Why Ideas For Selling Make a Huge Difference

You can talk all day about theories but I prefer practical real life stuff and when it comes to ideas for selling there are several times in my life when I have seen them make the difference between failure and success in a business. I have seen small and medium sized enterprises lifted from failure and bankruptcy by a single selling idea.

Actually I call them selling systems and I firmly believe that to succeed in business every entrepreneur needs a selling system that works. Why have an accounting system and a production system and a system for everything else except a system for the most important thing in your business-selling whatever it is that you sell?

Anyway it does not really matter what I want to call it or what you want to refer to it us, the bottom line is that we both understand what we are talking about here. And even more important that we grasp the power that ideas for selling have when it comes to bringing dead businesses back to life.

The first time I witnessed he power of ideas for selling or a selling system at work was some years back when I completed developing a brilliant product in the form of a small magazine. The response from my readers was enthusiastic and I was sure that I had a winner. But there was a problem. I was having difficulties selling my mass market woman's magazine. I developed a miniature version of the magazine where I printed the headlines of my articles and a summary of what my stories were all about and I gave it out free to my prospects. The response was instantaneous and I immediately started selling like hot cakes. At the peak of it all I was doing $800 worth of magazine sales daily. This was in sharp contrast to a few short days before when I would easily go through a whole day without making a single sale.

From then on I have witnessed as well as taken active part in many situations where ideas for selling have dramatically changed the situation on the ground and rescued numerous small businesses from the jaws of certain death and bankruptcy.

Let me describe the simplest and yet most effective idea for selling (selling system) I have ever seen in action. You too may have seen it in practice because I have witnessed it being used on two different continents that are miles apart. On a hot day when temperatures are high, a lemonade stand gives all passersby a free taste of their cool drink which under the circumstances is almost irresistible. It would seem that the lemonade stand is wasting valuable lemonade that it would have otherwise sold. The truth is that this selling system tempts many passersby who would have otherwise not stopped to make a purchase to buy. Some take advantage of the free sample and walk away without buying but at the end of the day the lemonade given free is but a small fraction and a tiny part of the total costs from the huge revenue made from lots of sales. Sales that would never have happened without the brilliant selling idea of giving away free samples.

Top 7 Marketing Mistakes New Consultants Make

Becoming self-employed can be liberating, exhilarating, frustrating and terrifying. Often all at the same time. Most entrepreneurs I meet know they need to be doing marketing. They just often lack a clear sense of what marketing is, or they have no idea where to start. Here are the seven most common mistakes I see new business owners making with their marketing (and how to fix them):

1. They don't do any - New consultants tend to focus their attention on the skill they offer their clients. Usually they are very talented at that skill, they're just not talented at talking with people about it, or explaining how it will help others. If you aren't doing any marketing don't be surprised if the world does not beat a path to your door. People won't know you're out there if they never hear about you.

2. They market inconsistently - Although it's better than not doing any, marketing in a hit-or-miss manner is not a recipe for success. Massive brands like Coke and McDonalds didn't get that way by approaching their marketing as an afterthought. Without consistent effort it is difficult to stay top-of-mind.

3. They have no plan - It takes a plan to identify the best opportunities and timing to reach your ideal customer. Drafting an annual marketing plan forces you to identify your goals, target audience, geographic market, key messages and the tactics you will use to spread the word. Don't skip this step.

4. They fail to delegate it - As a business owner you wear many hats but it doesn't mean you have to do it all yourself. There are lots of administrative assistants, virtual assistants and interns who can take many of the basic tasks of marketing off your plate, freeing you to focus on serving customers and selling.

5. They fail to fund it - While some tactics like social media require only time and no money, other marketing initiatives do require funds. Take a look at your expected revenues and determine an appropriate amount to invest. By seeing your budget as a whole you can better invest those dollars wisely.

6. They see it as an expense and not an investment - When done correctly, marketing is an investment, not an expense. It's not like your rent which flows out every month never to be seen again. The dollars you spend finding the right people and letting them know about you should flow back to you in the form of new business.

7. They expect immediate results - Marketing is both an art and a science. There is no one silver bullet that will completely provide you with all the business you could ever want. It takes time for your target customer to feel ready to buy, so commit to a long-term view to get the best results in marketing your consulting business.

Why a Job is Like a Pyramid Scheme You Can't Get to the Top Of

Whenever you talk to someone about a home based business it is inevitable that someone will bring up the idea of it being a "pyramid scheme". But what they probably aren't thinking about is that just about every job in America is actually structured like a pyramid. Think about it. Don't you have a boss? And your boss probably has a boss... and your bosses boss might even have a boss. So it really is exactly the same thing. All those people at the top make money based on the efforts of the people below them, just like a pyramid.

The only difference between that and network marketing is that with network marketing everyone has the same ability to make the same amount of money as everyone else. Everybody comes into the business at the same exact level and it's all about what you make of it that determines how high up you go. With a job no matter how hard you work or how much you want it there is very little chance that you will ever make it to the top of the pyramid or even close!

Sure you might get a promotion or two but the fact of the matter is that in a traditional business there is really only enough room for a few small select group of people. Where in network marketing the sky is the limit and as many people can be at the top as possible. Simply put a network marketing opportunity allows you to climb as high as you want as fast and you want and pretty much no job can ever promise you that.