors. He could go to his favorite search engine, enter "press release", and doubtless be amazed at the result. Heกd need to remember itกs not called the World Wide Web for nothing. Getting a press release published ten thousand miles away can do him just as much good as appearing in a local paper.

placed classified ads in "advertiser magazines", for lack of something better to call them. In this part of the world we have the Pennysaver, which carries announcements of local events, community activities, concerts, that sort of thing. But primarily it is classified ads for everything from aardvark toys to zebrastriped jammies. And itกs very popular itกs a garage sale in print and delivered by the postal service.

arranged to appear as a guest on a radio talk show. Many AM stations are devoted to talk, he should know, because they don’t carry music as well as FM stereo. Our wired, wired world is a popular talk topic and all he has to do is find our which stations, or show hosts, are so inclined. Interesting guests are always welcome (at some time or another).

The same is true of local television talk shows like "AM Akron" or "Missoula in the Morning" (maybe not). He should be aware that no show host, or station, is going to allow a prolonged commercial for his website. He will need to be able to speak intelligently about some aspect of the web,answer questions from the host/ess and perhaps the audience as well. The idea is to help brand him, create interest, instill trust, and get in a plug or two.

thought creatively about publicity and likely come up with his own ideas. Had he been in his right mind (home of creativity and intuition) and fired up his imagination, maybe "Carly" wouldn’t have died. Hereกs hoping her successor has a rich, rewarding life, and perhaps little bytes of her own.

Copyright by Kent E. Butler

Butler Marketing Group

About The Author

Kent E. Butler has been in marketing, sales and training since shortly after the creation of language. If the above language has been helpful, heกs happy. To make him really happy, visit http://www.ButlerMarketingGroup.com the One Stop Internet Shop (and great bizop) and acquire something useful.

This article was posted on January 20, 2002

by Kent E. Butler

Business Blogging 5 Tips to Help You Barrel Thro

Business Blogging 5 Tips to Help You Barrel Through Writer’s Block

by: Tinu AbayomiPaul

It’s inevitable. Everyone hits the wall. Whether you’ve been blogging ten weeks, ten minutes, or ten months, eventually you’ll find yourself with absolutely nothing to say.

Or so you think.

So what in the world do you do when you’re stumped?

1 Talk about what you’ve already talked about

Pick a topic you’ve gone over before and give it some spin.

Try a new angle, like playing devil’s advocate. For example, if you are a search engine journalist, and last week your position was that most mainstream sites need Google traffic to survive, try proving your point from the ขconข perspective, instead of the ขproข position.

There are dozens of ways to write about the same thing. By putting your point another way, you might give someone in your audience what a client of mine referred to as an ขAhha!ข moment. Thatกs when they realize the true value of the items for sale at your site to them and their business.

2 Talk about what someone else is talking about

If you want to have a popular blog, find other bloggers in similar areas, and talk about what they said in their posts. Friendly debate can often spark the soapopera like drama that will have both your audiences visiting both blogs to see what ขthe other fellaข had to say.

As an added bonus, if both of you are using Trackback in your blogs, you’ve got yourself a minilink party that other people who are speaking on similar topics will want to join..

3 Have yourself a good rant

The intimate nature and voice of blogs lends itself well to the opinionated, angry ramble. But as a professional, don’t let yourself get too unfocused, and remember to back up your opinion with facts.

4 Feature someone, something or somewhere

I like to call mine ขof the Dayข.

As I zip around the Net conducting my business and research, if my attention is called to a resource or tool that my audience might find useful, I hit my blog bookmarklet and save that bad boy for later.

Then when I get too busy for a full blown tip, I’ll crown the resource, feed, tool, download or freebie the featured ขDeal of the Dayข, changing the word deal to something else more appropriate as needed.

After a while, my audience started to look for it as a feature, as opposed to being upset at the interruption in my mad, mad rambles.

5 Let someone else talk for a change

Invite a guest blogger, or post an article that offers free reprint rights, the same way you would in a newsletter. Of course you want to leave the resource box intact, or let the guest promote their site, which brings me to the most common complaint about this tactic.

ขBut I don’t want to send people away from my site.ข

Guess what? You’ll never believe what I found out. Ready?

In a recent startling discovery, I’ve found that 100% of my visitors eventually turn off their computers or take otherwise drastic measures that cause them to leave my site. Apparently this is beyond prevention, though you can stall them for hours sometimes with good content.

Of course you don’t want to send them on their way prematurely, but if you’re a good blogger, and have done what you can to make sure they sign up to your blog email updates or site feed, they’ll be back. Just be sure that you’re giving them a good enough reason.

In the meantime, since they’re going to leave anyway, it might as well be somewhere that gives you some direct or indirect benefit.

So there you have it enough material for five more days of posts.

Happy Blogging!

Copyright 2004 Tinu AbayomiPaul

About The Author

Tinu AbayomiPaul

Need more than five days worth of blog posts? Get more at http://www.freetraffictip.com/blogaboutthis. Or learn more about blogs and RSS at FreeTrafficTip.com.

This article was posted on December 17, 2004

by Tinu AbayomiPaul

How to REALLY Profit from SEO

How to REALLY Profit from SEO

by: John Alexander

I want to give you a few more things to think about as you excel and grow in the craft of search engine marketing. If you are anything like me, you were hooked the first time you really made a difference to someone elseกs success. I soon realized that being able to help business owners to get results from these optimization methods and strategies could also be amazingly profitable. I found out that customers are your greatest resources and many of them are quite generous when you make an impact on their business. So the topic here is for those who want to profit from their skills (if you are not already doing very well and having an awesome time already).
It may seem like a strange thing to talk about but before I begin, Iกll say this. There are many folks out there offering various SEO services and they are still not getting the profits that they would like to make. They are not REALLY profiting the way they might if they took a little different approach. The solutions that business owners need to really make a difference in the bottom line, require more than just bringing volumes of traffic to a site. You need targeted traffic mixed with a web strategy to compel response.
Then another group that seems to be doing well at first but the truth is they are making lots of promises and sales but they are not able to hang on to clients very long because they are not delivering long term results.
Many of my SEO clients have been with me 5 years plus. (I am still taking on new ones too.)
Letกs talk about the benefits of SEO to you as a search engine marketer, then weกll give you 5 ways to profit:
Here are just a few legitimate benefits of offering SEO services to your clients.
Increase your sales Thereกs no telling how many sales you can make when you not only can talk the talk but you can walk the walk and REALLY deliver results. Prospects can sense there is something different about you and your services. You are known as the one who fixes up Web sites that don’t work.
Increase your repeat business I learned that just because someone buys a web site, it does not mean that they are happy with it. But if you can turn that Web site around and make it work, then that same client may even BUY a second or a third Web site, not to mention, buy various promotional services. All they need to see is, that what you do… really does work!
Increase your referral business What can I say, but word gets around quick! Business owners talk to other business owners and every time you help someone out and make them successful on the net, itกs like they tell everyone else they know. Referral business is wonderful!
Increase your credibility With the right training and talent, your client comes to think of you as simply brilliant. This is not because you are REALLY brilliant, but you just look after your clientกs business as if it were your own. If your client insists that they have the best web marketer and SEO on the planet, why burst their bubble? You make them prosper and they make you prosper.
Increase your confidence There is a difference your client notices in you…right down to your body language and that inner knowing that if Iกve gotten other folks awesome results last week, I can do it again no problem this week.
Increase your authority I can not say enough about solid communication and managing clientกs expectations honestly.
Build Client loyalty Let the competitor just try and steal your clients with false promises or tricky claims. Youกve done a great job of educating your client and making them web wise. Now these things are quite profitable sounding but honestly, they are really just fringe benefits. Lets move on to talk about real profit options.
5 Ways to Profit from SEO: Hereกs how it starts~
1. Stop focusing on sales and start focusing on your clients success!
There are so many กwebmastersก, web designers, graphic artists in this business. Does it not just scare you a little bit? Don’t we have to enter into competition with other web developers and does it not become a rat race?
Start focusing on your clientกs success.
Do all that you can do to make them successful. Pour all of your talents into making their projects work. So many folks I talk to can never stop thinking about where they will make their next sale instead of delivering results to the clients they ALREADY have and in so doing, you establish lifetime residuals.
Make your client successful and they will literally become part of YOUR sales team.
2. If you’re not up to speed, you better catch up fast. A difference in your performance is a difference in your profits!
If you are not up to speed on solid SEO marketing techniques and methods, start learning now. Take a course or study at a live workshop, but however you do it, get your SEO skills up to speed so you can really help people. If you can show them a strategy that really puts dollars in their pocket, theyกll put dollars in YOUR pocket!
3. Howกs your batting average? How about profit sharing?
If your skills are medium to above average, why not share in the profits yourself. I am referring to offering someone a vertical contract. This would be a deal where you own part of the company in return for making it successful with your SEO skills. Don’t brush this off. There are some exceptional deals to be had if you start thinking laterally.
4. Don’t forget your community and charitable work.
Whenกs the last time you helped promoting a charitable work at NO cost. Build a site and promote it for the Literacy counsel or the Easter Seals Society or your Local Rotary Group or your Chamber of Commerce. Don’t forget that this work will often open unusual and even surprising doors. Help make others successful and you will not fail. Many important leaders within your local community will be serving on these committees right next to you! A great way to network and meet new people and help the cause.
5. Watch the latest SEO trends and position yourself to take advantage.
The study and practice of SEO has been very good to me. Five years ago, I never dreamed that my study of Optimization would lead to the Internet lifestyle. I look after my clients well and sometimes go a little beyond what some might do in the call of duty. I have clients that pay me well for my services and demonstrate that they care about my business. As a result of the work I have done, I have enjoyed wonderful repeat business and client loyalty. Referral business is the best type of business going because it does not really involve a lot of preparation or hard work. You know that when you arrive, that they really want YOU to do the job because of your track record. Itกs wonderful business.
I could write a lot more but I hope you get the picture. If you have not been enjoying good profits, a rewarding lifestyle and being appreciated by your clients your need a plan of action.
SUGGESTIONS:
1. You MUST be able to กdeliverก and really make a difference. Do whatever it takes to get your SEO skills and lateral thinking skills up to speed.
2. Run a balanced business. Are you charging for what your services are worth?
There are some folks who charge steeply and don’t know how to get the results. For gosh sakes, if you’re good at what you do, make sure you are charging well for your services. You DESERVE fair reward if your considerable skills are helping other business owners to prosper. (some people are afraid to charge for their work)
Note: The ones that charge steeply but DON’t deliver may make a few dollars initially, but they won’t enjoy the customer loyalty, the referral business, repeat business that you do and they won’t have a กcustomer for lifeก like you will.
3. Don’t forget to recognize and be thankful for the progress youกve already made. Be sure to benchmark your victories but even more important, celebrate your CLIENTกS VICTORIES too! After all, you helped bring them about.
4. Give something back to your community (with gladness). Look for opportunities to help others who genuinely need help and avoid those who are only after your talents to exploit them. (Trust me, when your SEO talents and success stories increase, youกll have strangers coming out of the woodwork to take you to dinner and pick your brain). Proceed with wisdom.
5. You must be willing to change and take action! Performing the way you perform now has delivered a certain result. So if your happy with that result, carry on exactly the same way and you should get very similar results. If you are not happy with your results now, then you must change the way you do things.
Same action = same result
Different action = new results
Are you looking for new results?
Is it a time for a change of action?
Here’s wishing you the ultimate success.

About The Author

John Alexander is the CoDirector of Training of Search Engine Workshops with Robin Nobles. Together, they teach 2day beginner, 3day advanced, and 5day allinclusive กhands onก http://www.searchengineworkshops.com in locations across the globe. John also teaches online search engine marketing courses through http://www.onlinewebtraining.com, and he’s a member of Wordtracker’s official question support team at http://www.wordtracker.com/moreinfo.html.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 21, 2004

by John Alexander

Sharpening Your Sales Skills

Sharpening Your Sales Skills

by: Jay Conners

Making a living in sales can be very rewarding, however, it can also be tough at times. That is why it is very important to stay on top of your game at all times.

Making a sale doesn’t happen by accident or by luck, the sale is made because the person doing the selling has done a good job of explaining and representing their products.

Here are a few activities that will help you and your coworkers keep your sales skills sharp at all times.

Roll Playing

I know this sounds corny, but it really does work, and it puts everyone in the office in a good mood, because of all the laughs you will receive.

Make up a few fake, but realistic sales scenarios for you and a fellow coworker to act out. Take turns playing the customer and the sales person. Repeat the scenario several times until you become comfortable with it. If at all possible, find a third person to observe and critique your mach sales sessions. If this is not possible, than critique each other.

Current Events

During each of your sales presentations with a potential customer, there should be some sort of small talk, or what you would call a relax period, where you relax your customer by discussing something other than your business and the product you are about to sell.

The weather is the most obvious thing to talk about, but it is a very boring subject and comes across fake, because everybody brings up the weather when they don’t have anything else to talk about.

Every day, in the morning, decide on a current event that you will bring up when making small talk with your potential customers; Such as a major news event or a major sporting event that is happening.

This way you will be prepared and won’t run into any snags in your conversation.

Shaking hands

Get into the habit of shaking hands. Every time you meet a potential customer, shake their hand. Most of us are comfortable with shaking hands, but for those of you who are not, here is a tip to help you reach a comfort level.

Each day that you walk into your office, shake the hands of your coworkers that are closest to you. Seriously, every morning, go in, look them in the eye, greet them by name, and shake their hand. They may look at you as though you are nuts at first, but explain to them that it is simply an exercise. Trust me they will get a kick out of it, and will respond with enthusiasm.

Remember, people don’t want to be treated as statistics, they wanted to be treated as people, so treat them that way. Shake their hand, look them in the eye, talk about things other than business, and use their name as often as possible.

By keeping your sales skills sharp, you will ultimately be keeping your sales up. Good luck!

About The Author

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 09

by Jay Conners

Copy SoapNet and Make Money

Copy SoapNet and Make Money

by: Nick Smith

Whether you want to admit it or not, soap operas may hold the key to your home business success. This article includes a few home and small business principles I learned while watching SoapNet.

Be really, really good looking. I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but every time I turn on SoapNet I feel overweight, ugly, and hopelessly average. There is no way I could ever compete with the collection of beauties, male and female, that the soap operas have assembled. But before you go out and buy a Bow Flex and dye your hair blonde, remember that I’m talking about your home business in this article. Just because you are running your business out of your home on a low budget does not mean it has to look like you are running your business out of your home on a low budget. Invest a little bit of money into getting a professional logo and stationary. If you own a website and cannot afford a professional web designer, take courses at your local college. Presenting your business professionally can open up doors you may believe are closed to you.

Give them something to talk about. If soap operas do nothing else well, they create scandals that have people talking for days. It is a TV show for crying out loud! Can you imagine what kind of publicity you could bring to your business if you gave people something to talk about the way the soaps do? I’m not suggesting doing anything illegal or scandalous. But make sure your business does something that people would be willing to talk about. What do you differently than your competitors? How can you turn that idiosyncrasy into positive publicity? What good causes are related to your area of business? Is there some kind of event you could sponsor that would make the evening news and benefit a worthy cause at the same time? People like SoapNet because it is a lot more exciting than there own lives. Give people something exciting to talk about, and I guarantee they will.

Be the good guy. In the days of silent films, the audience used to cheer when the hero first appeared on screen, and they would boo and hiss each time the villain showed up. Earn your clients’ and customers’ applause by being the good guy. We have all had dealings with people we don’t trust or who were extremely difficult to work with. Ask yourself, Are you the shiftyeyed gravedigger American housewives everywhere hate to see on television? Or are you the honest, wholesome doctor moms would love to have their daughters marry? Conducting your business in a way that earns peoples’ trust will go a long way in creating wordofmouth referrals and sincere praise for your company. Remember, like so many SoapNet actors and actresses, your business can get typecast very easily. Make sure you are cast as a hero and you can’t go wrong.

Keep it simple. There is an entire channel, SoapNet, dedicated to explaining who is sleeping with whom, what happened when, and who is whose father. Plot twists and messedup family trees may work well for soap operas, but people place a premium on simplicity when it comes to business. This does not mean that you have to dumb down everything you do, or stop offering complicated or intellectual services. It means the way you present your business is honest – what they see is what they get (see the first tip above). Do not sign a new client only to later surprise them with hidden fees or contract loopholes that will strain your relationship. This tip has everything to do with creating a relationship that is honest and transparent. Perhaps your business is built around something that you know that other people don’t. Do not put yourself out of business by giving away all your secrets. But keep your client or customer relationships open and honest. You’ll find that fewer people will try to take advantage of you when they trust you are not trying to take advantage of them.

Nobody actually falls down elevator shafts. But you may want to consider pushing parts of your business over the edge. Soap operas are king when it comes to character turnover – if they are unpopular or the story line isn’t going anywhere, there never seems to be a lack of creative ways to kill them off. Take a look at your business and see if there are any aspects of it that may need to be ขtaken care of,ข as it were. Cutting down costs by cutting out baggage could do wonders with regards to your bottom line.

The SoapNet channel is now in more than 40 million homes. If you play your cards right, your business could be too.

About The Author

Nick Smith is a client account specialist with http://www.10xMarketing.com – More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. To find out how to get SoapNet on your television, check out http://www.dishnetworkproducts.com/articles/soapnet.php

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 08

by Nick Smith

Improving Your InterCompany Communications At No

Improving Your InterCompany Communications At No Cost

by: Martin Bailey

Itกs all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising campaign, backed up by a wealth of positive PR, but if your staff are not all pulling in the same direction this could be the biggest leak in your plan.
Want a more indepth guide to internal and customer communications, plus a CDROM with software with advice, additional content and links to helpful sites?
Buy กMarketing your Businessก today
Firstly, everyone need to be able to get accurate information, so ensure that you have a good computer network (or better still, a fullyfledged Intranet) and routinely store the latest versions of documents where everyone can access them.
Keep all staff that have any exposure to customer AT WHATEVER LEVEL aware of new campaigns. Even the Stores Manager might talk with customers on the phone, so make sure that everyone knows whatกs going on.
As a Marketing Manager you may be paid for your ideas, but it doesn’t mean that you’re the only one that has them. Listen to others they may come up with the basis of an idea that you can develop, but ensure you don’t steal all the credit the very fact that you can deliver on the initial idea proves your worth, and nothing is likely to aggravate colleague more than someone stealing their glory.
As email is commonplace in most businesses you can easily keep staff uptodate with newsletters. It doesn’t have to be anything flash just a short, sweet email with a summary of whatกs going on. In any case, if you write a longwinded document, chances are it won’t get read.
Chat systems can be a good way of hosting online meetings, regardless of the location of staff. Products such as MSN Messenger, Eyeball Chat, ICQ, Skype and Ivisit all offer the ability for users to type, talk and even videoconference with one or sometimes even several people simultaneously.
This subject is covered in greater detail in Martin Baileyกs book, Marketing your Business, available from www.marketingyour.biz. Chapter 1.5 within the theoretical sections of กMarketing your Businessก enters into much greater detail about improving communications and internal staff relations. Chapter 1.8 also demonstrates various Internet communication methods.

About The Author

Since 1992 Martin Bailey has been involved with the marketing activities of small and medium sized companies, either through working directly for the organisation or by assisting friends and colleagues in their own business ventures. Based in the UK he regularly assists companies around the world in creating product and brand awareness for their chosen marketplaces. He has also written a number of IT and technical articles for niche market trade magazines.

This article was posted on July 09, 2004

by Martin Bailey

Increase Business by Squashing Your Fear of Phones

Increase Business by Squashing Your Fear of Phones

by: Trent Brownrigg

Phone skills are very important when you have your own home business. If you are like me, when I started out, then you may think you are going to work entirely online and not use the phone. However, there will come times in your business when you must talk on the phone. In fact, you will probably talk on the phone a lot when you have an ขonlineข home business.

There are times when you will need to call prospects, talk to business partners, answer questions that someone has, or some other business task that requires the phone. You may be saying, ขNo matter what I guarantee I will never call anyoneข but what if someone calls you? You will need phone skills then too!

The problem with this phone fact is that most people are scared to talk business on the phone. We have a fear of failure or rejection on the phone that causes us to make mistakes in our speech, forget what we want to say, or just totally freeze up. Don’t let this fear stop you or slow you down. You can actually develop great phone skills rather quickly.

If you want to reap all the benefits of being your own boss then you will have to overcome your fear sooner or later. In order to complete this task you must develop a strong desire to have good phone skills and let nothing stand in your way.

Think about it, when you are on the phone the other person can’t see you. They don’t know if you have messed up or said something wrong. They don’t know that you haven’t showered today. They can’t see that you are nervous or scared. Also, if you really get bogged down, and need to get out, all you have to do is hangup. So, what are you really scared of? If it’s still rejection then get used to it! You will get rejected more times than not. We all do!

Don’t know how to start? Here are five basic techniques to help you in acquiring your new phone skills:

1) The OpeningIf you are the one doing the calling then you must have a good way to open up the conversation. You really only have a few seconds before the person on the other end decides whether they are going to listen or not. There are a few things in your opening that you need to have; your name, the reason for the call, and why they should care about what you have to say. You should also be prepared with some basic opening information in case someone calls you out of the blue. Rehearse all of your openings often so it becomes like second nature to you.

2) Your AttitudeSmile during the conversation. It’s true that they can’t see you but smiling will make your voice sound positive, upbeat, and friendly. You also need to be confident. Your confidence will show them that you truly stand by your product or business. They must believe that they really need you. Remember ขNOข might really mean ขI still need to be convinced.ข

3) MannersIt’s really easy to get caught up in a conversation and start talking like you do with your friends. Remember this is a professional call. Avoid repeated phrases or nervous laughs. Don’t chew gum or eat while on the phone. Also, keep your mouth a few inches from the phone so you aren’t too loud or muffled. Most of all, watch your language. Nothing will end your conversation faster than letting one of those naughty 4letter words slip out.

4) SurroundingsIt is best to be in a quiet and comfortable place away from distractions. If you are interrupted you may forget what you were saying causing you to sound very unprofessional.

5) InformationIt is a very good idea to have everything you may need readily available. Have all information organized and accessible within seconds. At the very least you should have your website open, the compensation plan in front of you, and a list of answers to frequently asked questions handy. Another very important tool to have is a script. With a script you have your lines in front of you ready to go. However, it’s best not to totally rely on a script. I say this because the conversation can stray from it very easily.

Well, there you go! Now you have some basic techniques to help you squash your fear of phones and become more professional. I doubt you will be able to do it in one day but with some practice, repetition, and persistence you will sound like a veteran in no time. Trust me if you face your fear now it will pay off big later!

Copyright© Trent Brownrigg

http://www.workathomejobsiowa.com

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted). A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

About The Author

Trent Brownrigg is a successful home business entrepreneur, webmaster, and author of work at home articles. Check out My Top 10 Ways for You to Earn and Learn at: http://www.workathomejobsiowa.com/top_10.html

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This article was posted on April 19, 2004

by Trent Brownrigg

Don’t Baffle Me. Talk to Me.

Don’t Baffle Me. Talk to Me.

by: Andrew Eklund

Congratulations, all you Internet marketing people you. You now command a whopping 3% of total advertising and marketing budget. Hey, itกs better than, well…2%. And the number is trending higher. Thatกs good too.
But what if I told you that people spend nearly as much time on the web as they do in front of the television?
Did you know that TV commands almost 40% of all ad spending, while the web gets only 3%? How about newspapers? Businesses spend almost as much on newspaper ads as television, but guess what? Consumers spend less than 10% of their time reading newspapers.
Clearly, if you judge just by the numbers, the web is underfunded. Why?
I have a theory: to most business decisionmakers, the people who sell the web channel are geeks. They talk in web jargon and acronyms. For example, if I was a business owner (which I am) and had an inkling that email marketing might be successful for my business (which I do) and called an Internet marketing consultant to meet with me, hereกs what I might hear:
‘thank you for calling me in. What we provide is an ASP email solution that has easytouse WYSIWYG tools which, in addition to providing you outstanding content management, tracks clickthroughs, white list status, and user conversions in realtime.ก
As a business decisionmaker, I think: What did that geek just say to me?
Or letกs take search marketing: กSir, Iกd like to talk to you about how we can dynamically measure your keyword PPC programs within the Google AdWords or Overture network to, again, track realtime user conversions using stateoftheart web analytics systems, which, by the way, are an ASP model so your IT guys don’t have to get involved. Isn’t that great!?!?!ก
Yeah. Not so great, pal, because YOU’re NOT TALKING TO ME!
And we wonder why web marketing might be underfunded? The fledgling field is so proud of itself for its snazzy lingo and sizzling software that itกs forgotten that this is just marketing only possibly a whole lot better in many ways than traditional marketing.
To get decisionmakers fired up about investing in the Internet marketing channel, strip out the jargon and the acronyms and get down to business. If you do so, then youกve finally got what everyone wants to buy: better marketing. Instead of selling กconversionsก and กASPsก which have no language connections to traditional advertising and marketing talk in real business language. A conversion is a sale or a lead. A user is a customer. Keywords are just words and language. Every Internet t erm has a seasoned business equivalent. Use them.
If we want to justify more than a 3% budget allocation for our web marketing efforts (which we can and should), then we need to talk about business in language that decisionmakers use everyday. And whatever you do, if you say กitกs just marketingก then don’t make it sound like IT.
Until next month,
Andrew Eklund

CEO

About The Author

Andrew determines Cicerons strategic direction and leads the team in its ongoing quest for client success on the Internet. His 10 years of experience in Internet marketing provides a perspective that combines visionary creativity with common business sense.
Under Eklunds spirited leadership, Ciceron provides web marketing services to a diverse client roster that includes Best Buy, Jostens, US Bank, Hazelden Bookplace, Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Trend Enterprises, and Coldwell Banker Burnett.

http://ciceron.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on June 01, 2004

by Andrew Eklund

How to Get Some of Paris Hilton’s TV Time

How to Get Some of Paris Hilton’s TV Time

by: Dr. Letitia Wright, D.C.

When your book is mentioned on television, sales go up. Immediately people start looking in book stores and on the internet to find out how to buy it. The more people hear about it, the more they want the book. When several shows are talking about the book, it become a best seller. Look at the success of Oprah’s Book club, The Today Show’s Book Clubs and all the other shows that feature a writer and their book. Sometimes the writer is interviewed but sometimes the writer doesn’t even have to be on the show in order to sell books.

It made Mark Victor Hansen, the Chicken Soup book author multi millions. They have published over 85 books.

But how do you get your book on TV if you do not have a large budget for a PR company? Who can you call to get that first break? How can you get a tape of a good interview so other producers will take a chance and book you?

How do you show you are a good guest even though you are new? It takes a lot more than an simple email or phone call saying that you have a book and would be the PERFECT guest.

First Look at your book and then look at the current news headlines. Is there anything in your book that can relate to the current news? If so, you have a reason to call TV shows and pitch getting on the show. If you are current with the news, you have an excellent chance of getting on. People are already talking about your topic. You can work your way in and then talk about the rest of your book

Second Make a list of the show you would like to be on. Make sure they are shows that would want to have you. Don’t try to get on a cooking show if you are talking about cars. The Shows have to want to talk to you about your subject. Your subject matter should be on target with what the show is about.

Look at TV shows, and shows on the web. Watch them and actually see what kinds of books and topics they talk about. Watch the style used.

Third prepare your pitch. This is where you write out what you want to say when you speak to a producer or leave a message over the phone. Plan what you are going to say. You only have a few seconds to get their attention. Sound solid in your voice and on target. Tell them WHY their viewers will want to see you , don’t just say you will be a good guest and they need you on the show. Tell them what is special and unique. Let them know if you give away books or any items when you appear. Leave your phone number 2 times for clarity. Make a list of who you called and what show they were with. Wait and wait for a call back. You can do a follow up call but wait a few weeks.

By Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C.

Copyright 2005

About The Author

Dr. Wright is the host of The Wright Place™ TV Show, a talk show for women entrepreneurs that can be seen in 5 million homes in Southern California and on the Internet. Subscribe to the Newsletter and Get Your Free Report: 19 Secrets to Advertising the Cable Company Doesn’t Want You to Know at http://tinyurl.com/6uqqt

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This article was posted on February 16

by Dr. Letitia Wright, D.C.