Marketing Mastery

mindmeister -- A Product Review

2012-12-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've been exploding with creative ideas latley, but struggling to find the most effective way to oganize my thoughts. In the past I've always used paper to web them out (mind mapping), but I've always found the process and final product to be cumbersome.

Then one day I stumbled upon a suggestion for an app called mindmeister. It blew my mind from the start. It's user friendly enough, and with mindmeister I can start a "map" with no problems. I just jot down my ideas, and mindmeister organizes them seamlessly as I go. It keeps the map clean and offers options for customizable features along the way.

After playing around with the app a little bit, I found I could even share my maps with friends, family, and colleagues in a variety of formats. This makes things very simple when wanting a second opinion.

Whether you're just wanting to write down your own ideas or brainstorm with a group of colleagues, mindmeister is the app for you and best of all it's FREE! There are additional features that you can pay for, such as automatic syncing with an online account and multiple users with the ability to edit the same map. For most of us the free edition will be more than enough.

How to Obtain Financial Security

2012-04-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Obtaining financial success is the universal goal (or at least should be) of virtually every person. Many actively pursue this goal, but most do not know how to obtain it. We wander through life living from paycheck to paycheck. So how do we actually do it? How do we get out of the rat race? The process may be simpler than you think, it's not easy, but it is simple.

After years of studies and personal interviews with millionaires and billionaires I've compiled this comprehensive 8 step process to becoming financially secure. The plan is simple, get out of debt, invest for the future, and attain multiple streams of income. If followed in the exact order listed below, you will achieve financial security. This is not merely an interesting theory of mine, but is a proven plan.

1. Get Rid of All Credit Cards

According to the Forbes 400, the best way to build wealth is to get out of and remain debt-free. Many seemingly intelligent people will tell you to keep a credit card so that when you "pay off your credit card each month" you can build credit. Here's a little secret though, financially independent individuals don't use credit cards and don't need credit (with the possible exception of buying a house) because they purchase everything with cash and NOT on credit.

Your debit card will do everything that your credit card will do (with the exception of the whole credit thing that you don't need). Many people seem to believe that there is more risk involved with using a debit card than a credit card. I don't know where this myth came from because Visa regulations actually require banks to offer the same protection that their credit cards do.

2. Starter Emergency Fund

Before you start tearing down the walls of debt, you need to put aside $1,000 (or $500 if you make under $20,000/yr.) for emergencies only. Starting a business is NOT an emergency. Christmas is NOT an emergency. Your emergency fund is for those unexpected events that cost you money such as car breaking down and needing repairs.

3. Pay off Debt

You do this by using the Dave Ramsey approach called the "Debt Snowball". You list all of your debts, including ones to family and friends, starting from the smallest amount of debt to the largest amount of debt. After you have done so, pay only the minimum monthly amount due and put all your extra expenses into tackling the smallest debt. After you have eliminated one smaller debt you have begun to build momentum, allowing you to put more money into paying off the next debt item on your list. Continue this process until everything is paid off with the exception of the house (we'll get to that one later).

4. Full Emergency Fund

After you have paid off your debt, it is time to set up your full emergency fund. In order to calculate how much you need for an emergency fund, figure out how much money you need to live off of for 6 months and then put that money into a separate Money Market Account (MMA) that is not attached to your checking account to protect yourself from overdrafting and dipping into your emergency fund.

5. Get Insurance

Now that you're debt-free and have money set aside for emergencies, lets start protecting your money you already have. Be careful as to which insurance you choose, however, most are not good investments sadly enough. There are 4 types of insurance you should invest in, health, life, disability, and long-term care. If your work provides basic health insurance for you, great! Otherwise you should get an MSA (Medical Savings Account). You should purchase only one type of life insurance and that's term-life insurance. It's a temporary life insurance that will be more than suffice until you have completed each of these steps and have built up so much wealth that you will be self-insured.

6. Invest for the Future

If you make under $100,000/yr then you qualify for a Roth IRA which averages over 12% compound interest each year over the course of your working lifetime. Best part of it is that you can withdraw your money at the time of retirement TAX-FREE! And if at any time you start making more than $100,000/yr you can roll your Roth IRA into a traditional IRA. If your company offers a 401(k) plan then you should invest in that in addition to your IRA.

So how much should you invest? Depends. I would never advise less than 10%. If you can't afford to invest 10% of your income into retirement then your current standard of living is way too high and you need to downsize FAST. I personally systematically set aside 10% for tithing, 10% for retirement, and since I'm an entrepreneur I set aside 10% for future business ventures and 10% in random investments such as stocks and real estate. You can adjust these numbers (or eliminate the 10% for future business ventures), but do not go any lower than 10% of your income for retirement.

Despite what others may tell you, millionaires do NOT "invest" in things such as their own home, art, or fancy cars. I'll explain more about the home in step 8, but millionaires will not invest in anything that will not give them back a positive cash flow, that's why they're millionaires. Yes, some may buy lots of expensive foreign cars and original works of art, but that's because they enjoy those things, not because they see them as investments.

7. Multiple Streams of Income

When I did door-to-door sales I can't tell you how many times I heard about one spouse losing a job so they could barely afford to pay their mortgage let alone add extra payments. First, if you live below your means as mentioned earlier and have a fully funded emergency fund then having your spouse lose his/her job should not be a huge dilemma. Second, poor people only have one stream of income per person, rich people have several streams of income. I have one friend in particular who has 4 streams of income that brings him in over $34 million each. Do you think if he lost his job he'd be hurting? Of course not! He works because he enjoys it, not because he HAS to. Multiple streams of income will help project you towards faster than any other way AND it creates a safety net around you and your family so that if anyone loses a job, you and your family are secure because you have 3 or 4 other sources of income. You will be out of the rat race and will be truly wealthy when your residual (passive) income exceeds your expenses and you work not because you have to work, but because you want to work.

8. Pay off the House

Why was this step not included with paying off debt in step 3? Because too many people have a paid for house and no money in the bank. However, millionaires do not hang onto their home mortgages for the "tax benefits". That is a myth by people who pretend to be rich. How do we know they're not rich? Because rich people can do math and would never suggest hanging on to a home mortgage. The reason for this is because the average household will pay $10,000 each year in interest on their home in order to receive a $3,000 tax deduction. That means you're paying $10,000 in order to save $3,000. Basic math will tell you that is $7,000 that you will never get back! Also, the average household will have purchased their home more than 3x by the time their 30 year mortgage is paid for. This is why I want to rip my hair out when I read others who say that millionaires keep their home mortgages.

I acknowledge the fact that several of you will not agree with what has been said, but like I said, nothing I have written is theory, it's all been proven by thousands of ordinary people like you. You are not forced to change your spending habits or lifestyle, but if you want to truly be wealthy and get out of the rat race you will. Good luck.

Model After Success

2012-04-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

Let me pose a simple a question. Would you ever have your company model a failing business? The obvious answer should be no. So then let me ask another obvious question. Would you ever model your business after a thriving enterprise? Again, the answer should be an obvious yes. Even though the questions I have posed to you are incontestable to everyone, there are still many businesses that fail because one of two poor choices. Either they choose to not model their business after other successful businesses or they choose to take advice from individuals who have never opened a business before or has seen their own businesses go up in flames. If we are to be successful in our entrepreneurial endeavors we need to model after success, not failure.

Too many individuals open a business striving to be "unique", "out there", and excessively "creative". While it is important to differentiate yourself from the competition, it is important that the core of your business be similar to those of other successful businesses. Remember, there is never a reason to reinvent the wheel.

It is important to model success after other businesses in other industries. For example, Steve Jobs studied the fine details of customer service from The Four Seasons Hotel and Mercedes-Benz. There is something to be learned about success from every industry.

Model your success after other successful people, businesses, and business models. Successful businesses follow models of success.

Create Your Own Job

2012-04-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

Most people wander through life wondering where their careers will take them. While the statement is true that you can never fully predict what life will throw at you or on the other hand what doors of opportunity will open, but you can guide your career path as a bare minimum in the general direction that you'd like to go.

The average American spends more time picking out what they're going to wear each day than they will ever in planning out their careers. According to Brian Tracy, a study was conducted at Harvard University which showed that only 3% of the graduating class from their business program had clear, written goals. A few years later the researchers found that the 3% who had written down their goals had accomplished more financially than the other 97% combined.

Before going to bed tonight you should clearly write or re-write your life goals and create a plan to accomplish it. Some of you may not want to do this because you haven't concluded what you want to do with your life. Do it anyway. Your goals are not written in stone and can be changed at any time. I personally have a 5 year plan clearly written on my computer which I revise on a fairly regular basis. I revise my goals and plans after I've accomplished a goal or if I need to change the projected date of accomplishment for any reason. I also revise my plan if I change my mind as to what I want to do with my life 5 to 10 years down the road.

Zig Ziglar said, "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." It takes no extra effort to set your goals high than it does to settle for mediocrity, so why not aim for something worthwhile?

How to Boost Traffic to Your Website For Free

2012-03-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

We all know about the importance of SEO, meta keywords, titles, etc. However, most of us neglect what's most important. 80% weight is given to quality backlinks in search engine algorithms. Which means the more quality backlinks you have, the higher you're going to be ranked on Google and Yahoo!.

More weight is also given to those to websites and blogs that are relevant to the shared link. For example, if you have a blog about professional soccer players and someone shares a post you wrote onto a Manchester United forum, the link shared will be more valuable to your ranking and ultimately your web traffic than say a website about American football.

Another aspect to consider is when a link is shared is how much traffic does the website (website your content is being shared on) receive? The more traffic it receives the higher quality the link and the higher your Page Rank increases.

Building up a large amount of external and internal links takes time. Do not pay for backlinks since search engines do not like that and will actually punish you for doing it. Also, the backlinks you pay for are usually pretty useless to your site's traffic since they blast your backlinks out to who knows. The best way to build quality backlinks is to create quality content on your website or blog. If your content is not unique or beneficial in some way, nobody will share your site's info.

There are a few things that you can do to speed up the process of creating backlinks:

1. Be a guest writer for popular websites or blogs

2. Social networking

3. Make sharing easy such as adding a "Share This" button at the end of every post

4. Create a Press Release

5. Simply ask people to share your content! You'd be amazed by how many people actually will

What Does A Professional Voicemail Sound Like?

2012-03-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

What does your personal cell phone voicemail sound like? Is it the generic, "Hi this is ______, sorry I couldn't answer your call at this time, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message I'll get back to you as soon as possible." or is it the even MORE generic voicemail that simply where you hear your voice say your name followed by the computer saying you're unavailable?

I've heard every kind of voicemail greeting, voicemails that sing, ones that are just goofy, others you can't understand a word they're saying, and voicemails that just plain make no sense. It's time to step away from that and set yourself apart from the rest.

As silly as it may sound, how professional your voicemail sounds give you a very competitive edge over your rivals. I know of one man in particular who actually got a job before he ever got interviewed simply because he used the technique that I'm going to describe to you right now.

The technique is simple and here is what you say, "Hi this is (your name) with (your business), sorry I missed your call, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message, you'll be amazed at how quickly I get back to you." Don't we all want to get back with our customers or associates within an hour anyway? Why not tell them that! You will be pleasantly surprised by the response you get from this one phrase alone that you add at the end of your voicemail. You sound professional, and people instantly want to do business with you.

How to Attract the Best Employees

2012-03-12T00:00:00.000-06:00

Do you want to keep your best employees working for you? Do you want a productive and efficient work environment that seems to attract good people to come work for you? If so (and you'd be crazy to not want those things) here are the 5 things that employees want and will attract only the best employees.

1. Basic Needs Met

Let's face it, if you pay your employees a minimum wage job are they looking to make a career out of it? Of course not! Anyone who's ever worked a low paying job knows that people aren't there to stay, they're only there until they find something better. You can also apply this to large corporations. Companies who want the best technicians, programmers, executives, and so on will always offer the highest salaries.

2. Recognition

There's a reason why "Employee of the Month" is such a huge hit among business owners and employees alike. Business owners enjoy it because they like to see their employees work hard for something, even if it's only recognition. Employees enjoy it because they like to know that their hard work isn't going unnoticed. It's a win-win for everyone.

3. Feel Valuable

Employees want to feel like they're important to the company. This is done by doing simple things everyday such as asking an employee their suggestion on a current issue. Regardless if you take their advice or not, they know that you at least took the time to see what their thoughts and feelings were, took what was said into consideration, then made a decision that would best fit everyone's needs.

4. Perks

I'm sure you've met many people as I have, that work at certain shops or restaurants because of the discounts they get. For example, before my wife and I got married, she worked at Ross and hated it, but she kept the job because she valued the discount she got on all store items plus an additional 30% discount twice a year that was available to employees only.

5. Treated With Respect

I've noticed that sometimes managers and business owners alike forget that their employees have families, friends, and social lives as much as they do (if not more so). For illustration purposes, telling an employee he/she can't go on a vacation after it was already promised to him/her is a quick way to lose an employee who will inevitably spread a bad reputation about you and your company, DON'T DO IT. I'm not saying you should let your employees get time off anytime they want, but they want and NEED to be treated with respect.

What are some areas that you are struggling in and what can you do to improve?

The 7 Forms of Advertising

2012-03-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Most of us are great at a few areas of advertising, but neglect other forms of advertising for various reasons. Not to worry, this post will help you get back on track to maximize your advertising and ultimately your revenue.

1. Print Advertising

Print advertising includes (but is not limited to) magazines, newspapers, coupon books, billboards, flyers, business cards, and door hangers. Print advertising is one of the oldest forms of advertising and is still around today because it's still easily one of the most effective forms of advertising.

2. Television

Television can include sponsoring an event that's aired on television, getting news coverage both locally and nationally, infomercials, and late night and prime time television commercials. The more air time you get, the better.

3. Radio

This includes sponsoring radio programs, hosting a contest, commercials, and having a radio station host an event at your place of business or event.

4. Social Media

Social media involves the essentials: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, etc.

5. Blogging

There's two ways you can do this. You can either create a pseudonym and try to create a following to influence your audience to buy into your business, OR you can do what I recommend which is to get someone else with a popular blog to write about your product/business.

6. Search Engine

Search engine advertising means placing ads on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.

7. Word-of-Mouth

Word-of-mouth encompasses sharing posts and pictures (this also overlaps into social media), the traditional way of simply talking with friends about the product/service, telemarketing, and referrals.

Simple enough right? It's not that none of the 7 forms of marketing above are foreign to any of us, it's simply that we forget to utilize them. Which of these 7 is your marketing plan lacking in?

Why Your Company Needs To Be In The Coupon Business

2012-03-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Since the economy hit rock bottom back in 2008, stay-at-home parents have been looking for ways to save money wherever they can, especially on their routine bills and purchases such as groceries. I'm sure you've seen them, the men and women with binders chock full of coupons and newspapers of the local deals. Some of you may be thinking that this new couponing craze is just a fad, but I personally believe it's here to stay and if your business isn't rolling out the best deals, you may be closing your doors very soon.

The reason I believe that this couponing craze is more than a mere fad is because couponing for many parents is a lifestyle. It's become a habit to always be looking for the best bargains on every purchase. It is important for you to understand this because while these bargain hunters are great to bring in when you have a great deal going on, they have no sense of brand loyalty. You can offer great value and customer service, but without the cheapest deals you may never see these customers again.

I'm not saying that offering the lowest prices is the best way or the right way to go for that matter. However, you need to offer sales and coupons to bring in those bargain hunters. Remember, low prices are great, but if your product or service prices are not backed by value and quality, these bargain hunters (many of which have blogs) will be spreading a bad reputation about your company like a virus. But, if you offer a great deal to these bargain hunters and back your prices up with value, you're guaranteed to succeed.

7 Keys to Success: Part 7

2012-03-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is the final step in a 7 part series.

So far in this series we've covered the importance of knowing exactly what you want, gaining specialized knowledge, goal setting, having a plan, exercising faith, and being flexible. The last step or principle we need to seriously talk about is doing more than is expected of you.

Former NFL superstar, Jerry Rice made the habit of doing more than he was asked to do. When the team was asked to sprint 100 yards, he would sprint 110 yards every single time. Rice made it a habit of working harder than anybody else.

If we are going to be business "superstars", we have to have the same mindset and attitude of Jerry Rice. Successful people in any industry (including professional athletes) all have similar habits. They each follow the previous six steps mentioned in my earlier 7 Keys to Success posts and consistently under promise and over deliver.

Think back on your personal experience as a business owner or manager. Who were your favorite employees? Did they show up to work on time and leave on time, or were they the type of people who showed up early and oftentimes went home late? Did they fulfill all of their assigned duties and nothing more, or did they fulfill all of their duties and then do a little extra because they had some spare time? Of course we preferred the employees who went the extra mile. We must apply this same mindset when either working for someone else or serving our customers.

The businesses and individuals who are the most successful in life know what is required of them and then do just a little bit extra each time. They ask themselves, "How can I take this one step further?" or "How can I make this even better than it already is?" They never settle for being at the same level as everybody else. Remember, the enemy of the best is not mediocrity, the enemy of the best is "just fine." How can you take you or your business to the next level and maximize your success?

7 Keys to Success: Part 6

2012-03-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is step 6 in a 7 part series.

So far in the series we've covered the importance of knowing exactly what you want, setting goals, becoming a specialist, planning, and faith. Each of these five principles and been build up to the last two principles of success and the one we're going to cover in this post is being flexible (to a degree anyway).

At first glance this may seem to be in direct contradiction with the first five principles, let me assure that it is not and I will tell you why. Let's say your goal is to be the CEO of Company X. If you have no executive experience what are your chances of becoming the CEO after carefully looking over your resume? To be honest with you, you don't even have a chance. This is where flexibility plays a part. At this point you have several different options. You can either take a lower position job at the company, arrive early, stay late, work weekends, and hope that some of the big wigs notice you. Another option would be to do the same thing at a smaller company where you believe you have a greater chance of moving up the ladder more quickly or starting off at a higher position. Yet another option you have is to start your own business, manage it for a number of years, then work your way into some executive positions wherever you can until you eventually become the CEO of the company of your dreams.

You can find people all over the world who have done exactly what I mentioned above and succeeded. You'll also find people who have taken different paths and have obtained the same results. Do what you're most comfortable doing and what will work best for you. Take caution, however, being flexible does not mean losing focus on your central goal or going whichever way the wind carries you. Only engage in activities that will help you take a step toward achieving your goal.

Remember, major goals do not happen over night, they will require you to follow the five previous steps to the "T", but if you will follow the steps taught, you will succeed.

7 Keys to Success: Part 5

2012-03-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is step 5 in a 7 part series.

The next step in our journey to success is the principle of faith. A while back I wrote a post called, "The Law of Belief" and its core message I believe bears repeating.

Each of us become who we truly see ourselves as and achieve what we believe we are capable achieving, but nothing more. Self limiting mindsets are typically taught to us from our parents. For some reason if our parents only earned $60,000/yr, we believe that we're only capable of achieving $60,000/yr. ourselves as well. At times, we can even feel guilty if we feel like we might actually earn more than our parents did.

Our emotions typically make no sense to anyone, including ourselves as the illustration above demonstrates. In order for us to overcome these mental roadblocks we have placed on ourselves, we must reprogram our brain in order to generate new belief systems. We do this through the power and use of what is called autosuggestion. According to Napoleon Hill in his class book, Think and Grow Rich, autosuggestion is "... a term which applies to all suggestions and all self-administered stimuli which reach one's mind through the five senses... Through the dominating thoughts which one permits to remain in the conscious mind, (whether these thoughts be negative or positive, is immaterial), the principle of auto-suggestion voluntarily reaches the subconscious mind and influences it with these thoughts."

To take full advantage of autosuggestion, you must write down a series of affirmations or phrases/sentences that you would like to apply to you, onto a 3" x 5" index card. Make sure you write only positive phrases such as "money flows to me easily" instead of "I'm debt-free". Both phrases in theory can mean essentially the same thing, but one causes your subconscious mind to dwell on debt while the other forces you to concentrate on prosperity. After you have a small list of affirmations, recite them out loud morning and night. It's crucial to read your affirmations out loud at these times because that is when your subconscious is more susceptible to positive influences. Also, read your affirmations out loud every time, even if you have them memorized. This is another way for your brain to ingrain the message that you are trying to tell it.

To learn more about autosuggestion read my popular post, "The Power of Autosuggestion".

7 Keys to Success: Part 4

2012-02-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is step 4 of a 7 part series.

The next step on our path to success is to make a plan. Would you ever build a house without a blueprint? Of course not! So if we would never build a house without a blueprint, why would we try building our future without a plan?

As mentioned in previous posts, most people spend more time picking out their wardrobe than their careers in life. This is why we have so many well-dressed poor people. History proves that note-worthy events were first created with a plan.

As you begin your planning process, it is important to start with identifying all potential roadblocks. After you've identified all potential roadblocks, write a list of solutions to the roadblocks and begin making plans to accomplish your goals immediately.

The next step to planning involves taking your one major goal as discussed in step 3, and breaking them down into small incremental steps. In essence, you are beginning with the end in mind and working backwards.

In accomplishing your goals, 90% of your efforts are in planning and only 10% are in actually doing. The more you plan ahead the more smoothly your plans will go. Do not under any circumstances underestimate this step.

7 Keys to Success: Step 3

2012-02-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is step 3 of a 7 part series of posts.

In the previous posts we discussed the importance of knowing exactly what you want and goal setting. This post is going to emphasize the necessity of gaining specialized knowledge. Notice the emphasis on the word "specialized."

In today's society we are taught to believe that a college education will somehow guarantee success. At least that's what the poor people tell us. In fact, the majority of studies done on the richest men and women in America that I've read about and the wealthy people that I've personally met don't attribute much of their personal success to college. Why is that?

When people go to college they start as freshmen and have to work their way up to graduation. It is the same in life. Having a new college degree does not guarantee anyone a brighter future. Sure it increases your chances, but no guarantees are ever promised. There is, however, a way that you can work your way up to the top faster; and that is to become a specialist.

For example, which type of doctors in the medical field typically make the most amount of money? The ones who specialize in a limited amount of areas. Specialists make a considerable amount of more money than general physicians because they're in higher demand due to their specialized knowledge and skill. This makes them more valuable to the consumer.

Gaining specialized knowledge reaches much farther than just the medical field. Becoming a specialist can expand to areas such as marketing, websites, and businesses. For example, if you want to start a website, you need to talk to an online marketing specialist, not just some computer geek who likes to write code. Make the decision now to become a specialist and watch your personal value and demand grow.

7 Keys to Success: Step 2

2012-02-23T01:07:00.000-07:00

This is step 2 of a 7 part series of posts.

"People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine." - Brian Tracy

After you know exactly what you want, the next step is to set goals to achieve them. The majority of the world fail to follow this simple step and out of the few who do set goals, even fewer actually write their goals. A goal is nothing more than a dream until it is written down with a plan in place. Goals are important and vital to success, but unless they are written down, they're not much better than dreams.

When you write down your goals, make certain you include a goal date. Parkinson's Law states that time expands or contracts according to the amount of time you give. Common sense says the sooner your date, the more rapidly you're going to accomplish your goal. Despite the simple logic behind all this, so few actually catch on to this concept. They don't believe what thousands of other successful men and women have taught and followed themselves to achieve their success and somehow believe their plan is better. Don't be fooled. To achieve success you need to do what successful people do, and successful people write goals with accomplishment dates.

Read more about this from my extremely popular post, "The 20 Key Principles of Goal Setting".

7 Keys to Success: Step 1

2012-02-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

There are 7 essential keys to success: Know exactly what you want, gain specialized knowledge, set goals, plan, faith, be flexible, and do more than what you're asked to do. I will be covering only the first key to success in this post, and will write about the other six principles throughout the next week or two.

As stated earlier, the first key to success is knowing exactly what you want. In the revolutionary book on success, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill shares a story about a particular man named Edwin C. Barnes. Mr. Barnes had a burning desire to not simply work for the world-famous Thomas Edison, but to work with Edison. Barnes knew exactly what he wanted and refused to settle for anything else. To make a long story short, Barnes arrived at Edison's office and got what he asked for. Why? Edison later recalled, "because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded."

There are countless stories similar to this of individuals knowing exactly what they want and achieving what they set out to accomplish. It is said that people spend more time planning out their wardrobe for the day than they do for their careers. How pathetic is that? The most popular program studied at universities today is a degree called, "University Studies" which is another term for "I have no idea what I want to do with my life." Like Zig Ziggler said, "You can't hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have."

If you are like one of the many "University Studies" students, then make a goal today to figure out exactly what you want out of life. Where do you want to be in a year from now? Five years? Ten years? The more specific you can get, the better. You'll find that as soon as you make up your mind as to what you want out of life, people, programs, and opportunities will begin showing up seemingly out of nowhere, pointing you to the right direction. None of this can start to happen for you until you decide exactly what you want.

How to Prevent Buyer's Remorse

2012-02-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

So you just sold a customer a great product and he/she is ecstatic about it. They go home, show their spouse the fabulous product they just bought and what does their spouse do? Grill them with questions like, "Well did you shop around and see if you were really getting the best deal before you just went out and bought it?" With questions like this something every salesman dreads begins to happen, buyer's remorse.

Anyone whose ever been in sales knows that the most important conversation that happens is the one that you never hear. Sometimes it's positive, sometimes it's not. Good news is there are ways that we can help gear those unheard conversations in the right direction.

The first tactic that's extremely effective in avoiding buyer's remorse is leaving something behind for the customer to look at after you're no longer with them. The item you leave behind can be anything ranging from a check off sheet of the advantages of your product over similar products to why your product has the highest value out of any other products on the market. The more value you can build the better.

The second way to avoid to buyer's remorse is to give your new customer an evening courtesy call the SAME day you sold them the product. This makes the customer feel like they weren't just tools for you to make money and it also shows that you genuinely care about them. During the phone call ask the customer if he/she has any questions they may have forgotten to ask and reassure them that he/she got the best product for him/her. At the end of the conversation demonstrate quality customer service and tell the customer that if he/she has any further questions or concerns you are only a phone call away and will respond back as quickly as possible.

These two techniques alone will help you make and keep more money in your pocket than any slick sales tactics that are currently being used. Keys to sales success is to build value and make the customer feel like they're important.

How to Stay Ahead of Your Competition

2012-02-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

We all know that one of they key elements of getting ahead of your competition in your industry is becoming the most innovative. But how do you stay ahead of the curve? There's only one logical solution really, surround yourself with passionate people.

How is it that Apple is consistently leading the market in cutting edge technology? Steve Jobs was passionate about what he did and surrounded himself with people who were also passionate about what they did. You need to do the same thing.

When you interview individuals to fill a position in your company, ask them what their hobbies and interests are. Based on their responses you can readily tell if they're going to be passionate about your business, or if they're just looking for an income.

It is important to note that if you want your staff to be passionate about your business, you first need to be passionate about it yourself. How effective is an army whose general couldn't care less about the battle they're about to enter? Neither will your staff care about your projects if you yourself don't set the standard for enthusiasm. When you and your team are passionate about their work, that's when great things begin to happen, that's when innovation flows with ease.

Give Your Facebook Page a Facelift

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned several times before, Facebook Pages are becoming more and more essential in today's business world. Facebook is essential to any B2C (Business to Consumer) growth because it promotes word-of-mouth advertising on a whole new level. Facebook allows users to share their favorite restaurant, store, or new product with thousands of their friends at the same time. What's not to love?

Now there's another reason to fall in love with Facebook Pages; ShortStack. I just recently discovered ShortStack and boy am I excited to use it! ShortStack makes it easy for any Facebook Page to be converted to it's own website on Facebook.

ShortStack allows users to create their own tabs on Facebook, ranging anywhere from a "Contact Us" tab to being able to make restaurant reservations straight from your Facebook Page! Now how cool is that?

I have not yet added any of it's cool features to my Facebook Page yet because the instant I saw the app I knew I had to share this golden nugget with my loyal readers before they decide to start charging for their services. So what are you waiting for? Get going and turn your boring Facebook Page to a Facebook Page that people are going to be talking about!

Everyone's in Sales

2012-02-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone is in sales, whether their title says they are or not. Every day we are selling something: a product, service, our friend that we want to set up on a date; but most importantly ourselves. In today's society, having good salesmanship is equally important, if not more important than a college degree, if we want to become successful. For example, if two candidates with equal credentials walk into an interview, who do you think is going to walk out of there with the job? The answer: the one with the better people skills, which is simply another term for "salesmanship". I have personally never been turned down a job after an interview. Why? I know what the "hot buttons" are for employers and what kind of employees, they're looking for. That's salesmanship.

The importance of sales skills stretch over into several areas such as selling the value of your services in order to land huge contracts, managers who need to deal with unhappy employees and customers, assistants and secretaries who need to schedule appointments for physicians, and a blue collar worker asking for a pay raise. Developing good salesmanship will help you in any industry or job you may have, I guarantee it.

Learning to develop your sales skills could help boost your income and better your life dramatically. Don't wait to start learning how to become a better salesman, begin today.

Your Customer's Perceived Value

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

In Las Vegas, Nevada there is a hairdresser who charges thousands of dollars for a basic haircut (not including color that he might add). He's easily the most expensive hairdresser, but also the most popular and renowned hairdresser in Las Vegas. Why? He understands his target market VERY WELL, and understands the importance of perceived value.

When the customer arrives, the hairdresser will typically make a presentation by clapping his hands together and ordering his assistants to veil the mirror. The hairdresser typically has about four assistants whose sole purposes are to hand him tools such as scissors, clippers, hair spray, etc. throughout the haircut, similar to the way nurses give assistance to a surgeon during an operation. The client has no opinion as to what happens to his/her hair, all trust is placed in the hands of the expert hairdresser. At the end of the haircut the hairdresser, orders the veil to be lifted in a dramatic way for the client to see. This oftentimes causes the client to become overwhelmed with joy and excitement as the client sees the results of the hairdresser's skillful hands and expertise.

The difference between this hairdresser and all the other beauticians in the industry is the presentation, which gives the customer a higher perceived value. In all reality, there are several beauticians who can do an equally or even better job than this hairdresser, but the high-end hairdresser understands the consumer's mind which gives him a huge edge over his competition.

This hair dresser's approach can be duplicated to virtually any industry. If your customers can see the value in your service, they'll pay any price you ask for. How can you apply what this hairdresser did to you business?

Why You Need to Keep Up With Technology

2012-02-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

With additional apps, software, and programs being developed all the time it is essential to know which ones are beneficial for your business and how to effectively use them. With the continuous advancement of technology, it is becoming easier and easier to reach more people both locally and globally. Some apps and websites were initially intended to be used solely for social purposes, such as Facebook, but soon became powerful tools for businesses worldwide. It should be each of our goals to learn which social tools are becoming increasingly popular and educate ourselves on how we can leverage these tools to our advantage.

It is important that we don't limit ourselves either solely to Internet websites and smart phone apps, but that we also learn how to use everyday programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Most people don't realize that their company's finances can easily be taken care of through Microsoft Excel if they will just learn to use a few basic formulas. The same goes for Microsoft Word. Few recognize the fact that they can readily print and organize mailing lists for any purpose in a matter of a few seconds (if the information is already entered into the computer that is). Each of us need to be cautious to not overlook some of these powerful tools simply because we get used to using them for only one or two purposes.

Another online feature that is free to everyone and can be extremely powerful is Google Places. Every Android phone is powered with the app "Places" which will allow any Android user to find your business if it matches their search criteria. Another additional feature is if a user decides to look something up on their Google browser from their phone, if your business matches the search inquiry, they'll be able to find your business through Google's navigation system or call your business directly from their browser without having to change screens.

I've only listed a miniscule amount of apps, websites, and software programs that your business can leverage. In comparison to the multitude of available resources on the market today, learn what people are using and learn to use that tool to your advantage.

Just Do It

2012-02-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

"Keys to success... Research your idea, Plan for success, Expect success, and just plain do it! It amazes me how many people skip the last step! Practice being a 'doer' and success will follow you every step of the way!" - Josh S. Hinds

If we really want to accomplish great things in our lives, we must learn to cast aside all fears and go for it. When I started Marketing Mastery a little over a year ago (December 2010) I knew and understood well a lot of things about marketing and business, but I had no skills whatsoever in web design. It was embarrassing how this blog looked when I first got started, but the point is that I got started.

I knew nothing about HTML coding, but I do now. I knew nothing about CSS, but I do now. I knew nothing about graphic design, but I do now. The lesson to be learned here is that I learned as I went along and as a result have learned at a much quicker rate. If you wait until you know everything that there is to know, you'll never get started because it's impossible to know everything you'll need to know before you begin.

Many people are afraid to get started because they're afraid of failure. They're afraid of what others might think if they fail or possibly what might happen to their families if they fail. If you want to succeed, you have to shrug off what the critics might say. In case you haven't noticed, the critics are always unsuccessful! They have a belief buried inside of them that they can't succeed, and in turn believe that no one else around them can succeed either! See how ridiculous this logic is? So ignore the critic and get on with your life. As far as putting yourself and loved ones at risk, here's some sound advice: don't be stupid. Got it? Don't put your house up as collateral, don't quit your day job before your new venture has a good track record for generating income, and don't sign any long-term agreements for things like office space. Start small. Only invest a small portion of your monthly income to help you get started and then actually get started!

After you get started you'll run into roadblocks, that's okay, it happens to everyone. The difference between failures and successful people, however, is that failures give up at the first sight of struggle while successful people push through to the end.

At every opportunity seek out expert advice from others in your respected field. Truly successful people don't mind helping out other people because they understand that there's plenty of pie to go around. Learn from experts because they will help you avoid making common mistakes and errors that otherwise might have been made. In the instance where you DO make a mistake, quickly correct it, learn from it, and move on.

Remember, plan your work and work your plan. Planning is only half the battle (and the hard part in my opinion), but planning is a waste of time without execution. Cast aside all fears (while keeping your head on straight of course) and just go for it! No one can truly live their lives the way they're meant to be lived if they're too afraid to try.

7 Ways to Make Your Company Stand Out

2012-02-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

One of my mentors would constantly ask me, "What are you doing that sets you apart from the rest of your competition?" If I couldn't readily answer the question with confidence, I knew it was time for me to go back to the drawing board. It's impossible to make a splash in the industry while blending in. So here is a list of 7 ways that you can distinguish yourself from the rest of your competition.

1. Best Price

Depending on your business, this can either really help your business or hurt it. For example, if you run a website or an app, then striving to be the cheapest is probably a good way to go.

2. Best Quality

People are willing to pay more money for better quality, simple as that.

3. Best Deals

Offering a discount card for returning customers can be a great way to get returning customers, and oftentimes bring other people with them the next time they come back. Another way you could offer great deals is through your website or various coupon sites.

4. Best Atmosphere

Hard Rock Cafe has mastered this. I've never heard anyone praise how amazing Hard Rock is based on their food (which is actually pretty good), but based on the atmosphere. Before I went my first time I remember friends telling me, "You have go at least one time just for the experience." He was right. The atmosphere alone was worth the price.

5. Best Advertising

People will either come to love, hate, or admire your business based on your advertising. I know for me personally, I am more apt to go with a certain brand just because I remember their hilarious commercial. You can swear up and down all day that advertising doesn't work on you, yet you go with a certain brand every day for a reason, whether you recognize those reasons or not.

6. Best Customer Service

This is something that every business should strive to distinguish itself in. You can do all the right advertising and have all the right prices and products, but without good customer service you'll rarely have many returning customers. On the other hand, if you have outstanding customer service, your customers are going to tell all their friends about you.

7. Most Attractive Employees

Have you ever gone to a certain restaurant or cafe hoping to see that really cute waitress or cashier? Admit it, we all have (except for me of course). Businesses such as Hooters have actually based their business' success on this last principle. I'm not saying you need your employees to dress the same way they do at Hooters, but try hiring attractive people who will be working face to face with your customers and you'll be surprised by the results.

Why You Can't Trust Blogger Statistics

2012-02-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you have a blogger account and a Google Analytics accounts, you know exactly what I'm talking about when I say there's a discrepancy between the two Google systems. For me personally, I get about 2x - 4x as many pageviews on Blogger as I do according to Google Analytics. Why? For starters, even though Blogger and Analytics are both Google services, the way they track pageviews is a little different, but the details are unclear to how they differ.

Another reason that Blogger Stats and Google Analytics vary is because Blogger tracks what is called "Referrer Spam" and Google Analytics doesn't. Referrer spam is a technique that involves making repeated web site requests using a fake referrer url that points to the site the spammer is advertising. This might be the reason also that your Blogger blog receives pageviews from people in Europe and Asia while Google Analytics doesn't track these spam referrers. When these referrer spam links hit the Blogger server, blogger counts it as a pageview, but for unknown reasons Google Analytics is capable of deciphering these as illegitimate pageviews.

If your Blogger stats consistently go up and down this may be the reason why. It takes Google a while to block these spammers, but it's usually futile because spammers typically find another way of getting into your stats. This is why I recommend using a reliable web analytics service such as Google Analytics or Quantcast.