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Today’s Internet provides many opportunities for the entrepreneur because it is relatively easy to enter into any chosen industry. While this sounds exciting it’s really an illusion as most of these brave souls end up running into what I call the invisible e-business marketing barrier. I will walk you through the cost to develop a website to sell the product of your choice.

o $10 will buy you a domain name for 1 year - www.mybusiness.com
o $9/month for website hosting
o $250 for a professional logo
o $2,000 for outsourced web development
o $40/month merchant gateway & online store
o $0 dealership with wholesaler
Estimated start-up cost for 1 year = $2,848

For less than three thousand dollars you can have an international e-business that will look professional and will allow you to drop ship products direct to you customers without leaving your house. Wow, what an opportunity with lots of potential. Yes there is a lot of potential, but when you launch your website it is like a rain drop hitting the Atlantic Ocean; nobody knows you exist. Most newbie e-tailers think simply paying $50 to a search engine submit service will generate 1,000 of web page hits within days. While this used to be true 10 years ago, it will do nothing more than register your e-business somewhere at the bottom of the search engines listings. It is purported google.com and some other search engines may give new website boosted search ranking for a few weeks, but this can hardly sustain hits to your site. Still it’s a nice gesture in the brutal world of e-business.

The e-business entrepreneur is now scratching his head wondering why he is getting less than 10 unique visits to his website a day. So, he invests a few hundred dollars into pay- per-click advertising on Google or Yahoo. The more competitive your industry the more expensive it is to buy a high ranking pay-per-click advertisement. For example, “aviation headsets” can cost as much as $5 a click, and you have only driven one person to your e-business with the hopes of a conversion to a sale. The entrepreneur is now starting to feel how strong the invisible e-business marketing barrier is while he spends somewhere between $30 to $100 a day for small text ad’s on a leading search engine. This strategy will drive traffic to your website quickly, but for a hefty premium. This is a waste of money and best suited for a pulse marketing strategy because most e-business customers have ZERO loyalty; they shop for the cheapest price.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of climbing the search rankings naturally without having to engage in pay-per-click advertising, but it is an intensely complicated process and the paradigms can change from one week to the next. SEO can cost as little as a one time $500 fee to $10,000 a month. The risk involved for the entrepreneur is that a $10,000 investment may increase website unique hit from 10 hits a day to 1000 hits a day, but in a month the search engine could make changes to their algorithm and the weighting factors for your website may change, crashing your ranking from the top 10 to top 500. If you’re not in that magical first page search engine listing your are not going to see significant hit increases.

Without capital to invest in marketing your website will be a liability, so before you pour your creative talent into an e-business get advice from a knowledgeable business advisor, or successful e-business owner.

Marcus Milligan, M.B.A, PMP
Sunbelt Business Advisor
www.sunbeltmergersohio.com

Milligan, an Irish native and has been living in the US for 10 years. He graduated with a B.S. honors degree in Computer Science from the University of Ulster and holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in e-Business from the University of Phoenix. Milligan has a diverse background working for: Dixons Group, Marathon Oil, Wittenberg University, Northrop Grumman, BankOne, and Sinclair Community College. He was a million dollar earner within the opening year for Dixons Group in Bangor Ireland as Business Center Manager and subsequently top regional sales. Milligan has given many presentations on software he architected at the regional and national levels through the US. Milligan created and currently operates an Internet e-business General Aviation Pilot Supply Store BudgetPilot.com

Milligan’s strengths are: strong analytical skills, problem solver, negotiations, project management, international background, creativity for marketing plans, and expert knowledge of Retail, Education, IT industry, and e-Business.

Batteries not included. Three of the dumbest words.

Your Company spent millions of dollars to develop this wonderful product. Engineers spent countless hours creating and refining it. You spent additional millions of dollars in advertising to get me to buy it.

I bought it. I took it home and now it won’t work because YOU neglected to include the only part that WILL make it work. For a couple of extra bucks, your cost and mine, I’m frustrated and angry with you and your Company.

It’s the same with customer service.

No matter what you sell; whether it’s goods or services, big ticket or small, sales and customer service are not two separate pieces. Every sale must come with the customer service built in.

Exceptional customer service is NOT an extra cost of doing business. It is an investment in your own future success.

In the early 1950s, my uncle had a very small clothing store in Miami, Florida. In those days, Miami was a major entertainment center, with the biggest names in show business appearing at the major hotels, very similar to Las Vegas today.

One evening, as he was leaving the stage at the end of the early show, a young singer ripped his tuxedo jacket on a nail sticking out of the wall. It was after 8 P.M., all the clothing stores were closed.

The hotel management called the major stores and owners because the singer didn’t want to go on stage with a torn jacket or worse, no jacket.

None of the fancy clothing shop owners would leave their homes to accommodate the young man. Finally, in desperation, my uncle got the call. Would he come downtown with a couple of tuxedos?

Within an hour my uncle was at the hotel with 4 tuxedos. He did the fitting and tailoring right on the spot.

The young singer and the big hotel management were ecstatic. The singer tried to shove a few extra hundred dollar bills into my uncle’s hand, but he wouldn’t take the money, explaining that he was honored to have the opportunity to earn the business.

The singer promised that he would never forget my uncle’s kindness and would tell his show biz friends about my uncle. True to his word, the singer continued to tell his friends about my uncle, even as his singing career skyrocketed.

The young singer - Frank Sinatra.

My uncle - went from a tiny clothing store on the edges of oblivion to “Mickey Hayes - Clothier to the Stars”; his walls covered with hundreds of photographs of the biggest names in show business.

On the other side of the coin is INTEL, the major manufacturer of computer chips, and, a great company.

Some years ago, Intel’s newest chip had a design flaw that caused a problem in only the tiniest number of calculations, and only in highly complex situations. As this problem began to get reported in the press, owners of computers built with these new chips wanted replacements.

Intel’s management stated that these customers were somewhat stupid since only highly complex calculations in specialized situations would experience that problem and then, only on the rarest occasions. They said that they would replace the chip if the customer could substantiate the claim that their chip was flawed.

How stupid. If it only goes bad once in a zillion times, why not give a lifetime guarantee? Most of the customers would never run into that problem. If they had immediately offered the lifetime replacement guarantee, ALL of the customers would have had a very high degree of confidence that they would never need to take Intel up on their offer.

Intel finally did offer lifetime replacement - after worrying, offending and insulting millions of their customers.

We can all learn a valuable lesson from Nordstroms; the department store famous for customer service. Their service to customers is so incredible, that people go out of their way to shop there.

Mr. Nordstrom calls it ‘customer heroics’. “We do it because we want more business - NOT simply because we’re nice guys.”

I’ve always told my employees - “don’t save me ‘MY’ money. If it helps the customer, SPEND my money. Even if they make a mistake, they won’t be criticized if it helped the customer”.

Nordstrom, over a period of many years, has developed a corporate culture of service to the customer. Any corporate culture, if it is going to endure successfully, MUST take on a life of its own, apart from the wishes of management. It has to be adopted by every employee, because THEY each think that it’s a good idea.

Whether you are a 1 person operation or the largest company, you know what good customer service is. It’s the Golden Rule applied to business - “Do unto others”.

Listen to your customers’ spoken requests - and unspoken. They’ll tell you what they want. Add a large portion of your own good common sense. Make a commitment to yourself that you will give your customers, service beyond their highest expectations

If you will do these few simple things, I can guarantee you success beyond YOUR expectations.

I was counseling with a client on building trust through his mailing. I suggested it’s ten times more powerful to have his clients state his company’s great assets rather than he claiming it himself. It’s just more believable.

When you’re looking to buy on eBay, you’d want to check the seller’s credentials. Does she have happy customers? Are there any complaints? What do they say about the way she conducts transactions?

It’s the same if you’re a consultant, speaker, or coach wanting to charge higher fees. Nobody will want to pay you more unless they know you have satisfied customers.

When a prospect scans your website, brochure, one-sheet, or direct mail campaign, there is one fail-safe method to establish instant rapport: testimonials.

Why should they believe what you state in your mailing? How do they know you’re for real? Who else has done business with you? All of these are concerns your prospects have.

Your testimonials may mean the difference between more sales and leads, or them tossing out your message. That’s why infomercials broadcast them every five minutes. Moneymaking websites usually have at least one page dedicated to them. And good sales letters include them in the mix.

Which is why you need them in your marketing: to build trust and credibility, to dispel customer fear and anxiety, and to make lots of money.

What to do first…

1. Ask your clients or customers who have benefited from your product or service to give you a brief testimonial. Usually they’re more than happy to help. But if they’re stubborn, you may want to offer an ethical bribe by saying, “I’ll take 15% off your next order,” or “I’ll include your name in a drawing for my $500 workshop.” And if they need help producing one, you can write one and have them approve it.

2. Make sure your testimonials are results oriented. Use specific numbers and amounts. For example, don’t say, “I loved your tape album,” or “Everyone thought you were a great speaker.” These don’t fly in this age of skepticism.

To increase trust use, “Your advice made me $40,000 in new sales the first month. We’re on target to gross over one million dollars in sales this year. Thanks for your direction.”

3. Use a real name and contact information from your client. Don’t use initials. It just screams phony. Include a full name, title, brand name, company, city, state (and if applicable), a photo, and a website URL.

4. Include a good mix of clients. Depending on your target market, using high-profile individuals exclusively may not be totally necessary. A testimony from a work-at-home mom in Kansas can sometimes win more favor from prospects than a stuffed shirt CEO from New York.

5. And if you publish a website, a great credibility booster is using audio or video testimonials. Nothing is more powerful than actual clients edifying you or your products for the entire world to experience.

Testimonials are one of the least expensive, most productive tools to add into your marketing arsenal. But most entrepreneurs and business owners either forget or include ineffective, watered-down statements. Or sometimes they’re too lengthy or even go overboard in their praise.

But not you…

Follow these steps today to gain credibility in a skeptical marketplace, lower your prospect’s force field, and get ready for a dramatic increase in sales and leads.

Warm regards,

Tommy Yan

Tommy Yan is a direct response specialist. He started “Ads That Make Money” to help clients multiply their response rates. He knows the emotional and psychological triggers that empower prospects to respond. Visit Tommy’s site http://www.tommyyan.com for more moneymaking articles.

Are you an eBay seller who wants to gain recognition for your business? Perhaps you are a casino affiliate looking to gain the attention of new customers? Or, maybe you are just starting out with a dropshipping company and are hoping to get your new business off the ground? Well, there’s no better time to start anew like a brand new year. Anything is possible, but you have to make it happen.

Promoting a new business can be a daunting, and expensive, task. But, it’s not impossible with a successful marketing approach. If you are an eBay seller who also has a website, offer a contest or promotion by giving away a product from your inventory. Allow new visitors to enter your contest and draw one winner at a specified time. Announce this competition anywhere and everywhere possible, including newspapers, your website’s mailing list, co-workers, friends, etc. You can promote your website with internet search engines and free-for-all link pages, along with link exchanges among other websites. The contest concept will work with either stocked inventory or dropshipping. Just have the winner’s product sent directly to them.

If you operate as a casino affiliate, promote your new website among search engines, newsletters and through the original casino owner. Affiliate websites, as part of the price package, often receive promotion for their new business. Basically, it’s free advertising so enjoy it. An affiliate website is often listed in a directory on the main homepage of the company, which is a terrific way to draw attention to a new start-up business.

If your business, product or approach are unique, write up a one-page press release and send it to every magazine, newspaper and television network that you can find. The worst that will happen is the information will not be used, but imagine the benefits if it is used. Having a press release published in any publication is basically free advertising. Anyone who picks up the newspaper, or magazine, is going to read through it looking for a story that grabs their attention. Therefore, make your press release interesting and give it a title that will draw the reader in. Everyone likes to hear success stories of budding entrepreneurs and, with the popularity of the world wide web, that’s just another reason to promote your enthusiasm. If you have a sample product, send it with your press release. Of course, if you don’t want to spend the money to mail the press release, there’s always e-mail. This is a terrific way to provide news to a variety of media outlets at no cost and immediate delivery. If your story is unique, it will grab the editor’s attention.

In conclusion, consider these top 10 ways to ensure a successful marketing campaign:

1. Contests & Giveaways

2. Discounts to first-time or repeat customers

3. Referral rewards

4. Link exchanges

5. Press release submission

6. Free product samples

7. Conduct interviews with the press about your new online business

8. Distribute a electronic newsletter to website viewers who sign up to receive your latest news

9. Write a daily article and post on your website relating to your company, product or news

10. Place a permanent signature in your e-mail, which identifies the URL of your website, to be sent with each outgoing letter.

Mark Kenny is an eBay expert who specialises in launching eBay related online businesses. You can see his selection of Turnkey websites at: http://www.Trading-Web-Solutions.com or read his blog via http://www.Trading-Web-Solutions.com/blog

If you have a sales manager or someone above you in sales are you using their special powers? Your boss probably has insight you don’t know about that will break open sales for you. When you learn how to use this, everyone wins in sales. Most managers would love to be taken advantage of in this manner. I can’t think of one sales manager who wouldn’t want to be used like this.

Understanding Management Perception and Insight
Some business owners or sales managers don’t realize that they have special insight when it comes to outside sales. Whenever they join a sales call with a salesperson, everything changes. The dynamics are different because there is a level of respect for their position, which affects the sales call. Sales managers can generate a similar effect on appointments. The advantage they have is their position and perception. When they join an appointment with a salesperson their title raises the bar for discussing subjects the customer wouldn’t normally consider. The business owner can ask tough questions the salesperson can’t ask and get the same response. Salespeople can’t accomplish this alone.

Would you believe a salesperson? I wouldn’t believe most of the salespeople I meet. We know that in many cases your title doesn’t say salesperson. You know prospects look upon us with this stigma and this won’t change anytime soon. The only way we can make the transition from a salesperson is to become a trusted consultant or strategic partner. Even if we make this transition, it will go a lot easier if we bring along a business owner or sales manager who caries the weight of a higher position.

Management Thinking is Different
Do you realize that business owners think differently than the typical salesperson? They do! There are really only two factors that an owner will base a business decision on. Those two factors are what drives them and keeps them in business. They also like to do business with individuals who understand and share the same values they do. It is the reason that P’s (Presidents) and VP’s (Vice Presidents) like to do business with one another. Since we aren’t P’s we either have to act like one or bring one to appointments.

Value Proposition One
The business owner thinks about how this investment will make money every time they make a decision about something. If our service doesn’t meet this number one criterion, we are wasting the high-level contacts time. However, because our boss thinks this way too, they are in the perfect position to relay the profit opportunities with our important clients. They can get away with tough questions and they can challenge a tough prospect with reasons that a salesperson just can’t get away with.

Value Proposition Two
The second reason is will this product or services save me time or money? The business owner thinks about this every time they make a purchase decision. If our service doesn’t meet this number two criterion, we are wasting the high-level contacts time. Fortunately the boss thinks this way too. They can relate cost saving opportunities with clients and can get away with hard-hitting questions. They can dispute an issue with reasons a salesperson just can’t get away with.

Why P’s like to Communicate With P’s
Bring management along on your c-level account presentations and closing appointments. Your boss has the secret powers to ask the tough questions that a salesperson can’t ask. Bringing them along will also raise the level of importance to the account that your contact will appreciate. Remember, P’s like to talk with P’s. If your management representative gets nervous, just remind them that they are a natural for this task and ask them to relate as a peer, on how your solution will save the prospect money or reduce costs. Just be sure you have your facts straight when you turn your boss loose with their secret powers. If not, ask your boss to confirm your assessments before the meeting.

Steve Martinez implements sales management strategies with a focus on automating sales for printing organizations. Selling Magic teaches businesses how to automate and customizing ACT or Outlook with the best practices of sales management while integrating email marketing and technology for greater profits. http://www.sellingmagic.com