The best suite of Traffic Tips

Are traffic tips important?... Just think: someone told you that if you aren't on Internet, you don't exist. So you started reading about how to create a web page or you hired an expensive designer and finally, you are the owner of Internet's most awesome web page about your product. That's fine! But... Who's going to find your web page among other 3.000 million web pages? It doesn't matter if you have a home made web page or a professional expensive made web page. People won't find you unless you start attracting traffic to your web page. Suppose for a moment that you have succeeded and you start receiving 1000 hits per week in your web page, is that good enough? Well it depends... If you where receiving zero, 1000 looks pretty good to start, but the key question is. Do you just receive 1000 hits of ANY kind of people or 1000 TARGETED hits. By Targeted Hits I mean people who's looking for what you are offering. And believe me the key to an easy home business is to get TARGETED visitors. There are many different ways to attract targeted visitor to your web page: Search Engines Directories Links from other web sites Off-line media Word of mouth e-mail signatures Usenet Newsgroups Unsolicited e-mail Banners Opt-in mailing lists Ezines Why did I use different colors, just to point the difference between the: Good Never use Not so good Lets have a brief description of each one of them... SEARCH ENGINES & DIRECTORIES As you probably know 80% of the sales usually come from 20% of the promoting effort, and with Search Engines this numbers usually are 90% - 10 %. So, to have a good traffic wave, you will use a lot of different means of promotion, but 90 % of it will come from Search Engines and Directories; so they are the back bone of the Internet marketing, and here is where you have to apply your biggest effort to do the things in the right way. And the best part of it is that they are a free! LINKS FROM OTHER WEB SITES You can get links to your web page from two different sources: *Search Engines: when your potential visitor asks for information about one of your main keywords, the Search Engine will show your web address link in their results. This will result in a visitor to your web site IF you are listed in the first 20 web addresses shown, people very rarely go after the first 20 results *Other sites: every good marketer is interested in providing good content to their customers, because if they like the content of their web pages, they'll keep on returning for more information. So other sites might point to your web page if they consider that's a good information to give to their customers OFF-LINE MEDIA There are many off line ways to generate traffic to your site: *Printed media *TV *Direct mail *Telemarketing scripts *Stationary *Flyers *Catalogs *Billboards *Blimps *News releases to targeted media *Business cards. *Etc. I told you above that the first and best way to attract targeted visitors to your web page is through Search Engines and Directories, well... the second best way to attract visitors to your web site is to write an article for a magazine or newspaper that reaches your targeted market. And why is this so important? Because if an important magazine or newspaper shows an article written by YOU, there is an implied endorsement from them. Their customers believe in them, and if they show YOUR article the customers feel they should believe in YOU. WORD OF MOUTH Word of mouth will cost you nothing and that makes it a very cost-effective way of attracting targeted customers. What could be better than a real person's testimony? But it isn't easy to get. Why is people going to talk about you? They will only talk about you and refer you if your offer them extremely good content, and if you treat them as if they where your only customer! E-MAIL SIGNATURES Very easy to create and free too! This is a very powerful and legal way to attract targeted customers because every time you write an e-mail to one of your customers they see it. And it becomes a strong way of promotion if you write to newsgroups, mailing lists, or any other place where many people will see it. E-mail signatures are a combination of a business card and PS it should be located at the end of all your e-mail, and are the second most important part of any sales letter. USENET NEWSGROUPS We must distinguish between two kind of Newsgroups, Forums and Mailing lists *Loosely regulated groups: Where anyone can write about anything. Yes you will be able to put your add here, but as anyone can, they are flooded and scarcely anyone pays much attention to the *Serious groups: That will have strict self-enforced rules. Write any commercial stuff to them and you'll be flamed. Here you have to build a relationship with the group, honestly participate in their discussions and they won't care if your include your e-mail signature, but don't try to fool them. They will insult you or you'll get banned or both. As a matter of fact, unless your product or service and the Newsgroups topic have a perfect fit, it's better not to use them. You will have to read everyone's postings everyday, and contribute regularly to get a small response and a lot of spam. UNSOLICITED E-MAIL If you send un-targeted e-mail to anyone, and don't provide your name, reply e-mail address and a way to be removed, that's named spam My advice is no to use it, not only for moral issues, but because it doesn't work, you will end loosing your ISP, your web sites and hours of hard work. A different thing is to write to targeted lists of people that have specifically accepted to receive your e-mail. (Although most of them accept your e-mail because they want to receive some free gift offered to tempt them, and so are a low motivated un-targeted market) BANNERS Lets be direct: how many times do YOU click over a banner? A banner to be of any use has to be: *Very well designed to produce high impact *It has to be animated to catch attention *It has to load quickly *It should be at the top or the bottom of the page to get best results *It better be the only one on the site *They are too expensive for most of the companies That you read about a banner exchange program that's free. Don't dream about it. It's never free, it will cost you A LOT of money, because although someone MIGHT click over your banner that's shown in other site, when a targeted prospect that's browsing YOUR site, clicks over the exchange banner, you can say good bye to your prospect. And that's a lot of money! OPT-IN MAILING LISTS This is a good selling method! Because only targeted people will opt-in to your mailing list, BUT although opt-ins allow you to create a relationship with a targeted prospect that when they start trusting you, in many cases will by from you, this is a long term relationship, and here we are talking of TRAFFIC developers. This is NOT a good way to develop traffic, is a good way to develop sales in the long term EZINES Same as with opt-ins, this is a long term sales source, not a traffic developer. If you are looking for a good traffic building tips ebook, you can find it here: http://www.easy-home-business.com/how-to- sell.html Written by Dr. Roberto A. Bonomi

Whose Goals Are They?

Many have goals, but few reach them all. Businesses like sports teams aspire to making goals (gaining points) to earn rewards. Are your goals clichéd with being productive? Why is it so difficult to set realistic goals that 100% of the time you can reach with ease? Ever think about what the motivating factors are that caused you to choose those goals? Goals cannot be set alone - they need reflection and confirmation of the origin along the surrounding dynamics to assure the appropriate method to set realistic goals. If you choose to set goals based only on what you think is right, that will not work alone. You need to agree that the goals set by your organization are also your goals but not limited to their plan - make your own! Look beyond, dream about what you wish for your loved ones, for yourself and start there. Taking charge of your own destiny will keep you productive. You will be able to look beyond the politics of organizations that can diminish your efforts to reach and exceed goals when they are not your own. When the press asked Larry Bird how many practice shots he takes in a day, he responded with "1,000 shots." The reporter asked, "How is that possible?" Bird simply stated that some shots are physical but most are visually taken (positive visualization). Visualizing successful shots when at a stop sign (seeing your successful goals played out) is an effective means of motivation towards achievement of your goals. It's up to you to determine what you wish to achieve in life, but learn from what you've accomplished, what factors proved to support you on your journey to achieve goals that are in line with what you desire. But make certain you visualize all your goals for the day, month, year and life and map them individually, enabling you to see how to score your own shots. When you own your goals, they will naturally motivate with empowerment to reach them.

Leads: Do You Have Enough?

Generating leads is part of every business. Everyone has to have customers and prospective customers are leads. Even the shopper perusing the weekly grocery store ads is a lead, but generally leads are potential customers whom you contact in a variety of ways, several times before they make a buying decision and purchase your product or service.

We used to think of leads as being mostly for real estate agents, insurance agents and stockbrokers, but nowadays, counselors, life coaches, and those marketing any kind of product or service via the internet must generate leads and stay in touch with them in order to sell their products and services.

How do we find these leads? There are many methods. Then what do we do with them? We continue to stay in touch regularly to remind them of our services and products.

Referrals are your best customers. That’s still true, even with the internet. Start with any client base you already have and build it with good websites and some advice from marketing professionals who will help you to get more traffic to your site. You can ask people to enter their name and email address on your site to receive free information about the very thing they are on your site to learn about.

Give free talks at bookstores and to professional organizations. Ask them to give you their email address so you can follow through with more valuable information. Always invite people to forward your emailed letters to anyone they know who has the same interests or needs.

Then you send that free information to them. Sometimes it’s a series of reports you have created. Each report is sent to remind them of you and your services. Give them some good solid content and also show them why they will need your service or product. Most of us will need professional help to create a site that will do this.

Newsletters are great, too. By this I mean a regular email to your list that includes solid information such as articles about your industry and solutions to the problems your customers or clients have. If applicable, include your calendar of events, such as talks and workshops or support groups. Definitely include a good photo of yourself to personalize the newsletter.

With regular contact to your list, following good web marketing advice, and asking your list to send others to your site, you can generate leads and build your business.

About the writer

Wallace Mettarod started in insurance sales. On weekends he helped his neighbors and children learn about their computers. Last year retired to run his own home-based internet marketing business. You can read more on the subject of leads at FSI Leads

Letting Them Use Plastic

Obtaining merchant status will help to increase your sales.

Consumers are becoming creatures of convenience; when dealing with businessesâ€"large or smallâ€"they desire ease of transaction. That most frequently translates into the ability to pay for services rendered or product purchases via credit card.

Small businesses are often denied merchant status because they can’t prove to the bank that they are good risks. You must establish and demonstrate a track record before a bank or independent sales organization (ISO) will agree to back your business. Even today, some banks also hesitate to provide merchant status to companies without storefronts, to mail order firms or to individuals with a past history of personal or business bankruptcy. Although thankfully, it is getting easier today than it was even 15 to 20 years ago.

In this article we will help you to understand the reasons you may not be able to obtain merchant status, so that we can help you find ways to more favorably present yourself and your business as candidates for merchant status.

1. Start with your own bank. When shopping for a merchant account, the first place to stop is your own bank.

When banks look at an application, they consider three critical things: the principals, the product and the process. In other words, they need to know about you, what you are selling and how you are selling it. Be sure to take the time to carefully develop your proposal. It can really pay off. Show your bank that you’re serious about obtaining merchant status and you take your business very seriously.

In spite of your best efforts, the bank may still turn you down. The next step is to approach other banks in your area. If you’re still running into roadblocks, there is another option.

2. Investigate ISOs selling on behalf of other banks. ISOs serve as a liaison between banks and merchants. Your odds of getting merchant status from an ISO may be greater than from a bank, but the costsâ€"and risksâ€"may also be greater.

Most ISOs are legitimate businesses, but it pays to be wary. The first thing you should ask any service provider is what banks they represent. When considering an ISO, a merchant should know which bank they are working for, and should check with MasterCard and Visa to ensure the ISO is properly registered. Keep in mind that this service you are buying can have a significant impact on the cash flow of your business, and don’t be shy about asking for references.

A good bank or ISO should provide reliable and trouble-free processing, with responsive customer service whenever you have a problem, all at a fair price. What’s fair depends on the risk level of your business and the terms being offered by competing ISOs. Make sure the merchant bankcard provider you choose fully supports you as a merchant with a variety of services, like check guarantee, acceptance of all major credit cards, debit cards, etc. Also make sure they fully support the equipment or software they sell you. If they don’t, ask them who does and how much extra this costs. Some programs may be appealing, but require hidden costs for assistance.

3. Clearly understand the costs involved. To better grasp the issue of costs, you must understand how credit card sales are processed. Simply stated, when you conduct a charge transaction, you will receive the cost of that sale, less a previously agreed-upon discount (from two to more than five percent), from the bank or service company. The more stable your business is, the lower your discount rate will be.

Fees are a substantial cost: ISOs typically charge fees for minimum activity, if yours doesn’t reach a pre-determined amount; fees for each transaction made, above and beyond the two to five percent discount; and fees for processing customer statements. Another cost is that of equipment. Most merchants today use an electronic draft capture terminal to process sales, which you can lease or purchase. It is more economical to purchase the equipment, but your choices will be limited by the ISO you choose. You might be able to purchase a used terminal from your ISO or buy a new or used terminal from another source. Check with your ISO first!

If you have a personal computer and a modem, there are several software packages currently on the market that perform authorization and draft capture. Make sure that any software you buy is compatible with the system used by your ISO.

4. Caveat emptor. As with any other business decision, carefully consider your options and shop around. Research the requirements, costs and services of banks and ISOs offering merchant status, and talk to other business people who are already offering credit card service. There are many reputable companies out there and, of course, there are also bad apples. As a merchant, ask questions about any company you are choosing to use. The company should be willing to answer any questions you might have, as well as to tell you openly if they can’t!

While the information presented might seen very disheartening to your getting merchant status, listen to this. Many individuals who have filed bankruptcy and have terrible credit have received merchant status.

While you may pay more fees going through an ISO, it is worth it to be able to say, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover. For those of you doing any kind of consulting it is a big plus. If you eventually sell products, again it is a great convenience for your customers and many times will close the sale.

So, GIVE YOUR CLIENTS THE PLASTIC OPTION!

Copyright 2004 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

The "Wall of Defensiveness": 7 Ways to Tear It Down

Have you ever gotten frustrated when you realize that your prospects keep stereotyping you as a "salesperson"? And because of that, they don't give you the trust and openness that you deserve, and that are essential if you're going to help them solve their problems?

That's what's been happening to Michael, who calls companies to set appointments with decisionmakers. "I have a great product that I'm passionate about," he told me, "but when I call prospects, they immediately start treating me as just another salesperson who's trying to sell them the same type of product that others have tried to sell to them in the past...Is there any way to stop them from pigeonholing me?"

Michael is hitting what I call the "wall of defensiveness" that almost all decisionmakers these days use to protect themselves against sales calls. It tears me apart that he, like so many other salespeople, have to endure this type of personal rejection as he tries to make a living.

And none of the sales training or motivational programs he's been through had helped him to solve this frustrating and debilitating situation.

In our one-on-one sessions, Michael and I discussed 7 key strategies that can break down that wall, and he's been finding that they work for him...maybe they'll work for you, too...here they are...

1. Curb your enthusiasm. This idea always comes as a shock to anyone who's been exposed to the old "sales gurus" who insist, "The more enthusiastic you are about what you are selling, the more people will be attracted to your solution"--but, boy, are they wrong! When you come across as overly enthusiastic, especially when you're on a first call to a new prospect, you immediately trigger sales pressure that tells your prospect, "I'm excited because I just know that you need what I have to offer!" But in any new situation, that's exactly what you don't know--so try cutting out your enthusiasm on initial calls. Otherwise, you're likely to hit the wall.

2. Avoid assuming that you and your prospect are a fit. You may have the "perfect prospect"--someone with the exact criteria and profile of your ideal customer. However, if your words or tone of voice say, "I know you'll benefit from our service because you fit the exact profile of our customer base," you'll inadvertently will set off alarms that will let your prospect associate you with the negative "salesperson" stereotype. Instead, learn to be humble, and avoid making assumptions until after your prospects trust you enough to share their true issues with you. Then the two of you can decide, in a natural evolutionary way, whether you're a match or not.

3. Don't think that you have to have all the answers or you'll "lose" the sale. So many of us work ourselves into a frenzy before we actually pick up the phone to call someone. Why? We're afraid that if we make a mistake or don't deliver our pitch perfectly, we'll be rejected. But it's okay not to have all the answers. Ever see the TV show "Columbo"? Was he perfect? No. He was human, humble, and unassuming, and people trusted him. It's okay not to have all the answers. Needing to have all the answers is a control trip, and when you're with a prospect, you're not in control--the two of you are in a relationship. The more you internalize that realization, the more comfortable and less frenzied you'll feel. And you'll be surprised when your prospect appreciates you for being a just another human being.

4. Don't try to overcome objections. Overcoming objections doesn't build trust. Instead, it only associates you with the negative stereotype of a salesperson who has been trained to move the sales process forward at the prospect's expense. When you hear an objection, diffuse it and re-engage the conversation on your prospect's terms.

5. Learn to diffuse sales pressure. Hidden sales pressure is the root of all sales woes. Diffuse it at the beginning of the relationship, and you'll never have to deal with it again. Shift your mindset and change your language so it reflects you being your most natural self. The most sophisticated sales strategies in the world won't make any difference if you don't know how to diffuse the sales pressure that prospects are only too quick to sense--and back away from--in any buyer-seller relationship.

6. View prospects as potential friends, not as sources of commissions. If you see dollar signs instead of human beings when you're with prospects, they'll sense your attitude and see those dollar signs in your eyes. Keep your conversations human by always viewing your prospects as people who have potential problems that you can solve.

7. Acknowledging the sales game diffuses the pressure. If you find yourself in a sales situation that puts your relationship with your prospect at risk--for example, a prospect promises to call you back but doesn't--call the "game." Call your prospect and say simply and gently that you really don't want the relationship to degenerate into the stereotypical cat-and-mouse sales game. Your message should always be, "Our relationship, not my commission, is my priority."

The bottom line of all this is: You can no longer rely on what you are selling to distinguish yourself, because there's just too much competition out there. Instead, you must focus on how you're selling. That's the only thing that will make you different from everyone else.

With a Masters Degree in Instructional Design and over a decade of experience creating breakthrough sales strategies for global companies such as UPS and QUALCOMM, Ari Galper discovered the missing link that people who sell have been seeking for years.

His profound discovery of shifting one's mindset to a place of complete integrity, based on new words and phrases grounded in sincerity, has earned him distinction as the world's leading authority on how to build trust in the world of selling.

Leading companies such as Gateway, Clear Channel Communications, Brother International and Fidelity National Mortgage have called on Ari to keep them on the leading edge of sales performance. Visit http://www.unlockthegame.com to get his free sales training lessons.

Sales Talent Is Available and Affordable

During my many years of reviewing and analyzing inventions, new products and service offerings I have been amazed by the innate fear of selling expressed by so many otherwise capable entrepreneurs. There exists a palpable fear of selling that mimics vertigo, arachnophobia or a fear of snakes. This fear should never stop a project from successfully entering the marketplace.

Ponder the daily aspects of life virtually all of us experience. We seek out, and interview, for jobs. We seek out, then court, and marry our mate. We compete in sports, lobby for promotions, seek support for church and charities, and support causes. Each of these, and so many other activities, require us to utilize some portion of a sales experience.

In reality, sales are nothing more that asking for a preferred result. The seller wants to receive consideration in return for placement, or acceptance of their product or service. A selling situation almost always requires an equal transfer of benefits. A simple example is selling a car. If book value of a car is $5000, and the seller asks $7500, the sale will almost never happen unless a witless soul arrives and can be hustled.

Nevertheless, many people get the sweats, can’t sleep, or hyperventilate at the mere thought of an imminent sales presentation. No matter how confident they may be in all other situations, standing, presenting, selling their opportunity before a stranger is a chilling experience. There are affordable alternative options available to avoid this difficult hurdle for many entrepreneurs.

1. Utilize the inter-net. There are many web-sites specializing in specific areas of sales: technology, consumer products, hard-goods, giftware, etc. SalesGenie.com is one, but a thorough search will turn up many more. These e-commerce sites specialize in matching sales agents with appropriate products.

2. Research trade organizations specializing in your product category. One example, if you develop a new hair care device, research the Barber, Beauty, Salon Institute (BBSI). This is an industry specific trade group that organizes expositions, lobbies, provides research and acts as a central clearing-house for the salon market. Sales agents are members and are always seeking out new products to represent, and they work on commission. From hardware to auto parts there are similar trade associations seeking the next hot new product.

3. Hire a consultant. There are many consultants specializing in sales and marketing within specific industry categories. The advantage of a sales consultant is that they will work more closely with a seller to customize the approach, strategy, the offers and promotions. This will result in a stronger opportunity to close a deal, and that is always goal number one. Search the inter-net using keywords such as sales consultant, sales engineer, sales strategy, marketing consultant, and hundreds of other search-word combinations. Remember to always get and check references.

4. Visit and utilize gift mart showrooms. There are huge permanent Gift Marts in Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Los Angeles. Millions of square feet are devoted to presenting a bewildering array of products in licensed showrooms. Each showroom also has a field sales force covering specific states. These territories are assigned by vendors (sellers) and are commission based. Again, most of these thousands of showrooms specialize in a product or category. From Christmas, to lighting, to tabletop, to clocks, and thousands of other product categories, you may discover a sales group potentially ready to handle your line of product.

5. Seek out expositions, fairs and trade shows specific to your commercial opportunity. I typically walk trade shows to network for clients. This is invaluable. Each category of product has an inside baseball aspect. Trade terminology, unique trade terms, assigned coverage territories, trend cycles vary greatly by industry. You need to learn what is going within your area of interest and there is no better place than shows to study, research and meet potential sales partners.

These are only a few ideas offering alternatives to fear of selling. There are far too many opportunities that never get off the ground simply because the creator believes, “I am not a salesman”. You do not have to be. There is a sea of experienced sales talent ready and able to sell their expertise.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc. is an international consulting firm with over 35 years experience looking at hundreds of new products, concepts and inventions each year from entrepreneurs, inventors and companies all having the same goal; to commercialize their product. The ideas and products that succeed invariably consist of the same basic elements. In order to successfully place a service or product in this very aggressive marketplace no shortcuts are tolerated. There has never been a better time or place to launch that needed new product, and the rewards have never been greater.

Geoff Ficke is President of Duquesa Marketing, Inc. An international consulting firm with over 35 years experience in creating customized strategies and business plans, product development and funding opportunities for entrepreneurs, inventors and small business expansion. Mr. Ficke is also a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Study at the Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He can be reached at 407-260-1127 or through the company website, http://www.duquesamarketing.com.

Build & Protect Your Confidence

I can remember the first time that I had to get new customers from a cold start. I was a sales rep at IBM. I had only been selling for a short while since graduating from college, and I didn't really know what to do.

When I started working for IBM, I was given extensive sales training. My sales training period took me 9 months, which you may be surprised to learn was considered fast back in 1987! IBM wanted its salespeople to be well prepared to sell any of its products to any business that wanted them.

So you'd think that I would've been well prepared for sales prospecting with all that sales training.

I wasn't.

Our sales training did not give me any advice on sales prospecting or lead generation.

IBM's sales training was very good, but I started out being groomed for large account sales. After my first year of working on a large account, I was moved into IBM's new business group. Even though I was excited about this new challenge, it was not what I had been trained for.

Fortunately, I had a great sales manager who new how to create new business. One of the things he suggested was that I get my year off to a quick start by running a seminar for the medical groups and hospitals in my territory.

If he had not suggested this to me, I might have gotten intimidated or frustrated at the idea of making cold calls to generate all of my new business.

I ran the seminar, and it turned out to be a big success generating many sales leads. My year was off to a fast start, and I was feeling pretty confident about my sales abilities.

I tell you this story, because sales confidence is in many ways a fragile thing. Success builds on itself. Too many salespeople are thrown out there with a sink or swim attitude by their management. If I hadn't had the help of a great team of people around me at IBM, I probably would have been frustrated and hated cold calling and prospecting. And, I most likely wouldn't have had the stellar year that 1989 turned out to be for me.

Confidence is often created through positive experiences. However, what do you do when you have little experience in something like generating new business or making cold calls?

You find confidence, by looking for a way to do something that you personally believe you can actually do. The key is belief. You must believe that you personally can actually do it.

One of my clients who wants to grow his business recently felt unwilling or unable to make cold calls. Why? Because he hates being the target of cold calls himself. You know the kind. The telephone rings, and after a long pause, some telemarketer asks for you by mispronouncing your name. And then they try to keep you on the line forever at dinner time.

The thought of making such a call on a business was very demeaning to my client, as I am sure it is to many of us.

Bad selling by masses of poorly trained telemarketers makes it difficult for many of us to sell well. When we experience cold calls such as these we don't want to appear like this ourselves. It makes us ashamed to be in sales, even fearful of making cold calls.

As a result, many people hate the thought of making cold calls. It doesn't fit into their self-image as professionals. A loathing starts to creep in at the thought of making a cold call. It builds to the point where one can't, or won't, make the call.

So how do you get past the fear to a state of confidence without any experience?

Follow these steps:

1. Find a technique that you believe you can perform. One where you will feel respected, helpful, useful, valuable, whatever.
2. Find examples of people, preferably like yourself, who are using the new technique successfully. Recognize that you can succeed precisely because someone else is already doing this successfully.

In my client's case, I explained that true cold calls are the ones made to people who have never heard of you or been exposed to your message before in anyway. Not only are these kinds of calls difficult, they are not very productive precisely because they have never heard your message.

So I made the simple recommendation that he warm-up these calls by preparing a direct mail sales letter to send to his target market first. Now my client found something that he believed that he could do. The prospects would receive a letter in advance written by a professional copywriter. Not only will he get some hot leads calling him out of this effort, but he feels confident about making calls to the remaining warmed up prospects.

What's important here?

Make sure you plan for success. Choose a strategy that is proven to work by others. By doing this, you can have the confidence to persist in the strategy if at first it does not work as perfectly as you had hoped.

When you are stuck, get into action by finding a method that someone else is using successfully. Notice the challenges they overcame and how they did this.

Sometimes it's the small steps that matter most on the way to greater sales success.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/