So you have tried everything possible and you cannot control your business’ slide into the abyss? You’ve tried everything your sponsor and your system have taught you but to no avail? You are slowly coming to the realisation that you are going out of business? You’ve decided that striking it rich through online sales is not all it is cracked up to be? Well, think again.
It is true that on average only 3% of online businesses succeed. What is strange is that usually those who succeed and fail with a given opportunity have the same websites and system to promote and their sales copies are identical. Even more frustratingly, in exceptional circumstances, the successful entrepreneurs generate identical numbers of leads as some entrepreneurs who subsequently fail.
Strange as these might seem, there is a plausible explanation and it has nothing to do with luck. It’s called an ability to close the sale. Closing the sale refers to completing the sale of a product or opportunity on the one hand, and closing the sale of yourself on the other. Let us look at each in turn.
Closing the sale of the product or opportunity refers to an entrepreneur’s ability to convert leads to paying customers or team members. Traditionally, this depended on an entrepreneur’s personal selling skills either over the phone or in person. Recently, with the growth of and innovation in, the online marketing industry, this function can be outsourced to professional sales call centres, a service which normally comes as part of the opportunity package. These call centres, with their experienced sales professionals, call the leads on behalf of the entrepreneurs to affect the sale. The use of professionally written sales copies also performs the sales function well.
The most important sale is the sale of ‘You’. In the industry, it is also referred to as ‘marketing yourself’ or ‘self branding’. Increasingly, the successful entrepreneurs have proved that leads join the entrepreneur rather than the business. The entrepreneur who is better able to convince leads or prospects about their leadership, results and their ability to help the prospect or customer achieve their goals will get more team members and customers. It’s as simple as that.
The tools they use to self promote include video marketing, article marketing or blogs. Every marketer could use these tools but it is important that each entrepreneur identifies which tool works best for them.
It is also important for the struggling entrepreneur to identify his strengths. If personal selling is a weakness, for example, it would be advisable to join a company that can handle this for you through a dedicated call centre or professional written sales copy.
Regardless of how much money is invested in the business and the quality of the product or opportunity being promoted, an entrepreneur’s focus should be how effective is his sales process and his marketing of self.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
SPOTLIGHT ON A MILLIONAIRE – DONALD TRUMP
This is the third article of the ‘Spotlight on a millionaire’ series aimed at showcasing the secrets to a millionaire’s success in different spheres around the world to prove my theory that anybody could be a successful entrepreneur with the right attributes and mindset.
This piece concentrates on one quality of Donald Trump the flamboyant billionaire business mogul – resilience or what I will call ‘bouncebackability’.
Donald John Trump was born on June 14, 1946 and is the son of wealthy real estate developer Fred Trump. From an early age, young Donald followed his dad’s footsteps by making a name for himself in real estate. His first big gig was renovating the Commodore Hotel in Grand Hyatt, quickly followed by the Trump Tower in Fifth Avenue, New York City in 1982. He diversified into other industries like the entertainment industry owing casinos and the airline industry purchasing the Eastern shuttle routes.
He was as popular for his extravagant lifestyle as he was for his business successes. Flamboyant and outspoken, he had an eye for the ladies and enjoyed the celebrity lifestyle.
Trump’s fortune took a turn for the worse at the start of the 1990s, struggling under a mountain of debt and on the verge of bankruptcy with debts in excess of $900m. His love life also became a media circus with the public divorce with his wife Czech Ivana Zelnicek in 1992, after 15 years of marriage. He then married and divorced Marla Maples between 1993 – 1999.
The stress of both his business and personal lives may have been too much for most people but not for ‘The Donald’ as he is affectionately called by the media, a nickname coined after his ex-wife Ivana, referred to him as such in an interview. He did whatever it took to recover, brokering deals to protect his interests, restructuring his debt and even working for free. Failure was not an option to him. He regarded his losses not as threats to his livelihood but as challenges to be overcome and opportunities to grow more successfully.
By 2000, his recovery was astonishing and complete and worth over a billion dollars. In 2001, the 72 storey building, Trump’s World Tower was completed close to UN headquarters. Trump’s recovery was so remarkable that he was named the 278th richest man in the world by Forbes magazine. His businesses continue to grow from strength to strength.
The father of four is now married to the Slovenian model Melania Knauss. He is back in the media spotlight for the right reasons and is famous for his catchphrase “You’re fired” in the hit TV reality show, The Apprentice.
The keen golfer’s resurgence has not been coincidental. He has a knack of looking for solutions, rather than worrying about problems. This is a very important quality consistently demonstrated by successful entrepreneurs. His turnaround has been remarkable but also well planned and the success has been due to hard work, flair and his charisma. Trump would undoubtedly hate to return to the position he was in 1990, especially if it happened beyond his control. However, as a great entrepreneur, he would have learnt from his mistakes. Even in the unlikely event that the worst does happen, he has the attributes to bounce back once again.
Trump has seen both success and failure as an entrepreneur and he is one of the best of all time. It is important, therefore for entrepreneurs to realise that they should not rest on their laurels. More importantly, they must develop a mindset which ensures they never give up even when the going gets tough.
Monday, July 6, 2009
THE INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR MUST AVOID JUDGMENTAL PEOPLE
I find it difficult to appreciate judgmental people both as a man and as an internet entrepreneur. Do you not find them the most hypocritical of people?
Growing up, I learnt that when I point a finger at someone, the other three are pointed towards me. Even the thumb is pointing in my direction. That left an indelible impression on my psyche because now when I witness someone criticising, gossiping or judging another person, I mentally see the fingers and think, “I wonder what is there to criticise and gossip about you”.
No one is perfect. One of the top attributes of a human being is our ability to make mistakes and an even better attribute is to learn from our mistakes. When a woman cheats on her husband, for example, that does not make her a whore in my eyes. I would not stop talking to her or treat her any different as a result. If she chooses to learn from it with or without getting caught, good luck to her. If she doesn’t, I will not treat her differently, end of story.
When we judge people, we almost always use limited information. If we were privy to all the information, our judgment might change. This is why it is not advisable to waste time passing judgment in the first place. It is less complicated accepting people the way they are. If they do something that truly shocks me, I process the information within and come to the conclusion that we are human and capable of anything.
A friend of mine has recently started as an internet marketing entrepreneur and he is finding the going tough. I hope he succeeds because I admire his determination and his courage. When he spoke to his friends about starting his business, they ridiculed him and placed bets that if he started he would fail.
Bizarrely, they judged him before he even started. That he had the courage to get out of his comfort zone and ignore his peers already demonstrates that he is a man who has what it takes to succeed. In fact, my friend has pasted pictures of his friends in his home office that serves as motivation for his success.
Do you know what his friends do for a living? Two are unemployed and one works in a bar. Not that I am judging them. My message to judgmental people is judge not, unless you judge yourself first.
For those who listen to what others say as a guide as to how they live their lives, all I’ll say is I hope the person you are listening to has a track record of success. If not, I suspect that the person you are listening to is one who does not have the courage to change his undesirable situation and instead spends his life away discouraging others to step out and make their dreams come true. Not that I am one to judge.
Growing up, I learnt that when I point a finger at someone, the other three are pointed towards me. Even the thumb is pointing in my direction. That left an indelible impression on my psyche because now when I witness someone criticising, gossiping or judging another person, I mentally see the fingers and think, “I wonder what is there to criticise and gossip about you”.
No one is perfect. One of the top attributes of a human being is our ability to make mistakes and an even better attribute is to learn from our mistakes. When a woman cheats on her husband, for example, that does not make her a whore in my eyes. I would not stop talking to her or treat her any different as a result. If she chooses to learn from it with or without getting caught, good luck to her. If she doesn’t, I will not treat her differently, end of story.
When we judge people, we almost always use limited information. If we were privy to all the information, our judgment might change. This is why it is not advisable to waste time passing judgment in the first place. It is less complicated accepting people the way they are. If they do something that truly shocks me, I process the information within and come to the conclusion that we are human and capable of anything.
A friend of mine has recently started as an internet marketing entrepreneur and he is finding the going tough. I hope he succeeds because I admire his determination and his courage. When he spoke to his friends about starting his business, they ridiculed him and placed bets that if he started he would fail.
Bizarrely, they judged him before he even started. That he had the courage to get out of his comfort zone and ignore his peers already demonstrates that he is a man who has what it takes to succeed. In fact, my friend has pasted pictures of his friends in his home office that serves as motivation for his success.
Do you know what his friends do for a living? Two are unemployed and one works in a bar. Not that I am judging them. My message to judgmental people is judge not, unless you judge yourself first.
For those who listen to what others say as a guide as to how they live their lives, all I’ll say is I hope the person you are listening to has a track record of success. If not, I suspect that the person you are listening to is one who does not have the courage to change his undesirable situation and instead spends his life away discouraging others to step out and make their dreams come true. Not that I am one to judge.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF KEYWORDS IN ONLINE MARKETING
Understanding the value of keywords in online marketing and taking the relevant actions is the key to making significant profits in the industry. Understanding the power of keywords means picking the right keywords, leveraging them effectively and continuously reviewing their conversion rates.
Google is not an automatic money making machine on its own. The power of Google is in the keywords, not on Google itself. The reason that keywords are so important is simple. Keywords represent a custom built service for the Internet searcher. They ask the search engine for information on specific words and the information is returned to them. Hence the reason why the premium is attached to keywords.
The success of the online marketer is therefore linked to how well she leverages her keywords. She needs to plan them very carefully and do a lot of research. Picking effective keywords takes skill and patience. Acquiring the skill helps the online marketer remain calm under pressure.
To pick the right keywords, the online marketer must constantly watch for traffic and searches for the relevant words. If she is pursuing a cost per click advertising strategy, she must also ensure she is not paying over the odds to the point where the keywords are not delivering sufficient value to her business. To gain an indication of the value of the keywords, seek competitor information on what they are spending on the keywords.
It is also very important to note that loyalty to keywords based on an online marketer’s hunch is suicidal to her business. Over 90% of keywords lose money in cost per click advertising; therefore it is very important that the online marketer has management information on conversion rates for her keywords. She should quickly identify the ones that her making her money and ditch the rest as quickly as possible. This should be an ongoing review process as keywords do run their course. The online marketer should aim to spend the bulk of her advertising budget on around the best 5% of her keywords. This is how she can consistently make money.
Keywords and not Google is the key to making money in an online marketing business. Understanding the power of keyword leverage, being consistent and unsentimental in the use of keywords and picking the right ones are the keys to success in the industry.
Google is not an automatic money making machine on its own. The power of Google is in the keywords, not on Google itself. The reason that keywords are so important is simple. Keywords represent a custom built service for the Internet searcher. They ask the search engine for information on specific words and the information is returned to them. Hence the reason why the premium is attached to keywords.
The success of the online marketer is therefore linked to how well she leverages her keywords. She needs to plan them very carefully and do a lot of research. Picking effective keywords takes skill and patience. Acquiring the skill helps the online marketer remain calm under pressure.
To pick the right keywords, the online marketer must constantly watch for traffic and searches for the relevant words. If she is pursuing a cost per click advertising strategy, she must also ensure she is not paying over the odds to the point where the keywords are not delivering sufficient value to her business. To gain an indication of the value of the keywords, seek competitor information on what they are spending on the keywords.
It is also very important to note that loyalty to keywords based on an online marketer’s hunch is suicidal to her business. Over 90% of keywords lose money in cost per click advertising; therefore it is very important that the online marketer has management information on conversion rates for her keywords. She should quickly identify the ones that her making her money and ditch the rest as quickly as possible. This should be an ongoing review process as keywords do run their course. The online marketer should aim to spend the bulk of her advertising budget on around the best 5% of her keywords. This is how she can consistently make money.
Keywords and not Google is the key to making money in an online marketing business. Understanding the power of keyword leverage, being consistent and unsentimental in the use of keywords and picking the right ones are the keys to success in the industry.
Friday, July 3, 2009
THE HABITS AND MINDSET OF A MILLIONAIRE ENTREPRENEUR
A typical millionaire Internet marketer has certain habits and mindset that ensures their consistent success. For these entrepreneurs, success is not coincidental. These habits or mindset may be gained innately or by developing them through training and self development.
Below are just three of these habits or mindset.
Time is extremely precious to the millionaire online marketer
The millionaire online marketer is always guarded with the use of his time. In almost every single activity that he is engaged in, he will analyse either deliberately or mentally how effectively he is using his time. Many millionaires will have an estimate of how much they are worth per hour and set goals around increasing their value per hour. This is the reason why successful Internet marketing trainers, for example, charge high prices to deliver training. As they get more successful and people make more demands on their time, they charge even higher prices.
They also split up their days into revenue and non-revenue producing times. Non-revenue producing times are usually late at night, where they afford themselves the treat of actually watching television for example. Revenue producing time is when they are hard at work, either growing their business or helping others do the same. Even their personal development is undertaken in their non-revenue producing time. This implies a high level of planning and organising on their part. They are very consistent and persistent and in control of their actions and words. If you ask an online marketing entrepreneur for help or have a chat with him, he is likely to bring time into your conversation. Do not be surprised if he asked you something like, “what can I do for you in the next minute?” He is probably in his revenue producing period and you are infringing on his time.
Making Money is not enough
The common mistake of new Internet marketers is to be seduced by the amount of earnings they could potentially make with an online marketing business. This is simply not good enough for the millionaires in the industry. They are more interested in profits. For them managing the money they make is what really counts. They are always looking at ways of improving their returns for every $1 spent.
Helping others make money is very important to them as well. This is the reason they are likely to spend the bulk of their time with only relatively few members of their teams. These are the members who they have identified as demonstrating the habits and mindset required to be successful. In online marketing, the success of these team members means residual income for the millionaire, so that is all the justification they require.
They are psychologically unemployable
This is a very important mindset in online marketing. The majority of the success stories in online marketing will tell you they fired their boss before striking it rich and spent the next couple of weeks or months questioning their own sanity. However, they have the mindset that failure is not an option in their business and will do whatever it takes to succeed. They use the fear of going back to work for somebody else as motivation to succeed. In their minds, quitting and returning to work is one of the worst things that could happen to them. The strength in potential adversity drives them on.
The millionaire habits and mindset can be developed but it requires a lot of focus and discipline. Good planning and organising skills are also required as well as total respect for time and money. They develop a loathing for working for someone else that drives their success.
Below are just three of these habits or mindset.
Time is extremely precious to the millionaire online marketer
The millionaire online marketer is always guarded with the use of his time. In almost every single activity that he is engaged in, he will analyse either deliberately or mentally how effectively he is using his time. Many millionaires will have an estimate of how much they are worth per hour and set goals around increasing their value per hour. This is the reason why successful Internet marketing trainers, for example, charge high prices to deliver training. As they get more successful and people make more demands on their time, they charge even higher prices.
They also split up their days into revenue and non-revenue producing times. Non-revenue producing times are usually late at night, where they afford themselves the treat of actually watching television for example. Revenue producing time is when they are hard at work, either growing their business or helping others do the same. Even their personal development is undertaken in their non-revenue producing time. This implies a high level of planning and organising on their part. They are very consistent and persistent and in control of their actions and words. If you ask an online marketing entrepreneur for help or have a chat with him, he is likely to bring time into your conversation. Do not be surprised if he asked you something like, “what can I do for you in the next minute?” He is probably in his revenue producing period and you are infringing on his time.
Making Money is not enough
The common mistake of new Internet marketers is to be seduced by the amount of earnings they could potentially make with an online marketing business. This is simply not good enough for the millionaires in the industry. They are more interested in profits. For them managing the money they make is what really counts. They are always looking at ways of improving their returns for every $1 spent.
Helping others make money is very important to them as well. This is the reason they are likely to spend the bulk of their time with only relatively few members of their teams. These are the members who they have identified as demonstrating the habits and mindset required to be successful. In online marketing, the success of these team members means residual income for the millionaire, so that is all the justification they require.
They are psychologically unemployable
This is a very important mindset in online marketing. The majority of the success stories in online marketing will tell you they fired their boss before striking it rich and spent the next couple of weeks or months questioning their own sanity. However, they have the mindset that failure is not an option in their business and will do whatever it takes to succeed. They use the fear of going back to work for somebody else as motivation to succeed. In their minds, quitting and returning to work is one of the worst things that could happen to them. The strength in potential adversity drives them on.
The millionaire habits and mindset can be developed but it requires a lot of focus and discipline. Good planning and organising skills are also required as well as total respect for time and money. They develop a loathing for working for someone else that drives their success.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
CREATING YOUR OWN REALITY IN INTERNET BUSINESS
There are a lot of claims and counter claims relating to the perception of internet marketing. Some people claim the majority of these business opportunities are scams and should be avoided in favour of brick and mortar businesses, while others believe the high six figure incomes are easily achievable. The truth lies somewhere in between. However, that truth is not the same for everyone and depends on our versions of reality.
My reality is that high incomes are achievable but not easily. It requires me to be patient, persistent and consistent in order to achieve my goals. I am conditioned to believe that there will be frustrating times when it feels like my business is not going anywhere and that I must not quit at the first sign of a setback. In my world, I believe failure in internet marketing is mainly due to the internet entrepreneur not doing whatever it takes to be successful. My reality has also ensured I am confident of achieving anything I set my mind to.
We all have our realities. If there are six billion people in the world, there must be six billion different realities. Some may be similar but no two will ever be the same. For the people in poor developing nations for example, their reality is a life of constant struggle, where they may believe education is a privilege and not a right. In Western nations, the reverse is more likely true.
The beauty about realities is that it is not fixed. We could opt to change our realities at any moment. This involves challenging our beliefs and gradually changing them. To be successful in internet marketing, the buck must stop with you. If you believe you are fine but it is just the system, your sponsor or your team members that are causing you problems, you are bound to fail. Develop a mindset of always taking responsibility. If you believe your sponsor is not offering you enough support for example, instead of blaming him, consider how you could change the state of affairs. Do you need to contact him more regularly instead? Are you following the system or are you just doing your own thing? If your team members are dropping out of your business like flies, consider whether you are recruiting the right calibre of people in the first place. Are you offering them enough support?
One of the main realities that is important for the success of your business is believing you are a successful entrepreneur. If you do not believe this, then pack up and go home. Your reality reflects the way you see yourself inside. If you believe you are successful, your actions will be those of a successful person meaning you will spend more time with successful people, you will undergo self development training, and you will persevere until you get the breakthrough and so on.
The people that claim the six figure income are easily achievable in internet marketing and go on to achieve it are those who have probably done it before or who are supremely confident in their abilities. Those who believe internet marketing claims are scams are most probably those who are conditioned to believe that internet marketers are offering get-rich-quick schemes. They are not. Internet marketing requires a lot of hard work but unlike the brick and mortar business and traditional employment, the rewards could be high for relatively low investment of time and money, if you apply yourself correctly.
My reality is that high incomes are achievable but not easily. It requires me to be patient, persistent and consistent in order to achieve my goals. I am conditioned to believe that there will be frustrating times when it feels like my business is not going anywhere and that I must not quit at the first sign of a setback. In my world, I believe failure in internet marketing is mainly due to the internet entrepreneur not doing whatever it takes to be successful. My reality has also ensured I am confident of achieving anything I set my mind to.
We all have our realities. If there are six billion people in the world, there must be six billion different realities. Some may be similar but no two will ever be the same. For the people in poor developing nations for example, their reality is a life of constant struggle, where they may believe education is a privilege and not a right. In Western nations, the reverse is more likely true.
The beauty about realities is that it is not fixed. We could opt to change our realities at any moment. This involves challenging our beliefs and gradually changing them. To be successful in internet marketing, the buck must stop with you. If you believe you are fine but it is just the system, your sponsor or your team members that are causing you problems, you are bound to fail. Develop a mindset of always taking responsibility. If you believe your sponsor is not offering you enough support for example, instead of blaming him, consider how you could change the state of affairs. Do you need to contact him more regularly instead? Are you following the system or are you just doing your own thing? If your team members are dropping out of your business like flies, consider whether you are recruiting the right calibre of people in the first place. Are you offering them enough support?
One of the main realities that is important for the success of your business is believing you are a successful entrepreneur. If you do not believe this, then pack up and go home. Your reality reflects the way you see yourself inside. If you believe you are successful, your actions will be those of a successful person meaning you will spend more time with successful people, you will undergo self development training, and you will persevere until you get the breakthrough and so on.
The people that claim the six figure income are easily achievable in internet marketing and go on to achieve it are those who have probably done it before or who are supremely confident in their abilities. Those who believe internet marketing claims are scams are most probably those who are conditioned to believe that internet marketers are offering get-rich-quick schemes. They are not. Internet marketing requires a lot of hard work but unlike the brick and mortar business and traditional employment, the rewards could be high for relatively low investment of time and money, if you apply yourself correctly.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
3 REASONS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO CARRY OUT KEYWORD RESEARCH BEFORE WRITING CONTENT
Many people make the mistake of writing content before adding their keywords. Not only is this time consuming, it also affects the quality of the content, which may appear disjointed. Here are 3 top reasons why it is better to do the keyword research before creating content.
Keywords help you structure the article better
Armed with your keywords for any given article you are in a better position to structure your article for maximum effect. You will know the keyword density required and this will help your decision on whether to just use your keywords or variations of them, so they are not obvious. You will be able to more effectively place the keywords at strategic points in your article. You article will appear more natural and free flowing if the keywords are produced with the rest of the content.
Confidence that people are interested in your subject matter
There is a marked difference between the quality of content of the confident writer as opposed to one lacking confidence. With keyword research, you will have a better idea of the most popular keywords as you would have noted their usage and ranked them accordingly. You will be writing free from the pressure of wondering whether your article would reach your targeted audience and enough of them to grow your business for that matter. Believe it or not, that would influence how you come across in your writing. Knowing your article will be read by many people helps you come across confidently and this in turn would ensure you gain a loyal following before long.
Keywords help you create content quickly
Effective keyword research means drawing up a list of keywords in your business, checking the popularity of each and ranking them accordingly. You can then match these keywords against a list of issues or problems faced by people in the business that needs to be addressed.
For example, if you are an online marketer and your chosen keyword is online marketing, you may identify an issue that a lot of people are scared to start a business because of their fear of failure. This could give rise to the article idea, Conquering Your Fear of Failure in Online marketing. You will also need to draw up the list of issues or problems before writing the content.
In online marketing, as a guide, aim for around 50 keywords at any point in time and develop a list of issues around areas like prospecting, training, start-up capital, marketing budget, warm lists, residual income and so on. By matching the keywords and the issues together, you should be equipped with many article ideas. You will also have lots of options which should help you choose articles you feel ready to write about at any given time, which also contributes to the quality of the work you produce.
It is essential that effective keyword research is carried out before you write your articles. This will enhance the quality of the work you produce and increase the probability that your content is read by your targeted audience. You will also be in a position of not worrying about running out of ideas.
Keywords help you structure the article better
Armed with your keywords for any given article you are in a better position to structure your article for maximum effect. You will know the keyword density required and this will help your decision on whether to just use your keywords or variations of them, so they are not obvious. You will be able to more effectively place the keywords at strategic points in your article. You article will appear more natural and free flowing if the keywords are produced with the rest of the content.
Confidence that people are interested in your subject matter
There is a marked difference between the quality of content of the confident writer as opposed to one lacking confidence. With keyword research, you will have a better idea of the most popular keywords as you would have noted their usage and ranked them accordingly. You will be writing free from the pressure of wondering whether your article would reach your targeted audience and enough of them to grow your business for that matter. Believe it or not, that would influence how you come across in your writing. Knowing your article will be read by many people helps you come across confidently and this in turn would ensure you gain a loyal following before long.
Keywords help you create content quickly
Effective keyword research means drawing up a list of keywords in your business, checking the popularity of each and ranking them accordingly. You can then match these keywords against a list of issues or problems faced by people in the business that needs to be addressed.
For example, if you are an online marketer and your chosen keyword is online marketing, you may identify an issue that a lot of people are scared to start a business because of their fear of failure. This could give rise to the article idea, Conquering Your Fear of Failure in Online marketing. You will also need to draw up the list of issues or problems before writing the content.
In online marketing, as a guide, aim for around 50 keywords at any point in time and develop a list of issues around areas like prospecting, training, start-up capital, marketing budget, warm lists, residual income and so on. By matching the keywords and the issues together, you should be equipped with many article ideas. You will also have lots of options which should help you choose articles you feel ready to write about at any given time, which also contributes to the quality of the work you produce.
It is essential that effective keyword research is carried out before you write your articles. This will enhance the quality of the work you produce and increase the probability that your content is read by your targeted audience. You will also be in a position of not worrying about running out of ideas.
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