Admin, Author at GUJRAT INDIA

100 Tips to Market Your Music – Part 2

Even if an artist has an outstanding talent, record deals do not fall out of the sky and land in your lap without music marketing. In this Internet age, A&R at most record labels is not what it once was, so those reps are looking for artists that already have CD sales, a great fan base, and already have the look and feel of being made even more marketable.

We started a list of marketing tips in 100 Tips To Market Your Music and continue more great ideas here, so tweak any of them as you will!

Promo Tip #55 Tag your MP3s with your name or band name, not just the song name. They need to know WHO did this material when they happen across it months later.

Promo Tip #56 Know who you are! Get into an appropriate category so that you can be found. People have to be able to identify your sound into a category that they can identify with. You may want to portray a new edgy sound, which is fine, but there are still general categories that people search on in record stores or online and you have to be found in one of them.

Promo Tip #57 Throw a listen-in. Contact record stores, coffee shops, book stores, malls, recreational areas, galleries, cool clothing stores or nightclubs that are willing to support local music. The free listen-in could have talk session and discounted CDs with coupons.

Promo Tip #58 Keep it simple silly, web sites that take a long time to load, are not easy to navigate, and are not interesting will not keep the viewer’s attention long enough for them to get to know you. So don’t make your personal website or any site that can be customized, so frilly that it turns a potential opportunity away.

Promo Tip #59 Join local communities and organizations and go to meetings periodically and pay attention. Listen for opportunities in what they are saying and perhaps volunteer. Help them and they will help you. Nonprofit organizations are likely to have access to media outlets that may give your some exposure.

Promo Tip #60 Check your public and local radio stations that play your type of music and try to get some air time.

Promo Tip #61 You will hear a lot of no’s and negativity. That is to be expected as everyone’s taste is different. Hopefully someone will give you some constructive criticism. Learn from it what you can but keep moving forward.

Promo Tip #62 Develop yourself as a complete package. Record labels do not spend the money on A&R as in the day. Educate yourself as a well-rounded music artist and present yourself as such.

Promo Tip #63 Elevator Pitch – If you only have one shot to make an impression in 30 seconds or less, can you do it? You will need to, so practice it!

Promo Tip #64 Post your gigs on your website(s), class ads, Craigslist, Backpage and other sites for your location.

Promo Tip #65 Submit your music to songwriting competitions, musician competitions, singing contests – try out for American Idol, for gosh sakes!

Promo Tip #66 Do a free conference call to chat with fans using your website. Record the call and follow up by posting the MP3 on your site. Promote it for all its worth.

Promo Tip #67 Never release an inferior product, send out professional, and only your very best demos and new releases.

Promo Tip #68 Get testimonials and reviews from people that matter and start locally if you have to. Add them to your press kit.

Promo Tip #69 Make sure you make it easy for potentials sales to happen whether on your site or at a show. Make the payment process, safe, secure and EASY.

Promo Tip #70 Have a house concert. Invite the neighborhood to your backyard.

Promo Tip #71 Give your fans insider, behind the scenes, back stage with the band info and videos. This is great info to include in newsletters – people that signed up to learn more about you on purpose.

Promo Tip #72 Take the good with the bad, and take it all graciously. You must keep your image clean or at least maintain the aforementioned image.

Promo Tip #73 Don’t waste time, prioritize and go with the best bets. Put your energy into the correct market for YOUR music.

Promo Tip #74 If you can write well about a music subject, write and distribute articles. Always source the article back to your website. Let it be redistributed with the bottom author source info to spread your message and link.

Promo Tip #75 Gig swap with other bands from another area to widen your fan base.

Promo Tip #76 A music profile or bio, press kit and press releases should all be well written, free of misspellings, kept current, and to the point. Schedule updates of your various online activities.

Promo Tip #77 Find a business in your area that you can partner with for mutual benefit. If something about a song, style, or image would boost a local business, develop a cross promotional relationship.

Promo Tip #78 Respond to all your correspondence in a timely, businesslike, and correct manner – appropriate to the sender. Be considerate of your audience.

Promo Tip #79 Give people what they want. It’s all about the fans. If they come to your website, give them information that makes THEM feel good. If they come to your show, entertain them, thank them and thank the venue for the experience.

Promo Tip #80 Don’t disappear. Once you have started building your momentum, it is a continuous onslaught.

Promo Tip #81 Attend music conferences, indie showcases, music festivals. Gain exposure and network.

Promo Tip #82 Be easy to work with and be flexible. A good reputation carries a lot of weight. Flexibility can also mean possibly adjusting areas of your work or image so as to get your foot in the door if need be.

Promo Tip #83 Have a cause. Create an event to promote that cause. Team up with other like-minded bands and make a news worthy event out of that cause.

Promo Tip #84 Business Cards – When talking to anyone, hand one out. You must include the link to your website. Consider your link as your online business card.

Promo Tip #85 Rolodex your contact list (some sites have contact managers in their member consoles). Make a list and keep it current of all the places online and offline that you need to post to when you need to send out reoccurring press releases of news and events. Be aware that many sites have limits in number and/or time frames, be careful to not exceed them.

Promo Tip #86 Invoke your personality into your writings to make your invitations, announcements and introductions fun and effective.

Promo Tip #87 Clearly define what you are about – quickly, online or offline. People have short attention spans and are short on time – not just the music industry, but most people in general. This is very important! Don’t waste words. Make anything you have to say about yourself or band enough to give the important necessary information and cut out the nonsense.

Promo Tip #88 Create a band calendar with some humorous photos of the various band members at various events.

Promo Tip #89 You heard it through the grapevine. Share “some” inside knowledge with other bands and songwriters in your area. Start your own information highway.

Promo Tip #90 Create an automated template for emails. Take the time to add the person’s name with a personal tidbit, but save time with a ready made email guide. Respond to unsolicited emails with your own personalized marketing message and a link to your website.

Promo Tip #91 Play for free if you have to, any where, any time. Create an event, an event with a cause and donate the proceeds to a charity. This can open up some interesting contacts and opportunities. Sponsor an event.

Promo Tip #92 Reach out and touch your fans. Whether someone else is maintaining your online presence or not, occasionally touch base with fans personally.

Promo Tip #93 Include every ounce of contact info needed upon every available surface.

Promo Tip #94 Borrow an idea from other sources, even outside the music industry. If it works for that company, perhaps you can adapt the idea to market your music as well. Find a way to put a new twist or slant on a successful bands tactics.

Promo Tip #95 Send birthday cards to your fans…of course you need to get their birthday info when they sign up for mailing lists.

Promo Tip #96 Get involved in the music forums and message boards that target your music segment and ALWAYS include your signature URL (aka web link)!!

Promo Tip #97 Start a Music or Band Blog, well written and kept current. Submit it to music Blog directories.

Promo Tip #98 Create a novelty song that topics a holiday, a hot news item, your city or town, sports team, political event or other idea and gain exposure on promoting this song.

Promo Tip #99 Listen to your fans and learn what brought them to your show. This is very effective to giving you feedback on which promotional tool worked.

Promo Tip #100 Success does not happen to those that wait. A record label , music deal, stardom, just creating a website “and they will come” does not just land in your lap with you doing nothing. You have to make success come to you. Be persistent, be confident, roll up your sleeves, it is going to take some serious work.

But wait, there’s more! We could not stop at 100! Here are a few more great tips:

Promo Tip #101 Use the Internet to research and keep current on new ways and new sites to market your music.

Promo Tip #102 Strength in numbers. Build joint ventures, collaborations and/or online partners on a project and both of you market that project.

Promo Tip #103 Have a professional email address.

Promo Tip #104 Don’t burn your bridges. Even with the increasing number of music “want to-be’s” the music industry is a relatively small and close knit community. A wrong done to you by someone early in your career, may be that “someone” in a position of music power one day that you just might need to do business with.

Promo Tip #105 Join the party, even if not in the mood. Don’t respond to the inevitable “what do you do” question with your day job, but tell your potentially new fan you are a musician and hand them your business card.

Promo Tip #106 Keep a journal of your marketing efforts with what worked and what did not work. This can be used in many ways down the road besides tracking your efforts. A book or e-book maybe?

Promo Tip #107 If out partying, have a designated friend or band mate for image control. If you get into something that could potentially land you in trouble, that controller gets you out of the situation before it can hurt your image. Video can be on the Internet before you even get home, so protect your image at all costs if you happen to get out of control.

Promo Tip #108 Business is business. There is a time and place for slang/explicit language, behavior, and the like. Project yourself in a professional manner. Know when you are onstage and when you are not.

Promo Tip #109 Get your own competition going about your band or a new release. Give something away, have fans register at local record stores, find a way to get buzz going by asking a great question.

Promo Tip #110 Self promote everyday, in every way, one way or the other.

Some of these pointers may not be for you. That’s fine. Do what you need to do, just make sure we ALL hear about you. Very true that many artists do not have the funds to do some of these tips, well, with the Internet and some ingenuity it possible to get around this to an extent.

The difference between you and another band that made it may not be that their music was better. It might be that they found a way to get noticed better. The music industry needs music talent and is constantly on the look out for something that stands out. If you have the guts and perseverance, it can be you.

Seven Benefits of Internet Forums

Internet forums are wonderful places to be, especially as an Internet marketer. If you join forums in your niche, then be sure to benefit so much, especially when you try as much as you can to be active in the forums. Just take a look at the following benefits:

– Free Knowledge: In forums you have access to knowledge worth some real money for free. Forum members are ever willing to share their knowledge and experience with others, and you can, especially as a newbie, benefit from these free knowledge.

– Cost Saving: You are saved cost by having some things that you would ordinarily spend money to achieve given you for free by your forum members. When I was to publish my first site, I had some difficulties. Yet I had it published by a member of one of the forums I belong. I would have spent so much money to have someone else do it for me.

– Mentorship: Forum members provide a form of mentorship to newbies. There are those in every forum who are ever willing and ready to offer you help in every topic. And from there you can even develop a lasting business relationship with some of the gurus in the industry.

– Opportunity to build credibility: Forums offer you the opportunity to build credibility and establish yourself as a guru in the Industry where you operate. If you are the open-minded type that will always offer help to people, especially the newbies, you will soon be seen as a guru and an established expert in the Industry. The idea here is for you to always be willing and ready to offer useful help to people.

– Opportunity to advertise your products: The forums have sections where you can advertise your products for free. This is also another way of saving you cost. You also have the opportunity of advertising yourself.

– Early Guidance: I was in warrior forum and saw forum members discussing a particular product that was bought by some of them and found out that the product was just nonsense, and worse still, when they asked for refund as promised by the product owner, he said their guarantee was just for thirty days and that the time to ask for refund was over. This issue actually came up because somebody in the forum wanted to buy this product and wanted to inquire from the forum members whether to go ahead with the purchase or not. After all he heard about the product, I’m sure no charm in this world would make him want to buy any product from this owner.

– Source of Motivation: You can easily see people who will give you the motivation and encouragement you need to keep on in your business and eventually succeed. It is great to have people of like minds and in the same business line who are willing to co-operate with you and help in building you up. Remember that iron sharpeneth iron.

These are some of the benefits of joining Internet forums. And if you are yet to join one, I wonder what it is you are still waiting for.

The 7 Essential Characteristics Every Entrepreneur Needs

Discover the secrets to being a successful Entrepreneur…

Becoming an entrepreneur is not an easy task! Around 45 percent of all new businesses fail to survive more than two years. There are certain qualities and characteristics that are absolutely necessary if you would like to become successful in your business ventures. Some of these qualities are built-in parts of your inherent personality, and some of them get developed over time. Knowing these characteristics and identifying your weaker ones – those which need strengthening – will, eventually, help you become a successful entrepreneur and ensure that you succeed in your business ventures.

1. Common sense.

Studies show that most successful businesspeople consider common sense as the foundation of their success. Good judgment depends on acquired knowledge and past experience. The combination of these two creates necessary prerequisites in developing common sense in a person. Common sense allows you to understand complex issues in simpler terms and get into the core of a problem.

2. Specialised knowledge of your field and willingness to learn

It is easier to start a successful business if you have deep knowledge of the business field that you decide to pursue. Having said that, studies show that most self-made millionaires have only average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people achieved their financial and personal goals in business because they are willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing to ask questions, remain curious, interested and open to new knowledge.

3. Self-confidence and the heart of a champion.

Self-confidence is a key entrepreneurial skill for success. A successful entrepreneur believes in his abilities. He/she is not scared to take risks and make difficult decisions. You have to be determined to succeed at all costs. You have to anticipate resistance from your friends, family and loved ones. You must exercise unlimited persistence.

4. Ability to work hard

Every successful entrepreneur works hard. Ask any successful businessperson and they will tell you immediately that they had to work more than 60 hours per week at the start of their businesses. If you are in a start-up phase, you will have to breathe, eat and drink your business until it can stand on its own. . This requires a self-control that many people simply fail to develop in them.

5. Passion

Success comes easily if you love what you do. Why? Because we are more relentless in our pursuit of goals that we are passionate about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind that they are putting in 15 or 18 hours a day to their business because they absolutely love what they do. Success in business is all about patience and hard work, which can only be attained if you are passionate about your tasks and activities.

6. Think success

To attain the kind of success that you want, you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams! If you only aspire to survive, then you might just achieve that. Conversely, if you aspire to generate incredible wealth and happiness within your life, you might just achieve that too. You should actively visualise success in your mind. What does it feel to triple your current income? How will your life change? What will your business look like if you achieved the million-dollar mark? You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to recognize and fulfill your goals.

7. Plan accordingly and stick to your plan

You have a vision, and you have enough faith in yourself to believe that you can achieve your vision. You have to have a solid business plan and then stick to it. Put your goals in writing. You need to plan each day in such a way that your every action contributes to the attainment of your goals. Intense goal orientation is the characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. They have a vision, and they know how to get there.

Choose a Great Topic for Your Podcast

So, you have finally decided that you are going to ride the Podcasting wave and launch your own Podcast. There are number of Podcasters airing their shows these days. Many more are coming up every day to join them. But this fact should not stop you from beginning Podcasting. You should have no fear of competition because the potential of Podcasting is immense and there is still lot more to be done.

Podcasting has become so easy today that you need not be a genius or a hard core techie to start Podcasting. With anyone entering the fad, many of the Podcasts available are nothing but junk. Do not be afraid of the competition. Just try to produce quality that will help you stand out among the quantity produced by the crowd. In the process you will be able to create a crowd of fanatic subscribers, who will provide a new dimension to your Podcast.

Choosing the Right Topic

Make a list of the subjects your interested in before starting your Podcast. Here are few tips on how to add more topics to this list. Think about the things that you do during your free-time. Also think about what you spend most of your money on. Note down the movies, music, TV shows, games, political parties, philosophies, books and religions that are interesting to you. You will see that your list start to grow. If a particular topic interests you, possibilities are that it will be of the interest to some other people also and they will listen to your show. After listing the topics, you can pinpoint a theme and topic for your Podcasts.

Visiting Podcast directories is a great way to get potential topics. ‘How to Start a Podcast’ http://www.howtostartapodcast.com has a large list. This can be very helpful and give you some brain storming ideas. Visiting them will also tell you how many people are interested in your particular topic for a Podcast. There may be a lot of competition in it or there may be no competition at all. However, you need not worry in either case. More competition just means that you could have a huge listening base of subscribers.

During your research you might also download some shows of different Podcasts that you find interesting. Analyze them carefully and make notes about what you liked and didn’t like about the existing Podcasts. If you’re starting with a topic that already has an established subscriber base, then you may consider choosing a Podcast topic that will complement, rather than compete with them.

Start your own Podcast and ride the wave by taking advantage of the latest technological trend and have some fun at the same time.

What Is Web Hosting & Which Web Hosting Suits You the Best?

With the increasing trend of online shopping and e-businesses, it is not a surprise that the increase in the popularity of web hosting services is more than ever before. Even more interestingly, the rate at which small businesses are signing up for various kinds of web hosting services is breaking its own record every year. If you are new to online business, this might be a confusing thing to understand. This is why I felt the need to write this article where I can talk about what web hosting is and how you can benefit from its enormous features in order to promote your business and be successful.

First let’s discuss a little bit of history. We live in an era, where door-to-door marketing isn’t really possible in today’s ever-expanding societies and settings. With millions of households in even a small city, you can’t even think of successfully marketing your business unless you use online means. Hence, it doesn’t matter how great is the idea, product, or service that you are trying to sell, you can’t succeed without leveraging the power of internet and social media. You need to have an online presence where you can market your products and service and give them an exposure they deserve. This is where web-hosting services come into play.

There are quite a few services available in the market today to choose from. The question is: which one suits you best. Your business ideas and goals are most likely be different from other businesses and hence not any web hosting service can cater your needs and your demands. Therefore, you need to ask yourself a few questions before purchasing the subscription of any web hosting platform. The first question should be the storage space that is available at your disposal. You don’t want me to struggling in storing the high-quality photos and videos of your products. Hence you should choose a service that offers unlimited storage for your valuable content.

In terms of security of your intellectual property, you also need to ask how secure the service provider is and how long they are in business for. Don’t got for new-comers as they might disappoint you sooner rather than later. Always go with the names that are in business since a long time and hold a good reputation. Lastly, you should be questioning about the bandwidth that a particular service provider includes in your subscription. Bandwidth here is the amount of data your website visitors will be consuming by visiting your website. Once you run of allocated bandwidth, the visitors might face trouble accessing your website.

If you keep these key factors in your mind before buying a hosting service, you should be in good business.

Learn The Hot Dog Business!

Hot Dog Vending

A Hot Dog Cart is a specialized mobile food stand for preparing and selling street food, to passerbies. A cart operator must meet health regulations designed to protect the public from food poisoning from food borne illnesses. They are quick and easy foodservice, supplying millions of people with food every day.

It is generally a compact, full self-contained and designed to serve a limited menu. An on-board or stand-alone cooler is used to keep them safely chilled until ready for reheating. It also provides a cold storage for beverages such as soda, and water. Most carts now use propane to heat the foods, making them independent of electrical power. A colorful umbrella is often installed to protect the food preparation area from contamination, provide some shade and advertise the cart’s location

They are generally built from materials that resist corrosion, hygiene friendly and are easy to keep clean. They are generally made of polished stainless steel, but some carts also have components made from plastic, wood and fiberglass. The food preparation body of the cart in often mounted on a chassis that can be easily transported to a vendor’s location either by hand or towed by a vehicle. There are several types of carts that range from lightweight push cart that weight up to 200 lbs, to fully enclosed walk-in carts weighing a ton or more.

The mechanics are essential to the taste and safety of the food. The inside contains pans that steam or boil you food. They are constructed so that the proper temperatures are consistently met and the food is well cooked.

The first one was manufactured for Charles Feltman in 1867. Charles Feltman owned a pie-wagon that delivered fresh baked pies to the inns and lager-beer saloons that lined Coney Island’s beaches. He clients wanted hot sandwiches to serve their clients. But, his wagon was too small. So he presented his idea the manufacturer of his pie-wagon manufacture. The solution was adding a tin lined chest to keep the rolls fresh and rigging s small charcoal stove to boil sausages. When the new pie-wagon was finished, low and behold the first one was created.

They are popular for many reasons. One reason, of course, is the hot dog itself. They are a permanent place alongside pizza and the cheeseburger as an American classic.

Another reason the they are popular is the cart itself. In most cases people eat their food at home, office or in a restaurant. It is a novel experience to grab a hot dog from a cart. This novelty offers the hot dogs cart a unique ambience.

People who buy from a Vendor want to be cheered up. They want to be reminded of old times when things were better, or so they thought. And nothing is better then buying a good tasting hot dog for a lot of people.

Finally it offers a quick affordable meal. They are designed for the smoothest, quickest delivery possible of fresh food.

Why Become a Hot Dog Vendor?

“You are never unemployed when you work for yourself”

James O Mazzola:

Why Selling Food Is Good Business

Selling is the oldest business in human history. In the annals of human evolution, the individual is able to sell what they have either for barter or money. Selling food in one of the best business that has sprung forth from human interaction.

Food is in constant demand. It is one of the basic needs of an individual. Not everyone though has the time or the skills and equipment to cook food. From here on end, people have chosen to go to these skilled cooks. Now, one of the most constant and consistent business that has earned money are those that are in the food service. They can be as simple as a hot dog stand to fine dining.

Food never goes out of style. No matter how ancient or original the recipe is, so long as it tastes good and is fulfilling, food never goes out of style. The demand for food is constant and with the increase in population, food demand is definitely on the increase. The art and science of the food preparation is the centerpiece of the business. Making good food makes for good business.

The Allure of Hot Dog Stands

When you are in a public park, out door event or on a street corner, you are sure to find a cart in the area. You can see there are many people milling around the hot dog stand, looking in and often buying hot dogs. There is a reason why this is such a regular sight to see and here are the reasons why the allure of stands attracts so many patrons.

A full meal. A hot dog stand provides a customer a full meal at a cheap price. They provide much protein and nutrients to help you on your way. It is cheap and often does not cost more the five dollars. The sandwich provides the fiber and the condiments provide the flavor for the full meal.

Food to go. Aside from waiting in line, you do not spend much time waiting for the food to be prepared. Once you have paid for it, you can easily walk away and eat your meal.

Food fun. Vending Carts are often served in bright colored ways. They provide boiled hot dogs and the aroma in the immediate area makes you hungry. The condiments are brightly colored, making it not only appealing to your palate; it is a feast to your eyes.

Vending is not gimmicky. They are bought and sold everywhere and they are very popular. In fact, hot dogs are such and American tradition that it would be impossible to find a city or a sports event without them. They are most popular when they are purchased for a vendor.

Integrative Business Planning – Managing Complexity

Introduction

Business Planning is normally done when a business plan is needed for financing purposes or to use as a guideline on running and growing a business (as a start-up or for the next time frame). Many crucial features of a business need to be addressed and balanced in this planning process. Various options, problems and risks relating to these features will be considered.

Entrepreneurs often assume that one variable has a linear relationship with another (e.g. $x spending on marketing will create $y income in sales). Business is, however, seldom that simple. Many multi-directional relationships tend to occur between the various features. Sales would for instance also be influenced by product quality, price, etc. Sales on the other hand will influence future expansions. To cater for this phenomenon an integrative business planning process is required.

Crucial Issues in Business Planning

Every business is different and the crucial issues in one does not necessary occur in another. What is, however, important is that the business planners ensure that they analyse and plan for all the relevant features for their specific business. This would normally include the issues that is highlighted below.

The Business – It is essential to ensure that the opportunity, the business concept, its products, services and strategies and the industry that it operates in are sound.
Marketing – Marketing strategy needs to be considered. This include aspects such as pricing and promotion.
Market Research – This is a crucial issue that is often neglected. It is important to know and understand the customers, the market size and trends and who the competition is.
Development – All issues regarding the development of new products, services, markets and facilities need to be planned for.
Operations – All aspects regarding the what, where and how of operations must be considered.
The Team – The management team need to match the requirements of a business. It would be preferable to establish what skills/jobs are needed and then to link the people to it. Where there are a lack of skills, training programmes can be implemented and new people can be hired. The whole organigram and composition of board of directors, management teams, etc. need to be planned for.
Finances – Finances are the ultimate yardstick of the success of a business, but it can not stand on its own. Important financial issues would typically include investment-, financing- and dividend decisions and policies. It is also crucial to plan for turnover (sales), gross profit margins and cost control (of expenses). The relationships between these issues (financial ratios) need further planning to establish if the business will be profitable, liquid and solvent. Return on investment (ROI) and sustainable business growth would for instance be specific aspects to consider.
Risk Management – The various risks that occur need to be determined, analysed and catered for. Fatal flaws need to be eliminated. Operational- and financial risks can often be hedged. This would incur certain costs and strategies such as manufacturing in various countries and buying and selling futures and options in different currencies.

The Complexity of Detailed Business Planning

A quick review of the brief summary of the crucial issues that need to be considered gives a glimpse of the complexity involved in business planning. If we just look at the financial issues we will see that the price will have an impact on the sales (turnover). The lower the price the more the physical volumes will normally be (except if image requires a high price). Turnover and total profits will, however, not necessary be higher. There is normally a fine balance that exist between the price, volume sales, turnover and profits.

To complicate this even further the turnover, costs and profits and there timings have a direct impact on the cashflow of the company (a very critical issue). This whole aspect is then further complicated by the investment- (capital expenditure), financing- (equity or debt?) and dividend decisions. By spending too much on a plant, having too much debt and paying out too much to shareholders will have a negative effect on the sustainable business growth of the company and this will reduce the targets that are achievable. This scenario shows only a portion of the various aspects that need to balance within the broader financial sphere.

Unfortunately the complication of the example does not stop with the finances. The finances influence many other crucial aspects of the business. On the other hand many of the other crucial aspects also have an effect on the finances as well as on each other.

The financial decisions would for instance have a direct bearing on the growth of the business (e.g. geographical expansions and new product development), marketing spending and people employment and development. All these issues would similar have an impact on the financial issues and on each other.

An Integrative Business Planning Approach

The general tendency in business planning would be to tackle each issue independently and then to just add the pieces together and re-plan if something is not making sense. Business planning often starts with some projected turnover and profit figures in mind. Everything is then worked backwards from there.

A much better option would be to have an integrative business planning approach. In order to do this the following steps are needed:

Determine all the salient features of the business.
Determine the relationships between these salient features.
Try and solve every feature by keeping the casualties and effects with other features in mind.
Use “what-if” questions to create better holistic solutions.

Summary

The idea in business planning is not to optimise the one aspect of the business and neglect or ignore some of the others. The various relationships (causes and effects) need to be catered for in an integrative way. One crucial salient feature or relationship that is ignored can put the existence of the whole business in jeopardy.

Tips For Earning Money With Online Affiliate Programs

Are you looking for a way that you earn some extra money from home? With the tough economy today, many people are looking for ways to earn some extra cash or even some online business opportunities that they can start as part time and then work up to full time jobs. The great news is that there are options on the web today and one of the best ways to make money with the web is with online affiliate programs. Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to make money and here are some tips that can help you be successful in your money making endeavor.

Today you’ll find that there are many online affiliate programs out there to choose from. Whether you have your own website or not, they can help you to make money. Of course, the first thing you need to do if you are going to get started in this business is to find a legitimate program. You don’t want to waste your money and your effort on a program that is not legitimate. Also check into the commission that the program offers. Ensure you get a reasonable commission and that it is paid out regularly if you are going to get involved with that particular program.

Although you don’t have to have a website of your own, if you want to really make some great money with online affiliate programs, having a website of your own can make it a more lucrative business for you. It is actually quite easy to set up a website of your own and you can do it for a low cost as well. There are free options available, although they are somewhat limited, and then there are paid options available that can offer you more features for a website. Choose the option that works best for you. In most cases, paying for the website will provide you with better options that make it easier for you to work with.

Once you have the website in place, then you need to work on the website to make it one that will stand out and draw in traffic. This is a must if you are going to successfully make money with online affiliate programs. You have to build content, make the website user friendly, build up credibility, and work on sending traffic to your website. Of course, the niche that you choose for your site is going to be important. Although you may have the idea that targeting a specific niche limits your site, this is just the opposite. A niche market will bring in people to the site that will come back again and again and will increase the chance that you make sales with your site.

Site promotion is going to be important once you have your site built up. There are many ways that you can promote your site, which can include pay per click marketing, link building, article marketing, and more. Once you start building traffic to your site, you will notice that sales begin to climb and you’ll begin to see success with those online affiliate programs.

Six Simple Practice Building Tips That Are Guaranteed To Lead To Exponential Practice Growth

The following article contains six simple practice building tips that you can easily incorporate into your own daily routine that are guaranteed to lead to exponential practice growth. In fact, these can be so seamlessly fitted into your daily marketing efforts that the only way you will know that you are doing them is by the tremendous numbers of patients that they bring in.

Because everybody loves lists you may even want to print this out and pin it somewhere where you can see it – ideally next to your marketing calendar and make sure that you have worked your way through the list daily without fail.

That said and without further ado, here we go.

1. Specialize. You cannot be everything to everyone and by trying to be a generalist you will only end up stressing yourself and suffering burn out. It is rightly reported that “create a niche and you’ll get rich” and by becoming an expert in your own area you avoid all competition.

2. Guarantee results and eliminate all risks from prospective clients. There may be may reasons why prospective clients may not want to experience what you do and the main one is the financial risk that if you can’t help them they will be out of pocket. If you remove this block from them attending you are far more likely to get people through the door and once they are in you can convince them to stay with your brilliance.

3. Show the benefits of your service not the features. People buy with their hearts and then justify the decision with their minds. They don’t care about what you do, they just care about how it makes them feel – so create some emotive selling points! It doesn’t matter what services you provide you need to understand that you’re in the outcome business. You are selling results, outcomes and life changing therapies whilst your competitors sell treatments.

4. Talk to at least five people a day about what you do. Get out and mingle with the local community and build up trust and rapport. Shop and eat in the surrounding neighbourhood wherever person people will realize that you are their local person to turn to in need. Get in front of groups and speak – give talks, demonstrations about what you do and you will discover that it’s the fastest way to establish authority and build a dedicated following of eager and knowledgeable clients.

Find the people in your community who know a lot of other people – church goers, members of clubs, gyms and get them to spread the word for you. According to the work done by Stanley Milgram we are only six people away from anybody else – so if you get a few community leaders on your side spreading the word who knows how many people (and who!) they may send your way!

Whilst you are building your numbers of interested prospects don’t forget that your current clients are your best source of referrals – and get them spreading the word! If you aren’t getting referrals from your current clients it is most probably because you aren’t asking them! Whilst they are excited about the improvements you have made for them simply ask for the names of a couple of other people that you can help as well…

…and if they can’t think of any names to give you get them to write you a testimonial. The more testimonials and the more social proof you have that what you do works – the greater the number of prospective clients that will be attracted to you.

5. Build an email list of prospective clients and current clients and communicate with them often. Get your list to know, like and trust you and you are half-way there to getting them as clients – and keeping them as clients. Keep your mailings a mixture of educational material, entertainment, offers and reviews. Don’t try any hard selling and sales pitches as people will just not read what you have to say – the idea is to keep yourself at the front of their mind so that whenever they need someone that does what you do – yours is the name that immediately comes to them

6. Sell people what they WANT but give them what they NEED. Attract clients to you by offering what they want and whilst they are with you convert them to what you actual do.

For example any complementary therapist will argue that preventative treatments and maintenance care are the best solutions for everybody. Regular check-ups will prevent possible problems whilst keeping you in the peak of physical condition – but that isn’t what patients want (or at least they don’t realize it yet!). 99 times out of 100 they want relief from pain and they want it now – so get them in to relieve their pain and sow the seeds of how great it will be to never have this ailment trouble them again. Get patients in with pain relieve and keep them with prevention!

Above you have multiple marketing steps that will each bring in a few clients on their own. However, when combined they will lead to a massive increase in clinic numbers and these six incredibly easy to implement ideas are guaranteed to give you exponential practice growth – but only if you implement them and implement them on a consistent basis.

New Book Removes Fear From Sales With Practical, Easy-To-Implement Techniques

As a small business owner, I found Greg Andersen’s Small Business Sales, WTF (Without the Fear) full of practical advice, new ideas, and down-to-earth common sense to help me rethink my sales approaches. Andersen has been in sales for many years in the printing business, but the advice he offers is applicable to anyone in sales, especially small business owners who may be wearing all the hats themselves or unable to focus on sales because they’re too busy looking after everything else.

Small Business Sales, WTF is divided into two sections: Pre-Sales Planning, in which Andersen discusses products, going to market with products, creating a sales environment, and then The Sales Process, in which he explores how to find customers, make contact, get the opportunity to sell to the customer, execute the sale, and then follow up with and retain the customer long-term. Andersen walks readers through each step of the sales process, providing practical and personal examples of what has worked for him that readers can easily model or put their own spins on.

Andersen writes in a humorous but tell-it-like-it-is style to dismiss myths about the sales process and cut through sales jargon to get to what the reader really needs to know. For example, early in the book, he has a list of “Words/Phrases you will not hear in my book.” Among the phrases included is “Belly-to-Belly” to which he responds, “Gross. How about face-to-face.” Another phrase is “Low Hanging Fruit,” which he says does not really exist, and still another is “Hook,” which he finds insulting because it assumes customers are suckers or fish. Instead, Andersen prefers to treat his customers like human beings and rather than “close the sale” come to an “agreement” between two parties who trust and respect each other.

For most people, sales can have a bad name. No one likes being sold to, and people who reluctantly take on a sales role are aware of that and often fearful of selling. Andersen teaches readers how to remove the fear of sales by rethinking what sales really is. Most people dread the “cold call,” so Andersen talks about instead viewing sales as “demand generation.” It’s about looking for where there is a demand for your services and then providing the product or service to fulfill that demand. It’s also about listening to customers.

Andersen states: “When all is said and done, only a few methods of outreach will really get you in contact with a prospective new customer-the phone, letter writing, a trade show, and email. What really counts is the technique you employ.” He then provides creative examples of how to handle sales through each of these approaches, as well as discussing social media as a sales strategy. His examples are drawn from personal experiences, from his days as a shoe salesman at Nordstrom to his current sales role in the printing industry. Best of all, he even includes copies of letters he has sent to clients. His techniques are simple and straightforward, so anyone, no matter how scared of sales, can implement them.

Of course, there will be difficult clients or people who don’t want to hear how you can help them. Andersen provides strategies for getting past the gatekeepers to the decision makers. He reveals his research techniques, which are quite clever and even include looking at prospective customers’ job postings to determine who in a company is or will be in a buyer position for his product.

When facing resistance from a potential client, Andersen realizes it’s not always about him, his approach, or his product. I loved the following invaluable point he made: “Another way I like to approach these challenging situations is to remind myself that all these excuses mean the customer is probably protecting his current vendor. If he is being loyal to his current vendor, some day he will be loyal to me. Stay positive.” Personally, I know this is true as a business owner. If I have a vendor providing me with a good service at a good price, I feel loyal to that vendor and am not willing to change. Such clients may be resistant to change, but they are the ones you want because they are loyal. Andersen shows how persistence pays off in these situations. Sometimes he makes contact with customers who are not in need of his services right then, but years later, he secures business with them, and even if at first he doesn’t get the level of business he wants, they often will give him some business as a trial and then he can work his way in to larger sales with them.

Perhaps what I liked most about Andersen’s approaches is that he truly believes in being responsive to clients. I cannot stress enough how frustrated I feel when I send an email to someone who does not reply to me for several days. I am personally always very responsive to my clients and usually reply within hours if not minutes. Andersen points out that even if you don’t have an answer to a client’s problem or you can’t take the time to respond to a question at that moment, a simple response like, “I’m on it,” lets clients know you will get back to them and then they can quit worrying about their problem and go on to the next item on their to-do list until you do get back to them. In other words, Andersen is always in favor of reassuring the client that you will do what you say and provide reliable and quality service.

Altogether, Small Business Sales, WTF does take a lot of the fear and stress out of sales. I believe most readers will be pleasantly surprised by this book; they’ll read Andersen’s stories and examples and say to themselves, “I can do that,” and even find ideas of their own popping into their heads as they build off of Andersen’s advice. Whether you are a small business owner with absolutely no sales experience, are just starting out in sales, or have been in sales for years, there are plenty of nuggets of advice here that can make your sales process easier, more lucrative, and all around more enjoyable.