Effective Advertising and Info Management

I have often been asked what the best way to start a business is You can buy a franchise or build a company from the ground up. Both have benefits and downfalls.

There are many franchises available to buy. Many companies you use are probably franchises, from restaurants to cleaning services. When you purchase a franchise you are basically getting a business in a box. When you buy into a franchise, many aspects of the business including marketing are taken care of off. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The negatives of buying a franchise however are that you are not free to change much of your business model, and of course the initial outlay. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or for details of available franchises.

Starting your own business from scratch however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. Depending on how novel your new enterprise is, it is possible that your will have a steep testing curve and will have to make all of your own connections.

So, as you have probably gathered by now, the decision whether to buy a franchise or go it alone are multi-dimensional There is no one size fits all advise.

Let’s look at what makes a retailer profits.

It’s just a few main things…

1. Number of stock turns in a year
 2. Gross Margin or pricing strategy
 3. How many staff you have working relative to turnover
 4. Rent proportional to turnover or revenue
 5. Conversion rate of walk in traffic to purchases

Let’s investigate all 5.

Stock turns per year, from years of working with retailers, is something a lot of the shop keepers don’t know. Work it out if you don’t know by looking at how many times the cost price of your stock divides into your turnover in 12 months.

e.g. If your stock was valued at $50,000 and you turned over $150,000 your number of stock turns would be 3. If your gross margin was 50% you would make $150,000 gross profit as well.

Stock turns gives you profit, so therefore the more stock turns you do the greater the profit, this is important for you to remember.

In retail you want as many stock turns as possible. But what affects stock turns is what we need to look at.

Stock turns is affected by price and conversion rate (or selling skills). If your prices are much higher than your competitors this may (but not necessarily) affect your sales and hence stock turns.

Conversion rates play a massive role in making profit. If you get 20 people a day walk into your shop but only 2 buy you won’t be making much profit. How you approach customers is extremely critical as you can lose any chance of a sale by uttering just 4 words.

I hope you don’t take offence, but I am going to tell you the worst 4 words you can say…

Can I help you?

Every person has hear this a 1000 times so their reflex reply is virtually always … no thanks, just looking!

Sale lost!

So I suggest you say to people - Hi, have you been into our store before - or something similar. If you have a lot of repeat business with people coming back very regularly I would recommend you say - Hi there, how long since you’ve been into our store?

Either question has to elicit a yes or no answer. Either one is great as you can follow it up with - Really. Let me show you around!

This is so simple, yet so powerful. I worked with one retailer who used this first line and with a bit more help and fine tuning he achieved a 100% success rate for a whole week! Yes, every person who walked in bought something. Prior to this sales system he was getting about 62% of walk in people buying.

So try it out for yourself, let me know how you go with it.

So let’s look at how to increase stock turns, apart from the most powerful one, which is always sales training by using a different greeting…

To increase stock turns you must find out what’s selling and what isn’t. You must measure to find out. Whatever stock has been in your store too long (which could be 3 months) you need to get rid of. In other words sale it off.

I never recommend discounting by a percentage. This can be fatal! I suggest you mark down the price with a tag that says - Was $X, now $Y, save $Z. This works great. Or, just cross out one price and put the new lower price.

Or you can put all stock you want to sell in a special place and tell customers if they buy something else in the shop for ($X) they can have anything in the special place for half price.

The reason you MUST sale off old stock is due to opportunity cost. In retail you need to divide the whole floor up into squares then look at what is selling in each square. It’s all about return on investment from rent paid. You must make a profit from every square in your business, so whatever occupies a square must be selling every 3 months or so.

Whatever isn’t selling in a square is costing you money, lost money from having something in the square that could be selling.

This is called retail knowledge and comes with years of experience in your industry. Finding out what sells best with good margins is what retail profits are all about.

Most retailers I have met say it’s too much work to measure stock levels every 3 months, so they do it once a year because they are too busy. Busy-ness has nothing to do with profits. Busy people go bankrupt from business ownership every day.

Let’s look at the next point. Your pricing strategy or margins.

I meet retailers all the time who don’t know their gross margin or profit. When I ask them what their gross margin is they typically tell me 150% to which I reply you can’t have over 100% profit. Unfortunately retailers mark up by a percentage, they don’t often work on gross margin.

Gross margin gives you gross profit and gross profit is what pays the rent and overheads, not mark up. That’s why it’s more important to know margin. So ask your accountant to work it out if you don’t know how. I don’t have much space here to explain it.

Here’s out last point to cover, how many staff you have working relative to turnover.

This isn’t a simple cut and dried answer. This takes careful measuring from history to decide on the future.

This is where additional marketing can be extremely profitable, yet few retailers do it effectively. If you design and run a newspaper ad, make sure you have an offer on it so it makes it easier to track responses, sales and profits from sales to know if your ad worked or not. This is crucial!

Don’t assume your ad works as I have found 98% of all newspaper ads do not make even $1 profit enough to pay for the ad from the profit from the sales, which to me is the only measure of a successful ad. It takes great expertise to make good profits from newspaper ads.

When you have a turn-key system to generate sales, it makes it so much easier to plan staffing needs.

In regards to rent to turnover I have met business owners who are paying 32% of their turnover as rent and wondering why they can’t make enough profit to even pay themselves. So get hold of some benchmark numbers for your industry, look on the web or ask your accountant and see how your rent compares to your turnover for your industry.

One final tip… have each of your staff measure their own conversion rates, from walk in to paying customer as a percentage. This will automatically increase, just by measuring it! A very powerful thing to do.

Put all these tips together, including changing how you greet customers, measure what sells and what doesn’t, monitoring marketing returns, watching staff numbers and selling off items that haven’t sold in a needed time frame, all will add up to BIG profit increase. And that’s what you’re in business to achieve isn’t it?

Tim Stokes is a master at measuring key numbers in any business. His results with growing businesses has to be seen to be believed so go to his website at http://www.bbms.com.au and have a good look at his testimonials. While there sign up for the 7 Proven Principles of Business Success email mini-course- the world’s most powerful system for growing businesses rapidly.

E-mail the main stop on the information superhighway can be a blessing or a curse.

It was a curse to Harry Stonecipher, Boeing CEO, who was ousted when a female employee revealed through e-mail an illicit affair. It was a curse to Goldman Sachs when the company paid $2 million to settle federal regulators’ charges for improperly offering securities through e-mail. And it was a curse to Enron when sensitive e-mails ended up in court as part of a congressional investigation.

According to Jean D. Sifleet, business attorney and author of three books, “Many companies think that having an e-mail policy is enough to protect them from legal exposure. That’s just not realistic. Employees use e-mail for all sorts of activities, and they need to be trained about what’s okay and what’s not okay.”

Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts, business writing expert and author of 19 books, states, “E-mail is a blessing when it’s used properly. Using e-mail properly goes beyond legal and etiquette. E-mail is a serious business communications tool, and you must treat it with the same respect as any other business document you write.”

Training is the key to proper, safe, and productive e-mail usage.

Training is now available online. Here’s a preview of what you can expect:

E-mails that Mean Business

Write e-mails that get read and get you the results you want. For example, think how efficient it would be for the subject line column of your inbox to read like the “Newsline” column of USA Today. Your readers view your subject line (as a headline) and get critical information about your message. That’s how efficiently you learn to write. Learn to write e-mail messages with a subject line that shouts “Read Me!” . . . messages that have the impact you want to have on your readers . . . messages that get results. Here’s a preview of what you can expect to learn in this interactive format:

-Craft a subject line that commands attention and gets responses.

-Deliver the essence of your message in the subject line.

-Write a clear and concise message that answers who, what, when, where, why, and how in the opening paragraph.

-Use e-mail etiquette so each message is personable and professional.

E-mails that Avoid Legal Pitfalls

Learn to recognize what’s “okay” and what’s “not okay” in e-mail, and avoid unintended legal consequences. Extra caution is needed in using e-mail because, unlike a telephone or face-to-face conversation, e-mail is a permanent record. For example:

-An exchange of e-mails can result in a legally binding contract. You want to be clear about the terms before you hit the send key and make a legal commitment.

-E-mail can be evidence of harassment. If you state an opinion in an e-mail and send it to a colleague, remember that the e-mail can be forwarded on. Before sending an e-mail that includes disparaging remarks, uses profanity, makes sexual or other remarks about someone’s appearance or ethnicity, stop and consider whether it could be harassment.

E-mail skills are critical to your success in doing business. Training helps to transform e-mail from an informal means of communications into a powerful business tool (e-mail, the blessing), reducing the risk of legally damaging or embarrassing situations (e-mail, the curse).

Demos of the courses are available on-line at http://courses.techcomm-partners.com/ - just click the demo button on the left side of the screen to view them. For more information, email info@techcomm-partners.com or call 401-568-5816.

Jean Sifleet is a practical and experienced business attorney whose career spans many years in large multi-national corporations and includes three successful entrepreneurial ventures. Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts is an award winning author. To learn more about the backgrounds of the authors of the program, check out Sheryl’s website at http://www.sherylwrites.com and Jean’s at http://www.smartfast.com

Copyright 2006 Mary Foley

The sad fact is that most Americans hate their jobs. Its pure drudgery and they’re just in it for the paycheck. It doesn’t have to be this way. You really can have a dream job, one that you really love and that pays you well.

No, I’m not in fairy tale land. For the 10 years I worked for AOL, I can honestly say there were few days I didn’t want to go to work. The challenges of each position and the company’s ups and downs were never easy, but I always believed my contribution meant something and I felt that I was being fairly compensated. When this was no longer the case, I found another way to grow my career.

But, unfortunately, my experience is not common. After even a few years into your career, you might be frustrated by any number of things - work that’s not challenging, people who don’t value your abilities, being paid less than you’re worth, to name a few. You might even fantasize walking into your boss’ office and shouting “Take this job and shove it!”

That might feel momentarily satisfying, but it’s never a lasting strategy to build your career. The more productive thing to do is to “take this job and love it!” No, not the job you currently have that leaves you frustrated. I’m taking about a new job, a different job that is a great match for you, your abilities, and your desires.

But, how do you go from “shove” to “love” in your career?

Pounding the pavement searching for a more fulfilling career is one of the most stressful events in life. I read that it’s in the top three, right along with divorce and a death in the family. Having a road map can reduce your anxiety. Here are my six steps to get that dream job while you’re fully conscious:

1. Determine That You Need To Change Jobs

Sometimes, it’s worth trying to work things out at your current job. Often, you need to move on. In either case, the big thing is that you need to understand why you are dissatisfied with your current so that you can take that into account when you are looking for a new one.

2. Identify The Job You Really Want

The goal is to have a job where you are excited about getting up every morning and going to work. Allow yourself to dream what that new job might be and then explore what that job is like through online research and informational interviews with people who actually do that job now.

3. Find The Company That Has The Job You Want

Start looking in easy places, both on and offline. For example, check the want ads in the largest general newspaper in town plus the largest business newspaper in town. Go online and search job websites such as www.monster.com and www.careerbuilding.com. Don’t forget any schools or related associations who also may have job postings. One huge way people find jobs that’s often overlooked is networking. Get out and meet people and let them know you’re seeking a new opportunity. Often you’ll get a recommendation of a company or someone to contact.

4. Convince The Hiring Manager You Are The Person They Are Looking For

Be prepared for the interview. Learn all you can beforehand about the company and their current situation. Of all the questions you may get, the most critical answers are the ones where you tie your abilities and experience to the company’s needs. That’s what makes you truly valuable.

5. Negotiate A Fabulous Salary And Compensation Package

Never talk money and compensation until you’ve clearly discussed your value - what you can do to meet the company’s needs right now. Know what the job is worth ahead of time using websites like www.salary.com. Let the hiring manager put out the first number, but never accept it immediately. Often this is their lowest offer. You will often get more in salary or benefits if you ask, but only if they believe you’re worth it.

6. Start Off Your New Job With A Bang

You’ve worked really hard to get to this point. Don’t wait for your boss or your new co-workers to make you feel comfortable and to give you direction. Reach out to them first. Continue to demonstrate through your results and by creating positive relationships that they made the right choice.

Mary Foley, author of “Bodacious! Career: Outrageous Success for Working Women”, inspires people to take charge of their lives and grow their careers and business. Tired of seeing so many people weary from jobs they hate, Mary created “6 Steps to Win the Job You Really Want” , which draws from her ten years at AOL forging her personal career, hiring hundreds of people, training managers how to interview, and being co-owner of a human resources research and consulting firm. To find out more, check out www.new-job-search.com

Electronic currencies such as netpay, paypal, egold, etc. can be
exchanged between one another just like the dollar, yen, euro,
etc. can be exchanged between one another. An age-old problem
with any kind of exchange (how can you assure that you get your
goods after you’ve handed over the money?) has now been solved.
Currently, there is a demand for merchants that can exchange or
support the exchanging of ecurrency. A fee is charged for the
exchange and that fee could be yours to pocket! This is not a
get rich quick scheme. It is a business. You start off with a
portfolio and you have the option to work your way up to a
console. The way things are currently going, within a year you
could replace most incomes with just the portfolio. There are
options to join for free, but it is best to jump start your
portfolio with at least $50.

If you are already involved in the ecurrency exchange business,
please explore our digot picker, resources, articles, wealth
creation, and guestbook pages.

There are so many “opportunities” on the internet, and it’s
challenging to see the clear difference. There are many
opportunities that can provide quick cash, but no lasting
future. There are also some that are outright scams. Many have
just started so you have no way of knowing whether they’ll be
around tomorrow …while others have a track record you can check.

Why do we want to earn our livelihood from home? Of course we
want to spend more time with our family. Spend more time at home
and have the flexibility of tending to both our work and home
chores. Be able to attend all school activities, go on field
trips and be with your children during the summer vacation
months. Is it possible to achieve this? Absolutely!

We have to break out of the old thought process of getting an
education, go to college, get a job and retire. How about after
college we work from home, tend to our family with an unlimited
earning potential?

Work from home opportunities are in abundance. You have to do
your homework about each and find out about the company, the
products and the services. One thing we can tell you, almost all
of the businesses you will find sell a consumable product or a
service. In both cases your money is spent and the only way to
recover the funds to earn a living is to depend upon others to
continue to consume or use the service.

Another pit-fall of many of the work from home opportunities is
the “system” built by the company does not have a support
structure. They do not have the appropriate infrastructure in
the headquarter offices and those with whom you joined do not
have the time to educate and support you either. And, the later
occurs because they, too, are spinning their wheels hurrying to
spend more money to depend on others to spend their money on a
consumable or service.

An important aspect to consider is how much of the consumable
product or service do you have to sell to make a comfortable
living? Many large corporations have the support structure, have
a reputable product, a solid business, but you will find having
to sell thousands to reach your financial goals. Ask yourself if
you want to earn $1000 working 8 hours or $100 working 8 hours?
The answer is obvious, therefore, take a look at your financial
goals and determine what it will take to reach that goal with
your work at home business.

Growing trends in work at home businesses are those that are not
a product or a service, but an appreciating asset. A merchandise
that will allow you to earn an income when the merchandise is
purchased, again when others are purchasing throughout the
entire network through a rewards program and then lastly when
the merchandise appreciates in value to sell. Merchandise that
is an appreciating asset, by definition is something of limited
production. Demand is high and availability is low. The value of
the item appreciates.

These types of work at home businesses make a secondary market
available for the sale of the products. Equally, because the
merchandise is of limited edition and an appreciating asset, you
will find that you will be able to diversify your business into
other market sectors without having to only depend upon other
work at home individuals to reach your financial goals.

Have you found such a business? Come Join the Art Adventure with
us at http://www.artideas4u.com

Copyright 2006 Monica Karge

Are your thoughts stopping you from having success in Network
Marketing?

Thoughts are made up of our belief system. We choose and form
judgments based on beliefs we have collected over the years. We
have attitudes, ideas and opinions of others and ourselves. We
have been conditioned to think and act a certain way.

All our life experiences have led us to believe certain things.
Whether these things are true or not, to our brain it really
does not matter. If we accept the idea as truth than for us it
is truth.

The challenge is to dig in your heels and ask yourself ‘what do
you believe and why?’

Pick yourself apart. Is it truth? Question your belief system.

For instance, perhaps as a child you where told you will amount
to nothing. Believing someone else’s opinion can jeopardize your
success in life.

On the other hand, right thinking is based on truth. The truth
is God did not make junk. You are an important person. Accepting
this truth will put you on the right path and you will literally
act out the new you.

Our success and struggle in life depends on how we think. Life
begins in our mind and with our thought patterns. Believing in
the truth will indeed set one free.

Believing the truth means not blaming someone or something
outside of us. It means accepting oneself in a new way.

What and how we think is so important in the Network Marketing
business. Having a correct thought process is the beginning
formula for big success.

The starting point of making permanent changes in your belief
system begins with asking yourself what you believe and why you
believe what you do. Take a good look at your own belief system.

Going on a mental cleanse will help you go beyond positive or
negative thinking to right thinking.

It’s all about choices. You can make choices and change your
wrong thinking to right thinking. When your deepest inner belief
is correct your mind will filter out negative information. Then
your mind can take the ideas and turn them into real results.

Interested in starting the process?

I recently received an e-mail from an Internet marketing colleague. Actually, it was a series of e-mails. Everything started out pleasantly enough, he initially e-mailed me to tell me that he clicked on my ClickBank payment link and it wasn’t working properly, which I appreciated and thanked him for.

But it didn’t end there. He immediately bombarded me with a slew of e-mails offering me various tips and suggestions. None of the suggestions were anything I hadn’t heard before. I just purposely chose not to implement them into my business, for my own personal reasons.

However, trying to be courteous to a fellow Internet marketing colleague, I told him that I would consider his suggestions.

He immediately sent me another e-mail, offering me yet another suggestion.

That’s when I got pissed! Gathering my composure, I e-mailed him back and told him that I didn’t necessarily agree with his business procedures, but I respected his right to run his business his way. I asked him to extend me the same courtesy.

I guess I must have hurt his feelings, because I never heard back from him, which was actually pretty revealing in itself. But you know what, I couldn’t care less. I never asked him for any advice to begin with. Who does this guy think he is? What he offered me was unsolicited and unwelcomed.

Besides that, I found his approach both disrespectful and offensive. It would never occur to me to approach an Internet marketing collegue and tell him how to run his business. I just wouldn’t disrespect a colleague like that. And the fact he didn’t bother to apologize for offending me speaks volumes about his character–or lack of!

I’ve been in marketing for over 25 years. I know exactly what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. And I’ll put my Internet marketing knowledge, talent and ability up against anyone on the Internet–ANYONE! What on God’s green earth made this man think I needed his help anyway?

I’ve got my own successful system and my own way of doing things. My way works just fine for me. If someone can’t understand and respect my right to run my business my way– they’re going to have a serious problem with me! I’m making a very comfortable living on the Internet. I must be doing something right.

Besides, what kind of individual goes around clicking on another businesses payment link, without any intention of buying anything?

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Website: http://www.lets-make-money.net

Most of us can easily list off 5 professional, and consequently unprofessional,
business experiences we’ve had recently. Our interaction with these businesses
may have been in the form of an email, a retail shopping experience, or a telephone
conversation. In several cases, the deciding factor between a professional and an
unprofessional experience may have been something so small, so simple, yet so
significant.

Running a home-based business often means wearing the hat of everyone from
order taker to customer service specialist. A stickler for a ‘professional’ image, I
believe it is essential I constantly make myself aware of how clients, contractors and
the public are viewing my business practices. As the sole owner of my Virtual
Assistant business, I have to - nobody else is going to do it for me!

I’m a firm believer in the K.I.S.S. method of business relations - Keep It Simple,
Stupid. The following five points may seem cliché, and ever so simple, but it’s
surprising how often home-based business owners forget to take notice of them.

1. Spell check. Whether you are writing an email, creating a brochure of your
services, adding text to your website, or writing a thank-you card, double check
your work! Just about every program you work in will have a ’spell check’ function -
use it! For projects such as text for my website or brochures featuring my services,
I hire a professional editor to review what I’ve written. You may ask, “Isn’t a
professional editor going to cost me a lot of money?” No! There are hundreds of
Virtual Assistants who, for a surprisingly low fee, will edit your correspondence. It
will save you the embarrassment of spelling mistakes, an error which may very well
cost you a future customer.

2. The telephone. Have you ever called your favourite retail shop or your local
notary public to hear them answer, “Hello?” No? Neither have I. Businesses answer
their phone stating their business name, as should you! Unfair or not, some
potential customers have a negative preconceived notion about home-based
businesses, so let them know from the moment they call that you are a professional
organization. Ensure your answering machine or voicemail clearly notes your
business name, and directions for leaving a message or alternate contact
information. If your business line is also your home line, instruct others in your
home how you want calls answered during business hours. Also explore the option
of getting a smart ring number or a voicemail system with multiple mailboxes.

3. Professional documentation. Business cards, brochures, emails, website content,
faxes, written quotes and RFPs. Always give out typed, clean-looking, professional
documentation with your company contact information. If budget allows, hire a
graphic designer to create your company’s brand image so you keep a consistent
branding with all of your correspondence. Lots of Virtual Assistants have a
background in graphic design, and offer these services. Not in the budget just yet?
There are easy-to-use software programs with template designs, which you can
customize with your own information and flair.

4. Mind your manners. Smile when you are on the phone. Say please and thank
you. Treat each and every phone call and email with this kind of care, and you will
surely see repeat customers and referrals. Let customers know you appreciate their
patronage. A sincere “thank you for your business” will go a surprisingly long way.
Dealing with a home-based business is often a new experience for customers.
Show them your level of professionalism by keeping your manners in check.

5. Know your policies, your product, your business. It is most unprofessional when
the owner of a company does not know the answer to a question about their
business. When someone asks for a quote, they are expecting an answer of how
much your business will charge to provide them with a service. Potential customers
don’t want to hear how you’re just redoing your pricing and you’ve never done this
before but think $40/hr sounds fair. They don’t want to hear that now you have
people sign a contract because once upon a time you didn’t sign one and you were
never paid for that assignment. You are the professional. Give clear answers to the
inquiries you receive about your service offerings, pricing, policies, etc.

Just be mindful. Operating a new or home-based business of any kind is certainly a
lot of work, and a continuous battle to gain confidence from customers who may
well be used to dealing with larger, potentially more established businesses/
industries. Step up to the plate, be mindful of your professionalism, and others will
be confident in hiring your services, or purchasing your products.

© 2006 Kristi Gambling o/a Double You Business Services, All Rights Reserved. You
are welcome to use this article in it’s entirety, as long as you include complete
attribution, including live website link (http://www.doubleyoubiz.com). Please also notify
writer as to where this document will appear.

The attribution should read: “Kristi Gambling is a Virtual Assistant who owns and
operates Double You Business Services. DYBS is a full service VA firm offering
business solutions for small to mid-sized businesses worldwide.” Please visit
http://www.doubleyoubiz.com for more information, and other articles.