TheNewLead

We've moved to another blog!

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:44:00 +0000

Hey there! We've moved to another blog!

http://thenewlead.wordpress.com

In the very near future, tt will be easier for us to customize our blog there so we've decided to move it. No hard feelings blogger, just a recommendation from our IT team. :)

Anyway, it's still a work in progress but we'll surely take care of it, step by step. See you there!

http://thenewlead.wordpress.com

"I've Been Dumped!": Handling Sales Rejection

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:50:00 +0000

It probably has happened more than you'd expect but everyone has been dumped, at one time or another, especially in selling. Unless you're born lucky, you'd want to get past it as quickly as possible.

Sales rejection can be quite a challenge to overcome but nonetheless, it's not impossible to get over it. You can start moving on with these tips:

It's not you, it's me.
Yes, it is the customer, not you. It's the product or the service that you're offering that they're rejecting, not you. So don't take it too personally. It might be a wrong timing for them, they might just be looking around, maybe they haven't decided yet or probably, they don't have a need for it yet but the important thing to know is YOU, as a human being, are not being rejected.

I'm not the right one for you.
Which might be true. "There are many fishes in the sea." That line is not only applicable to dating but also to selling. Why would you be so hung up on someone who doesn't see and need your product's/services' worth? You'll get only more and more frustrated and you'll also get those who already said NO, more and more irritated. Focus instead on the endless supply of "fishes" in the sea.

We need to see other people.
Again, true. Network, network, network. You don't know how many are going to say NO until you've talked to them all.You'll never know someone who badly needs your product or service until you've contacted them. Or until they were referred to you.

I need some space.
They might just be browsing around, just comparing prices & quality so they can't commit. Yet. So there's a probability that they will come back. Keep your emotions at bay and let them look around, even at your competitor. Just keep your doors open and keep on entertaining as many customers as possible. Those who said No the first time might just turn up anytime, ready to buy from you.

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
Or in this case, it's better to try and be rejected than never trying and never being rejected at all. Michael Jordan & Albert Einstein had to go through it to be the best at their field. So persevere and don't ever quit.

Just think about this, the faster you churn out NOs, the higher the probability you'll have a YES. Keep track of the rejections that you've received, take note of how many it was until you've reached a YES. So the next time you're getting rejected continuously, you'd turn that into something positive: "You're one step close to your next sale! Just keep the REJECTIONS coming!"

Tips on Finding Prospects Online

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:47:00 +0000

Google or any search sites might come in handy but knowing how to search for it, what keywords to use and what words to eliminate would make your search easier.

Finding by Job Title

Typically, one would type in the targeted company and the designation of your prospect. You might type in, for example, Company name-sales manager. Which will either give you a lot of search results, especially if you're searching in a large, international corporation, it would give you a whole bunch of manager titles, most of which might be indirectly related to your targeted company.

They key to making your search easier is by narrowing down your results.

Typing sales manager -GE would get you 1,380,000 results.

Instead of just typing the company name then the job title, key in first the designation followed by the website. Restrict the search results to sites that are relevant to the company that you are looking for.

For example, try typing in "sales manager" site:www.ge.com

The search results would be greatly reduced to 230.

Locating by business email address

You might think getting an email address of a prospect might be tricky, especially if you don't have any direct contact with them but in a way, it's easier to locate one if their corporate email address is the same with the company website. Just type in @company website and you'd surely find business email addresses associated with that company.

You can also mix it up and search by email address & job title. Just place the job title at the beginning of your search and enclosed it with quotation marks. An example would be "sales manager"- @ge.com

You might find what you are looking for or you'll probably get a whole of results that you have to comb through. Either way, once you've gotten a list of decent corporate email addresses, remember to never, ever spam them. It will create a negative impression on your company and spammers using corporate or even-non corporate email addresses can be blocked and you'll end up losing the opportunity to new business.

2010: New Learnings at the End of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:23:00 +0000

2010 has been an interesting and fruitful year for yours truly, as it involved a lot of changes, personally & professionally speaking.

We started redesigning TheNewlead website which we're aiming to launch by the first quarter of the next year. I got to dabble in user interface & web design in general which was quite a challenge because we had to think like our users and to generally think of three kinds of users:

1. our active, registered members

2. frequent visitors who are mostly doing

research and

3. the lurkers who are new visitors who either

are just curious or have accidentally landed on

our page

Hopefully, the newly revamped TheNewLead website would be a delight to use as we aimed it to be more user-friendly, easily understandable and pleasing to the eye. We also changed the logo and the layout of our website, so even though we retained some functions from the old, current site, everything will come off as new, highly improved and a whole lot better with the new website.

Of course, the same services apply to the new website:

1. Find B2B Leads

2. CRM Data Cleaning

3. Custom Data Request

Plus a new feature which we hope would encourage other TheNewLead members to become more active in the website. It involves getting a whole lot of fresh, new contacts.

This has also been a starting year for us in social media marketing. It might seem easy for constant users of Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and other social media sites but using it for marketing can be quite tricky, compared to just using it casually. Social media marketing is forever changing and there's always a new thing to discover everyday. I've started getting active in Linked in and it's such a continuous, enlightening experience as not only do you get to connect with people all around the globe, you also get to discuss with them your professional issues, the topics you're interested in, as well as learn from so many people of different races, culture and designations. But most importantly, you get to find prospects, interact and learn more about your existing clients.

This past year has been a tremendously educational year for me and I hope to discover and learn new things from all sorts of people. Hopefully, 2011 would bring more challenging and fruitful endeavors that would lead to more genuine connections, more awesome clients and most importantly, more success to our professional and personal lives.

I hope everyone had a joyous holiday and lets welcome the New Year with a confident , optimistic stance, an honest smile on our faces and a light, happy heart. And everyone who knows Black Eyed Peas, sing with me! "I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night!"

Happy New Year Everyone! Lets all have a great year ahead!

TheNewLead Year End Party

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 06:51:00 +0000

It was the day before Christmas and everyone was pretending to be busy

Thinking of their work and the holidays was making them dizzy

The work ended and the gathering finally started

To the bowling lanes of the East Coast, everyone headed

The bashful, semi-shy team that landed

Turned out to be a loud and playful crowd that easily bonded

Some were decent with bowling, that we have to admit,

others kept throwing the balls like a basketball

which we believe the clueless management won't permit.

Others had grace and style on the lane,

while some still kept pretending it was still a basketball game.

Then we headed for a restaurant and took a break

That's where things got more interesting

I can't tell all for someone's sake

Lets just say we played a game of "Truth or Dare"

where shame & dignity, were of little care.

The night ended with just a few drunks

No one seemed shy and no one was in a funk.

It was a night of bonding, where friendships were encouraged

and work was set aside.

And everyone was happy and left all in smiles

Malcolm Gladwell: What we can learn from spaghetti sauce

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:01:00 +0000

The author of "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference," (2000) , "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" (2005), and "Outliers: The Story of Success" (2008) in the TED Conference, talking about choices and happiness. How does spaghetti sauce figure out in this, watch & find out.

The Presentation Secrets Of Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:05:00 +0000

A person can have the greatest idea in the world. But if that person can’t convince enough other people, it doesn’t matter.
–Gregory Berns

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:50:00 +0000

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Research first, Sell Later

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 06:47:00 +0000

Having the most innovative, most beneficial, most cost-reducing product in the market doesn't necessarily translate to immediately closing a sale, especially after a major presentation. It takes more than great features or a reasonable price for a product to sell; you have to know those customers who's really keen on your product.

That's where the the importance of research comes in.Your research must be able to provide you with the following:

1. Recent mentions

The internet is readily available to provide you with the basic information you would need to relate to a client. You don't have to know every personal detail about them, just gather those that would seem appropriate for a small talk, eg. article mentioning client, similar professional connections or interest, general news on client's company so as to make them comfortable about you personally.

2. Relevance

How exactly does your product fit into their business? Have they used something similar before and what were the feedbacks? This is a must, otherwise, they won't see the need to acquire your services or products.

3. Problems

Again, a vital part of your research for you to relate your product as a solution. Remember though to state their difficulties in a positive way, as that works better than telling them what they already know. Point out also, in a positive way, the methods they've done that were not as successful, then lead them to your product as a solution.

4. Competitors

Have they done or offered something similar? Is your product really better than theirs? You don't have to just focus on comparing your product with your competitors, you can also compare them to their own competitors, eg, current, similar issues, how did they handle it and such.

5. Benefits

What could they gain from the product a few months from now? Specify and relate it to their goals. Will it increase sales revenue by what percent? Will it lower down the cost to what degree? Will it gain them more leads and by how much in a term?

Of course, researching the latest trends about your industry is a must, as well as knowing by heart the latest features or updates regarding your product but what is most essential is doing some research on your client. No matter how exceptionally useful your product might be, at the end of the day, customers buy from those who understands what they really need and not from those who think they know what customers really need. Research from their point of view, not from a salesman's point of view.

TheNewLead Improvements

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:22:00 +0000

As I've mentioned in other articles, we're still working on revamping and redesigning the website, making sure that not only the design would be better, the user interface and added/tweaked functions would be greatly superior to what we have now in the current website.

If you do have more suggestions on how we can make it better and easier to use, please post your comments here, we'd be glad to hear them out.

For more info, please visit the following:

Website: www.thenewlead.com

Forum: www.thenewlead.activeboard.com

Blog: www.newsfromthenewlead.blogspot.com

B2B Leads from Southeast Asia and Others

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:18:00 +0000

Just an FYI post.

We're initially offering contacts from Southeast Asia but that doesn't necessarily mean that we don't have leads in other locations. Before dwelling on lead locations, our contact information includes the ff:

1. Full name of the contact

2. Job title

3. Business email address

4. Direct phone no.

5. Full name of company

6. Company address

Our leads are mostly from Southeast Asia, specifically from the following:

Singapore
Malaysia
Indonesia
Vietnam
Philippines
Thailand
Brunei

The other locations of our leads includes the following countries:

India
Australia
Hongkong

You just have to visit our website then select and download your chosen contacts. We can also customize a list of contacts for you if you'd prefer a more specific, targeted data. Just give us the necessary information, such as the following:
1. Country
2. Company Size
3. Industry
4. Level
5. Department
6. No.of expected contacts
7. Your timeframe for the needed leads, your deadline

And any other information which will narrow down the search and we'd readily do look for those leads for you.

For more information, please visit the following:

Website: www.thenewlead.com

Forum: www.thenewlead.activeboard.com

Blog: www.newsfromthenewlead.blogspot.com

My Contact Shop & Search Options

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:52:00 +0000

Good day folks!

It has been a tiring vacation leave for yours truly so forgive and forget if I haven't updated you on well, anything lately. Who knew taking a vacation could be this tiring, I feel like I was on a marathon the whole week.

But nevertheless, we are still getting some interesting queries from our ever relentless yet well-intentioned users. Let me just post a few of their questions regarding our website, www.thenewlead.com:

1. Where do I look for my submitted and verified contacts in my account?

You can just go to Contact Library >> My Contact Shop

and from there you'd be able to view & even export your submitted and validated contacts. Think of TheNewLead as a database management for accurate, verified contacts.

2. Is there any other selection criteria when I'm searching for contacts?

Yes there is, we do have the Quick Search, that's available in the homepage

in which you can quickly type or copy/paste the company name and select its industry and the location.

We also have the general search function in the Search & Buy >> Search Contacts

which has the search options such as name/email, company, department group and the job title.

The Search Company has a simpler search option, you only have to type in the company name or website.

But aside from the general search options, we do have the Advanced Search option, located underneath the basic search criteria.

For the Search Contact >> Advanced Search, you have the following search options:
1. Country - City (State if applicable)
2. Industry & sub-industry
3. Postal code
4. No. of employees
5. And the option to filter out contacts that were submittedupdated by this user at a given date

The Search Company >> Advanced Search is similar, just the SIC code is added.

Keep in mind that we're currently redesigning the whole website so if you do have any suggestion on how to make the searching of contacts faster, more efficient or if you want to add any ideas, please just post them on the comments section or you can head over to our forum, www.thenewlead.activeboard.com and just post your feedback there.

Leadership - Off the Wall

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:08:00 +0000

Here's a thought-provoking guest post from Paul Thornton, a regular guest writer for Great Leadership.

As a leader, what should the sign on your wall or desk say?

W. Clement Stone began as a shoeshine boy and became a multimillionaire. He credits his success to three words: Do It Now. He required everyone who worked for him to write those words on index cards and post them in their work area.

Over the past twenty years I have collected and analyzed many of the quotes leaders post on their office walls or keep on their desks. Many of these quotes are the guiding principle they followed to achieve success. Here are my top 15.

1. “It can be done!” —Sign President Ronald Reagan kept on his desk in the Oval Office.

Leaders are optimistic, upbeat, and positive. Reagan was known for his optimism and the ability to express ideas in a clear, eloquent, and quotable fashion.

2. “No Whining” —Sign on the desk of James Parker, former CEO, Southwest Airlines.

Victims wine and blame others. Leaders may get discouraged on occasion but never play the victim role.

3. Bill Gates had a picture of Henry Ford in his office. It was there as a reminder to not do what Ford did. Ford didn’t listen to his customers. He knew his customers wanted the option to buy cars painted other colors besides black. This “fatal attitude” caused him to lose market share to upstart General Motors.

4. “The Buck Starts Here!” —Sign on the desk of Donald Trump.

Leaders see opportunity and take action. Non-leaders only see the status quo and sit still.

5. "Be brief. Be Brilliant. Be Gone." —Former sign on the office wall of Mark Goodman, CEO, Twist Image.

Leaders who are clear and concise are more credible and more brilliant.

6. “Start Talking and Get to Work” —Sign in the office of Alden Davis, former Business Effectiveness Consultant, Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies Corporation.

Leaders spend a significant amount of time talking and listening. Advocating, proposing, nudging, selling, questioning, listening, probing and digging are what leaders do.

7. "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." —Antoine de Saint-Exupery”—Sign above the desk of Michael S. Hyatt, CEO, Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Michael states, "Leaders remove the clutter so their big ideas stand out."

8. Hatim Tyabji, former chairman and CEO of VeriFone, Inc. —On his office wall there was a poster that consisted of twelve blocks, each with a photo of an Irish setter. The first 11 blocks show the dog standing, not responding to a command to "sit." Finally, in block twelve, the Irish setter sits. "Good dog," reads the poster.

Hatim states, "That is the essence of leadership. I can't get disillusioned when I say 'sit' and nobody sits. So I just keep repeating the message. Leaders must be clear, consistent, and repetitive. Keep repeating the message until it sticks.”

9. “Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible” —Sign in the office of T. J. Rodgers, founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor.

Leaders are demanding! They expect more than others think is possible. Leaders believe most people have underutilized talents and abilities.

10. Strive for Excellence. Signed photographs of Frank Sinatra, Mohammad Ali, Albert Pujols, Ted Turner, and Donald Trump are on the office wall of Jim Stovall.

Jim is president, Narrative Television Network and author of The Ultimate Gift.

Jim states, “These are people who I’ve worked with and respect. They remind me to always strive for excellence.”

11. “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” John le Carré —Sign in the office of Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., former CEO of IBM.

Seeing the problem, touching the part, talking directly with employees and customers provides a reality you don’t get sitting in your office. We want to see our leaders directly involved in the problem like Louisiana Governor Bobby Gindal has been involved in the Gulf Oil Crisis.

12. “Prove Your Groove.” —Sign on the office wall of Peter H. Reynolds CEO/Owner, FableVision Enterprises.

Peter states, “It means don’t just say it—do it. Show us your passion in action. Leaders use the media, storytelling, and technology to foster the development of each person’s potential.”

13. “Just because it worked once, doesn’t mean it will work again!” —Sign on the desk of Shaun Coffey, CEO, Industrial Research Ltd., New Zealand.

Shaun states, “Every situation is different, and this is particularly so when dealing with change. People are different, and people change. An intervention that has been spectacularly successful may not work in a new situation. It may not even work in the same company/organization again because the people will have changed as a result of the experience. Keep changing your tactics, staying aware of how people are responding. Attack from different angles. Look for signs that something isn’t working, and try something else—don’t get stuck in your ways.”

14. "The time is always right to do what is right." Martin Luther King Jr. —Sign on the office wall of Michael Jansma, President GEMaffair.com.

Leaders consistently stand up for their values and beliefs. It’s not a once in awhile thing.

15. “Leaders should be able to Stand Alone, Take the Heat, Bear the Pain, Tell the Truth, and Do What's Right" Max DePree —Sign in the office of Brian Morehouse, coach of women’s basketball at Hope College, 2006 Division III National Champions.

Brian states, “That quote covers everything a leader needs to do as they approach their day in terms of courage, integrity, focus, and perseverance. And, it closely meshes with my coaching philosophy which is –Do the right thing every day, every play, on and off the court!”

Summary

Leaders have a positive, can-do attitude. They are optimistic and believe there is hidden talent in each person. Their enthusiasm creates energy and excitement. Leaders may get down from time to time but they never play the victim role. They take responsibility. They are confident in themselves and the people around them. Many of the office wall quotes I have found relate to one or more of the following themes:

 Attitude

 Communicating Big Ideas

 Changing the Status Quo

 Setting Goals—the Steps of Change

 Confronting Problems—Making Decisions

 Taking Action—Making it Happen

 Living Your Values

What are your guiding principles? How about posting them on your office wall. Periodically take time to think about how well you are applying your leadership principles. Solicit feedback from people you trust. Keep improving.

About the Author

Paul B. Thornton is an author, and trainer. He is the author of numerous articles and 13 books on management and leadership. This article is based on his latest book, Leadership - Off the Wall published by WestBow Press a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing. His book is available at Amazon and from the publisher 1-866-928-1240.

Qualifications of an Efficient Data Acquisition Executive

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 07:21:00 +0000

Since we're in the business of generating leads, it shouldn't come as a surprise that we talk about the people who look and verify contacts. Data research and entry might seem mundane but when you have to handle searching, verifying and checking thousands of contacts on a deadline, it can be quite a complicated task, especially when you have to consolidate and double-check your data.

Someone asked what should be the parameters of an Industry Data Acquisition Executive. For a layman's term, that would be someone who does industry data research & encodes them correctly. Aside from having above average computer skills and expertise in using spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel, it wouldn't hurt if they also have the following qualifications:

1. Internet mavericks

Anyone can use the internet, but not anyone know how to use it efficiently. For a data researcher, knowing the right tools, the neat tricks in fast tracking and quickly getting data from the internet would make the job easier. It combines the knowledge of knowing what tools to use, where to go searching and what keywords to punch in. Google is only the first step in searching data and if an applicant knows about business online directories and more, you can bet they'll quite effective for the job

2. Quick eye, fast fingers

You can't have someone who can only give you 10 quality inputs in an 8-hour period. You'd want someone who can quickly search data and is quite nimble with the keyboard. Those who also know the shortcuts, who can type without looking at the keyboard and who can easily track the needed data at a quick scan would be great for the job as well.

3. Focused & Accurate

Its quite easy to get sidetracked on your goal when you're surfing the internet, looking for quality data, so having the focus and concentrating long and hard is also a requirement for data researchers. One who can get the job done at the shortest time possible would be an advantage for the company. Data research also needs to have a high accuracy rate so that factor along with keeping focus on the job is also a must.

4. Cheerful & Positive

Data acquisition can be quite a tedious task but when when you've got someone who knows how to take the task seriously and when to deliver the right punchline, that would be helpful to lower down everyone's stress-level. They don't necessarily have to be natural jokers nor are they required to be serious all the time, they just have to get the right mix of both.

Acquiring quality data will require getting quality data researchers as well so keep in mind the mentioned traits and you'll be able to find someone who can handle the job more than you expect.

What do you think are the other quality traits a data researcher must have? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

The Social Media Cheat Sheet

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:41:00 +0000

From Drew McLellan

Pre-approach & Dating: Why it Matters

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:30:00 +0000

Pre-approach is thorough research done to become more familiar with your prospects. It's necessary to obtain information about them beforehand to increase chances of closing a sale and gaining a new customer.

Think of it as the dates and the "research" one has done before a marriage. They've either looked up the potential partner online (facebook, myspace, digg, etc), asked common friends then tested the waters. That way, you'll more prepared for the encounter, know what jokes to deliver, what turns on your particular date, especially if you want to get serious with them.

Pre-approach is exactly like that. It also shows your respect and consideration for your prospects by knowing their full names and how to address them, how to plan out your presentation for them, knowing their quirks and their nuances.

Pre-approach helps in qualifying prospects. It saves you from wasting yours and your prospect's time. Suppose you've already finished a sales presentation with someone and who seems willing and able to help you out, only to find that they are not the actual decision makers? Any response where you'd express the desire to meet the decision maker may not be taken well by the person and would show your lack of preparation. Suppose you found out at the end of your date, he/she is a close relative? Now that would be really uncomfortable.

Pre-approach also gives you some essential background on how the prospect might respond. Knowing beforehand how to communicate with them will give you the upper hand. Some might see the need for your product but are just too busy to spend time listening to you. Others might be willing to talk but are not really the customers you're looking for. The most challenging types are those who haven't identified their needs yet and also keeps slamming the door at you. So determining how to handle and how to communicate your message regarding your prospect's needs would really be an advantage. Apply that knowledge as well in dating and you'd be able to widen your circle and get to know more potential partners.

Pre-approach also provides a way to easily relate to your prospects. You might share an interest with them, have read the same book, are rooting for the same basketball team. Use that as an opener, pique their interest by genuinely sharing those similar topics, create that small talk.Connect with them as casually as possible. They'll be more open and more willing to listen to you once you've gained a bit of their respect & trust. And that also includes dating.

Blind dates might be fun but for a professional activity, particularly for a sales prospect, that could be a real turn-off. So pre-approach, date around, do your homework and know your prospect.

No one can resist the The Boy Who Lived

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 06:54:00 +0000

Not even us. We have our quirks too. And apparently, Dobby has been a trending topic for the last few days on Twitter.

Who has already watched it? Raise your hands or better yet, post a comment on how much you enjoyed the film. I know I did. :)

What B2C and B2B Marketers Can Learn from Each Other

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 06:43:00 +0000

An interesting article from Janet Jessen of Garlock Sealing Technologies

For a preview:
"Notwithstanding a much-heralded convergence of business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketing techniques, significant differences remain. Those most frequently cited (which I can confirm from working in both worlds) have to do with the nature of the products and services offered, target markets, purchasing processes, sales cycles, branding, and communications."

Read more here.

Have that Entrepreneurial Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:47:00 +0000

It's quite easy to become an entrepreneur nowadays, especially with the proliferation of social media, giving us thousands of ingenious ways to connect with the market. But what's hard is sustaining that entrepreneurial spirit, one of the most important factor in getting successful in a business.

I know some friends who've started businesses on their own. All of them are not yet in their 30's, worked for several years in industries that somehow, fueled their desire to start their own company. But not all succeeded in retaining their businesses. A few closed down because of small profits, some didn't handle employees well while the others simply got tired of being a boss and at the same time, an employee.

However, someone managed to make it in the business. She said it probably was in here genes because their family had a business too or she knew all along she was never meant to become an employee. Either way, being an entrepreneur was her calling and she was able to snag one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the country as a regular customer. Her job before in an advertising agency feed that desire to become successful in her own design studio and that made her a remarkable entrepreneur who wears multiple caps; salesman/ copywriter/ graphic designer.

What made her successful in her endeavors? Here are just a few lessons I've learned:

1. Have passion.

When everything is leading to an awful result and quitting seems to be the only option, your passion will save your face, your ego and your business. Having passion in what you do will help you get over obstacles. Assuming you love what you're doing so much, you'll be able to do anything for it to become a success.

Profits gained will just be a plus compared to the knowledge that you are able to do something you love everyday. It won't even feel like you're working at all.

2. Meet people and love meeting people.

Any business won't be successful without its customers. And any business will suffer if they fail to love, even like their customers. So being a great salesman also counts when creating a start-up company. Enjoy the opportunity to meet a potential client, talk to someone, be enthusiastic around people and genuinely listen to them and enjoy their company.

If you're not really the social type, then start practicing. Attend a few business meet-ups with friends and start having small talks with strangers. You'll eventually get the hang of it and once you focus on your business goals, you'd start clamoring to meet new people.

And last, but not the least:

Sustaining a start-up also means undergoing your own business training. So with every successful bidding, every lost account, every met sales goal and every loss of your company, learn something from it. Experience is the greatest teacher anyone can ever have.

Update yourself on the latest tools and business trends as well. Learn what the customer are saying, know what to anticipate when hiring employees, read books on managing finances wisely, join organizations where you'd meet and learn from other entrepreneurs. Learning never stops in school so pick up something from everything that you encounter in life.

Having your own business won't be easy and at the start, you'll probably experience more hardships compared when you were just a regular employee. The days would be long, the phones won't be ringing at first and the money won't be pouring in. Be tenacious, be persistently clever and arm yourself with relevant information and most importantly, have passion for what you're doing and you'll eventually become a successful entrepreneur.

Create a Business Model first before your Company

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:08:00 +0000

An interesting presentation on how a business model makes or breaks start-ups.

An intricate process presented in the simplest way possible.

Ikea on Facebook: You Tag It, You Get It

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:59:00 +0000

There's nothing more refreshing than seeing a campaign using available, simple tools and succeed in marketing its product. Take the case of Ikea for example.

You tag it, you get it.
How cool is that? I wish they'd have that here in Singapore. :)

Finding New Prospects Online

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Prospecting is crucial to any business as it further increases your chances of making a sale or at least making it known to your target that you have something to sell. It might seem easy especially with today's technology but knowing where to quickly locate new, quality prospects would give you an upper hand among your peers.

Using the internet is probably the most popular if not the easiest method. But where exactly do you start? Here are a couple of ways to start finding those prospects:

1. Linked-in

There are thousands of individuals & companies from around the globe in this professional network. You can easily connect with someone by joining a group & its discussions. Searching for a specific individual is narrowed down by selections such as designation, location, industry, years of experience & more.

You can follow your prospects activities once they've added you in their network. You might find your prospect posting a message in a similar group, asking for assistance or more information about a product or service and you might be the one that they are looking for. You can also directly message anyone in your group or network. Either way, you can connect with them easily on a professional level.

Think of it as Facebook but more for business activities.

2. Facebook

Although networking here might be more casual than Linked-in, still you'll never know if your market is out there until you start searching. They could be friends of friends. They could have liked a relevant Facebook groups/pages. Either way, someone is bound to discover your services.

3. Twitter

Look for groups or individuals by interest (entertainment, business, art, technology, etc). You can also type in a particular hashtag, which categorizes or "tags" twitted topics. Find people with such tags and look at their profile. It might a potential prospect who might also be connected to other prospects in the future.

4. Discussion Forums

Find a suitable forum where there a lot of useful content related to your business and try having a discussion with it's members.

If you aren't familiar on how to join online discussion forums, try "lurking" around. And by lurking, I mean just observe first. Don't jump in if you're still not sure how it works. Just read the topics and how the discussion goes first, get a feel of the forum environment. Then if you're really itching to discuss something, introduce yourself first and dive in.

4. Publications

Industry leaders who have blogs, newspapers, journals and any written publication online will also have more followers that could be commenting on those articles. Try to see who seems to be the most active commentator, check out their profile and gauge if they can be a potential prospect. If not, maybe they'd know someone who's in need of your product so don't ignore them just yet.

Communicate with them through commenting in the said online article. If you think you're already comfortable talking online, message them personally. You never know what their response might be until you do so.

5. B2B Contact Database

Dozens of companies offer a customized way of getting massive leads. But what if you could just easily select and download those contacts, without having to go through the long process of negotiating and getting data? Try an online contact database. Download a few contacts and see if they are that really accurate. If you've gotten a 95% accuracy rate, that probably means that the database is consistent in delivering accurate, validated contacts. Start picking & getting contacts would be as easy as 1-2-3.

There are a lot of ways to look for prospects; trade shows, phone/building directories, referrals, community organizations and such. The internet though, is an easier method and social media is also a great help in reaching out to those prospects.

Hilarious/ Horrifying Interview Stories

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:35:00 +0000

I'd just like to share a few amusing stories I got from a Linked-In group, Recruitment Consultants & Staffing Professionals. (Please join that group, very insightful and very helpful, especially if you're in the recruitment business.

Anyway, the stories are quite funny so I suggest you go ahead and join that group. But if you don't have a Linked-In Account, here are a few of the "horror" stories:

________________________________________________________________________

I've worked in recruitment for a long, long time and have seen some funny ones. I think one that sticks in the memory was the foreign chap who'd been coached by his friend on what to say in the hope that we wouldn't realise that he couldn't speak any English.

The conversation went something like:

Consultant: Hi - How can I help you

Applicant: I'm looking for a job.

Consultant: Ok - where abouts do you live?

A: I live in Portsmouth

C: What sort of work are you looking for?

A: Want Job

C: I see - what sort of work have you done before?

A: Job

C: Any particular sort of job?

A: Job. (nodding)

C: How long have you been in the UK?

A: Job

________________________________________________________________________

The oddest one that I have had in my many years was a gentleman that was interviewing for a financial IT job. There was a very limited pool of candidates but after weeks of searching, I found this gentleman with the right skills. I had him into my office to interview prior to submitting him to the client. He sat down and immediately his arms went out at a 90 degree angle (like an airplane) and stayed that way for most of the interview (once in a while he would reset). He was everything that the client wanted, what to do? Sufficed to say, I called the client and explained the unique nature of this candidate and the client agreed to interview. He did the same thing at the client interview. He got the job, but they put him in a small office instead of a cubicle for a little more privacy.

________________________________________________________________________

A good candidate was interviewed by two client executives.
After the interview he told me he had let me down because the interview went really badly; he had a tough time staying focused on answering the interview questions.
When pressed as to why he told me that about five minutes into the interview one of the interviewers leaned back in his chair and fell asleep. He spent the rest of the interview worrying about how he could wake up one (sleeping) interviewer while staying focused on answering questions from the other (awake) interviewer.
He didn't get the job. We recruitment consultants have to keep our sense of humour.

________________________________________________________________________

(this one is really horrifying..good thing she had the presence of mind to use her recruitment skills..)

I had an horror interview with a beggar...He simply had entered my office, the security didn't see anything, as they were focused in other issues, therefore I had to deal with a very choleric 2 meters tall and strong beggar that was shouting to me: "I'm gonna burn your office down, I'm gonna kill you right now if you do not hire me!" and he was all over my desk, so that I had to push my chair back to the wall, while calling security. Security was busy talking on the phone, so I said:"Ok, Adina, now is the moment for you to survive or ... to die!". I was at the beginning of my HR career, so I had to use my entire human communication skills in order to make the candidate calm down. I do not remember what I have said, there was a long discussion between us, while my eyes were looking for some knives he promissed to use, and my mouth was saiyng words he wanted to hear, such as: "you are a good person", "you are a wise person", "it is very good tha you are looking for a job and want to work", "here are not many people that really want to work these days sch you are", ect. In he end, he start to listen and finally my words went directly into his heart. Still, he wanted to make sure that I AM afraid of him, so he left the office, shouting: "I'm going to burn this company down".
Security came later and found me pale, but happy to be alive.

________________________________________________________________________

This is not an "interview" horror story, but a direct quote posted by someone looking for a job:

"I have absolutely no ethical boundaries and am willing to do anything. I don't believe in god, so that opens up a lot of possibilities right there. Need someone to put down adorable puppies? I'm your man. Want to break up with your significant other but can't find the guts? I will do that for you too. . ."

________________________________________________________________________

Many years ago I used to work in 'New Deal', the UK jobcentre's answer to the chronic unemployable. After more than three years of unemployment, jobseekers move to 'New Deal'.

I once interviewed a jobseeker who informed me that he was taking 9 ml of methadone every day.

Another jobseeker wanted to know if we offered any training for her to become an actress.

________________________________________________________________________

Not an interview horror story but pretty good. I got this email from my consultant whom after several weeks of work disappeared and didn't answer phone calls or emails:

Sorry I have disappeared on ya, but it's for my own safety. I have been receiving threats from various levels of the local police dept. due to an argument my roommate and I got into. He has a friend who is a cop so I am being bullied into disappearing. I am unable to get any of my belongings from my apartmet; and if I return, I will be arrested or "worse". I am completely homeless with only what I have on my back. I have basically run away to a city where nobody can find me and am hiding out until it clears, if ever. I was so excited to be working with *client*, and pictured myself with them for a long time to come. 1 week later I am basically a drifter looking over his shoulder. I did work 32 hours last week, but am still unable to sign in and enter it. Anything you can do to help me get paid would be enormously appreciated. I'm sorry about all of this, but I'm not going to sit around and wait for some corrupt cops to handle business their way. I will get an address for you to mail the check to as soon as I can. I am not using my phone in case they are searching for me.

________________________________________________________________________

I had a candidate interviewed by a restaurant chain. When they asked him what counties he had lived in prior to doing a criminal background check, Bill told them they wouldn't find any record of him as Bill, but if they checked Nancy(same last name) that he/she would get a clean report. It seemed Nancy has decided she was a man trapped in a woman's body, and changed her gender.

________________________________________________________________________

I bet there are a lot of anecdotes about the recruitment industry, what are yours? :)

Marketing Sherpa B2B Marketing Summit 2010

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:22:00 +0000

An interesting presentation on B2B Marketing

View the pdf presentation here.

Stop Hesitating and Start Prospecting

noreply@blogger.com (JulieTNL) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:01:00 +0000

Sales prospecting is considered an important yet a dreaded, fearful task. The lack of knowledge in effective prospecting often leads to a variety of invented fears (fear of cold calling, fear of rejection, fear of wasting yours & the prospect's time). It can be quite a frustrating process, especially if you're just starting out in the sales industry but for the pros, looking for prospects is a fun yet challenging task.

Without proper know-hows on prospecting, you might view it as a burden rather than a helpful task. But how would you sell if you have no buyers, not even a prospect? So consider first how to overcome those prospecting reluctance:

1. Believe in the power of prospecting.
Yes, again, its all about the attitude. If you believe prospecting will never work and that you'd just be wasting your time, then a sales profession might not the be right one for you.

If you're eager to sell, you must be also eager to prospect. Psyche yourself up, give yourself a little pep talk everyday, make it a daily affirmation. You don't have to necessarily tell yourself that you love prospecting but it would really help if you do. "Fake it till you make it" or in this case think about it as a "need/want" until it becomes a habit.

2. Stop making excuses.
It will lead you to nowhere. If you find yourself thinking of something that would prevent you from even starting prospecting, stop immediately that trail of thought. Stop rationalizing those excuses and just start prospecting. Just plunge in. Just do it.

3. Set a goal and push yourself towards achieving it.
Have you ever been late to an important meeting? Think of those things that you had to do in order to arrive on time. Think of the urgency, the need to do it because you have to; skipping breakfast, driving like a maniac, running like someone is after you, pausing for a few seconds to fix yourself while inhaling one deep breath and telling yourself that you can do this, you're the man, you're the best and so on and so forth then slowly calming your nerves and smiling while walking to your important meeting.

That's how your goal for prospecting should be like. If you're just starting out, set a manageable goal for the week. How may contacts SHOULD YOU, NOT CAN, make in a week? How may contacts SHOULD YOU, NOT CAN, get in a day? Get a calendar and cross out the dates every time you meet your goal. Put that calendar in a place where you can easily see it. You'd be surprise at your progress and at the number of prospects you've made at the end of the month. If you're feeling already the weariness or prospecting taking its tolls, stop for a bit and tell yourself "I can do this, I am the master of my own universe.." and other similar affirmations that would psyche you up. Think & say every inspiring thought that comes to mind. Get a coffee, listen to an upbeat music, relax for a while, do everything you can to not stop prospecting, even for day.

Prospecting at first, would not an enjoyable experience, especially if you have no idea how to do it. But once you've learned the basics, applied that and you do it on an everyday basis, you'd eventually get the hang of it to the point of even making it into a habit. Eventually you'd feel incomplete when you haven't done even a single prospecting for a day and you'd actually look forward to doing it, everyday.

So just do it. Start prospecting right now!