“This morning I woke to the noise of a lawn mower near my window. I rolled over to view the clock and saw that I had 3 more hours to sleep before time to hop out of bed. “Is someone mowing my lawn?” my sleepy brain questioned. Then I reasoned “Eh… probably the neighbors having theirs mowed with one of those loud commercial mowers.” Part of me knew better— that part of me was still mostly asleep.

I rested my head once again and fell into a rather shallow sleep for about half an hour only to be woken up by a loud knock on the door. The man at the door was dripping wet, red faced, and sprinkled with grass clippings. He had taken it upon himself to mow my lawn and was now looking for payment.

This had all the sales and marketing thought of the guy who jumps in front of your car at the red light and washes your windows before you can even say “Stop! I just came from the carwash! No more washie! No washie!”

This can even be compared to the sales associate who says “And you’ll want the insurance plan… great value…” and selects it for you before you can consider if you actually do want it.

Or when you are handed a contract to sign with boxes checked and options selected that you were never even notified were possible. How are you expected to sign off on something without knowing what you are agreeing to?!

Shoot first and ask for the sale later? It may work for some of the people some of the time, but it will not earn you a customer. If it earns you a sale, you lucked out. The sale happens because the customer felt uneasy about speaking up, felt sorry for you, trusted your opinion, or decided they wanted the sale anyway. More than likely, it will be one of the first two and you are likely to lose the customer’s trust while annoying them. There are many customer out there who would be so appalled at the tactic that they would cancel the sale all together or say “I didn’t agree to this!” making the completion of the sale nearly impossible.

Anyone willing to perform such thoughtless service isn’t very business minded. Why? Because getting a sale is temporary. You have to constantly sale in order to maintain your job and finances. What you should try to get is a customer. If a customer feels pressured, annoyed, or cheated they won’t be your customer for much longer. What you gain in the moment, you lost for the future.

You must, and I cannot stress this enough, include the customer in your sale. After all, without them there would be no sale at all. If you explain the options, offer a service, and value their opinion they may turn down the extras but they won’t turn down you.

When the man mowing lawns showed up to collect his payment, he received his asking price but I let him know that we have other means of lawn care. While we appreciate his efforts, his services are not needed. Sad thing, too, since just a few days before my roommates and I were discussing hiring someone to cut the lawn on a regular basis and maybe do some landscaping. He proved to us that he would choose to mow the lawn without our consent; I can’t imagine the horrible decisions that would be made if he had the job of planting, pruning, trimming, or designing my pretty little lawn!

Make customers, not sales— and include them in the process or risk losing everything.

~:Taking care of business really means understanding people. Lola has worked in areas of Customer Service for nearly a decade, including CSR Training Coordinator at a major dot com. Her articles will show how every moment can be an opportunity to provide better service to the people around you:~

The term “”Fairtrade”" has been gaining steady acknowledgment since the 1940s – and justifiably so. After all, when consumers pay just a little more for products like organic coffee, bananas, nochocolate and even clothes, farmers are guaranteed a fair price for their goods and labour. So, the fact that over 2,500 product lines in the UK now carry the Fairtrade mark – t to mention that Britain spent over £290 million on fair trade coffee, food, furniture and clothing last year (an increase of 46% on the previous year) – should seem like a good thing, right?

Not quite, as many people are now questioning the effectiveness of the fair-trade practice – or more specifically, whether the support of Fairtrade purchase can actually damage the progress of developing world farmers. Many are claiming that a focus on fair prices for poor farmers doesn’t necessarily address issues of mechanisation and industrialisation – radical changes that might enable farmers in developing countries to break out of the poverty cycle. In other words, they believe Fairtrade just encourages Third World farmers to accept and settle for just a bit more than they were originally getting – which still leaves farmers at a level of dependence.

Steve Daley of the Worldwrite charity told the BBC: “”How can a few extra pennies a day from Fairtrade be celebrated as an outstanding achievement?”"

Daley cites a report from the Financial Times last September, which revealed that a group of fair trade coffee farmers in Peru were getting 10 soles (about US$3) for working a ten-and-a-half hour day, in comparison to the 8 soles (about US$2.40) they were getting prior to the Fairtrade agreement. While there is a difference, it’s not significant, and Daley is thus concerned that the fair trade movement is being reshaped to increase farmers’ wages by small amounts, rather than to transform poor communities through development.

Madsen Pirie from the Adam Smith Institute – another sceptic of the Fairtrade practice – shares Daley’s concern, commenting to the BBC:

“”[Fairtrade farmers] become dependent on us continuing to pay ‘premium’ prices for their goods, [making them] prisoners to our market.”"

This perspective therefore claims that while small-scale fair trade deals are beneficial to some degree, they aren’t enough for Third World farmers to lift themselves out of poverty; they need bigger market developments to achieve that.

Others, however, argue otherwise. , howevEileen Maybin, a spokeswoman for the Fairtrade Foundation, said:

“”Fairtrade focuses on ensuring that farmers in developing countries receive an agreed and stable price for the crops they grow, as well as an additional Fairtrade premium to invest in social projects or business development programmes. Typically, farmers’ groups decide to use the premium on education, healthcare and clean water supplies, or the repair of roads and bridges, and to strengthen their businesses, improve the quality of their crop or convert to organic production.”"

She added that farmers and workers involved in Fairtrade always talk about how much they, their families and their communities benefit.

Justin Purser, the commodities manager for Trade Aid Importers in New Zealand, has also witnessed some of the big changes fair trade can make:

“”It is very common for fair trade coffee co-operatives to seek to build infrastructure which will cut down on the amount of labour required to process their coffee, and will also enable them to improve their coffee quality and, thereby, the higher prices they can command in the market.”"

So, the debate of whether fair trade promotes dependency or self-sufficiency continues. However, one thing is certain: fair trade conditions are far more beneficial to Third World farmers than non-fair trade conditions. So, while bigger issues may still be at hand, Fairtrade is certainly a starting point to put an end to cheap production through exploitation. Moreover, buying Fairtrade is something everyone can personally do on a daily basis to help.

There are various ways to support the fair trade practice: you could always pick fair trade products when faced with a choice of fairtrade or non-fairtrade. Many stores, markets and coffee shops do, after all, stock products from both categories. However, why not shop specifically for fair trade products? Or better yet, if the store you normally shop at doesn’t stock fair trade products, ask them if they plan to. If companies see enough consumer interest in the fair-trade practice, they may very well decide to switch over – and every little bit counts.

Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist.

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If you want to sell a product successfully you have to use powerful words to describe it and to convey each and every little benefit it has to offer your customer. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see and hear words like “unbelievable”� and “phenomenal”� in advertising.

There are some marketers, however, who intentionally use hyped-up descriptions to sell their products. These marketers mislead customers into thinking that their products offer benefits that they really do not.

Beware of individuals or promotions that promise you “everything you have ever wanted”� just by purchasing an e-book and executing whatever is inside. Anyone can stand in front of a Mercedez Benz, luxurious mansion or yacht and self-promote. It doesn’t mean they own them.

The sad but very real fact is that there are many scam artists online, waiting to steal your hard-earned dollars. So beware. Use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

If you are thinking of making a purchase on the Internet, do a basic check-up on the merchant website FIRST. If you have even the slightest question about any of the features of the product mentioned, email the merchant, ask your questions, and observe the attitude with which he/she replies. The way a company handles Customer Support reveals a lot about the integrity of that business. Visit this site to read more about this topic.

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Tags: ethical, marketing, sales, articles, code

We live in a society where almost everything we touch has been altered, transformed, malformed or mutated. How long will we continue to accept a manufacturers claim that their product is environmentally safe, simply because they are willing to twist the truth? Most products that are being marketed as “Green”, are still synthetic (man-made). For quite a long time, we have accepted the fact that man-made products are often cheaper than natural products. It is a fact that all-leather shoes will cost you more than those made from man-made materials. We also know which one is the better product, but our cash only goes so far, so we settle for synthetics. No big problem, just an effect of economics. The recent problem we are having is that claims are being made about synthetic products that surpass the true meaning of Green, Organic, or Eco-Friendly. Marketers are going out of the bounds of ethics and human reason, to make their product stand out as; “The best Green product that you simply must buy, if you care about our planet”. The following paragraphs explain my objections to this recent trend and why I consider it unethical.

I was browsing online the other day, looking at various rug pads to see what is available. Most rug pads on the market are made from synthetic materials and the synthetic variety has caused problems for many people. I was searching to make certain that all-felt rug pads were still available as these are the safest type to use on top of most flooring. Synthetic rug pads will usually damage flooring such as vinyl, hard-wood, non-glazed ceramic tile and even laminate, if left in one place for too long. In an effort to make rug pads non-slip many rug pads are made from synthetic materials such as polyurethane, which is the same material used to finish hard-wood floors. This often would result in the rug pad making a molecular bond to the hard-wood surface, which meant scraping and re-finishing the floor. Now we see synthetic cushions that are just as bad. Rug pads of other synthetic materials will cause yellowing or sub-surface moisture problems. Usually poly-blends with a scrim (thin coating) on one side that is supposed to provide protection for the rug or the floor. But if the scrim is also synthetic what have we gained? I have always suggested an all-felt pad to my clients, as this is the type that will do the least damage (if any). Now those are becoming a rare item to find. Many of the felt pads available today are a blend of synthetics. If you must use a rug pad, use one that the ability to “breathe” (allow moisture and gases to pass through them).

I said all that to get to this. As I browsed the rug cushions that were available, I came across some that were being touted as “organic”, or as having a “low carbon footprint”. The reason for their claim that it is an organic product is that the scrim (thin protective coating) is made from a vegetable oil base. The rest of the cushion is made from the same materials as before (a synthetic, poly-blend), only the thin scrim coating is advertised as organic. While this is definitely a tiny step in the right direction, it is still a man-made, synthetic product. Just because a product is made from vegetable oils bases, and not petroleum bases, does not negate the fact that it is still synthetic. As far as the carbon footprint is concerned, well, most all things earthly (especially living things) are carbon based, how can you lower that footprint. Here is the dictionary definition of Organic:

or-gan-ic or-”ga-nik adj 1 : of, relating to, or arising in a bodily organ 2 : of, relating to, or derived from living things 3 : of, relating to, or containing carbon compounds 4 : of or relating to a branch of chemistry dealing with carbon compounds 5 : involving, producing, or dealing in foods produced without the use of laboratory-made fertilizers, growth substances, antibiotics, or pesticides (c)2000 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved

The only way I can see to get away with calling it Organic is related to the second part of the definition. That a portion of the product is derived from living things. If that is the basis for the claim, then we could argue that even crude oil is Organic, since it was derived from once living things.

The Flooring industry, and many other industries are taking advantage of a public perception of “Green” (eco-friendly, environmentally- friendly, etc…). In my opinion, for something to be entirely Green, it must still exist in it’s natural state, not having been chemically altered. Perhaps I am too literal with my perception, but I would never be able to sleep at night if I took advantage of people’s perception in this manner. In reference to the rug pad, and how it is being marketed… In my mind, it would be a similar circumstance to take a toy soldier made of lead, glue a leaf to it and give it to one of my grand-children to play with saying that it has been rendered safe now; because “I made it become Organic by covering it with a leaf”.

I am really trying not to be hard-headed about this, but I think that the terminology of marketing and advertising something as “Green” has really taken a turn for the worse. If it is not illegal, then it must simply be unethical. Yet we hold the responsibility when we allow ourselves to be deluded by such false pretenses. As consumers, we must demand to be treated intelligently and morally. Ecology is becoming an increasingly “gray” area. Our buying power will determine what will be acceptable when referring to “Green”.

Article By: Charles Beason
Charles is a Flooring Consultant in the High Desert of Southern California.
Visit his website here

This article is copyright (c) 2008 by Charles Beason, and may be reprinted in it’s entirety as long as this byline and copyright statement is included.

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Tags: business, ethics, sales, marketing, environment

Successful relationships are the foundation of all success in life: both professionally and personally. Professionally, effective relationship building skills can mean the difference between triumph and defeat, particularly in a sales and/or service based environment. The importance of building strong, long-term professional relationships by taking the time to effectively “follow-up,” cannot be overstated. Yet many sales specialists such as realtors, pharmaceutical sales representatives and small business or home-based business owners simply fall short in this area, not for lack of trying, but simply because they lack guidance and expertise. Following-up is an art form that once mastered, will be an invaluable element for sales success. As Robert Collier once said, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

The Importance of Follow-Up?

Everyone wants to feel special, valued and remembered. Our frenzied schedules often leave very little time to think about, appreciate or thank anyone in our lives, especially new contacts. However, that’s the essential ingredient to successful relationship building. By taking the time to make someone else feel valued you make yourself stand out in a crowd, helping to build a positive rapport of trust and respect with prospective and existing clients. To paraphrase the principles of the Law of Attraction, whatever you put out into the world is what you will get back in return. Thus going the extra mile, which might only take an extra few minutes a day, to appreciate your clients and/or prospective clients is a must to attaining your goals. Focus on giving instead of getting and remember that relationship building takes time, organization and perseverance but it is well worth it in the end.

ALWAYS Follow-Up With…

It’s always a nice touch to follow-up in both your professional and personal life. However, sometimes it’s hard to follow-up with absolutely everybody. Thus, professionally you’ll want to do so with associates and people you meet at seminars and other events; existing clients i.e. on their birthday; referrals from existing clients (make sure to thank the source of the referral as well); prospects from sales meetings; coworkers who have assisted you in some way; friends; people who may have sent you a compliment or congratulations on a sale/accomplishment, or remembered a special event, anniversary or holiday. Think of how nice it feels for you when you receive a follow-up call, email, note or card. The same is true for everyone else as well.

The Elements of Flawless Follow-Up

Set defined professional goals prior to attending networking/connection events, prospect meetings and collecting business cards. Some people you meet will be good for business leads and referrals, while others might act as mentors and/or coaches in the future. Thus, take the time to have an active conversation with new people to find out more about them and their interests and expertise. When you make a new contact, immediately afterward, make sure to take notes regarding why you want to contact them in the future, note something specific you discussed and how best to follow-up. This will help you stay organized and will allow you to maintain a personal touch in your follow-up. It let’s the other person know that you were actually listening and were genuinely interested in learning more about them.

Stay in on-going contact with your new prospects…in fact think of them as new “friends.” Consistency is key to building a positive rapport. The more of an effort you make to stand out, the more likely that they will remember you, your company and services/products as a resource for their own personal or professional needs down the line.

Most important is the type of follow-up you choose and there are quite a few options. Use the annotations you made after your initial meeting to assist in choosing the appropriate method of follow-up. The following are the tried and true of sensational follow-up:

• Thank you notes: Take the time to show your customers your appreciation. Not only will they feel great, they will also almost certainly refer other clients your way. Poor time management often leads Entrepreneurs to neglect this small but effective touch so if you “follow through” you’re one step ahead of your competitor. Consider opening an account with an online greeting card company that will stuff, stamp and mail for you. This is a fantastic and more cost effective way to track contact information, set scheduled mailings, set reminders all while providing that extra special touch.

• Remember to mark special occasions: Keep a database to track client information (online greeting card companies allow for this and will automatically remind you of your clients/prospects special occasions). Birthdays, anniversaries, baby on the way and the like, are important to your customers, so they should be important to you as well. Remember their special day with a greeting card and they won’t soon forget you!

• Send a thoughtful gift: For an extra special “thank you,” consider sending a well-timed gift. For instance, following a real estate transaction send a personalized greeting card along with a gift card for a home remodeling or design store. Or send a gift basket that includes a restaurant gift card, delivery menus for the area and a free movie rental to welcome new homeowners. Going the extra mile will engender lifelong loyalty. Once again, certain online greeting card companies provide the gift card option right on their website, thereby saving you time yet allowing you to go the extra mile…without actually having to physically “go that extra mile!”

• Send out monthly mailings: Use these pieces to provide interesting, fun and informative information. The goal is to make the recipient smile while simultaneously reminding them that you’re still around. Send postcards, pamphlets, newsletters or greeting cards with useful tips, monthly calendar fridge magnets, client of the moth profiles, contests to win free movie passes, recipes, community events etc…

• E-mail updates: Once a month email your clients to keep them updated on your latest sale, achievement, product/service updates and personal milestones.

• Face time: Try to schedule some one on one time with clients, either over coffee or a quick lunch. Take an actual interest in their lives and they will remain loyal customers.

• Quality assurance: Call your clients to inquire as to the quality of service they received. What worked for them? What, if anything, didn’t and could be improved upon? Most importantly, are they happy overall? Customer satisfaction is job one!

• Set up your own client referral program: Use your client database to generate business for them as well as for yourself. The sincerest form of flattery is a referral. Send business their way and they will do the same. Give to get back…it works!

It’s proven and unequivocal, the essence of establishing long term, profitable business relationships is first-class follow-up. Time and time again, those who are the very embodiment of professional success; people like Jack Welch former CEO of GE and Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump, confirm that they make follow-up a top priority. If you want to turn that new lead or contact into a loyal client, the secret is simple…follow-up is foolproof!

Sources: Realty Tracker Online/LookSmart: Find Articles Online/Business Creator Pro/”Following Up Builds Business
Relationships” by: Kelle Campbell.

Barbara Theodosiou is the founder of Mommy Mentors. Mommy Mentors goal is to encourage and assist every woman to share her inspirations, hopes and dreams with other women throughout the world. We know that by sharing our weaknesses we can build strength, and by sharing our strengths we can become stronger. To learn more visit this site

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From the middle of last century until today we have become the “throw away society”. Buzz words like “disposable” and “one-use” have been commonplace. Where we used to “make do and mend” in the war years we now simply replace items that are no longer functioning or are no longer wanted. Now this is great if we have an everlasting supply of clean energy to make replacement goods and bottomless land fill sites. But we have neither.

In poorer countries this problem is negligible as most spending goes on food and essential items, leaving very little to be thrown away. More affluent societies, however, are at last beginning to wake up to the fact that the throw away lifestyle is not sustainable.

How did we get here? Several factors have conspired to bring about our disposable disposition. The main one is affluence. As western societies became richer, the demand for goods rose. Also, our salaries rose. Manufacturing needed to be faster at pumping out goods. Product design and work practices needed to be changed to accommodate increased volumes and in an affluent society it is hard to recruit and maintain the staff needed to keep these places going. As a result, the factories were located in poorer states at increasing distances from the end user. Electrical and mechanical goods were made with ever fewer serviceable parts to the point where some goods these days are totally sealed and repair is just not possible.

In days gone by a factory would produce finish goods and do a good side business in supplying parts to customers or repair shops. In affluent countries those days are gone taking with them the watch repairer, the radio (and tv) repair man, the cobbler etc etc. Even replacing the battery in an electric wrist watch is often virtually impossible.

Many authorities around the world are now trying to put the brakes on this trend and even trying to reverse it. They are asking for products to be designed to allow repair and parts replacement. In some areas – take Europe for example – they are introducing legislation that will force companies to take back (or at least take responsibility for) goods at the end of their life.

I am firmly of the opinion that, as this sentiment takes hold – and surely it will, we will be slowly warped back to the old days of repair shops and an increasing trade in spare parts. I am also convinced that this mini revolution is nearly upon us.

So have a walk down your local high street or shopping centre because it may look a little different in coming years with cobblers, watch menders and tv repair shops making a come back.

Of course, there have been some companies that bucked the throw away trend. Insect-o-Cutor have always provided spare parts for their fly killer machines. An Insectocutor fly killer can often go many years without needing any special servicing (they are guaranteed for 5 years in any case). If, however, they do need a spare part, then these are readily available from Arkay Hygiene at www.eeeee.co.uk. This availability is partly explains why it is common to see Insect-o-Cutor products working after 20 or even 30 years. In fact some Insect-o-Cutor fly killers from the 1960′s are still around and doing and excellent job.

Replacement parts for Insectocutor fly killers – such as the lamp cover for the F1 Fly Killer Model – can be purchased at this site.

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Tags: ethics, sales, marketing, training, article

To get a new client, we might be inclined to make concessions no matter what the cost: offer a second or extra long sample session; reduce fees; set session times we don’t want to work. We might leap at any opportunity before looking at the possible return on investment of time. These situations end up being lessons learned, sometimes painful ones.

Before you get caught in another good lesson, set up your business with strong boundaries. They create a friendly and ethical structure that allows others to find their place with you. They speak volumes about your professionalism and keep both you and your clients on track.

Want only as much for your clients as they want for themselves.

If you find yourself feeling frustrated about your client’s results, you are wanting too much for your client. Challenge them and let go of the outcome. If you can’t let go of the outcome, you may need to let go of the client.

If this is happening often, consider setting criteria for your prospective clients. In my own business as a mentor coach, to avoid getting started with someone who isn’t ready to make progress, I pre-qualify possible clients by asking:

“Are you committed to building a successful coaching practice and ready to invest your resources (time, energy and money) to making this happen now?” I may even go further to inquire about how much time they will dedicate and how many months of coaching they will budget.

I’ve found this puts clients on notice that the success of the coaching is largely up to them. It also raises the perceived value of my coaching services because they see that I don’t take on just anyone.

Stand firmly by your chosen fees.

Set fees that will pay you well for the time it takes to market to, coach and manage your clients. If you discount your services because a prospective client won’t afford your fees, in essence you’ve discounted the value of your services. So will your new client. The coaching won’t be as effective because they will be depending on you to take on some of the burden of their financial limitations. This forces you both out of the Co-creative Relationship.

Consider developing group coaching at half price for individuals on a tighter budget. This way you offer them something of value without taking on their financial problems as your own. Once your practice is well developed you can have a client or two on partial scholarship where they pay at a reduced rate for a limited time, say two – three months. Then the fee goes up to your full rate. You’ll want to be sure they’ll make a strong commitment to doing their own work. And never call it a discount.

Create and hold time boundaries.

If your stated session time is an hour, do your best to keep that boundary. When answering inquiries, let the caller know you are available for a specified amount of time. These are courtesies that also keep you on track.

I enjoy my work and have often forgotten to hold time boundaries. I’m learning to value my time and energy in new ways. If I do spend extra time with a client, I note it by saying: “I’d like to gift you ten extra minutes today.” This effects my client two ways: one, they understand I’ve loosened the time boundary, and two, they perceive additional value.

When someone says “Jump!” look before you leap.

When asked to do something – take on a role, task or project – give yourself time to thoroughly review how well it:

- Fits your interests.

- Aligns with your business purpose and niche.

- Provides a good return for your investment of time.

Say no, unless it will pay off for you. This applies to non-business opportunities as well. If you’re overcommitted, you’ll not be able to dedicate enough time and energy to satisfy any of your priorities, especially your business goals.

Turn down work that isn’t ideal. If clients are not a good fit refer them to another coach that fits the client’s interest, values or price range better. It will make room for the right opportunities and your ideal clients.

Enjoy the structure and professionalism these boundaries bring to your business. In the next edition we’ll discuss coaching ethics, another set of important boundaries.

Rhonda Hess mentors professional life coaches to create financially successful businesses. With the guidance of her expertise in niche marketing, Rhonda’s clients create compelling programs to manifest their unique visions. Rhonda has trained and certified over 200 coaches through Coach Training Alliance. She co-authored the ecourse, the Coach Training Accelerator, a complete manual for coaches.

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When you decide to undertake a new business or internet enterprise or if you already have a business be prepared to deliver the goods. That is over deliver. If you want to stand out amongst the countless mediocre businesses that are out there, give of yourself and share all the resources you have at your disposal. This is not only a good philosophy to adopt, but it is mandatory.

There is way too much competition and too many alternatives available in todays’ marketplace to offer some run of the mill product or service and expect people to be satisfied. Others may get away with it, but that doesn’t make it alright to perpetuate this practice. Make it your mission to blow your customers away with the value you offer. You may fear this will exhaust you or overwhelm you, but I can assure you the opposite is true.

Outside forces tend to come into play when they are truly necessary. If your mission is to help others and offer a business, service, or program that is of value it will get noticed, and as such others will rally behind this system and actually contribute to and multiply your efforts. You will find this reaction energizes you and inspires you to offer even more value. Also the concerted effort behind this cause will gain momentum.

So few people actually make themselves available to spend the time assisting their newly recruited clients or customers and offering them the assurance and support they need. By simply going the extra steps and taking the time to answer questions, offer training, return phone calls, return emails, and show your concern; you are fostering more trust and a stronger bond that will pay off in the long run. You’re establishing long term relationships and ties that carry on.

Learn a lesson from the top businesses or noted personalities who are among us today. What are the commonalities? What qualities do they share? Above all they are givers. They blow people away. Disney World does this, Walmart does this, McDonald’s does this and even Brittany Spears. All in their own way, they offer something and they don’t hold back. Fan or not, this is undeniable. Walmart has teams of marketing experts seeking out name brand goods to offer at lower prices. Disney always surprises us with the latest in animation and technology. And yes, Ms. Spears may take a detour or two, but she ultimately shares her talent and is rewarded because of that.

If this sounds foreign to you or like unnecessary baloney, I would encourage you to reexamine your intent and your expectations for success. A customer can always buy from someone else or a new client can always seek a service elsewhere. Don’t let them. Don’t be concerned with “the how” as much as the effort. If you put forth more effort, even more than you think you possess, you will most assuredly enjoy the rewards, and in most cases more than you can gauge by a bank account.

If this has been helpful and you’d like to learn more Go Here for more marketing tips.

James Broadfoot is an entrepreneur, web publisher and online marketing specialist. Take a Look Here to see what else he’s up to.

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Tags: marketing, ethics, sales, ethical, deliver

Okay. Let’s say you just closed the killer deal of the decade. You’re a real estate agent and times have been tough. You waited long for this latest commission sale. Just before the house closes, you take one last walk through with the previous owner who tells you the toilet overflowed last week and flooded the bathroom for over three hours. What would you do?

Or, you’re a new salesperson for a consumer electronics store with a limited knowledge of the items on sale in your department. You work on commission and so far you haven’t made any sales. Finally, a customer approaches you about a very expensive, big ticket item. He asks you if the item has a certain feature and that it is a deal breaker. You think that it must and answer yes. As he walks to the cashier, you find out that that particular model does not have the customer’s desired feature. What will you do?

In this day and age of situational ethics, it is easy to justify telling small mistruths. But, when the home buyer finds out he has dry rot underneath his upstairs bathroom or the customer at the electronics store finds out that the big ticket item does not have the deal breaker feature, what will he think of your company and what will he think of you? What will your supervisor think of you?

Moral excellence is your best life exemplified. You become the best you when telling the truth is more important than making a sale. When you tell the truth clients will respect you and trust you. When you start telling little white lies to get ahead, you’re bound to find yourself without a future.

Eric Coggins — Is life all you want it to be? Are you living the way you want? Do you need a little encouragement to get through the day? Find articles and stories that will pick up your spirits at http://www.thebestyou.org/ Do you operate a business in Southern California? You can find low cost adspace at this site

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Tags: sales, marketing, ethics, moral, customers

Recently, I observed two businessmen meeting for breakfast at a local restaurant. Before entering, one of them decided to purchase a newspaper from the vending machine. He deposited his $.50, removed a paper and asked if the other gentleman wanted a paper? The other businessman said “Sure.” So without closing the door or adding any additional coins, the first businessman took a second unpaid paper for his friend.

After this exchange, I took $.50 from my wallet and went to the vending machine, deposited the coins, opened and then closed the door without taking a paper. Then I took another $.50, deposited the money and walked away with just one paper. As I walked into the restaurant, one of the business men held the door, but could not look me in the eye. I wonder why?

What I did not know was that in the parking lot was the individual that I was scheduled to meet. He came as a referral from an existing client. Shortly after I had entered the restaurant, he followed and told me that he had observed what had just happened. Because he witnessed the demonstration of my ethics, his next question to me was “When do we start?”

Integrity is part of your sales ethics, business ethics or values and should be clearly communicated to all your employees, customers, shareholders and stakeholders. Within the strategic business growth action plan, this is called a values statement.

Probably one of the best definitions of integrity is doing the right thing when no one else is looking. Over the years, I have amended this to include the following phrase “and without knowingly receiving a benefit from said actions.” Your actions then become truly authentic.

Many times in business, the winks and the nods take over. Behaviors such as demonstrated by the two businessmen become common place. These behaviors are justified by rationalization, Well, everyone else does it. Then business owners begin to wonder why their employees lack poor work ethics or why productivity is declining?

Keeping integrity alive and well in any organization is a daunting task. Years of conditioning have allowed these unethical behaviors from taking pencils to not paying for newspapers to become the guiding beacons.

One of the easiest actions for any company to take is to begin to build a high performance and ethical culture is to eliminate all gossiping. By taking such a direct action will not only improve productivity, but more importantly will demonstrate that the executive team truly believes in the organization’s core values.

Sales Coaching Tip: Take action by creating a Values Statement within your strategic growth action plan if you do not have one. If you have one, revisit and ask yourself, are you consistently demonstrating this core values? Share these non-negotiable behaviors with your employees, customers and stakeholders. The results may truly be surprising.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

Is your business facing inconsistent or insufficient cash flow, lackluster sales to poor productivity? Maybe some exercise at the sales coaching training gym will get you to where you want to go?

Leanne Hoagland-Smith helps small business owners to C Level executives from Chicago to Indianapolis to worldwide who are truly tired of struggling to unlock the results that they want.

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Tags: sales, marketing, ethics, market, ethical

1. Pitch on topic. Don’t waste people’s time. They’re busy enough; they don’t need more email plugging up their inbox or other correspondence that is off-base and off-topic. And they’ll black list you. And they’ll tell their friends. Trust me.

2. K.I.S.S. Yes, it should go without saying, except it never does. Keep It Simple Stupid. End of story. Don’t drone on and on. Write a nice and precise paragraph on why your concept/idea/product is bang on with what they’re looking for. Or with what they don’t know they’re looking for yet! A few sentences on what your brainwave is. A few sentences on why they need it, or better yet, why they will WANT it and why they must HAVE it.

3. Talk the Talk. Speak their language. Don’t go overboard with industry acronyms and jargon, that’s just plain ridiculous. But do get to know them before pitching. Know their market. Know what they’re after, or, what they don’t know they’re after yet. I was pitching a hot PR firm out of LA not long ago. I used totally different languaging than when I pitch corporations. More relaxed. More funky. More targeted. And it worked. It was a smashing success.

4. Play nice. Get a rapport going with the firm or reporter you’re pitching to. I’m not talking about buttering them up – they’ll see right through that – but be nice. Be professional. If you see something that will fit with what they’re looking for (even if it’s not you!), send it along! They’ll remember you. Don’t inundate, but you can send along a lead or two.

5. Jump in, the water’s fine! In other words, don’t be afraid to pitch. You’ve got nothing to lose. This is your business, your marketing initiative, your concept, whathaveyou. So pitch away! Pitch with confidence, pitch often and pitch well.

6. Don’t assume anything. You might think it’s pretty obvious that everyone under the sun has an email signature that includes their contact information. (Because, well, it is pretty obvious. And everyone does have an email signature that includes their contact information.) But email programs are laid out differently (ie: Gmail piles them up at the bottom of all emails – very annoying when you’ve got a long string of messages going), and people are laid out differently. People simply may not scroll down to find your contact info, especially if it’s lost in a long string of messages! Have it clearly in the body of the message somewhere. Clearly. Link to your website, link to your email, have your name standing out. Don’t forget this. Introduce yourself properly.

7. Make it personal. How are you different – what can you do differently to grab their attention. To get their interest? I had an opportunity to pitch Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, at an event earlier this year. What got her interested was the fact that I was a female with a new start up, heading down the entrepreneurial road. Make sure you know who you’re dealing with, what their interests are, and off you go!

8. Network, Network and more… Social Network. Do you follow the key players on Twitter? Are the hot PR folks in your Biznik network? Do you get urgent queries fast, like, yesterday? Get to know these people, see what they’re about. Connect with them. Get going!

9. Keep On Keepin’ On! In other words? Don’t give up. Ever. This is your business, your baby, you’ve got to shop it! Work it! Own it! Remember, it’s rumoured that JK Rowlings pitched Harry Potter over 100 times before it was finally signed. Consider your product your own personal masterpiece and keep on pitching! Keep On Keepin’ On.

Stephanie Lee is the owner of Scratchpad Secretaries, a virtual assistant practice that specializes in providing administrative and secretarial services to key stakeholders in the North American entertainment industry, as well as to small business owners and the savvy solopreneur! Visit our website today for more information on how Scratchpad Secretaries virtual assistants can help you get to where you want to go!

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Tags: pr, picth, company, sales, correction

The most common way for internet marketers to drive traffic to their web site is to advertise to individuals or businesses that are already on the Internet. While this definitely works, if these customers are your only focus, you run the risk of missing out on a ton of potential business. There are lots of companies and people who aren’t yet on the Internet but can still benefit from your product or services. While millions of people certainly use the internet and are quite familiar with it, they may not understand how to find your particular product or service online. You need to get their product in front of their eyeballs. Your goal as a marketer is to get people to see your product or your service so you can make the sale and subsequently, more money. In order to do this, it may require that you start targeting individuals that off-line.

One way to accomplish this is to use press releases. You can either craft your own or have someone write it for you and then submit it to local newspapers, newsletters owners as well as local and regional publications or magazines. If you have something interesting to say that might benefit one of these publication’s readers, they may contact you and interview you about your release and most importantly, your business.

Writing and submitting press releases to the right places generally requires a certain level of knowledge. However, you can find lots of good information about writing press releases and contacting editors by simply doing some research online. There is plenty of free information out there. You just need to look for it.

You should also purchase the publications that you’re interested in submitting your release to. The contact information of the correct editor to send your release to should be listed somewhere in the publication. You may also want to give the office a call and find out the best person to send your release to.

Writing and submitting a press release online is another option. If a news source finds your press release and they deem it interesting they may want to talk to you. Even though your press release is being submitted online, you still may be able to get our release in front of off-line readers or viewers.

Press releases can be a very powerful way to reach people who are off-line. They are fantastic mediums for teaching the public about your company, product or service. When things are covered in the newspaper or on the news, they tend to seem more credible, which may translate into more sales and inquires.

Fortunes can be made online by creating and selling ebooks. Learn the secrets of producing hot-selling ebooks here How to Create Ebook

You can get a step by step guide which demonstrates how to create profitable information products such as ebooks and audio books lightning fast at this site

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