Communication | Educational Article

Marketing Sales Leads

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

by Jeff Dedrick

A marketing lead is any potential contact that your business acquires for a likeliness of a sale. This is any organization or individual that shows an interest in your products or services. A marketing lead can be obtained either through effective networking leading to a response to your advertisements, or it can also be obtained through referrals from existing clients.

There are a couple of ways that will lead you to generating these much wanted marketing leads. You can start by trying out with the list of clients that you have. Query them to refer their business acquaintances to you. One way to create a good rapport with your existing client base is to offer incentives such as a “finder’s fee” for any referral.

There are a couple of effective software that, when used properly, can capture information of people visiting your website. Create a website and talk to your web master to create a form that can be used to easily track potential clients when they visit your website. You will be in a better position to design a good email campaign or a mail that will be specifically tailored to their specific needs.

Another alternative is for you to join groups or associations that provide for your potential clients needs. Your membership can qualify you to have access to the member’s directory hence getting those contact details. Similarly, be on the look out for conferences that are likely to attract your target audience.

The internet can also be a very effective way of generating marketing leads. Posting ads on free listings such as the Craiglist, creating blogs on your area of specialization, or writing a detailed informative white paper and having other sites to post for you then provide a link to your site are a few among the many online opportunities that you can maximize.

Social networking sites can also be very effective in generating new marketing leads. Create a detailed profile on your expertise on the sites. Mailing list providers and online list vendors are also known to offer reasonably priced leads and setting up a relationship with them can help your business. They can sort and filter potential leads by categories that are specific to your needs.

Remember, your business can get many marketing leads but the tricky part is how your company exerts efforts in generating the leads. Having a well laid out follow-up plan for handling the leads will significantly have a huge impact of closing sales.

About the Author:

Would you like to learn list building techniques and increase your sales? Learn how to build relationships with those on your lists, boost your sales, and create a name for yourself. Click here email lists to learn how to get more leads and build your list http://www.leadsandlistbuilding.com

Tags: Networking
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Leadership Development Is Vital To Your Business

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

by Bart Icles

Executive coaching and leadership training are two great ways to improve productivity in the work place. These techniques can help train employees to perform at a higher level and raise the overall value of the company. In order for this to happen, the employee must be willing to take direction and constructive criticism.

Many times, we have had managers and leaders ask us, What do you do when you have tried to coach and counsel an employee about a performance concern, and the employee has not responded? This can be a very uncomfortable situation for both the employee and his superior. It is essential that the coach and the employee have a sit down talk and get everything on the table.

We have seen far too many cases when the leader has not tried to communicate his concerns into words. Many leaders look for the quick fix and lack on explaining important specifics. When the problem does not improve, the supervisor is mad, and the employee is confused.

One of the most important things to having a successful company is communication between employees and their managers. The only way leadership training and executive coaching will be effective is with trust and communication between team members.

Many people in leadership positions don’t understand the entire principle of coaching. Unfortunately, we have seen many cases when the leader coaches his/her employees in a one shot effort. The manager is usually disappointed when he does not see good results. Inspiring and training your employees takes a lot of effort and time. It is a significant investment, but can be the difference between taking your company to the next level. Coaching requires regular ongoing discussions and experiences to achieve the level of support and cooperation needed.

In some work settings employees have become extremely use to heavy authority and strict procedures. Many times, this is not an environment conducive to leadership development. In this situation, employees usually don’t feel attached to the job or organization. They lack true desire to improve and become an active part of the team. There are many examples of organizations that have very low performance in this type of a firm. Probable the best thing a leader can do is pull back and reexamine the entire working setting. Management needs to reestablish the company goals and implement a new strategy to be successful.

Establishing the right setting for your firm is a major part of having a successful company. When the employees feel a sense of security and loyalty towards the company, they will be prepared to improve their performance through executive coaching and leadership training.

About the Author:

CMOE has been helping companies with leadership skill development and executive coaching since 1978. Through new strategic thinking and other innovative business techniques CMOE has established themselves a leader in the business world. Visit www.cmoe.com for more information.

Tags: Team Building
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Salary Negotiating - Don’t Miss the Boat

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

by Trevor Davide Grant

Salary negotiation early in one’s career can have a huge impact on the quality of life they have in the long run. The biggest impact is determined by the salary they negotiate before their first day of work in their job.

This should be considered whether it is a first job out of school or a mid-career job change. Beyond that, there are impacts even when you are working for an employer that you are very happy with. Not engaging in salary negotiation at the right time can have real financial impact.

During your career, you may earn pay raises and job advances within the company that you work for, but when the company offers regularly scheduled increases, as many companies do, the impact of your starting salary with that employer is significant.

This is not only applicable to your first salary negotiation and subsequent incremental pay raises but also to salary differentials you may get when you changes roles within a company. You may switch into a job requiring significantly increased duties, effort, or responsibilities, and the salary you had earned beforehand can genuinely influence the starting salary at the new job.

Take for example a person starting a new job as a business analyst in a software company somewhere in the US. Say for example that person begins with a starting salary of $45,000. Most likely that person will have to put in 6 months to a full year before they are offered their first pay increase. Suppose it is a 10% pay raise which would be SIGNIFICANT in many companies. The employee would gain an additional $4500 per year because of that increase.

Now imagine that same employee started at $55,000 or even higher. That same pay raise of 10% would provide the same person $5500 additional salary per year. With the first salary, the employee would still be under the $50,000 level after one full year of work and after a 10% pay raise, while in the second scenario the employee would be at over $60,000 per year after a 10% raise.

Imagine the compound impact of these two starting salaries on the person’s earning potential. First let’s examine a four year timeline, all other things being equal (that is, assuming no pay raises and no promotions). The employee earning $45,000 will have earned $180K in gross salary in four years. The person earning $55K will have earned $220,000 in 4 years. That is a $40,000 difference just because of where the person started in terms of salary.

Now imagine a 10% raise after the first year and consider the impact as the person advances through their career. The person with a higher salary in the beginning will always be ahead of the person with the lower starting salary, all things being equal (e.g. same title, same job performance). The person with the better salary negotiating will be moving ahead faster than the person starting with the lower salary. This impact amplifies with each subsequent year considering the same percent annual pay raise for each.

When requesting a pay raise, if a person earning $50,000 earns a 5% raise without negotiating anything more, that’s not bad. But consider the impact if the person negotiates a 15% raise because they have outperformed in the job and they have all the supporting research and a track record to warrant it. That employee will have negotiated salary - $7,500 in a raise versus just accepting $2500. Multiply that by 10 years, and there is a $50,000 impact on the person’s earning potential.

Many experts feel it goes without saying that it is better to try negotiating a raise or an improvement to the compensation package than to simply accept what is offered. The first offer is usually the lowest offer and can be improved upon. This negotiation must be done with masterful skills and must be well founded with a supporting case for the increase.

It must also consider factors such as market, company guidelines, and professional performance. However when done well, it can really pay off. Remember to consider the value of all factors of compensation when asking for an increase. Some people truly value time and quality of life, while others are willing to venture out and accept stock options in lieu of extra salary.

However, when it comes to salary negotiation, don’t be afraid to consider asking for more salary.

About the Author:

Trevor Davide Grant is a project manager in the IT field and has extensive experience at salary negotiation. Trevor has worked for large telecom, power generation, software development consulting, and a prevalent web 2.0 website. He has learned how to negotiate a salary in the most effective way. Learn incredible strategies on the topic of salary negotiating at www.HowToNegotiateASalary.com

Tags: Negotiation
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Chiropractic Video Marketing Made Ridiculously Simple

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

by Matthew Loop, DC

No one could have guessed how phenomenally successful social networks like YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace would become. The power and potential of these top sites are mind boggling. When in 2005 I began to introduce the power of these sites to chiropractors and show them the impact it could have on their marketing, I knew that web 2.0 could bring all of them phenomenal marketing success in these difficult times. Knowing all this, I still couldn’t even fathom the remarkable success that was really still to come.

And that wasn’t the end of it either. I was able to save a remarkable amount of time by leveraging tasks, and was able to use web 2.0 and all its services at absolutely no cost. No wonder expensive marketing firms are working like crazy to find new clients to charge loads of money. They sense the end is near, because the real power of SEO and web 2.0 can be unleashed on your own! When I started to introduce myself to my community three years ago using MySpace, I was meeting nearly 50 people a day online. The traffic this drew to my website was unheard of. Soon enough, calls from potential patients starting coming in.

Within 24 hours of implementing my self-sufficient marketing tactics, I was successfully able to brand myself in the online community. I was able to send out information to subscribers weekly; material they chose to watch like informative videos and blogs. These people remained aware of my practice and what I was doing all the time. When you meet people online this way and keep them informed about your practice and chiropractics in general, you become the go-to chiropractor in your community. That’s just the beginning of the success you’ll unleash.

One of the things that I was able to capitalize on very early in my social network endeavors was simple chiropractic video marketing. Making videos and uploading them is a fairly simple, quick process yet so few chiropractors have even thought to marketing to their community this way. A word of advice, though. After you shoot your video from a video camera or digital camera, many times you will need to compress the actual file using Windows Movie Maker (if you have a PC) or iMovie (if you have a MAC). Then, you will be able to edit or upload to a video sharing website like YouTube.

I first noticed years ago that videos were getting a wonderful index status on the major search engines. We are visual creatures, and people respond more to watching videos online than they do to articles and blogs. When someone can see your face and hear your message, they automatically feel like they know you and can trust you. This is pure gold for your credibility in your community and in the chiropractic world. These videos are available to be viewed 24/7, so you know the internet is working for you, even when you’re sleeping! I carry my camera and tripod everywhere I go so that when I’m inspired to make an informative video, I can just do it. Some of the best I’ve made used the ocean or beautiful mountains as a background.

Almost half of the content online today is video, and its time you jumped on the bandwagon and put your chiropractic marketing into high gear. Remember, the more material you have online in the best variety, the more credibility you gain. Just imagine Googling someone or something, and coming up with a particular office or practice in multiple top billing positions. That person would automatically appear to be the authority on something, right?

It’s truly awesome when you have the ability to give people a tour of your office, so that they can really see where you work and the environment of your practice. I know it sounds funny, but I carry my video camera and tripod with me everywhere, because I’m always inspired by some new idea for an informational video and promo for my chiropractic practice. I’ve shot videos everywhere! It says something about the success of my practice that I’ve made promo videos in the office, at home, in the mountains, near oceans, and even in Costa Rica! Wouldn’t you like to hear answers about your back pain from someone sitting in a majestic location? Viewers come with me on this journey, and are better able to trust me when I speak to them in the flattering natural light.

Keep in mind that volume is really important when it comes to chiropractic video marketing. You want to make at least 1-2 videos a week to begin to successfully canvas the search engines with your material. This helps you to gain credibility in the market. When you outsource the videos production, you’re going to pay a lot of money. It really is so simple and easy to do it yourself. Ask people to subscribe to your YouTube video channel at the end of each one.

The important thing to remember is to relax, have fun, and to not be pretentious. Your videos should not be fake or give a false impression of who you really are. Convey your genuine feelings about wanting to help people and be the go-to person for their specific problems and this is what you will attract. With that in mind, provide a large amount of use value that your followers or people that see your video can implement that same day. This will give you even more credibility and build faster rapport with your community.

You need a good coach to teach you the secrets of SEO and chiropractic marketing using web 2.0. When you learn the skills from someone who found success doing the very same thing, you are then perfectly equipped to create your own success and take your chiropractic practice to new heights. You can’t learn any of this from a so-called “guru”. When you find the right coach, there’s no stopping you!

About the Author:

Dominate the 1st page of Google and get tons of New Patients with simple video chiropractic marketing. Go to the website http://DCincome.com and see why social media is taking the profession by storm! Learn from the Original social media marketing authority.

Tags: Networking
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RingCentral Fax Online Faxing - Affordable Business Solution

Friday, January 9th, 2009

by Caressa Waechter

Sending and receiving faxes is something most businesses need to do. But a fax machine can be a decent sized monthly expense since it needs its own phone line. Fortunately, there is a way to have full faxing capability without the expense of a dedicated phone line.

You get rid of the problem of needing a costly dedicated phone line when you use an online fax solution. You receive your own fax number with an Internet fax service, eliminated the need for a fax phone line. You only need Internet access and everything else is taken care of by the online fax service provider.

RingCentral Fax is a leading Internet faxing solution provider, with fax plans for any sized business. RingCentral Fax gives you with a dedicated fax number to receive faxes with, and you get your faxes via email, or by logging onto their Internet site.

Online faxing is available at all times, so you don’t have to worry about missing any faxes. Since you can view and edit faxes via the Internet, RingCentral Fax requires no printer to use with it.

Giving you a great combination of fax features and included pages, RingCentral Fax meets or beats its competition. And with RingCentral, you have the ability to send faxes from the most popular Windows programs, which adds to its flexibility.

Receive faxes online is a super affordable way to get all of the benefits of a traditional fax machine, but not all of the aggravation and expense that comes with one. Assuming you have Internet access, you can send and receive faxes to any fax machine, regardless of your location.

You can be notified via your cell phone when you receive a new fax via RingCentral Fax. And if you ever need to send one fax to multiple people, you use the simple broadcast fax feature of RingCentral Fax.

Join the 21st century by using RingCentral Fax in place of a regular fax machine. They offer a free, 30-day trial, which gives you time to see if online faxing is for you. Stop wasting money with a traditional fax machine and take your fax service online!

About the Author:

Author Caressa Waechter loves to fax, and loves to save money, which is why she uses Internet faxing. Go to her website and begin you FREE, 30-day trial of Ring Central Fax.

Tags: Communication
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International Leadership - What Huge Opportunities?

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

by Mr Martin Haworth

Getting the very best results through their employees is the value of a great manager. In a changing world, their are huge opportunities where intercultural challenges can be both overcome and leveraged.

In order to provide modern solutions to modern problems the 21st century manager has to adopt accordingly. One area which requires such emphasis is in their intercultural management skills.

International; intercultural; multicultural and diverse are all terms that help us understand the new ways of a modern world and few large businesses are insulated from needing to embrace this new ‘technology’.

Multinationals have offices around the world; native audiences are not the sole consumer of products or services; manufacturers have to depend on foreign markets and distributors or even labor.

In a nutshell all companies must understand intercultural communication requirements.

Intercultural Management - What You Need To Know

The bottom line is that there is now, in a tough marketplace, a need for exceptional managers who can work worldwide to get the best from cultural differences.

The term “intercultural management skills” is loosely defined as the ability of a manager to deal and communicate with people from different cultures.

In all forms of people management, communication is a recognized key ingredient for success and intercultural communication is a term of increased complexity.

Just by getting the message across, you will ensure that the organization’s information is welcomed and appreciated.

Within the business, an multicultural manager plays the role of a go-between for senior personnel and employees and must have clear and effective communication with all.

Then there is also the talent required to extract the potential from a valuable team drawn possibly from all four corners of the globe too.

One way that a manager who works in diverse lands can make rapid progress is by living and working in the environment they are attempting to leverage. Carefully choosing appropriate personnel ready for such challenges is paramount.

And, of course, it’s vital to be able to build relationships on all sides to make this work as a mutually beneficial exercise.

Potential areas of success and failure arising from culture differences must be analyzed carefully, managed effectively and, where possible leveraged for the value such expertise brings.

Intercultural Management - Worldly Experience Counts

Apart from the more challenging differences across cultures, simply making sure that language issues are not a problem is the first and probably most obvious task.

Any intercultural manager has to use the experience he has and then supplement them with the following four skills:-

1. A focused awareness of the target location(s)

2. An ability to create value from new cultures

3. A flexible approach to different cultures

4. Taking change on board with ease

Intercultural awareness is the basis of wide ranging management skills. Having a hands-on experience of working amongst varied cultures is critical.

Yet, of course, someone who knows a particular country intimately will have added value, simply because they have absorbed many of the differences just by having been there for a time.

Flexibility Is The Key For Cross-cultural Managers

Flexibility will often happen naturally once a manager becomes aware of cultural differences and can see beyond superficial level experiences. Flexibility means thinking out of the box, when considering solutions to intercultural challenges.

Problems will need different solutions than perhaps might expect - and this often requires a very different approach.

It’s amazing how those who do really well, learn fast how to get the best from their local environment, leveraging local knowledge and radical solutions that come from out-of-the-box ideas that may be completely unexpected elsewhere.

It’s a great chance to find the best people; new items for sale and varied rules and regulations to make a better deal possible.

A good manager, well versed in the possibilities (rather then the problems!) of working in different parts of the world, will create profitable opportunities for their organization.

“A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains”, as the Dutch are known to say.

Patience, perception, persistence and resourcefulness, all coupled with a vison for what might be possible, all are the trademarks of the truly valuable intercultural manager.

About the Author:

(c) 2008 Martin Haworth, a business coach and 25 year time served manager, has written Super Successful Manager!, an easy to use, week-by-week performance improvement program for managers of EVERY skill level. Want a free sample lesson? It’s waiting for you at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com.

Tags: Team Building
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Salary Negotiation

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

by Trevor Davide Grant

Once a person asked me if it was okay to talk about their salary history with an employer during an interview. They were concerned about discussing their history because it was a little low and they thought it would have a negative effect on their salary negotiation. They were wondering how they could avoid the topic with the employer until the right time. My rule is to never be dishonest with an employer, however it is a good idea to avoid this topic until you have nearly closed the deal with getting the job.

When I have been pressured by HR for an response to that question in the past, my preferred approach is outlined in the following checklist.

1) First I’d just comment that I’d prefer to discuss the topic a little later on. It is too early at this time in the recruiting process to chat about this, and we do not know enough info about each other, neither about the job, nor about my work history. Also, my previous salary is not very relevant to the job I have applied to. I would rather be remunerated according to market conditions and the companies hiring guidelines for the job.

2) If put on the spot to respond during the interview, and they insist on knowing my previous salary, I mention the total value of what I expect for salary and all compensation. That includes cash, as well as benefits and other perks. I will mention holiday time, quality of life factors, and other things like pension and health plans. I also explain that what is most important to me is that the job offer is fair within the market rather than based on what I made in the past.

3) It is important for me to be aware before going into any interview what the standard salary range is for that position. I also want determine where my overall percentile would fall within that range. The vast majority of people are not at the top end of the salary range, so unless I know I have been a superstar, which I usually strive towards, then I wouldn’t recommend expecting the absolute maximum salary, unless I know I can explain why I am worth it. This is almost always confirmed by reference checks, and also, when starting the new job, it will be obvious if I am not in the 98th percentile. The goal is to be generous with your self evaluation but honest if you are not at the total superstar ranking.

4) No matter what you made at your previous jobs, your expectation should be set at the fair market value for the job in your region. You may have earned less money in the past than the current expectations, possibly even a lot less. The reasons are not relevant to the new job, and therefore you would prefer to be within the companies fair range. Aim to make it clear to the new employer that you want salary negotiations to be fair, regardless of your past salary history.

5) If you disclose your salary history information, remember to state your case about the relevance of the information. You may give your personal reasons for accepting the lower pay, but most important is to explain you want the outcome of the salary negotiation to be one where both parties are respected, and that they feel a sense of win-win in the outcome.

Whatever you to, be completely truthful during interviews. The employer has many ways of getting information and they will find out your true salary history if they are so determined. They will also learn about your past performance, and they may even ask you to produce a pay stub to prove your past salary. Remember you’re a highly skilled worker, and you bring a lot of value to the position. You just need the skills to communicate that value clearly and effectively to the new employer.

About the Author:

Trevor Davide Grant is a IT project managerin the software development industry and has considerable experience in salary negotiation. Trevor has worked for large telecom, electric utilities, software development consulting, and a prominent web 2.0 website. He has learned how to negotiate a salary in the most effective way. Learn great tips on the topic of salary negotiation at www.HowToNegotiateASalary.com.

Tags: Negotiation
Posted in Negotiation | No Comments »

Educational Article

Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

Marketing Sales Leads

Leadership Development Is Vital To Your Business

Salary Negotiating - Don’t Miss the Boat

Chiropractic Video Marketing Made Ridiculously Simple

RingCentral Fax Online Faxing - Affordable Business Solution

International Leadership - What Huge Opportunities?

Salary Negotiation

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