3 Tips on Marketing on Social Networks

Marketing on social networks requires more of a focus on the human element since its more about building relationships then it is your technical knowledge. There's no way around it, social networking for business requires building trust with others which requires time and interpersonal skills. You notice I did not say effort since making 'friends' should be more an act of enjoyment and not regarded as labor! 

In order to get the best results when social networking for business here are 3 things you will need to do. 

Exercise Patience 

Take off your selling shoes and pull up a chair so you can get to know people. Building relationships is an absolute must to even get notice on any social sites and as you know this takes time. Even if you are only social networking for business time must first be taken to develop some type of bond with others or you will be invisible to them and useless to your business! 

Establish Credibility 

The bonds you do develop need to be meaningful insofar as maintaining a knowledgeable, professional and always helpful profile. For any marketing attempts to be successful people must first have some confidence that you know what you are talking about and that your intentions are good and not all business. Your best results will come ONLY after you have taken the time to develop this good reputation with others. 

Develop Trust 

The most important 'component' of the reputation you develop is trust! As touched upon above your reputation must be a positive one that reflects credibility but building trust is just as, if not more important. If people can not trust in you then any efforts you put into social networking for business will be wasted. People can not be expected to part with their hard earned money if they lack faith in you so obviously building trust is a priority. The best way to achieve this trust is to make a habit of being helpful or freely offering any type of information that may be of use or interest to others. Do so without any expectations of receiving anything in return and people will quickly regard you in a trustworthy manner. Besides, it feels good to be helpful to other! 

There is no need for technical skills when marketing on social networks just simply be willing to pull up a chair and stay for a while. Tapping into the viral potential of these communities will require building relationships with others first and this will take time and patience. By building trust with people in this way simply makes it easier to effectively promote to them in the future. It is very important to remember these are in fact social communities therefore your acceptance MUST precede any marketing efforts. Once this acceptance is earned by following the 3 suggested steps above it will make social networking for business a breeze for you!

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About The Author

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina.

To learn more about marketing on social networks and to also receive a free instructional manual that teaches valuable niche research techniques for your online marketing needs simply visit:http://blogbrawn.com

The 52 Top SEO Tips - Here Are 10 of Them

By David Leonhardt

From the obvious to the "Hey-I-never-thought-of-that-great-idea-before", here are 10 of the top 52 tips on how to optimize your website for its turbo-charge rocket ride up the search engine rankings.

Be bold. Use the tags around some of your keywords on each page. Do NOT use them everywhere the keyword appears. Once or twice is plenty.

Deep linking. Make sure you have links coming in to as many pages as possible. What does it tell a search engine when other web sites are linking to different pages on your site? That you obviously have lots of worthwhile content. What does it tell a search engine that all your links are coming in to the home page? That you have a shallow site of little value, or that your links were generated by automation rather than by the value of your site. Here is an example of deep linking, in this case to my personal happiness workbook.

Become a foreigner. Canada and the UK have many directories for websites of companies based in those countries. Can you get a business address in one of those countries?

Newsletters. Offer articles to ezine publishers that archive their ezines. The links stay live often for many years in their archives.

First come, first served. If you must have image links in your navigation bar, include also text links. However, make sure the text links show up first in the source code, because search engine robots will follow the first link they find to any particular page. They won't follow additional links to the same page. You can see this in action at the link to the home page on this web site monitoring page

Multiple domains. If you have several topics that could each support their own website, it might be worth having multiple domains. Why? First, search engines usually list only one page per domain for any given search, and you might warrant two. Second, directories usually accept only home pages, so you can get more directory listings this way. Why not a site dedicated to gumbo pudding pops?

Article exchanges. You've heard of link exchanges, useless as they generally are. Article exchanges are like link exchanges, only much more useful. You publish someone else's article on the history of pudding pops with a link back to their site. They publish your article on the top ten pudding pop flavors in Viet Nam, with a link back to your site. You both have content. You both get high quality links. (More on high quality links in other tips.)

Titles for links. Links can get titles, too. Not only does this help visually impaired surfers know where you are sending them, but some search engines figure this into their relevancy for a page.

Not anchor text. Don't overdo the anchor text. You don't want all your inbound links looking the same, because that looks like automation - something Google frowns upon. Use your URL sometimes, your company name other times, "Gumbo Pudding Pop" occasionally, "Get gumbo pudding pops" as well, "Gumbo-flavored pudding pops" some other times, etc.

Site map. A big site needs a site map, which should be linked to from every page on the site. This will help the search engine robots find every page with just two clicks. A small site needs a site map, too. It's called the navigation bar. See how the second navigation bar at the bottom of Last Minute Florida Villas is like a mini-site map?

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David Leonhardt is an effective, professional seo consultant and a website marketing consultant. For a free quote, call 613-448-3931, or send us an email.

How To Write A Successful Business Plan

By: Jason Kay

Whether you are planning to start a brand-new business, expand an existing company, or get financing for a business venture, you will need to write a business plan. A business plan not only lends your business a sense of credibility, but also helps you to cover all your bases, increasing your chances of success.

Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan.

What to Include in Your Business Plan

Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business’s mission statement to a detailed financial analysis.

Executive Summary

The first – and most important – section of your business plan is the executive summary. This section is so important that it should literally be the first thing the reader sees – even before the table of contents! However, it should also be written last, as you’ll have a better understanding of the overall message of your business plan after you’ve researched and written the other sections.

One of the most important parts of the executive summary is the mission statement. The mission statement is only three or four sentences long, but it should pack the most punch out of everything else in your business plan: Those four sentences are responsible for not only defining your business, but also capturing the interest of your reader.

The rest of your executive summary should fill in the important details that the mission statement glosses over. For instance, your executive summary should include a short history of the business, including founder profiles and start date; a current snapshot, listing locations, numbers of employees, and products or services offered; and a summary of future plans and goals.

This section is a candidate for a bulleted format, which allows you to list main points in a manner that is easy to scan. Avoid using too much detail – remember, this section is a summary. A page or two is usually sufficient for an executive summary.

Market Analysis

The next section of your business plan focuses on market analysis. In order to show that your business has a reasonable chance for success, you will need to thoroughly research the industry and the market you intend to sell to. No bank or investor is going to back a doomed venture, so this section is sure to fall under especially close scrutiny if you are looking for financing.

Your market analysis should describe your industry, including the size, growth rate, and trends that could affect the industry. This section should also describe your target market – that is, the type or group of customers that your company intends to serve. The description of your target market should include detail such as:

• Distinguishing characteristics

• The needs your company or product line will meet

• What media and/or marketing methods you’ll use to reach them

• What percentage of your target market you expect to be able to wrest away from your competitors

In addition, your market analysis should include the results of any market tests you have done, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

Company Description

After your market analysis, your business plan will need to include a description of your company. This section should describe:

• The nature of your business

• The needs of the market

• How your business will meet these needs

• Your target market, including specific individuals and/or organizations

• The factors that set you apart from your competition and make you likely to succeed

Although some of these things overlap with the previous section, they are still necessary parts of your company description. Each section of your business plan should have the ability to stand on its own if need be. In other words, the company description should thoroughly describe your company, even if certain aspects are covered in other sections.

Organization and Management

Once you have described the nature and purpose of your company, you will need to explain your staff setup. This section should include:

• The division of labor – how company processes are divided among the staff

• The management hierarchy

• Profiles of the company’s owner(s), management personnel, and the Board of Directors

• Employee incentives, such as salary, benefits packages, and bonuses

This goal of this section is to demonstrate not only good organization within the company, but also the ability to create loyalty in your employees. Long-term employees minimize human resource costs and increase a business’s chances for success, so banks and investors will want to see that you have an effective system in place for maintaining your staff.

Marketing and Sales Management

The purpose of the marketing and sales section of your business plan is to outline your strategies for marketing your products or services. This section also plans for company growth by describing how the growth could take place.

The section should describe your company’s:

• Marketing methods

• Distributions methods

• Type of sales force

• Sales activities

• Growth strategies

Product or Services

Following the marketing section of your business plan, you will need a section focusing on the product or services your business offers. This is more than a simple description of your product or services, though. You will also need to include:

• The specific benefits your product or service offers customers

• The specific needs of the market, and how your product will meet them

• The advantages your product has over your competitors

• Any copyright, trade secret, or patent information pertaining to your product

• Where any new products or services are in the research and development process

• Current industry research that you could use in the development of products and services

Funding Request

Only once you have described your business from head to toe are you ready to detail your funding needs. This section should include everything a bank or investor needs in order to understand what type of funding you want:

• How much money you need now

• How much money you think you will need over the next five years

• How the money you borrow will be used

• How long you will need funding

• What type of funding you want (i.e. loans, investors, etc.)

• Any other terms you want the funding arrangement to include

Financials

The financials section in your business plan supports your request for outside funding. This section provides an analysis of your company’s prospective financial success. The section also details your company’s financial track record for the past three to five years, unless you are seeking financing for a startup business.

The financials section should include:

• Company income statements for prior years

• Balance sheets for prior years

• Cash flow statements for prior years

• Forecasted company income statements

• Forecasted balance sheets

• Forecasted cash flow statements

• Projections for the next five years – every month or quarter for the first year, with longer intervals for the remaining years

• Collateral you can use to secure a loan

The financials section is a great place to include visuals such as graphs, particularly if you predict a positive trend in your projected financials. A graph allows the reader to quickly take in this information, and may do a better job of encouraging a bank or investor to finance your business. However, be sure that the amount of financing you are requesting is in keeping with your projected financials – no matter how impressive your projections are, if you are asking for more money than is warranted, no bank or investor will give it to you.

Appendices

The appendix is the final section in your business plan. Essentially, this is where you put all of the information that doesn’t fit in the other eight sections, but that someone – particularly a bank or investor – might need to see.

For instance, the market analysis section of your business plan may list the results of market studies you have done as part of your market research. Rather than listing the details of the studies in that section, where they will appear cumbersome and detract from the flow of your business plan, you can provide this information in an appendix.

Other information that should be relegated to an appendix includes:

• Credit histories for both you and your business

• Letters of reference

• References that have bearing on your company and your product or service, such as magazines or books on the topic

• Company licenses and patents

• Copies of contracts, leases, and other legal documents

• Resumes of your top managers

• Names of business consultants, such as your accountant and attorney

Writing a Successful Business Plan

Despite the quantity of information contained in your business plan, it should be laid out in a format that is easy to read. Just like with any piece of business writing, it is important to craft your business plan with your intended audience in mind – and the bankers, investors, and other busy professionals who will read your business plan almost certainly won’t have time to read a tedious document with long-winded paragraphs and large blocks of text.

Business plans for startup companies and company expansions are typically between twenty to forty pages long, but formatting actually accounts for a lot of this length. A strong business plan uses bullet points throughout to break up long sections and highlight its main points. Visuals such as tables and charts are also used to quickly relay specific information, such as trends in sales and other financial information. These techniques ensure that the reader can skim the business plan quickly and efficiently.

Think of your audience as only having fifteen minutes to spend on each business plan that comes across their desks. In that fifteen minutes, you not only have to relay your most important points, but also convince the reader that your business venture merits a financial investment. Your best bet is a well-researched business plan, with an organized, easy-to-read format and clear, confident prose.

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About The Author

Jason Kay is a former professional business plan writer and provides business start up advice. He contributes to business magazines and websites such as http://BudgetBusinessPlans.com, which provides business plan writing services and business plan samples.

7 Ways to Make Your Business Love You Back

1. Show your talent

Portfolio - post your portfolio online, you will be able to show future clients that you have the right mix of skills and qualifications to do the job. When you post your portfolio online you will be visible to everyday opportunities, recent studies show that more than 1/3 of Americans go online daily and 2/3 go online at least once a month. No matter what line of work you are in, you have a potential audience of people online. Do not simply keep your portfolio on your own site. Showcasing your portfolio in different websites you will be able to reach over 215 million online visitors in the US.

In this way you will be able to show up your competition, small businesses have grown 46% faster utilizing websites than those who don't - American City Business Journals. Also, you will be able to reach more people.

2. Making your business famous

Profile/Video - your profile is the first chance to make a connection with your future clients, to really make a positive impression.

It's almost like the first meeting face to face, like the first hand shake. Studies show that the first 30 seconds in any meeting determines the future relationship. It's really important to make a great impression. Create an online profile and video to be able to show your talent to the world. Humans remember 20% of what we hear and 30% of what we see, but 50% of what we both see and hear. 85% of the information taken into the brain enters through the eyes and the largest part of the brain is set aside to process information taken in visually.

3. Customer loyalty = loyal business

Feedback, survey, web presence, customer service - satisfied customers tells 3 friends, angry customers tell 3,000.

Study of 1,000 retailers show that 43% of customers abandoned a provider because of a negative experience and 30% felt that they were not treated as valued customers - Acumen Research Group

Studies show, when you receive positive feedback on our website, you can increase sales by 15-20%. Feedback can give you credibility - you'll get positive feedback if your customers are satisfied with their product or services you provide. "in the end... there is only one point of view that matters, there is only on perspective that matters... the customers." - Jeffrey Gitomer.

4. Make a new friend

People like to do business with friends, make a friend, make more business. Build your customer base with name recognition. Becoming a recognizable name is not that easy or everyone would do it but something you can do to help your chances is to post your portfolio everywhere, go to trade shows, get involved in your industries community network.

Everyone wants referral business, yet few people understand how to get it. It always seems that our competitors are benefitting from word of mouth advertising through referrals. This all depends on making the right connections. * People will do business with people they have been told they can trust.

For example, if you are a personal shopper and you network and build a relationship with a personal trainer. When this personal trainer has a client who has lost a lot of their weight, they will need and want to buy new clothes that fit them.

Here is where the referral process kicks in. If you have a relationship with that personal trainer, you can refer customers back and forth. With our networking system you can maximize your referrals through other professionals, while building relationships and positive word of mouth advertising.

Keep connected - most clients will need to be revisited again in the future. They will probably need your services again. Take time to catch up with past clients may lead to new work. It's a good idea to organize your contact info of your past clients so that you can easily follow-up in the future.

5. Blogging and Networking

Creating a blog is a great way to reach clients who have a specific interest in your company, or share your interests, product or services. You can post opinions, create product reviews, talk about new services you offer and this will attract visitors and new clients while influencing others. Blog post will help you draw traffic to the blog itself and they will convert to clients. If you run a blog with an active readership you will benefit from hugely improved name recognition. *You have the knowledge and ability.

A blog is one of the best and cheapest methods to share your voice with others. Additionally, your credibility can be helped as well with just a profile and portfolio it's very difficult for visitors to know and understand you. With a blog you will become more transparent to your readers and that can give you added credibility that can help you attract more inquires. Networking is a great way to improve your business. Building a strong network of friends and colleagues can lead to more referral work, opportunities and sharing of clients.

Also, tapping into your network of friends and associates is an excellent way to leverage knowledge of your competition. You need to think out of the box, here is what I mean, you need to not just depend on your friend and associates, you need to talk with everyone about your network. Make your network different, talk about something that stands out and is important to people and offer new information in it. Ideas where you can increase visibility for your network - coffee shop, fitness or sports gym, car wash, malls, etc.

6. Party with your business - events, seminars, trade shows

An event will give you the advantage of meeting with your clients face to face. You'll have the chance to personally connect with your clients.

You should make all your events educations, interesting, fun and something memorable. You should offer something new and helpful for your clients and it should be about what you do to help them and what you can offer for them to improve their business.

Studies show that through event education, it will be easy for you to get connected to your future clients, also you will appear less "sales" and more helpful and caring about your clients.

7. Sell your stuff

You create it, you can sell it. You design your own stuff, you have your own brand to sell and you area proud of it but you don't know how to get it out - utilize online shopping.

In 2006 online sales were $146.4 billion and in 2007 it jumped 19% to $174.5 billion- National Retail Federation (NRF). By this option you will reach your target faster and more easily. The #1 activity on the internet by consumers today is purchasing - US Dept of Commerce.

Author Name: Oz Ahmad of Yougoz Group, an online community where people match with qualified professionals in Fitness, Health and Fashion. Visit us at: http://www.yougoz.com/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Oz_Ahmad

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1894594

The 4 Basic Pillars of a Successful Online Local Marketing Plan

I recently wrote about the many challenges small and medium sized business owners face while constructing and implementing a successful internet marketing plan. The often insurmountable challenges we pointed out were 'time' and 'money'. Small business owners are consumed with what they do best; operating their business and making sure their customers are satisfied. In addition, many owner/operators also manage the marketing direction for their companies and do not have substantial budgets for advertising and outside marketing services.

There are still local businesses that have virtually no online presence, but most have tried at least a few forms of online marketing. For example many businesses have a website, built by a neighbor's son or the local web design company and may have even set up a Facebook page. Perhaps they even have one of the large PPC (Pay-Per-Click) firms running a Google campaign for their company. Most small business owners have put together their online marketing strategy over a period of months or even years and have purchased a few services along the way from outside marketing companies. As any good business person would do, they try to keep the parts that are working and get rid of the parts that are not yielding results.

The inherent problem with this type of "hit or miss" strategy is that the success or failure of an individual online marketing strategy is often interdependent on the strengths or weakness of other parts of your online presence. Let's discuss the four main components of a local online marketing plan.

The Four Pillars of Success: Marketing Plans for Local Business

Pillar One: Targeted Web Traffic

Having a business website posted on the web is not going to create traffic from prospective customers all by itself. Websites need to be marketed in order to generate a steady flow of traffic for your business. Many business owners have the common misconception that having the prettiest website is somehow going to translate into a successful website. If I had to choose between a gorgeous website not positioned to gather traffic versus a simple, perhaps even 'ugly' website, that is positioned properly to gather significant local web traffic, I would choose the latter.

What is Targeted Web Traffic?

Local business websites can receive targeted web traffic from a variety of sources and methods. Let's first discuss what the term targeted traffic means. In the most basic sense, targeted web traffic could be defined as a web user who visits your site that possesses at least one criteria or characteristic that you believe would fit within your definition of a potential customer. An example could be as simple as their location. If your business sells pizza or dental services, you might be interested in any consumers that live within 5-10 miles of your business, but you would not be interested in consumers that live 1,000 miles from your business location. Another example of a targeted web user is someone that is specifically searching for your product or service or has previously expressed an interest. The point we are making is that your goal as a local business marketer, is to position your website to receive traffic from local consumers that have (or are likely to have) interest in your products or services.

Paid versus Free Web Traffic

Local web traffic comes from a variety of sources and all of them should play a role in driving targeted traffic to your business. There are some sources that you need to pay for on a per click basis or per impression basis and others that can be free, provided that you do the necessary legwork to position your website to take advantage. Developing an efficient mix of web traffic for your business will take time but this is the first part of a local marketing plan. The purpose of this article is not to delve too deep into the benefits or pitfalls associated with any specific source of targeted web traffic but rather to demonstrate that traffic is only one part of an overall marketing plan. Web traffic is only valuable to your business if your website has the ability to effectively engage with visitors and provide a mutually beneficial experience. If your web visitors reach your site and leave within 5 seconds, there isn't much benefit to either party.

Pillar Two: Websites that Engage and Convert Your Customers

The manner in which your website presents your business to web visitors has a profound effect on how efficiently your site will help potential customers take the next step in engaging with your business. Website visitors will typically decide in a manner of seconds if they are on a page or site that can satisfy their needs. Most websites will fail this first test and lose potentially valuable traffic before 'the game' even begins. This is often referred to as 'relevancy'. Simple, if your site doesn't instantly appear to provide the information, services, products etc. that the web user is interested in, they will move on to a site that does. The second and equally important requirement for a successful local business website is 'engagement'. Visitors must be enticed to take the 'next steps' with your business. This can be accomplished with a variety of simple techniques and is also a topic that will not be covered in great depth in this article. The point we are stressing is that the quality of your website design, from a marketing perspective, plays a significant role in the success a local business will have in converting web traffic into new customers.

Pillar Three: Tracking, Analytics and Tweaking

Internet marketing is part science and part art, but the results are pure math. Your business pays real money to engage in internet and offline marketing efforts and you are expecting new customers that pay you real money as a result. The entire marketing process needs to be measured, tracked and periodically studied. This is the only way to make adjustments to your marketing plan in order to make as cost effective as possible. A few basic procedures can be implemented on your website and in your business workflow to give business owners the tools to monitor how well marketing efforts are performing and where change can and should be made. Tools can be used to help determine how well your traffic is performing, how well your website is performing and even how well your staff is performing. When you spot a weak part, you at least know where to make some tweaks. In addition, if you are using an outside marketing professional, they should be able to provide assistance with this, as opposed to just selling you one piece of the puzzle. The cost of a click or an impression may not mean that much to your business, but the value of web lead, a customer phone call or a store visit that results in new business is meaningful. The bottom line is you must have some concrete method to measure your marketing outcomes in order to determine if you are spending your money wisely.

Pillar Four: Customer Communication

The internet has made inexpensive and free tools available for even the smallest local business owner to engage in an ongoing conversation with potential and existing customers. Businesses that are not taking advantage of these tools are leaving too much money on the table and certainly not maximizing the benefit (e.g. new business) they can extract from web visitors. Direct response may be your businesses primary goal, but not every potential customer you engage with is ready to make a buying decision immediately; but they may be ready in the near future. You will want to make sure your business is on "the top of their mind' when they decide to move forward. Tools such as email, social media and even your website can be used to maintain an ongoing conversation with your prospects, so when the time comes for them to make a purchase, your business is positioned as a top choice and is easily accessible. To make this a reality, your web traffic, your website and your tracking need to be in sync with each other.

Successful local marketing plans are built over time and are not about the latest "fad" or "get rich quick" scheme. Creating a winning formula for your business and one that can have staying power can be achieved by first understanding the basic components of success. This article only covers this "tips" of the four essential "icebergs" you will need to explore, but successful business plans must be laid upon solid foundations.

Jamie Keane is a local marketing expert and one of the writers and producers of a series of instructional videos that teach local online marketing for small and medium sized businesses. Local Marketing Internet Secrets teaches local business owners how to do many internet marketing tasks in-house saving them money.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jamie_Keane

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4939983

How To Increase Your Business By 20% In 30 Days Or Less (This Method Is Offline And POWERFUL)

How can you get your small business neighbors to expand your business?

If you look at a radius around your brick and mortar business, there are probably hundreds of small businesses of different sizes, and very few are in direct competition with you. What if you could put 90% of them to work helping you grow your business. And what if you could do it for peanuts, chump change, a few bucks? Would you do it if you knew it would result in an increase of your business by 20% in the next 30 days? What is it?

What have you done for your neighbor lately?

Stroll through the strip center down the street and you'll see a lot of small business people with their arms on the counter of their business, as though gravity didn't exist and they are literally holding down that counter. Do you think they have a minute to talk to you? Sure they do. American small business people are warm and friendly and open to ideas. I know, I have recently visited over 100 small businesses.

When I walk in the door, I smile, and I say, "Hi, I would like to ask a favor." This makes them a little nervous. It wakes them up. If they seem a little too defensive I say, "I'm not selling anything," and they relax a bit. Next I say, "My son has an iPhone, iPod, and iPad repair shop near here, and I'm just helping to get it going. We have a simple referral system - we will pay you $10 for every person you send us, who ends up doing at least a $45 repair".

Now I have their attention.

I go on, "Here's how we keep track of it. We code our cards." (and I show them the cards, which have a white square where we hand write with a marker a code like 15B). "We link your name with the code in our computer. If a card comes in the shop with 15B on it, we know it's you, and we put $10 cash in an envelop with your name on it." We call you to let you know it's there, and you can pick it up when you like."

How many businesses in your area have YOUR cards on their counter?

I buy clear plastic card holders at Staples for $1.29 each. We make up "kits" with about 40 marked cards in zip lock bags. We also mark and include a magnetic card so they can stick some place. In the bag is a small letter with the rules of the referral system on it, so they know what we have agreed to, in writing.

As soon as they agree to join, I ask for their business card, write their name on it, and the code from that kit (in this example it would be 15B) and I have everything I need to enter in the Excel file we use to track the system.The last thing I do is take the cards out of the bag, put them in a holder, and I place them on their counter. This works like a charm, well over 90% of the time. Stop and think about this. We place our business cards on other businesses counters, in a holder, all day long.

Does it really work? YES!!!

I have been marketing to build small businesses of my own (and now my children) for over 30 years, and I can tell you nothing works very well without massive action. You can't expect to place your cards in 10 businesses and to get a 20% bounce in 30 days. However, if you put your card on 200 counters in the next 30 days, you probably will. You can easily get your cards on 25 counters a day, so we're only talking about 8 days of walking around strip centers in a radius out from your shop or store or office, using a variation of the above script.

What about your customers?

Customers love to refer you if they love you. You may worry about offending them with the offer of money. We sign nearly every customer up, and pay them when they refer. Some say, I'll refer you, don't pay me. We tell them we have to pay them or we can't handle the system, and we suggest they give the money away to someone who can use it.

Does it matter what business you're in?

Yes. The Apple device repair business is profitable, but it can't afford to pay more than $10. If you're writing insurance, you can probably afford a lot more. The same with cars, wedding dresses, and you name it. The higher the "thank you" money, the better it will work, and the more they'll stick with it, calling you for more cards. If you decide to do this, jump in with both feet and don't look back.

What should you do next?

We'll gladly answer any question you have about the above referral system or about any Apple device. It is our pleasure to answer it for you, for free and without any obligation of any kind. We have done thousands of repairs to iPhones, iPads, and iPods. We are a family run business with two locations in Southern California. You can contact Kort or Scott Linden at http://www.iTechRepairPlus.com.

Thanks for reading this - Scott R. Linden

P.S.

If you have an iPhone, iPod, or iPad which needs repair we offer 3 services:

A. We offer Valet service if you are within 15 miles of 91740 (Glendora, CA). We'll come get it and bring it back fixed, the next day.

B. We have a mail-in service that is really fast if you are in California.

C. Come and see us at the shop at 631 East Arrow Highway, Glendora, CA 91740. You don't need an appointment and we can complete most repairs in an hour or less. You can check us out on yelp by entering "iPhone repair plus."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_R._Linden

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10 Step Guide to Successful Business Development

Starting your own business is no joke and will require some considerable preparation on your part as an upcoming entrepreneur. In order to increase your chances of success in business, you will need to master powerful business development steps.

Here is the 10 step guide to a successful business development:

1. Develop personal and business objectives 

Many businesses fail because the business owners do not have a sense of direction. Developing and stating your personal and business goals will serve as your roadmap and provide you with a sense of direction.

2. Identify a feasible market sector for your product(s) and or service(s) 

Some people fail in business not because they do not have the finances to start-up their business but because they have a product or service that no one wants to buy. In order to reach professional development in business, you will need to listen (attentively) to the marketplace. Clearly identify an unmet need of customers prior to developing a product to satisfy their needs. Yes, you may be a smart business person, but if the market does not support you, you can say a big farewell to attaining professional development.

3. Work on your marketing plan 

The main purpose of developing a marketing plan is to simply explain how you wish to create and maintain clients/customers in order to make a profit. The plan will also need to state the following: 

- Your target market 

- How you intend to penetrate the market 

- Why your sales campaigns will be successful 

- How much you will sell within the period of one year and over the next 5 years.

Your marketing plan will eventually be a pretty strong part of your professional development plan.

4. Write down a rough version of your company's business plan 

This is an outline of the path that you wish to take your business, a breakdown of your company's strengths and weaknesses and a framework from which your official business development plan will be created.

5. Find out your monetary needs 

Some companies fall flat like a pack of cards because they do not know diddly squat about the cost of keeping their company in business. As soon as you have developed your business plan, it is easier to determine your monetary requirements.

6. Put together your main teams 

Before you develop your official business development plan you need to ensure that you form a good management team.

7. Conclude your financing requirements and put together an official professional development plan 

Your business plan should without a doubt, show that your business can sell a sufficient amount of goods and or services to make a reasonable profit and is also good enough to attract prospective backers. Remember, this document will be used in order to secure financing to launch your business - so it has gotta be good!

8. Come up with a good marketing strategy to obtain financing 

You will need to come up with a solid marketing plan to sell yourself and your business to financiers to raise money to get your business off the ground.

9. Market your business plan effectively and attract funds on your terms 

Use negotiating tools which will give an edge over your competition and make it possible to attract funds on your own terms instead of just on your investor's terms.

10. Market your goods and or service(s) and manage your business effectively in order to achieve your objectives. 

As soon as your business has taken off, you will require a pretty strong management tool and marketing techniques in order to attain a successful professional development.

Christopher Fitzpatrick is an expert author for Horizon Speakers and Seminars - a achieve objectileading Irish company that provides World-Class Speakers, Events & Training!

For more insights on Business Development go to http://www.horizonspeakers.com

P.S. Make sure to download your Personal Power Pack from our website - a free exciting compilation of audios, videos and books from the world's best motivational and inspirational speakers!

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Need Help Driving Your Business Forward?

A business analysis can help any business run more effectively. With multiple tools in their strategy, many companies this year will hire a business analyst to assist in raising profits, turnaround and overall productivity. The following is a list of benefits as to why having a business study is a great idea for any company

1) Business analysts have a unique skill set. They are normally third party and completely objective without bias in favor of the company. Therefore, they are able to be honest and realistic without underestimating potential competitors. One popular tool many business analysts use is called a SWOT analysis. This acronym stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and essentially tells a company what they are doing well, where they can improve, where they could potentially benefit and what could potentially harm them.

2) Improving strategic planning. Many companies are great at targeting a large market and conceiving of possible solutions to problems they may encounter. However, when a company hires a business analyst, they are seeking input from a very detailed and focused individual. By improving strategic planning, a company will be more focused on specific details on how to improve efficiency and where to concentrate their efforts. As this relates to the SWOT analysis, strategic planning could involve weaknesses and opportunities.

3) Improving systems analysis. Another difficulty many companies encounter involves the high tech aspect and maximizing profits from investments. The under utilization of many tools, including computers, means that a company could be earning more money. A businesses analyst will be able to objectively state where the company could be increasing profits and recommend new strategies involving technology, such as software for accounting or even social media for networking.

4) Cleaning house of unnecessary costs. A business development consultant will help a company increase profits by telling them where they can cut costs with minimal, if any, damages to the organization. For this reason, business analysts are extremely beneficial to the higher ranks within an organization. Cutting costs means more profit which means more money for the share holders and an increase in potential investors. Conversely, this may mean a recommendation to fire employees. Keep in mind many people depend on companies for their livelihood. Firing loyal employees to save a few dollars is not ethical in the long run if it can be avoided.

5) Develop timelines. One of the most useful tools a business analysts has is when it comes to allocating time for projects. They will be able to say how long any potential assignment should run and when and if it should terminated. Included in timelines are goals for the future. Keeping a business' eye on the long term is necessary for success in any industry.

A business analyst is a very useful individual. They use tools like the SWOT analysis to understand a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. They can objectively recommend plans for improving strategic planning, high tech oriented issues and clean house of unnecessary costs. Finally, they are long term minded and can help establish timelines. Consider some business development advice for your business venture and improve efficiency in the future.

A Business development consultancy is there to help you improve. Business development is something all companies can and should strive for.

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The Importance of a Business Plan for a Small Business

If you're one of the many people thinking about starting a small business, having a business plan is one of the first things you should have on your list of things to do. It doesn't matter if you're starting a small business from home or away, having a plan for your business is considered a blue print for a successful small business. What is a business plan and why do you need one?

A Business Plan
A business plan is simply a plan of what your goals are for the business, and how you plan to go about accomplishing them. Some people refer to it as a vision for your business. I like to refer to it as a blue print or a road map to accomplishing your goals.

Your plan should be spelled out in clear and defining terms and be kept simple. It should be a written document and used as a tool in managing the business.

A plan should include but is not limited to the following:

1. A statement of your business purpose
2. A description of your company
3. The goals of your company
4. The structure of the company (sole-proprietorship, partnership or corporation)
5. The product or service that you are selling
6. A market analysis of your product or service
7. Resources spent (time and money)
8. A financial plan to include financial statements
9. Information about the managing principals in the company
10. How you plan to manage and operate the company

The Importance of a Business Plan
The success of a business starts with a business plan. The plan defines your business as to what it is and how you plan to achieve the goals of the business. It presents a clear picture of your business in terms of goals and objectives.

The plan reflects how you plan to operate your business. How you plan to market your product or services. It provides a financial picture of the company.

If you are looking for money to fund your business, you're going to need a plan for your business. When you go to borrow money, lenders and investors are going to want to see written documentation in a business plan of your financial situation. Why do they want to see this information? Lenders and investors want to see this information because they are the ones taking the risk in lending your business money.

Once you have a plan in place, it's important that you follow it. If you're achieving your goals you should stick with the plan. If you are not achieving your goals then you will have go back, analyze your plan to find out what is working, what is not working and why it is not working.

A plan is not etched in stone. It is subject to change. As time goes on, things change in this world and businesses like everyone else are subject to change. A good plan will reflect changes that a company has to make to keep it competitive and successful.

Where can you find samples of a business plan for a small business? If you go into any of the search engines such as Google or Bing and type in "samples of a business plans for a small business" you will find websites with this information.

This is why it is important that a small business should have a business plan. If you look at those small businesses that are successful, you will find that most of them all started with and have a plan for their business.

The Author
Larry Zinamon has had a home based tax business for over 20 years. A few years ago he started doing work as a network marketer. If you are serious making money online, then you'll want to join the fastest growing community of home based entrepeneurs, by visiting Larry's website at http://www.PerfectWorkAtHomeOpportunity.com today.

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5 Quick Steps for Choosing a Location to Sell Your Products

One of the most important steps of launching a successful product release is choosing the location where you will sell your products. "Place," one of the 4 Ps of marketing, is key to converting sales. The ideal location for selling your products is a place where members of your target market frequent and come prepared to buy. Five quick steps will help you make the final decision on where to sell your goods.

Step 1. Identify your target market first and foremost. This is the group of people you believe will be most likely to need or strongly desire your product. If you're unsure, you can determine the target market by performing market research on companies similar to your own.

Step 2. List places where members of your target market frequent. For instance, if your target market is teenage girls, possible places include the mall, movies or the beauty section of the local pharmacy. Investigate whether these people come to these locations with money or motivated to make a purchase. List as many potential locations as possible.

Step 3. Decide on the specific area (or areas) that you want to target with your new product. Narrow it down to a town or city based on information about your chosen target market. You can use an online demographics reporting service like ZipSkinny to find areas densely populated with members of your target market.

Step 4. List the cities or towns you want to target alongside the types of places where you could potentially sell to your targeted customer (such as local malls). Match the places to the cities and start developing a list of the specific businesses and locations where you want to sell to your customers so that you can contact each place to ask about retail opportunities. For instance, if you decide to sell in local mall A in Anytown, Michigan you might list and contact the mall management office there to ask about the cost of renting a kiosk to sell your products to customers.

Step 5. Write down a short marketing plan describing how you plan to reach customers in each of the specific places you identified in the previous two steps along with cost considerations and other details. Narrow down the list based on the options that best fit your budget and other requirements. Finalize distribution or rental agreements to service customers in the places you've chosen.

Parker Williams is a small business expert and Internet marketer and one of the founders of Start Up a Small Business -- a website that teaches newbie entrepreneurs how to start up a business step by step.

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