Can Web casting improve your Property Business?
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
==============================================================
In a word Yes. But you are asking "How?"

Before I answer that, ask yourself this:

"If there was a way I could drive qualfied, hot to trot, Vendors, Landlords,
Developers, Asset Management and Relo firms to my door to sell/let their
property for virtually no cost, why I am not doing it?"

I can't answer the second question for you but I can advise you that this
opportunity exists and it exists now.

The answer to the How? above is using content, delivered "on demand",
via your own online meeting room.

You don't even need to be there - you can record what people see and here before hand.

But why is delivering content the way to do it?

Because delivering the right content the right way, specific to your market,
helps educate your market, helps set their expectations of what they can expect from others - and how you are better and why (if done gently) - and helps them
"consume" your services before they get to buy them, and buy them they will.

Not only will they buy them they will be willing to use more of them and pay more for them. Because your content will create a higher perception of your
"value" to help them. Real value.

To create real value you still need to analyse your business, develop the
pivotal points of difference between what you do and your competition does.
You cannnot B S..t todays consumers but you can deliver better quality services if your really think about. You can outwit the competition too.

Think of it this way:

You are an agent who provides a weekly online "clinic" on
market movements, and discuss techniques that help clients extract the maximum value for their properties. You do this to your complete applicant base and Vendors.

You can even record the sessions for later use and repeat them.

You "position" your business in a way your competitors cannot.

You create authority they cannot.

You gain business they cannot.

Add what you do to your PR output, and you can "automate" much of the sales funnel to drive people to these sessions.

Through what they hear they will identify themselves to your business as "I am
ready for you to work with me" - fully qualified, educated, and willing to go
clients for almost no cost and minimal effort.

Just a little bit of ingenuity - and even that can all be done for you.

If you have not investigated what having your own "webinar" for your business can do, have a really good look at it now.

You will be amazed at the opportunities it can lead you to.

Henry Winter,
Marketer, Author, Copywriter
www.livewirebusiness.com
webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

Hear all, see all, say something!
Copyright Henry Winter 2006====================================

What are your web conferenceing options?

There are 3:
1. Audio only
2. Wecasting
3. Video Conferencing

1. Audio only has typically
been reserved for telephone conferencing, traditionally
for "office" environments, where users dial into a pre
determined number and join others via voice box.

Even today most of those sound like every one has a paper bag
over their head but this is still used a lot by "business".

Nowadays Audio has taken on a new lease of life with numerous
people providing "Teleseminars", "Seminars" announced by direct
mail/email and either free or pay subscribed. Many are then
recorded, transcribed and then sold as packages of information.

For the seminar provider its a double whammy - they get paid
for the seminar, the listeners provide much of the interactive
content via their questions, then the informatrion is sold
to everyone else.

You can use email for "email broadcasts" where your voice
message is with in a link in the email.

2. Webcasts This is massively growing
and if you want to get in front of this "curve" before
it really takes off then do so. This a browser based format
for data and pictures together. Depending on your system you
can deliver video, power point and more - all in one go.

Great for sales promotion, training, keeping in touch with
clients, running "forums" amd much more besides. There are also
programmes where you can desk top share and other functions too.

3. VideoConferencing The travel replacement!
Face to Face, person to person contact.

There are lots of ways these combinations can improve your
business or business venture.

a) use them in your own business to improve profits by lowering
cost of conversion
b) acquire the rights to use them and "sell"/hire them to others
- creates a nice revenue stream and as people get used to it they
will want to "upgrade" from hiring from you to buying a system from you
c) hold your own "webinars", have some free, charge for others,
record them and resell them. Find a niche that's hungry for what
you know, create a plan, record the content and go for it.
Start your own Information Publishing Business.

To discover more now go to www.livewirebusiness.com/webcastor review the Wecast Video Packages in the left hand menu.
If you want to see how to turn what you know into your own
information publishing business click here.

Happy webcasting. Let me know of your success.

Henry Winter

How to go GLOBAL with your information products,
or services with an investment of just $60!
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
=========================================
Conference room quality web video is now available to everyone.

But what do YOU need to start to use the web to help you promote
the hell out of your business?

Just 3 things:

1. Camera – a simple cheap, inexpensive web cam will
get you started. As you have more money you can add
a more sophisticated web cam - some will voice track
as you move, with an auto zoom and tracking device.

2. Monitor or Screen. Your lap top or PC will have one.
You need it so you can see the other person. Depending
on your web cast programme you can also see more than
one person at a time on your screen.

Alternatively, if you are holding a live meeting
and want to add in an “expert” speaker, you can add
them on the click of a button.

3. Codecs. All this is, is a bit of software a first
time user may need to load as it compresses the video
and audio streams and makes the whole thing workable.
I have one very old (9 years) PC that I test most stuff
on – if it works on that then I know it works on all my
newer machines too and web casting is dead easy,
even on an old machine.

4. Depending on your web cast programme you can
either “pre record” a session or do a live meeting
and record that “in session” for later play back.

5. If you want to experience one just go to
www.livewirebusiness.com/webcast and see the current schedule.

Need help, just email me webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

More coming soon,

I look forward to your success stories
of how you bought a web cam and became dominant in your niche.

Henry Winter

E-faces A great way to make and save money
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
E-faces seeing a face on the web with video.
=====================================================
This is transforming business. Will it transform you and yours?

Masses of money has been spent creating computer networks,
And the communication links to make them talk to each other.

But, what does an average salesman do?

They get in a car, jump on a train, zoom on a plane and go see somebody.

And, 6 times out of 10, from a lot of the clients I work with,
the person they see has neither the interest, or the budget,
NOR the sign off power to make a buy happen.

A waste for you and the rest of the planet but they don’t see it.
That's because they are internally programmed on the old ways.
And they want their expenses too!

But helping to re programme an approach can help you, your sales people
make more commission and with less hassle - whilst being kinder to the planet too.

The power of the internet boosts the ability to:
Qualify a lead
Talk to a decision maker
Provide service samples/product experience
Deliver Training
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
And all for pennies.

So, if you are one of those people that goes see somebody, or
you know you have a sales team with that mentality, but you are aware
the number of sales meetings per day is down due to congestion,
the team seem more tired (more travel wasted and less effective meetings)
and they are fed up with traffic, airport lounges, drafty railway stations,
It's time to change their daily reality and do it on the web.

Regular web contact, to prospects, and clients, with video, or the posting of messages with video:
enhances your relationships with prospects/clients - but with less cost
can increase conversions (if part of a proper plan)
let’s you train the prospect in how to consume your services before they have bought – which makes them buy and buy happily
reduces returns and refunds
it even makes the sales team happier and more productive too.

So, if you are in business for yourself, or have a small sales team,
or a large one, want to reduce costs, improve revenues
visit www.livewirebusiness.com click
on Multi-List Server then “All Packages” and review all the web based tools under
Webcast Video Packages in the left hand menu.

See it in action go here:
www.livewirebusiness.com/webcast
Best regards,

Henry Winter

How Could Giving Yourself A Break Turn Into The Best Thing You Ever Did?
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
-------------------------------------

Big companies do it, medium sized ones do too. But I bet you don’t.

Do I win?

The bet is this:

Do you give yourself and your business a break by having your own “away day”, your own “strategy” day?

A day, just for you, to do nothing but think ON your business not in it.

Thought not.

Nearly every business owner I know rarely does it, but when they do they reap handsome rewards.

Some of these rewards include:
- gaining a deeper and better understanding of their own business
- their market drivers
- new ways to increase sales
- create and retain better life time customer value
- new ways how to outwit their competition.

“Don’t have time for that kind of thing”.

Don't be so blinkered.

Look at it this way - for the cost of a either a luxury hotel room £200-400, room service, great, relaxing, thought inducing locations or a simple, but equally effective, “Travel Lodge” room for @ £46, book time off with yourself and review your business, consult with yourself, take the blinkers off and “go for it”.

Think of every little thing that cheeses you off about your business, your results, your profits. Think of every little thing that makes you money, makes you smile, makes you happy to be alive about your business - and how to get more of it.

This tiny investment in yourself, your time, reveals ideas that could make £000’s more for you, even £Millions.

But if you do not give it a go you will never find out.

Not sure you can gain enough from your own counsel?

Then hire a consultant, someone who has expertise in your field to go on the away day with you.

Why? Because a “good” consultant can make a positive impact on your business. They can ask the questions no one else does.

As an entrepreneur, you are embroiled, immersed, super glued, connected by an invisible umbilical cord, to your business.

And that means much too close and personal, too emotionally involved with every aspect of it.

Thats why you need to detach from it occasionally.

I know it’s tough running your own business, tough for you to identify problems
that can either be solved. To identify the ones that can be turned into great opportunities.

Just give yourself the time and space and you will find them.

There are lots present in your business and just giving yourself a few hours away from the business, in the right environment, will help you find them.

Your own “away day” or advice from a different perspective from a 3rd party will create opportunities - immediately.

From taking just one simple action, your sales and profits could explode.

You may discover new ways to cut costs and increases profit margins.

It's not magic.

Just fresh eyes. Fresh thought. Your thought.

Either your own or someone elses.

Go on do it now.

Book your own away day or call a consultant to support you in taking your business to the next level. Do it now before the opportunity passes and let me know how you get on.

Happy fortune finding,

Henry Winter

PS: If you need help just email me webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

What is the cheapest fertiliser to grow your sales?
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
---------------------------------------------------------

Other than your own “verbal” marketing, when you meet people, Email is the cheapest way to keep in front of suspects and prospects. But many business owners fail to use it.

Todays Blog was prompted whilst I was unsubscribing from some of the many of the email lists I subscribe too that have just become "pitch" emails.

Being a bit of a "butterfly" brain, whilst I was doing this, I started thinking about current experiences with some companies I work with.

Companies I have been extolling the virtues of email marketing and autoresponders too. Virtues they have been regulalry ignroing even though the argument is a strong one.

Then I realised one of the reasons they feel email will not work is that their current experience is the same as mine - you receive a load of "junk" email - not JUNK JUNK but poorly thought out, poorly applied email campaigns that color their judgement. Color it so badly they believe emailmarketing will not work for them.

Some business owners argue they don’t want to use email because messages get lost amongst all the hype, you get the wrong readership, worries about spamming and more. Nearly all their concerns mask a reluctance, or ignorance, of how to use it effectively.

If you fail to use email your business will die, not necessarily today or tomorrow, next week, or next year but any head in the sand thinking will ultimately cost you money. Emailing your customers and prospects will make you money. Provided you treat it as the tactical marketing tool it is.

Get exposed

I hate to think on the number of emails I have responded to and bought something, probably after the 7th , 12th perhaps even the 20th email I had from someone.

Why?

Because during the process of getting these emails I learnt something to my benefit, something I wanted to know about.

As a business owner that is exactly why you should use email. Because you can inform, educate, advise, and even treat prospects how to consume your product before they have even bought it.

First, build initial trust by selling, and I mean selling, not with money, but words, your reasons why people should opt in to your email list.

Don’t just expect them too because you ask. You have to sell them on the benefits they will receive when they do. Give them useful reward for doing so. I give away two free ebooks for example, one on web design the other about achieving business profitability.

Then supply QUALITY content, not a pitch fest. Which is sadly what @ 75% of the old emails I used to get turned into after the 3rd of 4th issue!

They do nothing but make you feel conned to have opted in.

The initial content may have been good - for 3 or 4 issues - then suddenly they are all sell you, sell you, sell you. Still a model adopted by lots of people and one, now that email is maturing fast, that is wasting the senders time.

I cannot say my email reading behaviour mirrors yours or everyone elses, but I suspect if mirrors many. These types of email senders do not get read and they ruin the list owners reputations by continuing to send them.

Once I have opted out of that persons list, even though I may still see them as possibly as being worthy of keeping track of, I become very reluctant to re enlist and it takes ages for them to rebuild my "betrayed" trust. How about you?

Trust creates action

On the other hand those email list owners I do respond to are people who have gained my trust and respect. How?

Because they initially supplied useful information, insightful comments, market intelligence, advice, some humour at times but most of all knowledge and experience that I may not have had access to or time to research. AND they still do. Their emails have not turned into pitch fests. Yes, they promote relevant, timely, useful products and ideas but not every email.

For months and months, no make that 3 years at least with one client, I have been extolling the virtues of auto responders and email as in-expensive ways to get messages in front of suspects and moving them on to be prospects then clients. Some are starting to listen, espcially when I have reviewed their own email management and behaviour towards reading emails. They realise that provided they give good content, content part of a well thought out strategy, that it works and works well.

According to some research I read "54% of small businesses surveyed rated email as the top online promotion driving new and existing customers to their websites”. So the message is getting through to your competitors.

But Business Owners Sceptical

Don't be. Even though others remain sceptical, those that have made even a hesitant start are now reaping the benefit, using email as an extra marketing vehicle.

So what should you do?

Email is a direct response medium. By that I do not mean every email has to generate a response.

What I mean is you need to set an objective as to what your use of email is for and set about creating a string of messages that create that end goal.

It could be to drive a free product trial, claim a discount coupon, pick up the phone and so on BUT the messages created to achieve that need to be carefully thought out, and become part of a cohesive plan.

Systemise

The best way to optimise the process is to systemise it, use a commercial auto responder rather than Outlook or Eudora and countless others that were not designed for commercial emailing.

Commerical systems have tracking capabilities and as a regular readers of my materials you know I am a strong advocate of “If you can't measure it, you can't manage it”. So you need to measure opening rates, bounced emails, tracing through the messages and so on.

SPAM law requirements also need to me met and double opt in needs to be catered for. You must have permission to email people so ask them. Either via your system or at your cash desk with a suitable form, office reception and many other “touch points” where you can gather a mailing list.

There are many things to look out for in your emailing. It should be interesting, informative, useful, free of jargon. If you don’t treat every communication you send carefully, and just “bang them out”, they will devalue your business in the recipients eyes quicker than you think.

Divide and Rule

Email list managemnt is also a key element. You can segment your list. That means you can have separate messages for suspects, prospects, customers, regular customers, infrequent customers, high spending customers and so on. Dividing your list makes sure you can target your messages with far greater accuracy. It also means that recipients actually anticipate receiving your email and become more loyal because the more you segment the more relevent your messages to that section of your list.

Email marketing shares some commonality with direct mail in that there are good days and bad days to send them.

From research quoted by Dr Houchin, from an article I had from the Guerrilla Mark eting Association, carried out for Barnes and Nobel, it indicated that Mondays and Fridays were bad days to send out marketing material. Mornings were bad too. If you are like me, you are probably bombarded with email first thing in the morning. At the end of the day unless an email has a very catchy subject line I have got over the habit of ”leaving” it until tomorrow. It gets deleted there and then as my attention may have gone by then.

Dr Houchin’s own research determined the largest percentage of people opened and read their emails at 1PM on a Wednesday. So if you measure it!! You can learn from it and change plans accordingly.

Lastly, let me ask you a question:

“If you had a friend and you had sure fire way for him to make more money with just the click of the mouse, for virtually no cost and he said NO what would you think?”

So make emailing an integrated part of your marketing mix before it's too late.

For more information contact me webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

Copy write away!
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
-------------------------------------

Wanna be a copywriter?

There is lots of information available to you on the web and through books to to help you craft your sales messages.

For the best of reasons you may not want to do some or all the work yourself.

You have a business to run after all, so spending time to learn all the tricks of the trade may not be the best way to devote your time.

I will assume you come into the category of a business owner who knows exactly what your best at and have decided being a copywriter isn’t one of them.

So how do you choose one to help you?

First, there are two distinct sorts of copy writers.

There is the copy writer

These are the writers who just do copy.

That’s great but copywriting is not just about the “copy”.

Then there is the Copywriter

A true “Copywriter” knows that “copy” is not just about words but the way you use words to get people to do something, take action to contact your company and entice them into your sales funnel or buy straight from you.

That means they recognise the need to help you construct offers that work, and how sales funnels operate (or should).

Even better they help you analyse ways to make sure you extract every possible benefit from your sales process, meaning more money comes your way.

They understand strategy and tactics to achieve a goal.

Which means they also ask a lot of questions, often questions fundamental to a business that many business owners may not have had time to contemplate for a while.

A great copywriter is also a person of contradictive personalities.

Imagineers

They have to have imagination and a massive ability to empathise with your end customer.

Ruthless pursuit of the order

They need to be ruthless in their pursuit of injecting fear, worry and agitation to your prospects to make them take action.

Strategic Tacticians

If that is not much of a contradiction!

They need the ability to look at the bigger picture of your business yet possess attention to detail to make sure every little component, from the written word to entice readers to read, the thread of the copy that will take them by the hand to the order form, and walk them through it without them noticing. They also need to create subtle touches that deal with buyer remorse and immediate post sales follow up.

Insatiable

They are also insatiable, insatiable for every little piece of information about your company, your market, your product or service, buyer profile, habits, motivations and much more. If your copywriter does not ask you for information, does not quiz you about what you have done, who you are trying to sell to, fact up on fact, layer on layer of detail----get another copywriter, because what you get will be average copy at best and rubbish at worst.

Positioning

A great copywriter should have a good understanding of positioning too.

Time after time I have had discussions on USP’s - or the lack of them.

It does not mean something cannot be sold but you have to review how it may be positioned to a market, to your end user. Something a great copywriter will help you achieve.

After all, if they get it wrong they get poor response. A great copywriter will fight with you tooth and nail to button down keys things that will make the offer work and persuade you to eject anything that stops you getting the best possible response. Average copy writers don't fight so hard.

They also need to be contemplative.

They know the use of just one word instead of another can make a massive difference to the success of the offer. From the headline, the sub heads, bullets, body copy, and of course, on the order form or lead generator.

Bluntness

They are also blunt. Sorry, but we need to be.

If the route you want to go down, the approach you or your marketers want to take, “gets in the way” of the sale, you need to be told.

It is sometimes why, for the poorer marketer, they don’t want outside copywriters used because we ask the questions they don’t.

Great marketers have every confidence in what they do and know a great copywriter can only enhance the whole creative and business process. The process that will greatly benefit you, the business owner.

Critical

Great copywriters also need to be scathingly critical of their own work, willing to write, re-write and re-write again until they have sweated every best benefit, analysed every thought, and channelled the readers actions to do just one thing and one thing only, surrender their name or credit card details to your business.

Then what?

Once you have found the right copywriter for you, establish ground rules.

Will the copywriter do all the research and everything else, or will you be able to undertake the research function for them (that helps keep the costs down).

What time frames are you going to work to?

Agree how disputes, creative or otherwise, will be resolved, how much will be paid and when.

A great copywriter will have a solid set of terms for you to review.

Finally are there lots of Copywriters around?

Yes and no.

There are lots of average copy writers.

There are many good ones.

Great Copywriters are harder to find.

They are often even harder to get to work for you because great copywriters make their clients money. Lots of money.

That’s why clients hold on to them, book their time way in advance and why they are in high demand but with limited availability.

So, if in your search, you find a great new copywriter, hang onto them for dear life!

They could just help you make your business reach the heights you seek.

Best regards,

Henry

Lists, lists, lists!
Copyright 2006 Henry Winter
-----------------------------------

Having your own business, or even being an employee who is involved in helping win new busiuness, means you are involved in networking that business.

I don’t mean networking as in MLM as you don’t build a”downline” or anything like that BUT, some of the techniques used in MLM are very useful in helping you get off the ground.

It is said there is a "300 hundred" rule.

Through family, close friends, and loose friends, and all your business contacts,
if you really think about it, you can create an extrta list of 300 hundred people you could contact to help you get your business more widely known.

It is possible it could be true for you.

However, not all those people will of great use to you.

Some will, some won’t.

Key to having them help you is to decide which of the contacts you have would be in a position to help you the most. So how do you do that?

You filter them by creating a list that enables you to qualify who would be a great contact who can help and those that will be helpful but less so.

To do that you need to score them.

I use what I call the MILE.

An acronym for:Money, Influence, Location, Entrepreneurial.

It works like this:

Depending on which section of the market you plan to operate in, do the contacts you have have enough money to circulate in the circle you want to operate in?

Do they have a role, authority, charisma that enables them to be seen as an influencer in that circle?

Are they in a location that is relevant to what you do?

Do they share an entrepreneurial spirit like you and would be willing to pass your name along?

If you ask your self those 4 questions, for each person you know, for each busines contact you have, you can create a list.

The scores on that list will help you focus your attention on the right people.

The easiest way to score them is relative to yourself/your business, by doing the following:

On a sheet of paper, or in excel, create a 6 column table.

Column one has "Name" as the title, then put the initials M, I, L, E in the next 4 columns. The last column has total" as the heading.

TRhe score each name against yourself.

If they have more of any of the above then you score them 3.

If they have about the same as you score them 2.

If they have less than you score them 1.

As far as location is concerned whilst the person you know may be miles away they may still have connections in your area.

If they do score them 1.

If they do not score them 0.

Ultimately you will end up with a list that has some 10’s and some will be 3’s.

Those that are 7’s and above are most likely to be your best bets to help you get your business known amongst their circle of friends/contacts/business contacts. And it is most likely those friends and contacts/businesses could have a need for your services or at least know someone that might.

This exercisemay take you less than 1 hour but you will be amazed at the names and contacts you had forgotten about, did not think could help you that can.

Best of luck, Henry.

Sign post the way ahead.
By Henry Winter, Copyright 2006
----------------------------------------
Training or sales it's the same.

To get the best results "tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them again".

Not everyone, but most people, like some structure.

Structure helps retention, structure helps people feel safe.
Making people feel safe makes them trust you.

Yet I see training sessions that shoot all over the place and sales presentations too.

They just confuse and unsettle the mental framework.

That costs you sales.

As a copywriter and marketer my best projects work well when I
"Start with the end in mind".
They flow better, take less time to do and yield better results.

If I start the way I used too, without detailed thinking at the outset,
they take longer, don't flow as well, and would sometimes fail
to deliver the message as well as I wanted.

As you start thinking about your sales or training presentations, start
with a clear "end in mind". It will help you know where you are heading,
give you a more structured presentation or phone call with a clear goal.

That alone will often highlight where the obstacles may be and how to over come them.

One of which may even be your sales team.

Sales teams often dislike "structure" - "Won't work in my market",
"My propsects are different".......yeah, mine too!....but you know what,
if you dissect what you do, dissect how your targets react, think about the
best way to get your message across, whilst also sign posting where you are going,
you would be amazed how a little structure produces much better results.

That should appeal to them as it means they will earn more money - you too!

Try it and see what happens.

Henry Winter
Founder - Writer - Marketer - Author - Adviser - Livewirebusiness.com

If you are having difficulty structuring any of your sales presentations and want some
help, drop an email to webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

Following on from my last post "What's in a name"
here is a short article from my friend Sandi Hunter on web design:
----------------------------------------------------------

By Sandi Hunter: Date Created: 09-Mar-06

Make sure your site offers complete follow-up details, prominently positioned,
so that your prospects have everything they need to connect with you and can easily do so!

You'd think that every website owner would make it easy
for their prospects and customers to connect with them, wouldn't you?

However, a recent survey found that more than 50 percent
of websites do not include complete follow-up details --
including contact name,business name, business address, phone (with area code),
email, etc.

What's more, many which do have this information bury it on the site
or otherwise make it difficult to find. That kills business!

Worldprofit Design Services Can Help You Maximize Your Website Results
Our job is making sure your website is designed for maximum results.
For a free consultation, talk to a real person!
Contact Sandi HunterDirector of Website DevelopmentWorldprofit.com780-444-7477 ext 223 (Mon - Fri: 8:30 am - 4:30 MT)sandi@worldprofit.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------

or, of course you can email me about your design issues, lead gathering and more:
Henry Winter, webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

What's in a name?
By Henry Winter. Copyright 2006
---------------------------------------------
Money, that is what's in a name. Good old fashioned money.

I am not talking about "Brand" here but a persons name.

If you capture a name in the right way it can be worth oodles.

As a copywriter and marketer I come across all sorts of problems when I visit clients.

When I am asked to do my "bit" I try to concentrate on the areas
I am asked to work on and get paid for.

But, no .......

You see I have an affliction - it's called "The Curiosity Gene".

And I got it bad.

You see, like fellow great copywriters and marketers I am not really happy until
I have looked under the bonnet to see the overall picture,
to make sure my client has a cohesive strategy that my work is to be part of.

Otherwise I can produce the best lead gatherer, the
best sales appointment generator, the best conversion tool, ever -
but if the overall context it appears in does not "fly" it can mean
even my best work won't help.

And when looking at many a clients web site, the most common error I see,
time after time, relates to names. Or, to be precise:

The lack of them.

What do I mean? Here is an example:

I have a friend. He has just changed his web hosting, and his web company.

He sells products that create great mood lifts and different room atmospheres.
From starlit ceilings to flashing carpets, romatic moods to party time.

And he has been working it hard to be successful.

I asked him how his new advisers were working out.

He was full of praise for the changes they were making.

I thought "Great, at last!". My friend had the type of support
he so badly needed, a well known web firm to help him with his web site.

So I had a look. Yep, the look and feel was better.

Yep, the products were displayed better.

Yep, I could now download a catalogue of the products and a newsletter.

BUT, and a big but if you are selling ANYTHING, I could download it
without him gathering my name or any details about me. Mega Mistake.

Not gathering any information is a mistake. As we know many people "browse".

Some may be in buying mode when they come across his site
but many will be in the "just NOT now mode".
If he cannot communicate with them after their visit he is wasting an awful
lot of time and money on driving traffic for no gain whatsoever.

He has a fantatic personality, he has subject matter knowledge deeper than the
Grand Canyon, he has brilliant products, yet without the name he cannot
communicate all these great attributes about how his business is great for his visitors.

I say, "Hell and damnation" on his web company for missing such
an obvious and immediate improvement to the sales cycle.

My friend works really hard, has limited time and money and
needed to have spent just a few pennies on a contact form to
make a difference, not the £000's for no difference whatsoever.

I am glad to say, after months of trying, he is taking some advice from me.

Have another look at your web site and make sure while others are looking at it too
you are gathering their email address. It can make a massive difference.

What's more it is a simple to do yet devastatingly effective in later sales.

Until next time,

Henry Winter,
Founder - Writer - Marketer - Adviser - Livewirebusiness.com

Moving from Consciously Incompetent to Unconsciously competent
or how to get Unshakeable confidence......

Learning anything new can be quite nerve racking.

New people, new systems, new software, new skills.

All these things can cause stress, mild or major, for many of us.

But, once armed with our new "way" we are off to the races.

Because new found skills breed confidence.

But going through the 3 phases of skills adoption can temporarily dent confidence.
Stage 1. Consciously Incompetent
Stage 2. Consciously Competent
Stage 3. Unconsciously Competent.

Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler explores below how to "get" confidence:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler
Date Created: 20-Mar-05
9 Steps to...Unshakeable Confidence By Dr Jill Ammon-WexlerPioneer
Brain/Mind Researcherwww.quantum-self.com© 2005 All Rights Reserved.

What is confidence? According to Webster's dictionary, it's:
“Having no uncertainty about one's abilities.”
Have you ever wondered why some people seem totally self-confident,
while others are in almost total lack?

Actually -- no one is born confident. Confidence is built through life experience,
and especially the feedback you receive as a youngster about your experiences.
If you receive (and collect) a lifetime of negative believes about your own abilities,
then you will have low self confidence.

It’s true that some people are naturally extroverted -- naturally bold and outgoing.
Others seem to be more naturally introverted, and tend to be more caution in life.
But the fact is … extroverts are not always self-confident, and introverts do not
necessarily lack confidence. Both extroverts and introverts can have unwavering
certainty about their own abilities – the most basic sign of confidence.

Here are nine steps to increasing your self-sonfidence:
1. Gain some New Skills
Building some new personal or career skills will always
strengthen your confidence. What would you like to improve?
If you would like to speak before others with more confidence,
consider joining a Toast Master’s group.
Take action and reach out to expand yourself.

2. Recognize your own Success
Nothing builds confidence like success, but too many
of us fail to appreciate and recognize our own successes.
You know how you feel when someone else compliments
you for something you’ve done well. Make it a point to personally
recognize your own successes, no matter how small they may seem.

3. Believe in your Potential
You may not today be the person you wish to be – but
believing in your potential will help you move in that direction.
If you want to achieve something notable in your life, you
absolutely must believe in your own potential.
Just take it on faith at first, and seek out your personal
purpose for living.

4. Learn from your Setbacks.
Everyone experiences disappointments and set backs,
and it’s just human to become discouraged at times.
But you can use setbacks as positive experiences if you
view them as learning experiences. Meet your challenges head on,
and focus on your intended outcome - not on the obstacles.

5. Get Some Support
Turn to experts in the areas where you want to build more confidence.
You can find expertise in books, ezines, articles, courses, videos, seminars,
or even lectures. If you’re really serious, get a professional coach to hold you
accountable for taking the necessary actions to achieve your goals.

6. Show Confidence in Others
Just as like attracts like, confidence also attracts confidence.
The more confidence you show in others, the more confidence
they will show in you. The more recognition you give others,
the more confidence-building recognition you will receive.

7. Act As If
Acting “as if” is one of the most powerful life-changing tools known
to mankind. Since your unconscious mind cannot tell the difference between
what is “real” and what is “acted” – the more confident you act, the more
convinced your powerful subconscious mind will become that you ARE confident.
See yourself living with courage and strong conviction.

8. Expect to be Confident
Expectation has often been called “faith in action.”
Expect that you will act confident, and your mind will
produce the actions you expect. Expect to be confident,
and you will truly become confident.

9. Go On a 'Mission'
Whatever you believe to be true IS the truth for you.
If you do not believe in your own self and your abilities – that belief becomes
your own internal truth. Remember Webster's definition of confidence:
“having no uncertainty about one's abilities.”

Uncertainty equals low self-confidence. It’s that simple.

If you lack confidence, a good personal mission would be
to discover your own unique personal strengths.

We all have them, and YOU are no exception.

The truth is, none of us ever reaches our true maximum potential.

At its best, life is an on-going process of learning and expansion.

A basic key to developing unshakable confidence is to know your TRUE self.
If unshakable confidence is your goal, you MUST check out the authors
“Smash your Limits” ecourse.

It has the proven ability to change your self-confidence,
and your life -- forever. www.quantum-self.com/smash_your_limits.htm
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Dont forget to visit www.livewirebusiness.com too and see the simple, effective tools
that can help with training, advising with clients and gaining more finanical confidence.

Best regards, hope you like that article. Henry Winter.

Well done - with a PostCard!
Copyright Henry Winter 2006
-----------------------------------------

Well done with a PostCard!

As you may have gathered from previous blogs and the
content of my web site, I am a believer in postcards
as part of the marketing message mix.

This weekend I went to collect my eldest from a "sleep over".
In other words an all night chin wag with his mates!

I left home, relaxed, in a good mood.

Little did I know what was in store.

First, I have not been to this friends house many times before and
nearly persuaded myself I did not know where it was, en route!
But I got straight there.

Second I managed to scare the living daylights
out of my son's friend's sister as I walked
past a window on my way to calling at the back door.

Thirdly, I think I embarrassed the lady of the house as
she had several bra's hanging from the ceiling drying in the utility
that I had to navigate round.

Apart from collecting my son what would redeem the visit?

A post card.

Just as I was leaving the post man arrived and brought with him
a great, unexpected example of how effective post cards can be
at delivering a motivating message.

It was addressed to my son's friend.

Nothing unusual in that.

Was it from a friend, back packing round the world. No.

From a doting Grandma and Granddad on a cruise. No.

It was from his school.

From the RE (Religious Education) Department to be exact.

It's purpose - to convey a message of congratulations on all his hard work.

Simple, effective, easy to complete.

Motivational, different, and cost effective.

This school gets great results. It's well run. It manages it's finances well.

It's great at doing lots if little things other don't even think about
and doing them well.

It's great at marketing too.

Marketing anorak that I am it made me leave the house with
a very happy smile on my face. :-)

If you want to put a smile on someone elses face
why not send them a post card too. You can get some great graphics and
create meaningful, effective messages.

When was the last time you sent a message to a
customer or client that said "thanks" for their business or
to one of their employees who went the extra mile to service
your account? Go on, do it today. Make someone happy :-)

It's useful, inexpensive, very effective and a great way
to engender customer loyalty or reward exemplary service
in a quick, easy and timely way.

Post Cards - a job well done!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Author
Henry Winter is an author, marketer, adviser and coach to small
and medium sized businesses.
He specialises in bringing sales messages to life.
Ask about his "WordSwordTM" methodology

When sales just walk out the door.
Copyright 2006 Henry Winter and Livewirebusiness.com
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Are your sales just walking out the door? - literally......

I am still shocked, shocked that so many medium and small
business owners do not document what works for their business.
I don't mean product walking out the door earning you tons of cash.
I am talking about all the sales you could be missing.

What do I mean?

Your top performer has just walked out the door.
How did they become that top performer, what did they say,
what tactics did they use to get them to #1 for your sales?
Do you know? Are they documented, recorded, stored?

A prospect or customer walks in to you store. They walk out empty handed.

Why is that?

You get a phone enquiry it goes no further than that.

Is that what should be happening?

Your sales team follow up leads but get no appointments,
or far less than you expect.

How come?

When they do see someone they fail to convert to the level predicted.

What can be done?

If, deep in your gut, you are not 110% ceratin why, you have a problem.

Because:
a) the expertise that could have helped you just walked out the door
b) the customers "experience" of your firm just left the shop
c) the knowledge to help you just hung up
d) the respondent approached by your sales team did not get
your "business" offer
e) the sales approach just did not work - you need to fix it.

Here is another example. Let's pre suppose you are taken ill.

You run your business, you have all that info in your head.

But now you are laid really low.

If, like lots of small businesses, it is reliant on just a few key personnel
to make "it" happen then you have a problem.

I know you know that it won't happen to you but it could.
And if you don't plan you are in trouble. BIG TROUBLE!

You owe it to your business to make sure that somewhere
is something to make sure that the blue print you created continues!

OK, lets go down a level.

The point is without planning and thinking the lifelblood of ANY
business can walk out the door.

That includes planning for the creation, retention and storage
of key messages. It means constantly ensuring that key skills
are identified, trained, developed, maintained and stretched.

What's more the cost and complexity of doing that are massively
reduced due to the web and very easy to do.
Web training/web messaging/conference rooms etc are in easy reach
of any and every business.

Full blown systems that can do virtually everything you
want can be available for less than $200 a month, some even lower.

Check some out at www.livewirebusiness.com

Everything is now so accessible if you are not doing it your
competitors will be, and that will hand them an advantage.

You don't want that!

For example:

Your written sales message may be "right on the button".

But if the way that message is portrayed over the phone,

or in person, at presentations or in meetings is not, that’s

a total waste. It loses you sales.

If this is happening in your business it is costing you money

and I bet you won't be happy with that? SO, the minute you

have read this blog post, if you have staff working for you go

and compare what you "think" they are saying now to what

they are "actually" saying.

For one client doing this simple exercise highlighted that one

simple statement was on the verge of costing him 33% of the

commercial potential of his product.

That was worth @ £150,000 to his business on just one product line.

Another had a salesman "giving away" a product he should have been

charging for but it was bundled as part of a package and went un detected

until a customer query highlighted it to the business owner.

The potential cost of that was @ £2000 per customer plus

all the work rounds, extra IT support and more that it caused,

let alone the creation of a credibilty gap with the clients.

The trouble is, lots of business owners don't know if this is

happening in their business until its to late. So you need to put it right.

Every time you meet with a client or make a presentation,

your company image is affected - for better or worse.

From a public relations perspective, your business can have no better

advocate than a well-spoken representative. Let’s face it, your most

important personal and business transactions will involve face-to-face

communications, either in person, via video or on the phone.

So consider these 5 short questions:

5 Quick questions to turn your business round

1. When your business makes an “outbound” telesales call do

your staff follow a sales script that re qualifies the prospect,

hits the right emotional and rational buttons, creates the right

response to your approach?

2. Do you do that consistently for better qualification and

improved conversions?
3. Do you do the same when you receive an “inbound call”?
4. Does your sales team present in a tried and tested way?
5. Are they still delivering the same message you thought

they were delivering or has it become diluted by the passage

of time and personality?

Beware lots of sales messages get diluted over time,

they can also get "tired" and need re working or tweaking.

Ask any business owner using a good telesales team

"FACT - Winning sales scripts convert".

If you hesitated, or answered yes to any of the above questions ,

it's time you put it right.

If I can help you create winning scripts for talking, meeting with,

presenting too, receiving and making approaches to suspects,

prospects and customers let me know.

If nothing else at least go check all the above is not happening in

your business as it does in many others.

A script that makes the right ”connection” with your target

audience will ensure you get the best bang for your buck.

If you feel you are not getting the best return from your current

efforts I would like to help you make sure you do.

If you have a business with sales messages of any kind that

need rekindling to boost flagging sales or refreshing dried up

prospects I am the one they call.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

About the Author

Henry Winter is an author, marketer, adviser and coach to small

and medium sized businesses. He specialises in bringing sales messages to life.

Ask about his "WordSwordTM" methodology.

Post Cards and Email - a winning combination - REVISITED
Copyright Henry Winter and Livewirebusiness 2006
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Crowded markets, crowded rooms....how to get attention?

Marketing campaigns can bomb. Yuk, don't you hate that.

You put in all the time and effort, your expectation soars, preparing for all the new orders and enquiries and the campaign bombs - badly. Often it's the list, the message, poor timing and can be a host of other reasons too.

Timing is everything

Badly timed messages, poorly thought out delivery and "scatter gun" targetting just doesn’t
do it anymore - not that it ever did.

If you have ever locked yourself out of the house with no keys you know what frustration feels like. Well leaving Post Cards and Email marketing out of your marketing mix leaves your communications strategy can feel equally frustrating. It can be that "missing" magical link to extra success.

Baking a cake with the wrong flour

Leaving post card and email marketinhg out is like trying to bake a cake with the wrong flour - it goes flat!

Post Card and Email marketing is a very cost effective marketing medium. Taking advantage of it will hit your target market right in the bull’s-eye, it will hit their taste buds with your product or service.

It’s a channel overlooked by many small businesses and few markets are really so profitable it can be ignored. Just because competitors ignore it doesn’t mean that you should too.

You know it’s sensible to use ALL money making channels for sales, promotions, conversions and market placement. You also know many markets have Attention Deficit Disorder and getting your message across to a crowded, competitive market can be difficult.

So, how can Post Card and Email Marketing cut through the clutter?

Just imagine yourself in a large ballroom.

Across the crowded, noisy floor is someone you want to speak to. Do you shout?

No, because you wont’ be heard.

Do you throw some food at them to get their attention?

No, because a) it’s not very sociable b) the chances of hitting them are negligible and c) how would they know where it came from?

Besides if it did hit, it would make a mess and they would probably not want to speak to you anyway – you just soiled their outfit!

So what do you do?

Do you do something that gets the attention of the floor; stand on a chair, do a crazy dance, break into a beautiful song, do something the whole room becomes captivated by, something that silences and entrances so you become the entire centre of attention.

That way you can walk over to the person you want to speak to, you have their undivided attention AND the attention of the whole room. Isn’t that a better way to do business?

That’s what Post Card and Email Marketing can do for you.

Its gets attention, it takes the guesswork out of customer capture and gets leads.

There are lots of ways to use Post Cards and Email marketing as part of your marketing mix. Leave it out at your peril.

If you want to explore and discover how they can attract even more customers to your business drop an email to webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

We all have our favoured Guru's
Copyright Henry Winter and Dr Jeffrey Lant.
----------------------------------------------
We all have our favoured GURU's.
One of mine is Dr Jeffrey Lant, well known in some circles but not others.

Dr Lant is a no none sense, hit you between the eyes, straight talking "get to the point" kind of guy.

As a Self-Made Internet Multi-Millionaire he explains below why web site interactivity is an absolute must for making headway on todays net. Many others have jumped on the band wagon over the last 12 months or so but Dr Lant has been doing it since.......1994.

Here he Explains Why He Uses Efficient, Inexpensive WebcastServices Every Single Day.

By Dr. Jeffrey Lant

"I'm going to be frank. One major reason whyI profit online every single day is because my website is webcast-enabled. I have and use my inexpensive, super efficient webcast services every single day to profit, and I cannot imagine any online business that wouldn't be better off webcasting. See for yourself.

First, I use webcast services to talk directlyto my prospects worldwide. I'm a copywriter and marketer. People retain me to sell more of their products/services and to generate lots more prospect leads.In the olden days, I dealt with them by telephone and by email. Now I webcast. A prospect goes to my online meeting room, rings a doorbell (or sends me an email letting me know she's there).Notified, I pop up live and get down to business with my prospect. (If I'm unavailable the prospect can easily leave me a message so I can get back.)

If the prospect has a webcam, we talk face-to-face.If my prospect doesn't, my live picture is on screen and he can talk to me via audio or, lacking that,he can type in his questions and I answer them live.It's an incredible, ultra-efficient system. Say that my prospect has a partner who he wants to hear what I've got to say but who cannot come to that meeting. No problem! With my webcast servicesI simply record the meeting by clicking a button.When the meeting is over, I click another button and create a link. I then email this to the missing participate who clicks on the link and gets the complete meeting content. Terrific!I can do the same thing with larger meetings. Mywebcast services enable me to hold meetings and professional presentations of up to 150 people at a time. I can use PowerPoint slides or create myown; I can even rent out time I don't use and enable others to use it while generating extramoney for myself. As always, all meetings can be recorded and posted online, used in signaturefiles, included in ezines, you name it.

This way nobody loses a word of what I want them toknow. I've got another super webcasting service, too:The Instant Video Recording System. This gives me10 full hours of video recording time every single month. Using it is as easy as 1-2-3. Sit downin front of your webcam; (I like the Logitech QuickCam Messenger at about $40 at Walmart). Record your message of any length; (most people prefer 5-10minute messages). When you're finished hit the stop button, then hit a button that creates alink which you can email to whoever you want.This is a great way to create product/service promos, video ads, and, of course, personal messages to prospects and customers. So far, I've recorded nearly 60 of these handy videos. I constantly use and reuse them to deliver my messages. What'sgreat about the inexpensive system I use is that you can rent it by the month if you like; you get unlimited downloads as part of the price. That means if you want to email the link to a million people who download it, you never pay more.Thanks to the incredible webcast services, I have, I'm making more money than ever online --every single day!Once you start using webcasting in your business,you'll wonder how you ever did business online without it. I know".

See for yourself. webmaster@livewirebusiness.com withSHOW ME ALL THE WEBCAST SERVICES in subject,along with your name, business, address, phone.Be sure to include all these details, please!Webcasting services can easily be added to yourwebsite in just 5 MINUTES! In short, you canstart profiting from webcasting, like Dr Lant (and myself), TODAY!
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the CEO of one of the most exciting Internet companies I have come across: Worldprofit.Spend just 2 minutes at www.worldprofit.com/videocentral and we'll show you how to dramatically grow your business online. Or go to my web site See for yourself! and whilst there why not collect a FREE ebook from Dr Land and also one on web site design by design Maven Sandi Hunter too. Thanks for reading......

Put your business under the microscope.
Copyright © Henry Winter
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com

Focus.
This is what very successful entrepreneur has and what every successful business should have.

Marketing should have a focus too but for many busniesses they don't.

They market themselves in two fateful ways :
- similarity thinking
- to all and sundry.

Any business or business owner/manager needs to make sure they understand EXACTLY who they are marketing too.

Marketing to the famous audience of 1.

Get that right and you would be amazed at how simply focussing a company or a product on the right target can energise sales, invigorate staff, enthuse a stampede of happy buyers.

Don't do what everyone else does, do something different.

Communicate differently, whether that be through the message, through "dimensional mailings" (3d objects in the post) or via audio email, video email, bloggs, pod and nano casting, vidoe business card.

Doing the same gets the same.

Find the hungry target, give them something different. Watch how avidly they feed.

About the Author:
Henry Winter is a business coach to small business owners, author, and marketer.
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com
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So what do lots of B2B mailings miss?

A clue was in the headline. It's "So what".

When a lot of businesses write their own (and when some copywriters do too) sales promo's, they list the features and benefits of their product or service but fail to question the value of the benefit they have written about by using the "So what?" test.

"Our blah blah produces lovely graphs" - So? Whats in it for me.

"The feature blah blah allows you to plot data on a map" - So? What's in it for me?

"Ah!" I hear you say, "this is a B2B mailing, we don't need what's in it for me, it does not work in our market". OK, let me ask you a question: Can the person being written for breathe on a mirror and make it mist over?

Yes, great, then the person being written for has emotions, worries, fears, concerns and wants. You need to appeal to those. Why? Because it sells more. It gets better response. Which brings me to another question - who exactly are they writing for? Again, lots of firms treat everyone the same. They are not. What is THE target market, or job function being written too?

A well constructed list of features and benefits will usually pull some response, but if you want to double or even quadruple response, a well written benefit with a "whats in it for me" (WIIFM) conclusion, targetted for the right audience will.

A B2B mailing may not be as effusive, or "hyped" as a letter to an opportunity seeker or consumer, but as long as you link the benefit you have spent years trying to create through your super new product or service to a "Whats in it for me" closing you can illicit better response. Because that means more sales or leads, more money in the bank and more security for you and your family. That's what you want isn't it?

If you need help with establishing what's in it for them, so you get more of what you want, let me know, webmaster@livewirebusiness.com

What's small and gets read all over?

Postcards. Are they dead as part of the marketing mix. No way!

They have become an alternative electronic marketing tool as well as an offline one.

Lot's of businesses still use Postcards, via snail mail, as an integral part of their marketing mix. Estate Agents (one of the areas I work in) use them a lot, mostly to good effect. Many other businesses ignore them. I am still amazed why so many do.

Those with poor experience of failed post card campaigns are usually down by poor layout, wrong message and because they are not used sequentially.

If the mailing was not to a known list then, like any direct mail piece, it is reliant on the quality of the list selection. Responses from known lists are often lower than expected if the objective has no been fully clarified or if the response "offer" (read premium or discount) was not good enough. Like any campaign a post card needs careful planning - the key message, the layout, the objective, the timing and what it asks the prospect to do. For many campaigns rarely are they all right.

Postcards can be used to drive additional traffic "offline" to an "online" lead or sales capture "mini site" or sales landing page. As long as the goal is to elicit ONE action and does not try and suggest too many things, the graphics can be targetted and so can the message for better response overall.

If you have any kind of business or venture that can use leads then have a re think about postcards as part of your lead caprutre solution.

If you are short of ideas may be I can help. Just drop an email to webmaster@livewiebusiness.com or visit the web site www.livewirebusiness.com and see the menu.

LiveWireBusiness Blogg - mixed media sales and marketing

Exposure. Exposure. Exposure.

Be seen, be heard, be noticed.

Before the web it was direct mail, fax broadcasts, and response premiums like audio cassettes, then CDs, then DVDs.

Now, with all the new web technology it should still be all the above (i.e. no business should leave any stone unturned in its marketing efforts) PLUS, web casts, vcasts, audio email, video email, online meeting rooms, seminar rooms and even pre loaded Ipod nanos with relevant messages and information of choice. And there will be more to come.

Nanocasting, the commercial application of Podcasting is growing, just ask Rodney Rumford!

So, why am I talking about it.

Because all these new media, so ably created by the web techies, can get main stream very quickly. BUT, and it's a big but, it also means that main stream has to apply them the right way but with little application research for the general market. That is by test, trial and error.

Key to all these are the foundations of good marketing - the message. It does not matter which medium is used - if it's poor content, or selling in the wrong way, it won't work.

Companies and business owners need to make sure they choose, use and don't abuse the right words, makes sure they get the right message out the right way.

Lastly, anyone wanting to "reach" a market, needs to decide how each part of their market should be communicated with. For example, a firm selling services in an affluent tech town will probably find they have many, above average, income earners, coupled with higher internet and web tools use.

For them email campaigns and nanocasts, free MP3 downloads of great content and more would be an approach that could work. Whereas, if they are also trying to sell the same product or service to small business owners, likely to be greyer haired and less net savvy, then direct mail and some form of white paper would be better.

Am I suggesting the new media technology is not applicable to general marketing. Absolutely not. All the new technology for marketing and sales promotion is fantastic, after all it helps my clients and I do more, get more, achieve more.

So, is it "off to the races" for marketeers and business owners? It could be, but it's horses for courses and they will miss a beat or too if they have a horse for the flat entered for steeple chase. It's still needs to be the right message, to the right market, delivered in the right way.