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    Asking: A Key to Your Business Success
    Many small business owners like us have a difficult time asking for business. It's not that we don't want the business, but wouldn't it be so nice if people just handed over their money for our product or service rather than our actually having to ask them for it?And this is one of the most common ways that small businesses stay really, really small, and sometimes peeter out altogether. They don't ask for the business, or they don't ask for it often enough to create a successful and sustainable business.Here are 5 easy ways that you can ask for the business that if you implement on a consistent basis will guarantee that your business - and your bottom line - will grow.1. Ask what they want...The #1 way to grow a profitable business is to offer what your targt mar
    website and your photo. No one likes to do business with a faceless corporate entity. Come out of hiding and display your photo on your website, or photos of you in action in your business. Create a visual image in the mind of your visitor. Better yet, with the increasing popularity of online video and audio, let them hear and witness you in action. A great tool to help you put audio and video on your website is AudioAcrobat, http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/.

    4. Provide client testimonials. "Can she do what she says she can do?" is a common question asked of service business owners, and they want to read ab

    To Make Money Online - You Need The Right Mindset
    Almost every report you pick up on Internet marketing and business success will deal with the mechanics of the business. For example, you’ll learn how to find hungry niche markets. You’ll learn how to create products that are in demand. You’ll learn how to create a website and drive traffic to this website. You’ll learn how to convert these visitors into buyers through good sales copy and via building relationships.If you really strip the formula down, it’s easy: find a hungry market, give them what they want and put your offer right in front of them.But if it’s so dang easy, how come we’re not all multi-millionaires? Why is it that two people in the exact same niche who have the exact same knowledge obtain such vastly different results?The answer is simple: becaus
    How do you know whom you can trust online? Which businesses are legit, and which ones are primed to rip you off? It can be tough these days determining which is which. With the advent of phishing and other online threats, some days you just want to shut down your email program and Internet browser and wish for a face-to-face interaction with someone that you know, like it was in the "good ole' days" before the Internet took over our lives.

    The ability to do business online is both a blessing and a curse, to paraphrase Tony Shalhoub's TV character, Adrian Monk, from the series "Monk". As a business owner, the Internet lets you expand your business to more potential customers than ever before. However, as a small service business owner, you can't be everywhere at once, nor can you possibly have time for personal interactions with all of your potential clients. So, what's an online business owner to do?

    You can clone yourself online. I'm not referring to some science fiction technology involving the creation of a "mini-me". Rather, you want to create an experience of you that is available to prospective clients, without you having to actually be there. Your "clone" creates a feeling of confidence in your prospective customer base -- a feeling that you're a real, live human being whom your prospective client can reach out and touch whenever needed.

    Here are 7 strategies you can use to create your online business clone and increase customer confidence:

    1. Make contact easy. Ensure your contact info clearly displayed on your website. Make it easy for your visitors to find your mailing address, phone number, or email address. Nothing is more frustrating to me when I'm searching for info on a website than to find only an 800 number. I want to know with whom I'm about to do business (a name) and where this business is located.

    2. Be responsive. Respond to all email inquiries and phone calls in a timely fashion. Or, install a live chat feature on your site. I've dropped an email to several well-known consultant-types after reading their new book or hearing about a project in which they're involved, and have been happily surprised to receive an email response from them, and even a phone call, in some cases. Nothing satisfies that human need for connection than some personal attention, and promptly returning your phone calls and emails will provide that for your visitors.

    3. Become a real person. Use audio and video on your website and your photo. No one likes to do business with a faceless corporate entity. Come out of hiding and display your photo on your website, or photos of you in action in your business. Create a visual image in the mind of your visitor. Better yet, with the increasing popularity of online video and audio, let them hear and witness you in action. A great tool to help you put audio and video on your website is AudioAcrobat, http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/.

    4. Provide client testimonials. "Can she do what she says she can do?" is a common question asked of service business owners, and they want to read abo

    How to Establish a Problem Solving Strategy
    What do you need to be doing to succeed in life? What traps await you on your path? How much are goals really important? Is it true you can succeed the most in conducting the business you enjoy the most, or is it perhaps better to be doing something else? How to deal with people so that they love you, respect you and at the same time listen to you and follow you? These are just some of the questions most people ask themselves when it comes to success.And every question requires a clear answer if you wish to avoid doubting in your success and so making your path more difficult. But, is it at all possible to find the answers to these questions? And, even more important, are these answers valid for all people in all situations, especially for you? It depends whether you are
    ternet lets you expand your business to more potential customers than ever before. However, as a small service business owner, you can't be everywhere at once, nor can you possibly have time for personal interactions with all of your potential clients. So, what's an online business owner to do?

    You can clone yourself online. I'm not referring to some science fiction technology involving the creation of a "mini-me". Rather, you want to create an experience of you that is available to prospective clients, without you having to actually be there. Your "clone" creates a feeling of confidence in your prospective customer base -- a feeling that you're a real, live human being whom your prospective client can reach out and touch whenever needed.

    Here are 7 strategies you can use to create your online business clone and increase customer confidence:

    1. Make contact easy. Ensure your contact info clearly displayed on your website. Make it easy for your visitors to find your mailing address, phone number, or email address. Nothing is more frustrating to me when I'm searching for info on a website than to find only an 800 number. I want to know with whom I'm about to do business (a name) and where this business is located.

    2. Be responsive. Respond to all email inquiries and phone calls in a timely fashion. Or, install a live chat feature on your site. I've dropped an email to several well-known consultant-types after reading their new book or hearing about a project in which they're involved, and have been happily surprised to receive an email response from them, and even a phone call, in some cases. Nothing satisfies that human need for connection than some personal attention, and promptly returning your phone calls and emails will provide that for your visitors.

    3. Become a real person. Use audio and video on your website and your photo. No one likes to do business with a faceless corporate entity. Come out of hiding and display your photo on your website, or photos of you in action in your business. Create a visual image in the mind of your visitor. Better yet, with the increasing popularity of online video and audio, let them hear and witness you in action. A great tool to help you put audio and video on your website is AudioAcrobat, http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/.

    4. Provide client testimonials. "Can she do what she says she can do?" is a common question asked of service business owners, and they want to read ab

    Great Tips Of Choosing An Office
    You have decided to strike it out on your own and set up a business consultancy. Chances are you want to look at getting your own office premises. Besides ensuring that your rental payment does not create serious cash-flow problems in the medium term, you have to look out for these other factors:The anchor tenant:Every office building will have a few anchor tenants. It is important to find out from the building management when their lease will end. The reason is that these anchor tenants collectively create the image of the office building to the public and will generate the initial customer traffic for your company. Their presence will also be factored in the quotation of the rental payment.Office Supplies:You must enquire if there are tenants who can supply you
    ustomer base -- a feeling that you're a real, live human being whom your prospective client can reach out and touch whenever needed.

    Here are 7 strategies you can use to create your online business clone and increase customer confidence:

    1. Make contact easy. Ensure your contact info clearly displayed on your website. Make it easy for your visitors to find your mailing address, phone number, or email address. Nothing is more frustrating to me when I'm searching for info on a website than to find only an 800 number. I want to know with whom I'm about to do business (a name) and where this business is located.

    2. Be responsive. Respond to all email inquiries and phone calls in a timely fashion. Or, install a live chat feature on your site. I've dropped an email to several well-known consultant-types after reading their new book or hearing about a project in which they're involved, and have been happily surprised to receive an email response from them, and even a phone call, in some cases. Nothing satisfies that human need for connection than some personal attention, and promptly returning your phone calls and emails will provide that for your visitors.

    3. Become a real person. Use audio and video on your website and your photo. No one likes to do business with a faceless corporate entity. Come out of hiding and display your photo on your website, or photos of you in action in your business. Create a visual image in the mind of your visitor. Better yet, with the increasing popularity of online video and audio, let them hear and witness you in action. A great tool to help you put audio and video on your website is AudioAcrobat, http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/.

    4. Provide client testimonials. "Can she do what she says she can do?" is a common question asked of service business owners, and they want to read ab

    Video Marketing Tips & Techniques
    Since video streaming is just starting to gain popularity, you see all types of methods currently being used. People are using Flash, Java, Windows Media, Quicktime and Real Media just to name a few. As with anything, there are several ways to stream video. In my opinion however, there is only one way to do it when you are using it for marketing. Marketing Videos need to be:1. Very Fast Loading with nothing to double click, download or activate.Bad - Your video player needs to be clicked once to activate and clicked again to play!Worse - You use a player that causes an ActiveX popup box to activate!Worst - If you are using a video that needs to open Windows Media to play it!In my opinion there is nothing that competes with Flash based video, expeci
    ed.

    2. Be responsive. Respond to all email inquiries and phone calls in a timely fashion. Or, install a live chat feature on your site. I've dropped an email to several well-known consultant-types after reading their new book or hearing about a project in which they're involved, and have been happily surprised to receive an email response from them, and even a phone call, in some cases. Nothing satisfies that human need for connection than some personal attention, and promptly returning your phone calls and emails will provide that for your visitors.

    3. Become a real person. Use audio and video on your website and your photo. No one likes to do business with a faceless corporate entity. Come out of hiding and display your photo on your website, or photos of you in action in your business. Create a visual image in the mind of your visitor. Better yet, with the increasing popularity of online video and audio, let them hear and witness you in action. A great tool to help you put audio and video on your website is AudioAcrobat, http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/.

    4. Provide client testimonials. "Can she do what she says she can do?" is a common question asked of service business owners, and they want to read ab

    The 5 'P's of Motivating an Audience
    Let’s cut right to the chase of this article. There are five ‘P’s in motivating your audience. Whether your audience is a room of fifty to five hundred, an employee or a prospective client, you need to take them through these five ‘P’s to motivate them.• PAY ATTENTION – First on the list is to ensure they are paying attention to you. Before you can motivate anyone they have to listen to you. In today’s world of voice-mail, email, snail mail, telephone, cell phone and headphones, it is getting harder and harder for one to listen and be listened to. The reasons people do not really listen are numerous and include things like being preoccupied with work or family issues. Or perhaps they have a physical limitation such as hearing problems, which could be compounded by external noise
    website and your photo. No one likes to do business with a faceless corporate entity. Come out of hiding and display your photo on your website, or photos of you in action in your business. Create a visual image in the mind of your visitor. Better yet, with the increasing popularity of online video and audio, let them hear and witness you in action. A great tool to help you put audio and video on your website is AudioAcrobat, http://dgunter.audioacrobat.com/.

    4. Provide client testimonials. "Can she do what she says she can do?" is a common question asked of service business owners, and they want to read about others who've been happy consumers of your service. Ask current and former clients for powerful testimonials and sprinkle them across your website. Keep in mind that the best testimonials give a synopsis of the client's problem prior to hiring you, and the happy outcome as a result of hiring you. Those that just say, "Oh, Donna is wonderful!" is a great ego boost, but provide little credibility to your visitors.

    A second powerful way to demonstrate your results is by providing case studies, or a synopsis of a problem that a client faced and your strategy that helped that client solve that problem. People want to do business with people who have a proven track record, and testimonials and case studies provide that track record for you.

    5. Demonstrate your expertise. One of the easiest ways to tell the world what you know is by writing articles. Article writing is an extremely personal experience for me, as I'm typically writing about a problem that a client has had, an issue that came up in conversation recently with a potential client, or something with which I'm struggling in my business or something I want to research and know more about. The greatest compliment that I ever got about my articles (other than the fact that they contain useful info) is that each article really sounds like me. Don't worry about giving away your info -- those who may be able to implement your information without hiring you can also become your biggest champion and referral source because they know that you know what you're talking about.

    And, you never know where your articles might lead. I got a call today from a friend who was in an online chat for resellers of a product, and the topic of writing articles came up with another person in the chat room. My friend went to my blog to provide a link to an article I had written on the topic of article submission, and when he published it on the chat, the person with whom he was chatting said, "Oh, I know Donna." My friend was blown away by the coincidence. There are no coincidences--just good marketing.

    6. Provide freebies. Add value to your website visitors by giving something away -- an ebook, a report, an ecourse, an audio recording, or a a free teleclass. The more you can demonstrate your expertise and the more ways that a visitor can begin to know, like, and respect you, the greater chance you have of building trust with that person and converting that person into a paying client.

    7. Stay

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