Top 10 Ways to Lose a Customer

You spend a lot of time and money drawing people to your Web site. Don't drive them away before you make the sale.

No matter how many visitors you are able to attract to your website, there are still ways to lose them before making a sale. Below are the top 10 ways to lose a paying customer.

1. Navigation - One of the easiest ways to turn off a website visitor is create a complicated website. If a customer struggles to find their a product, they will more than likely get frustrated and leave the website before they buy.

When I first designed my website I had no idea about design. Looking back, I'm not sure I accomplished pretty and I did not create an easy website to navigate. Much like the one I mentioned earlier, my website was frustrating to visitors.

2. Busyness - The wrong type of website can turn off visitors and repel sales. Create a website designed for your target audience. For example, if you're selling aromatherapy products, you'll want a relaxing environment. However, if you're a life coach you want to pump people up. Your website should be full of life and activity.

3. Sizing - Many websites make the mistake of sizing their design to fit their screen. Unfortunately, the standard resolution that most monitors are sized to (800 x 600) does not always match. When this happens, visitors must scroll not only up and down the page, but left and right as well. To eliminate this frustration, set you width to no more than 800 pixels.

4. Point of Contact - When visitors to your website have a question they want to be able to easily find your contact information. Many websites display their email address, phone number, or a link to their contact information either in their menu or at the top/bottom of their website, which makes it easy to find.

5. Hidden Pricing - Customers want to have all of the necessary information before they make a purchase. Make sure your prices are available up front. When customers have to dig for pricing information, there's a good chance that they will get frustrated, give up and leave your website.

6. Customer Service - You can set your business apart from all the rest by offering fast, friendly and helpful service to your customers. Try to respond to emails and phone calls within twenty-fours hours. Smile while you type or talk on the phone because your customers will hear the lilt in your voice and respond.

7. Follow-up - If your customer asks a question about a product or service, follow up within 48 hours to see if they have further questions. Many times this follow-up can lead to a sale. Neglecting follow-up can lose you customers.

8. Spam - If you offer a newsletter or other type of mailing list, be careful with what you send to your subscribers. Avoid mailings that look like spam. Choose a template that works for you and that will be recognizable to your readers.

9. Professional Conduct - In the business world it's important that you're professional, especially when dealing with difficult clients. It's imperative to be kind, courteous and take care of business. Refrain from any type of name calling or blame placing. Stand up for your business in a professional manner and treat your customers with respect at all times. Remember the old adage - the customer is always right.

10. Payment Options/Security - Customers want to know that they can trust you with their financial information. Choose a payment provider that offers a secure way to transit orders and credit card information. If possible, offer more than one payment option to give your customers the ability to choose how they will pay.

Creating a website that is customer-friendly isn't as simple as one might think. There are many aspects to consider and the designer must choose carefully or risk losing sales. Avoid these ten no-no's and make your website into a successful business venture.

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12 Common Web Design Mistakes That Drive Customers Away

Your Web site can draw customers in or send them running. Find out what mistakes to avoid in your company's Web site design.

In the early to mid 1990s, commercial web sites weren't very common and just about every "live" site was considered acceptable. With tens of millions of sites online now, users will not tolerate unprofessional and disorganized sites that don't provide the information or solutions they are looking for and expect.

Web design mistakes can have a tremendous negative impact on business growth. At best, they upset your prospects. Worse, though, is you lose them forever.

Here are 12 common web design mistakes you must avoid to please your visitors and grow your business:

1. Lack of Focus Too many web sites leave visitors wondering what the site is about. Be sure your home page explicitly conveys what you do and the value you offer, and entices them to explore other pages for additional information.

2. Text-heavy Pages Actually, lots of text is OK, just don't use lengthy paragraphs with no visual breaks. Reading online is much different than print. Use the following to break-up blocks of text: shorter, more focused paragraphs; headlines and subheads; bullets and numbers; a few well-placed photos or graphics; and appropriate white space.

3. Legibility Issues Dark fonts on dark backgrounds, light fonts on light backgrounds, and tiny fonts that strain the eye are obviously poor choices. Use common sense.

4. "Noise" and Clutter Even if you have a great site, if your visitors are forced to wade through long blocks of copy, promotional offers, animation, sales pitches, and worthless dribble, you'll quickly confuse them and drive them away.

5. Blatant Advertising While we all hope to use our web site to move prospects along in the sales process, in-your-face advertising isn't the answer. Information, solutions and value will do the job more effectively. And while pop-up ads are widely used and acceptable, full screen pop-ups that are difficult to close infuriate everyone.

6. Navigation Issues A clearly obvious navigational panel makes sense doesn't it? But common sense isn't always common practice. How easily can a newcomer navigate your site?

7. Inappropriate Graphics and Photos Photos and graphics can visually enhance the appearance of your site as well as support and substantiate your copy. But don't use load-intensive graphics or photos of your corporate office which are relevant to no one.

8. Outdated Information Nothing screams "unprofessional" any louder than outdated information.

9. Too Many Clicks Needed We're all impatient and in a hurry. Our online waiting threshold is much less than off-line. If more than a few clicks are required to get to a page, you'll lose a prospect every time.

10. Lack of Contact Information This also seems obvious, but I have searched numerous web sites for contact phone numbers - and I am amazed how many times I was unable to find one. Just because a web site is online doesn't mean a prospect only wants to contact you online.

11. Form Frustration The large majority of online forms are too lengthy. Get rid of questions/fields that simply are not needed. And don't identify one as mandatory if it really isn't.

12. No Privacy Policy In the age of rampant spam, we all want to be certain we are offering our e-mail address to someone who will protect it carefully. If you ask for an e-mail address on one of your forms, let your prospects know that you will not sell or distribute their address to anyone (if that's true of course).

Your prospects are visiting your web site specifically for the content. But the appearance and usability are also critical factors. If a visit to your web site is a positive experience, you have a much better chance of converting prospects to clients.

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5 Simple Networking Follow-Up Strategies

Networking is vital to growing your business. Simply put, unless you go out and meet people nobody will know you exist. If they don't know you exist they can't hire you. You can be the best 'networker' out there but unless you follow up with the people you meet you are wasting your time.I have met so many people who complain to me that they meet people but that the leads go nowhere. Here's why, business cards sitting in piles on your desk are not clients. I have found it easiest to follow up after networking events when I have a plan in place BEFORE I even leave my room.

Here are five simple strategies that I use to put that plan in place and make sure that I carry through.

1. Decide how and when you will follow up with people after the event.
Things that have worked for my clients and me are:
a. Send an article that is a good follow up to most of your conversations that represent what you do and is of value to readers. (Note: This should be an article that helps your new contact, not a sales brochure).

b. Pick up the phone and call.
(Note: Set aside time on your calendar to make those calls and decide what you want to accomplish with these calls...again, this is your opportunity to get to know them, NOT sell). c. Share a resource with them. Put them in touch with someone who can be of service to them or share your favorite book about a topic.

2. Bring a sharpie with you to all networking events.
After you speak with someone write a quick note or two to remind you about what you spoke about and, if appropriate, what your next step will be. Why a sharpie? A lot of people have glossy business cards. A pen doesn't always work.

3. Bring extra business cards (or even blank cards).
Since most people do not follow up after a networking event, it is more important for you to gather names than for you to give your card out and wait for them to call you. If someone you meet doesn't have a business card (many people don't bring enough) you can write his or her information on one of your own card or on a blank one.

4. Tell them how you will be following up.
Will you call them in a few days? Will you send them an article? Will you call to set up a lunch date?
When you tell them what to expect it makes it real for both of you. You will be more likely to follow up because you told them that you will and they are going to be more receptive to the follow up because they know it's coming. Oh, and the best part, they will often share the best way for you to follow up with them so they will be even more receptive.

5. Just because someone doesn't call back or respond to your email does not mean they are not interested.
Reaching out one time after meeting them is not enough. It generally takes seven or eight touches before someone decides that they are ready to engage you. Touch base with them regularly. Continue to give information of value and interest to them.

When you follow up regularly and share information of value after meeting someone you become someone they trust. You will naturally build a solid relationship and before you know it the cards on your desk will become your best clients and partners.

What's your plan for following up after your next networking event?

Businessknowhow

10 Proven Ways to Find Customers for Your Business

As many new business owners quickly discover, the most difficult part of starting a business is finding customers.

Having a great product or service that you are sure many people will need isn't good enough. Customers won't find you or your web site just because you have started selling a product or service. Indeed, most business owners have to go on regular and frequent fishing trips to find customers and keep new business coming in their doors. But how do you do that? Here are several suggestions to get you started.

1. Develop a plan.
Consider who would make the ideal customer. If you sell to businesses, consider what department is most likely to buy your products or services, and what individual (what level of responsibility) would be the one to determine the specific purchase requirements. (Make some calls if you don't know!) Then consider how that individual would normally find products or services like yours. What circles do they travel in? Who are they likely to listen to or where do they look when they want to buy a product or service. Find a way to put your information, or yourself, in their path.

2. Realize there is no one path to success.
Sales often happen because prospective customers hear about your products and services in several different ways and from several different sources. The more often they hear about you, the more likely they are to consider what you have to offer when they are ready to buy.

3. Work your local newspapers.
Daily and weekly newspapers are an incredible source of contact information and leads to potential customers. Watch for names of people who have been promoted, who have won awards, who have opened new businesses, or who in any way may be potential customers. Send those people personalized mailings congratulating them on their success or telling them how interesting the article about them was. Include your company name and slogan along and any appropriate product information with your signature. (Example: Chima Sabastine, Business Support Group, Financial and Taxation Planning Help For Business Owners).

4. Attend meetings and seminars that your prospects might attend.
If you've been doing that and haven't made contacts that could lead to sales, try new networking groups. Look in the newspapers to see what other organizations hold events that might attract your target market and attend some of those meetings.

5. Follow up after meetings.
Contact the people you've met to see if they may be prospects. If they say they don't need your services now, ask when a good time to call them back would be, or if they have business associates who could use what you sell now.

6. Give a little to get a lot.
Give away free samples of your product and ask the recipients to tell their friends if they are pleased. Or, if you are a consultant, give away some free advice. This could be in the form of a newsletter with that contains news or tips and hints, or it could be a free consultation during which you provide just enough information to help the client scope out their project and know that you have the ability to handle it.

7. Work your personal network.
Ask your friends if they know of people who can use your services, or people who may know others who could use your services. If your pricing structure will allow it, offer friends and business associates a finders' fee for referrals that turn into jobs.

8. Study your successful competitors.
Where do they advertise? Where do they network? What tactics do they use? What works for them may work just as well for you.

9. Claim your "place" in Google Places.
While you're at it, be sure to list yourself (and make sure your website address is correct) in any directories you qualify for. Chambers of commerce, and other local business groups often have member directories in which you can list contact information and website url.

10. Ask for feedback when prospects don't buy.
Did they find a product that better served their needs? Did they decide they don't need the product at all? Did they just postpone their buying decision? Did they find it difficult to place an order on your web site? Use what you learn to make needed changes and watch your sales start to grow.

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Easy Ways To Get Money While You Are Unemployed

Job hunting is a time-consuming job, but learning how to make money fast doesn’t pay a cent until you actually land a job. We are going to give you few pointers below, you may find one or two suitable. Combine several or focus on a single area, but make sure you get paid.

1. Sell What You Don’t Need
All those clothes and gadgets you don’t use anymore, old books, furniture,games – you can sell them and make few bucks. Remember the saying “one man’s food is another man’s poison”? That item you might consider worthless or useless can be very useful for some other person. How and where you can sell? You can choose some traditional way like going to the street, to bazaar, etc. But we recommend to sell online – it will save your time and give much better result. Try out MoboFree Board of Classifieds – it’s totally free for buyers and sellers.


2. Rent Open Space
Do you have an open space or a spare bedroom in your home or apartment? If so – try renting them out. Not only will renting out excess space help you make money, it will help you reduce expenses. MoboFree classifieds is a good place to find trusted tenant.

3. Turn Your Skills Into Money
Do you have a talent that you’re not putting to use? Have you ever thought of making money from this talent? For example, if you can write very well, you can make money from freelancing (you can join freelancing sites like Elance, Guru etc). If you can teach you can make money by organizing extramural classes for students or private tutorial classes. This can be the beginning of a very lucrative business. Have no ideas how to find people interested in your lessons? Post free classified about your services in MoboFree Services Classifieds.

4. Research studies/ works / Survey
Year in year out students and scholars carry out research works that need tedious field works and surveys. You can help out these students in their surveys and field works and get paid for it. You can also participate in product surveys for companies and get paid for this. Usually information on these products surveys are posted on classifieds.

5. Pharmaceutical/ Clinical Testing
If you live near a university with a medical school or medical research centre, you can earn for taking part in a clinical research study. Various medical institutes and pharmaceutical companies need people to test their new products and are willing to pay for this. However, you should be careful because this can cause severe harm to you or even death if the product is defective.

6. Launch your own blog or website and monetize it
There are a lot of tools allowing to create own site or blog without any coding skills and for free. For example WapEgo sites builder. Google AdSense allows you to get money for every click and requires little to no supervision: Once it’s there, you don’t need to do much more.

7. Freelance Work
Freelance work often pays pathetically little until you’re well established and collecting paychecks can require the muscles.” For some reason, people don’t place as high a value on creative skills and many have no qualms about asking you to work for free. That said, freelance work can be an excellent way to maintain your skills while developing a network for a real job.

You can make it here on MOBOFREE... 

6 Tips on how to recognize and avoid scams when buying or selling online

First of all – good news ;). If you are reading this blog we can predict that perhaps you buy and sell your stuff via MoboFree – the best free marketplace in Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and other countries. And when using MoboFree you can be 100 % sure, that our engineers, our customer support officers and our users made everything to eliminate scam and make buying and selling as safe as possible.
 
But when speaking about scammers – there is never too much caution. Our team prepared a small list of tips allowing identification of scammers when buying and selling online. Read them, remember them and share them with your family members and people you care about:

1. If an offer sounds too good to be true – it probably is. If you see s classified of the car where price is half of its market level; if you want to sell something and get a call of interested buyer who does not negotiate, does not ask for details – be careful. Those are serious signals of scam.

2. If you want to sell an expensive item – like good phone, computer, etc. – never meet your buyer alone. Have a family member or friend with you. Strength in numbers!
If you must go alone, always suggest a public meeting place (some shopping mall, etc.)

3. Accept only cash. Any other form of payment – such as personal or cashier’s check – could be fraudulent. Don’t trust fairy-tales like “I’ve made online money transfer already, but money is not visible in your account yet for some reason. But I promise – transfer is made”. You can be sure that money is in your account only when you SEE them in your account.

4.  Get to know the buyer/seller. Check all info you have. Got a phone number of buyer/seller – Google it! Maybe you will find some info on internet. Got a name and surname – make some research too. And if you are buying/selling via MoboFree.com – checking background is really easy. Check a profile of the user – registration date, photos, common friends, comments of other users. Usually scammers upload only one photo and have no friends because they came to the site not for network building, but for cheating.

5. If seller or buyer is pushing you to close a deal (transfer money, send item) as soon as possible – be cautious. That’s a common strategy of scammers. They’re pushing you to take urgent decisions because in the sense of urgency you have not enough time to evaluate all risks.

6. Avoid “outside” communication. If you are buying or selling via MoboFree.com – negotiate and discuss details only via MoboFree platform (private messages, private chat, etc.). Don’t move your discussion to 2go or any other outside communication tool, except mobile phone conversation. Why? Because MoboFree really cares about your safety. Once we identify scammer, we have a common practice to send warnings to all users who communicated with given scammer via MoboFree. It helps to prevent possible scam deals. And when you move your communication outside MoboFree – we simply don’t know that you are possible victim and can’t warn you.

Scammers are very often pushing to move to outside communication and have tons of arguments like “communication here is inconvenient”, “this site is too slow”.

But you can be sure – if it’s a serious buyer/seller, he won’t mind to communicate with you via your selected platform.

Hope these tips were useful. Have your own tips? Would like to share them with all readers? Send them to us, or write a comment – it will be really interesting to read that!

MOBOFREE is the SAFEST place to BUY... 

5 Tips for Fresh Graduates to Land Dream Job with MOBOfree

Congratulations, you finally graduated. You’re no longer on campus, protected and shielded from the harsh realities of the job market and the outside world at large. You are in the real world. We have compiled for you 5 simple but powerful tips to help you transit successfully from college life to The Real Life and find your Dream Job much faster.

1. Prepare a Professional CV and Cover Letter
Whether you will be invited for a job interview or not largely depends on how best your CV and Cover Letter describe you. Those two documents must be suitably crafted to make you shine. Learn to write a professional CV and Cover Letter if you don’t have one already. You may also need to evaluate your existing CV to know how best to improve it.

2. It’s All About Who You Know and Who Knows You. Build Your Network.
Go out of your way to develop relationships everywhere you go: For example, leverage your alumni association, join professional organizations and attend events, become active on LinkedIn and follow industry folks on Twitter. Lastly, do as many informational interviews as you can — they’re a great way to meet people, get good information on companies and fields, and can potentially result in a real job opportunity.

3. Internships/Volunteer Jobs
Having valuable work experience will greatly boost your chances of landing a good job and give your career a head start. Seeing that you are a fresh graduate, taking up volunteer and intern roles will help you gain the necessary experience and exposure to secure your dream job. Be realistic – most of these volunteer and intern roles are unpaid. But your goal is not the financial reward. Keep in mind – when permanent and better roles open up in any company, the interns or volunteers within that organisation are often contacted first before other applicants are considered. So write to any company of your choice and request for an intern role.

4. Leverage on Jobs Websites and Social Media
There are many job sites in Nigeria. Some jobs sites are more effective in terms of job classifieds volumes, credibility and actual recruitment of users via their platform. Start your job search from MOBOfree job classifieds. There are more than 10,000 vacancies across all Nigeria on MOBOfree.com.

LinkedIn is also a very effective social media platform to build your professional network and land a job. You can use LinkedIn as a professional network to create resumes and showcase your skills and qualifications.

5. Always have a plan.
You may not get your dream job on the first try. Have a plan, and follow it. Never give up!
As new grads seek full-time employment, they must also remember to stay positive, be flexible and willing to do whatever the job requires. You may not get your dream job right out of the gate but if you’re able to have a healthy mix of persistence and patience, you will ultimately land a position that will kickstart your career.

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3 Ways to Stop Your Job from Ruining Your Life

Has your job taken over your life? Do you feel like you never actually clock out? Here are three suggestions for getting your life back. 

1. Stop Wasting Time at Work

More hours at work don’t always make us more productive. Think about a typical day in the office. You arrive, fire up your computer, and answer e-mail. Then maybe you wander down the hall to the coffee machine and leisurely pour a cup of coffee. You run into your friends and discuss last night’s football game. You wander back to your office, start a task, and get interrupted by a member of your team. And on it goes. By the time you leave at 7:00 p.m., you might have had only five to six productive hours. Do you ever wonder if there’s a better way?

We live in a society where the number of hours we spend at work can be a barometer for our self-worth. Because I spend twelve hours per day at work, we think, I must be important and valuable. This reasoning is dangerous and illogical. It is not a crime to do things efficiently; if you can get the same result in eight hours versus ten and spend two more hours with your family, do it!

To get more done in less time, use the 'One Less Thing Principle'. For every work activity, ask yourself:

• Can this activity be focused so less time is spent completing it?
• Can this activity be delegated to another person or group?
• Can this activity be stopped?

2. Harness the Power of Power Breaks

Just like Jim discovered, being tethered to your e-mail 24/7 isn’t a good idea. One study examined the effect of uninterrupted work on our ability to focus. The researchers asked two groups of students to complete a forty-minute task that required concentration. One group simply completed the task. The other group was asked to stop the task and memorize a set of numbers at three points wile they completed it.

The results were striking. Even though the second group spent less time on the task, they performed better. Viewing the numbers served as a “power break”: something that let them briefly turn their attention from the task to something else.

Similarly, power breaks from work help us perform better. Certainty, it’s not easy to take a three-week vacation and lock your phone in the hotel safe. But at a minimum, carve out evenings and weekends to escape your “technology tether.” Perhaps you can’t unplug every evening—then aim for three evenings per week. If you have to work on a Saturday, don’t work on Sunday. Find what works for you.

3. Get Moving

There’s a great deal of evidence that exercise reduces stress—in particular, high-intensity workouts have proven effective in reducing anxiety. And recent research suggests that exercise actually decreases work-family conflict. In a study of 476 workers, Russell Clayton and his colleagues found that people who exercised regularly had less conflict between work and home. Why? They argue that exercise can be a powerful way to “psychologically detach from work.”

So, it will pay off to keep your New Year’s resolution to exercise more—not only will you look better in your jeans, you’ll have a more balanced life!

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Hot Deal Fashion for Your Kids

 

Product details

Size 12 and above will fit boys between 14 and 16 years, and also 18 year ols boys.
This classic polo has a striking rugby stripe design that'll have him looking sharp whether in the field or kicking back at home. A time honored go-to for a handsome morning or afternoon.

Product Information
Brand	U.S. Polo Assn.
Age Group	12 years & above

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Hot Deals on Konga: Samsung Galaxy Trend Lite | S7392 for #16500

 

Product details

The Samsung Galaxy Trend Lite S7390 was designed for your Smart Life with 4 inch vivid display, with the latest and greatest Android Jelly Bean OS, Samsung's new GALAXY Trend Lite S7390 will deliver smooth transitions and fast web browsing for a user experience that is effortless, innovative and enjoyable. Enjoy stability and speed for a smooth and seamless experience with all that the GALAXY Trend Lite S7390 has to offer.

Exciting Entertainment with Vivid view Large 4 inch Display

No need to squint while trying to read text. Don't lose the detail when viewing photos or videos. The large 4 inch display can comfortably accommodate web pages, long emails, detailed photos and videos. Everything is portrayed brilliantly with crystal clear imagery.

The Latest and Greatest from Android’s Jelly Bean

Equipped with Android’s latest Jelly Bean OS, the mobile introduces an elite user experience with enhanced graphics, better organised layout, and other improved features to make each task on the mobile more enjoyable and user-friendly.

Product Information
Warranty Details:	Warranty Period: 12 months Contact Address(es): - CSL Essence Building, Ikeja(by Cash-N-Carry) by Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos. - Best Service (RAYA), 77 Ojuelegba Road, Ojuelegba, Lagos. - Redington, Afprint compound, Isolo-Apapa Express way, Lagos. - Hiperdist; 27, Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. - Best Service (RAYA); Valley Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja. - RAYA, Samsung Service Centre, Plot 18, Providence Road, By Caleb Int’l School, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. - Best Service (RAYA), Artillery Road (by Callus Miller), Port Harcourt. - CSL, Opposite University of Ibadan, - Best Service(RAYA), The Valley Plaza Plot 215, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Opposite Ecobank, Wuse 2, Abuja. Email: ngservice@samsung.com Manufacturer's Defect (Dead on Arrival, Product Defect): Instant swap or repair at no charge to the customer Customer's Defect (Screen Damage, Audio Damage, Keypad/Keyboard Damage, Water Damage, Power Surge, Improper Usage): Customer bears the cost of repair. In-box Accessories: Not covered by manufacturer's warranty.
Brand	Samsung
Product Type	Smartphone
Model	S7390

General Features

Sim Type	Dual SIM
OS	Android OS
Network	3G

Dimensions
Depth	10.9 mm
Width	121.5 mm
Height	63.1 mm

Display
Screen size	4 inches
Primary Camera	3.15 MP

Memory
Card Slot	Micro SD card up to 64 GB
RAM	512 MB
Internal	4 GB

Audio/Video
Video Formats (Audio/video)	MP4/H.264 player
Music Formats	MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/FLAC player

Connectors
USB	Yes

Internet
Edge	Yes
GPRS	Yes
3G/4G	3G
WiFi (Internet)	Yes

BUY NOW... 280 Already Sold 

How to Make Money from Your Website or Blog

How can you make money from a blog or website? Here are 14 ways to monetize your content. 

Three critical website monetization factors
There are three primary factors to consider when you're looking for the best ways to monetize a website or blog:

• The focus of the site (your niche)
• How much that audience spends on products or services related to your site's special focus.
• The size of your audience

As a general rule of thumb, the smaller your audience, the more likely it is that you'll need to make money through some form of product sales (selling something yourself, or getting a commission on the sales of another company's products or services.)  The bigger your audience, the more likely it is that you can make money by putting ads on your website or blog. And the more money your audience spends on products and services related to your niche, the more money you could make from advertising income and/or product sales.

Common ways to monetize blogs and websites

1. Sell your own products online
No matter what type of products you sell, you can sell them online provided that they are shippable and you have a way to process orders and accept payments online. Start small and test the waters using an outsourced shopping cart such as 1shoppingcart.com, or selling on Ebay.

2. Summarize your knowledge and sell it online
No shippable products to sell? Not to worry. Create an ebook or guide or even a checklist and then sell that online from your own website or blog. Don't have a merchant account or storefront? Sell it through Amazon Kindle, or ClickBank or other services that will sell the electronic information product for you and send you a royalty on each sale. In that case, you would market the product and link to it from your blog or website.

3. Monetize your muse
Is there a novel inside you? Or one you've already written but couldn't convince a publishing house to buy? Sell it yourself through Kindle. Will you get rich and become famous? Probably not. But you will become a published author and maybe make a wee bit of money in the process. (And, then you could create and sell a guide to how to publish your novel on Kindle for fun and profit.)

4. Sell your services online
Using your website to promote your service business is even easier in many respects than selling products online. Have an attractive website and include articles that show off your expertise. Be sure each article and each page on your site includes your contact information and a link to your credentials. If you're selling design services, or anything visual, include a portfolio page. If your services can't be visualized, include a case studies page. And don't forget to put a call to action on every page! If someone is interested they need to be able to quickly spot a "Hire me" or "Contact me graphic that takes them straight to the information they need to reach you.

5. Hold training seminars via webinars or teleseminars
Charge to attend. Or, let visitors attend the live event for free, but make them pay in they want to access a recording or transcript at some time after the event takes place. Be sure to record all your events even if people have to pay to attend live. You can then package the recordings up and sell them as a separate product in the future.

6. Buy other people's products at wholesale and sell them
Go slowly here. Before you buy a large quantity of merchandise, be sure there really is a market for the product and that you have an affordable way to drive customers to your storefront or eBay.

7. Become an affiliate for other companies
With affiliate sales, you make money when someone clicks on a special link on your website, then makes a purchase on the merchant's site. Look for companies that have products that are a good match for the subject matter of your site or blog and then see if they have affiliate programs you can join. Or, go to affiliate network sites such as ShareASale.com, Commission Junction, and LinkShare and search for merchants that have good offers that will interest your site's audience. The success of your affiliate advertising will depend on a lot of things, including how good a match the affiliate offers are for your email list and website audience, how good you are at preselling the offer, the volume of traffic you get, how good the affiliate ads and offers are, and what the offer landing pages look like.

8. Get paid for sales leads
Known as lead generation (leadgen for short), selling sales leads online usually involves getting someone to fill out a form and provide contact information so a merchant can follow up with a sales call. The form may be on your site or the merchant's site, and usually to get paid, the person who completes the form has to be a qualified lead - meaning it comes from a customer who includes real contact information and is a likely prospect.

9. Make money from pay per click ads networks
The most well known of these is Google Adsense. But other programs can bring you income too. Kontera, Vibrant Media and Chitika are three others to look at. How much money will you make? It depends on the amount of traffic you get to your website and how much advertisers pay for ads in your niche as well as where the ads are placed on your pages.

10. Sell display advertising and sponsorships on your website.
Display ads are the banner ads you see on the top and sides of websites, or sometimes covering up a website for a few minutes before the main page loads. These are usually soldon a cost per thousand basis (CPM). To sell these ads directly, you'll usually need a fairly large number of visitors to your website. If you don't have a large number of visitors, look for display advertising networks that work with small publishers.

11. Sign up as a publisher with a banner advertising network
Finding the right banner ad network to work with may take some detective work. Some of the networks require a lot of traffic; others provide ads only for certain niches. Several to check out include:

• Tribal Fusion (you'll need 500,000 unique visitors a month)
• Burst Media
• ValueClick Media
• Adtegrity

12. Sell ads in your email newsletter
If you have a website or blog, you should be asking visitors to sign up for a newsletter on your site. When you send out a mailing to alert people about what's new on the site, include an ad or two from other companies.

13. Sell subscriptions to your website
If you have specialized content, put some or all of it behind a paywall. (ie., the only way for visitors to get to the special content is to buy a subscription to your website. ) To work, you have to be able to offer subscribers something they can't get elsewhere, or can't get easily elsewhere. Case studies, research reports, expert webinar transcripts, and tightly focused member forums can help you attract subscribers. In addition to the monthly subscription fees you earn, you can sell additional products to your members.

14. Ask For Donations
No one likes to beg for money, but you have loyal fans, ask them to buy you a cup of coffee or help pay to keep the site live.

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20 Ways to Make More Money

Hidden sources of income are all around you, you just have to know where to look.

Consider these 20 ways to find the hidden riches:


1. Rent out your extra space- Do you have more space than you need? Rent it to somebody. Sites like Airbnb allow you to share your space for as little as an hour for a fee or a lease it to somebody longer term.

2. Get away from an hourly rate- People don’t like hourly rates because it’s open ended and there’s plenty of room to inflate the price. Go with a per project fee to build trust. Then, advertise how you do things differently than your competitor.

3. Get your current customers to buy more- Too many businesses constantly go after new customers. Growing the business is certainly a good idea but marketing to your current customers is cheaper and more likely to produce sales.

4. Add accessories- Why does your local grocery store stuff the checkout lane with low-cost items? Because it makes money. What are you offering to add value to each sale?

5. Reevaluate your vendors- At least once each year, examine the agreement you have with each vendor. Is somebody offering the same product or service cheaper? Especially check your technology expenditures.

6. Turn stuff off- Everything from computers to coffee makers, if they’re not being used, turn them off. One power-sucking item won’t make much of a difference but multiple items will show up on your utility bills. Are you using a programmable thermostat?

7. Audit your employees- Your business is constantly changing. What an employee did when they were first hired may be much different than what they’re doing now. Continually evaluate and decide if they’re still needed and at what level.

8. Find a partner- Not a business partner. Look for somebody in another sector that would team up with you. A financial planner might team up with an insurance agent, for example.

9. Hire somebody- As your business grows, you’re going to need help. If you’re spending all of your time on the mundane tasks that don’t produce revenue, it’s time to hire somebody.

10. Take a class- When was the last time you learned something new? Do you have the same certifications you did 10 years ago? Continually better yourself. It will open new opportunities as your business grows.

11. Network- You’re thinking, “duh,” but if you’re honest, when was the last time you put focused effort into networking? Who have you met this year that you’re routinely talking to as a result of networking? If the answer is, “nobody,” it’s time to work a little harder at making new contacts.

12. Network old school-syle- Networking online certainly works but everybody is wired for one on one relationships—at least to some degree. If you aren’t having face to face or at least phone conversations, go back to the basics. Nothing builds trust like spending time with somebody.

13. Perform a time audit- If you’re working an eight hour day, how are you spending those hours? Most likely, you’re wasting more than you think. Spend a week writing down each activity and prepare to be amazed at how much of your time isn’t spent making money for your business.

Of course, you’re not going to be 100% efficient but what is taking up your time that you should give to an employee?

14. Get more aggressive- Very few people like aggressive sales people but if you’re waiting for customers to come to you, you probably need to be more aggressive. If you and your staff aren’t “pounding the pavement,” you’re missing out on a lot of business. If you’re not doing it, your competitor will.

15. Open up your demographic- If your business only caters to teenage girls, youe success has a ceiling. Could you add an offering for teenage boys or older women?

16. Place bigger orders- Are you afraid that a bigger order will result in too much extra inventory? That might be true but a larger order might yield a lower price making the extra inventory much less of a charge-off.

17. Automate something- Are you doing something the old fashioned way that could be automated? It probably won’t take long for your initial investment into the technology to be paid back. Remember the time audit? What did you write down that a computer could do for you?

18. Consider a loan- It takes money to make money, right? Always carefully consider a loan but if the risk/reward is clearly on your side, do it.

19. Be more confident- Don’t let yourself be limited by your mind. Go after that big client; make a phone call to a giant in the industry. Whatever you’re NOT doing because you’re fearful or don’t think you deserve it, put your lack of confidence aside and risk failure. Sometimes it won’t work out but it only takes one or two wins to make a big change.

20. Take a break- Are you working 24/7? If you aren’t taking breaks, spending time with family, and having fun, whom will you celebrate your successes with? Business success is fickle and fleeting. Success as a spouse, parent, and community leader are much more meaningful and lasting. And, taking a break to recharge is essential for business success.

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12 Common Web Design Mistakes That Drive Customers Away

Your Web site can draw customers in or send them running. Find out what mistakes to avoid in your company's Web site design.

Here are 12 common web design mistakes you must avoid to please your visitors and grow your business:

1. Lack of Focus Too many web sites leave visitors wondering what the site is about. Be sure your home page explicitly conveys what you do and the value you offer, and entices them to explore other pages for additional information.

2. Text-heavy Pages Actually, lots of text is OK, just don't use lengthy paragraphs with no visual breaks. Reading online is much different than print. Use the following to break-up blocks of text: shorter, more focused paragraphs; headlines and subheads; bullets and numbers; a few well-placed photos or graphics; and appropriate white space.

3. Legibility Issues Dark fonts on dark backgrounds, light fonts on light backgrounds, and tiny fonts that strain the eye are obviously poor choices. Use common sense.

4. "Noise" and Clutter Even if you have a great site, if your visitors are forced to wade through long blocks of copy, promotional offers, animation, sales pitches, and worthless dribble, you'll quickly confuse them and drive them away.

5. Blatant Advertising While we all hope to use our web site to move prospects along in the sales process, in-your-face advertising isn't the answer. Information, solutions and value will do the job more effectively. And while pop-up ads are widely used and acceptable, full screen pop-ups that are difficult to close infuriate everyone.

6. Navigation Issues A clearly obvious navigational panel makes sense doesn't it? But common sense isn't always common practice. How easily can a newcomer navigate your site?

7. Inappropriate Graphics and Photos Photos and graphics can visually enhance the appearance of your site as well as support and substantiate your copy. But don't use load-intensive graphics or photos of your corporate office which are relevant to no one.

8. Outdated Information Nothing screams "unprofessional" any louder than outdated information.

9. Too Many Clicks Needed We're all impatient and in a hurry. Our online waiting threshold is much less than off-line. If more than a few clicks are required to get to a page, you'll lose a prospect every time.

10. Lack of Contact Information This also seems obvious, but I have searched numerous web sites for contact phone numbers - and I am amazed how many times I was unable to find one. Just because a web site is online doesn't mean a prospect only wants to contact you online.

11. Form Frustration The large majority of online forms are too lengthy. Get rid of questions/fields that simply are not needed. And don't identify one as mandatory if it really isn't.

12. No Privacy Policy In the age of rampant spam, we all want to be certain we are offering our e-mail address to someone who will protect it carefully. If you ask for an e-mail address on one of your forms, let your prospects know that you will not sell or distribute their address to anyone (if that's true of course).
Your prospects are visiting your web site specifically for the content. But the appearance and usability are also critical factors. If a visit to your web site is a positive experience, you have a much better chance of converting prospects to clients.

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Web Site Usability Checklist for E-commerce Sites

How much time do people spend on your website? Do they find the products or information you want them to find? Can they quickly find the information they want so they can either make a purchase or contact you about your services? The following questions will guide you:

• Can visitors tell immediately what you sell?

• Can they quickly find products and product descriptions?

• Are there links to related products (accessories to wear with a ladies suit, for instance)?

• Can they tell what to click on to place an order?

• Can they find the check out button when they are ready to pay for their order.

• Can they find your phone number from every page in case they have a question?

• Can they find your name and address, and fax number?

• Can they find your email address?

• Can they find price information?

• Can they find shipping information and costs easily?

• Can they find your guarantee and return policy?

• Can they find information about the company and its management?

• Can they find any other important information you want them to have?

After you've done your own review of the website, ask some people who don't know much about your business to look at the website while you watch them. Look at the things they click on and how they proceed through the site. Note whether they seemed confused or unsure what to do next at any point. Make changes to the site both on the basis of your own answers to the checklist and any problems you detect when observing others viewing the site.

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10 Cold-calling Tips for Effective Tele-marketing

 

Introduction

We may want to start by helping you understand the concept behind cold calling. In simple terms, cold calling is the art of calling somebody who is not expecting your call. In today’s business world, it has become an integral part of business model, especially as it relates to marketing. In, fact some companies relies solely on cold calling to get their products and services across to potential clients. It is simply telemarketing in action- that is making contacts with potential customers over the phone line. And bearing in mind the intricacies involved in the proper use of telephone, especially the beyond-the-border kind, it dawns on us that, cold calling if not handled well and in a professional manner, can have a damaging effect to the image of the company, resulting to loss of potential customers.

Hence, to gain the best out of telemarketing, every sales person must know as well as apply the following cold calling tips:

1. Prepare before Hand: As a sales person trying to engage potential customers over the phone line, your first weapon of conquest should be thorough preparation; otherwise, you’ve already prepared to fail. How do you prepare? Know and figure out what you want to achieve from a call and note it down, with possible questions you expect from your prospect. Experience and intuition helps you to be accurate in this area. Having captured these, rehearse them so as to internalize them before engaging your prospect. Never try to read from your script. Besides, you would need a plan ‘B’ should your initial approach fails to work.

2. Set Realistic Goals: If you’re new to telemarketing, the best advice for you is to start small and work up from there. Never engage the whole day cold calling on potential clients. With as little as 5 calls a day, you are doing great as a starter. As you learn the rope, you can then move to a higher scale.

3. Talk Slowly, Clearly, but Confidently: Mind you, stage freight is not limited to physical presentation before an audience, in telemarketing, you can face that too. Usually, with a high quest to convince your potential client, there is always this tendency to speak so fast, to get all the information over as quick as possible. When you do that, you lose confidence, and be sure the man over the other end will definitely notice that. And of he hangs it on you. You’ve lost him!

4. Listen to your Potential Client: This is probably the most important, but the least often used tip by many telemarketers. You have to understand that people generally hate being talked at. Give your potential client time to express himself. In fact, you can get more by just listening to him/her, as that might help you understand his/her preferences, prejudice and general value system- great information you really need to scale through successfully.

5. Talk to the Right Person: Don’t waste your whole day calling the wrong persons- in this case, those who are not in position of making decision on an offer. The moment you initiate a call, one thing you should always do without wasting time is to verify if you’re really speaking to the right person- that is the ultimate decision maker. Quickly ask if there is someone else they recommend you to talk with, or else reschedule the call. 

6. Use Open Question: By employing the use of words like What? When? Where? Who? Etc, you come up with relevant questions to get your prospective client talking and participating in the conversation, thereby making it possible for you to speak more confidently. 

7. Smile and be Cheerful: Remember miserable and awkward feeling can show through your voice, the same goes for a great and cheerful feeling. And you have to know that it is not just what you say that get you sales, but how you say it. It is quite obvious nobody wants to buy from a miserable fellow. So be cheerful and smile while prospecting. 

8. Don’t Argue: Be sure to meet some hard people as prospective clients. However, you don’t need to be scared about their harsh approach to your offer. The only thing you should avoid is argument. Remember to go with the mentality that customers are always right, even when they are not. Remain calm and polite amidst tense situation. If you’re constantly coming up against a brick wall, think of different ways to obtain the information you need. 

9. Don’t Take it Personal: Remember you’re just a sales person representing a company. So, don’t overtly react to harsh treatment from your prospective client as if you’re desperate to tie him down to your offer. If a call goes bad, the person on the other end of the phone may simply be having a bad day. Losing him today may not be the end of the road; you can win him over tomorrow. 

10. Try to always get something out of a Call: You’re not engaged in cold calling to practice ‘trial and error’. Make sure that at the end of the day, you get something out of every call you put across. For instance, if the ultimate aim is to get a face to face meeting with your prospective client, make sure you have a secondary objective, should the primary objective fails to realize. Example could be sending out information and getting commitment to call and follow up, or simply getting an email address.

These tips, if judiciously followed up, can move an organization to the next level.