Tonight, I am kicking off the next teleseminar series called Passionate Marketing Makeover.

Session #1 is about reviewing what you currently have set up for your business as well as reviewing what systems you need.

Here are a list of the systems we’ll be covering:

• Sales systems

New leads

Sales scripting

Activating old leads

Upsell/downsell

Customer service

• Adminstration systems

Accounting

Business model

Web maintenance

Personnel

Investments

• Communication systems

Email

Snail mail

Follow up

Managing CEO access

• Referral systems

Referrals as part of your sales

Referrals as part of your marketing

Developing a referral culture within your business

• Marketing systems

Online

Offline

Networking

Affiliate program

• Growth systems

Joint ventures

New products

New markets

Leveraging your expertise

Personal development and the value of mentors

This should give you a little taste of what we’ll be discussing…

If you’d like to sign up for the weekly sessions, it’s very affordable and fun. Click here: Passionate Marketing Makeover Series

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

When I started my “30 in 30″ project on Sept. 1st, I set out to create a new revenue stream every day for 30 days. At first, it seemed so daunting, but I knew if I could get the flow going, it would pay off. And, although I have quit reporting it on the post, it continues. It’s working.

My hesitations before I started, ones you may relate to, were many. One, did I have it in me, the creative juice to come up with that many ideas? Two, would my focus on revenue distract me away from my passionate mission? Three, would it work to actually bring in more revenue, or was it a silly exercise in busy-ness?

I can tell you that it has been working, solidly evidenced by the fact that I had “inbox” money waiting for me from an overnight sale from one of the streams I set up. Cool. And, several readers have suggested that I create an e-book about it as one of the streams, so that others could have a step by step guide to doing it too -more on that later this month – yes, I am doing it. In the meantime, pre-release of that upcoming e-book, here are some simple ideas to maybe get you started adding revenue opportunities to your online presence too.

1. Affiliate products

This is where you sign up with a company to be a commissioned sales person for their products. The process is normally free (I don’t join any that aren’t) and the company normally provides banner ads, links, email templates, and just about anything else you need to promote a product. You fill out your contact info and they give you a unique affiliate ID# which is embedded in the code they provide you. They do most of the heavy lifting on the set-up.

You can promote affiliate products as simply as doing a book review and including a text based link on the book title that leads to your Amazon.com affiliate link. Subtle, helpful, and easy. You can find products that you use that you can recommend in good conscience and add a link to those, or review them in a blog post. It’s important that you don’t just sell things to sell them, as your customers will hold you responsible for their experience. Only support things that you believe in and you’ll be fine.

2. Sell something you are already doing for free 

If you have a talent of writing, for example, then put a price on that and offer it. If it’s congruent with your overall business model, offer introductory services that will allow you to get a customer and collect a fee to start a relationship with them. You don’t have to charge full market price on it, especially if you only offer it for a limited time or to a restricted access audience, but quit giving your talent away.

Think of it as positive cashflow advertising. Normally you pay to advertise. This way at least you collect a little something and you give your potential clients a sample taste for a sample price to allow them to get to know you and your work. If you continue to develop other offerings that leads that satisfied client to the next level, you can stand to make quite a bit on that lifetime relationship. Start charging for what you already are doing for free.

3. Repurpose and re-release previous material

First off, please understand that I am not suggesting that you recycle poor quality work. But, just because a product you create isn’t made from completely new ideas today doesn’t mean it’s not useful. Sometimes, packaging together material into a kit, perhaps adding an update to bring it all together, is very profitable. Making an audio recording and/or a video demonstration of a pdf report you created works great. Pulling together a series of blog posts into a book or special report can be successful.

The main idea is that you understand that because it’s old to you doesn’t mean it’s not of use to someone’s audience. As an expert, we sometimes get jaded that our beginning material doesn’t speak to our evolving audience, but just remember that every day a new beginner is born and they need help bridging their knowledge from zero to where you are. Even if you do not attract a beginner audience, find someone who does and let them sell it for you. Share some of the money and you’re set.

I hope some of these ideas will spur you to get creative. Use what you already have, the things you already believe in, and the things you already do to lead you to fun and easy ways to generate revenue. Even if your main goal is to communicate/educate rather than make money, you still have costs to pay. Get some help with that by giving more and sharing more. Besides, you can always choose to give any money generated to your favorite charity. It’s so needed and so worthwhile!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

In the month of September, I have been focused on adding monetization opportunities to my blogging activities. If you intend to make a living online, it’s an important thing to do. Really, it’s important to do offline too. Create something to sell and sell it, right?

By creating my 30 products in 30 days project, I have been motivated to focus on my business. It’s helped me to realize the ways I like to make money and even the ways I don’t want to do so.  Many of you have expressed that you are following along and doing some of the same ideas for your business. That’s all good, but, I feel the entire project has had a downside.

When I first started blogging, I did more talking about starting a business, finding meaningful work, and sticking to it than anything else. I liked talking about those things and I am returning back to it as of today. You can still learn about my 30 in 30 progress if you want – I will put together a post collecting all the days’ work together, but for now, I am leaving reporting of it behind.

Chris Brogan, one of the great people in blogging and on Twitter, recently wrote a post entitled 50 Ways To Take Your Blog To The Next Level. It’s a great list of what you can do to make your blog better, and I am taking it to heart. So, get ready for us to return to the basics.

I believe in women entrepreneurs and one of my deepest desires is to empower them. Here at SmartWoman Guides, I want to build a safe haven where emerging women entrepreneurs can thrive, and learn, and share. I want to stand as a voice for the ones who aren’t able to speak. I want to amplify the growing voice of those who are speaking. I want to be of service in whatever way is needed.

Basically, I want to add value to that conversation, to that group. So, 30 in 30 continues, but from here on out, we’re talking about women entrepreneurs and that’s all. Let’s take over the world, ladies! It’s in our power to revolutionize what’s happening here and it’s time we did it! We can raise our children to be more compassionate, we can shift elections toward our issues, we can ignite our passion, increase our contribution, and we can create a world through our hearts and hands where we can all be happy and well. I believe in the power of women in business and I invite you to join in.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me at http://twitter.com/smartwoman

For our monthly theme of generating and converting web traffic, here is a short checklist to help you do a health check for your blog or website. If you don’t have these items, your business is missing out on sales.

1.  Do you have a web presence (blog, website, sales page)?

Some new entrepreneurs don’t believe it’s important to get this done immediately. They think they should build up their business a bit before they pay the expense to develop a website. They think that they need to make sure their idea is going to work before they get that “serious” about it all. This couldn’t be more off base. You need to have a web presence now, before the day is over. I know it’s Sunday, but I don’t care. Today. Sooner rather than later.

Consider this: Even if you are a complete novice, for about $20 and a few hours of your time,  you can create a blog. Better yet, with a bit more money and less time, you can have a high school student create one for you. For less than a dinner out, you can be in communication with the entire world, letting them get to know you and maybe even hire you.

Your blog is going to tell people about you, give your phone number and business location, highlight the benefits of doing business with you and collect potential clients’ names so you can keep in touch. How much would you pay an employee to do that? A lot more than $20 bucks, I bet. And, that employee would not be working 24/7. Your web presence happily does that.

Get online now. I can’t say it more directly or firmly or loudly enough. Do it, no excuses.

2. Do you have an opt-in easily visible above the fold?

Websites are a bit like newspapers. People notice the headlines and they most easily see the stories “above the fold”. In web lingo, that means the content that is visible on their computer without any scrolling down. It is the first initial shot of your site.

An opt-in is a way for people to give you their name and email address for further updates. They “opt-in” to your mailing list. It can include a special free offer to sweeten the experience, like an ebook the client can download, but even without this, you need to give them a chance to stay in touch with you. If people like what they are reading, even without a free offer, they will likely subscribe.

Your job is to make sure it’s super easy for your web visitors to opt-in. Don’t make your sign up too small to see or located at the bottom of the page so it’s hard to find. It’s not an after thought. It’s one of the primary purposes of having a web presence. If you can build a list of targeted clients and prospects, you actually build a business asset, even one that can be included in the value of your IPO someday. Without it, you are lost.

And don’t hesitate to ask directly. You can use wording that asks them to take action or even, depending upon your personality, tells them to. They won’t do it if they don’t want to (ha! we only dream we have that much power! LOL!). Remember that your goal is service and communication. You are not badgering these people to let you bother them, you are offering to continue to give them valuable information in a convenient manner. Take on the role of trusted advisor, not checkered jacket sales bozo. I know you are trustworthy. It’s important that you believe you are worthy of that trust.

3.  Do you have a clear call to action?

What do you want your web visitor to do? This is your desired call to action. This is how you will either make sales or further the relationship. It’s the one thing you want your visitor to do upon meeting you the first time. In some businesses, it’s rarely completing a sale, but it’s something. Know what that something is for your business. 

Are you a consultant who wants people to call for an initial appointment?  Do you want them to come physically to your retail location? Do you want them to pre-screen themselves so you only get emails from qualified prospects? Your website plays a major role in accomplishing these things. Get clear on your goal. Make it as singular and easy to complete as you can.

If you want clients to call, make your phone number large and easy to find, above the fold and obvious, not in tiny text buried somewhere in your “about me” page at the bottom. I can’t tell you how many people don’t do this. Same for your address. If you want them to show up, give them the address and maybe even a link to a map site that gives them step by step directions, with your operating hours nearby so they know you’ll be open when they get there. Don’t force people to be curious and investigative to connect with you. It’s your job to help them, not them to help themselves.

Please keep in mind that I am starting basic here, but if your web presence doesn’t already include these basics, you need them to. Sure, there’s work to do here, plenty of it. Don’t let overwhelm stop you. Just get going. I believe in doing one thing. Deciding to learn is one thing.

If nothing else, make the clear and decisive commitment today that you will have the basics in place by the end of the month. Commitment is an action and it shifts everything. You can do this. I know you can. You showed up to read this. You are already showing commitment. Congratulations. Now, we just have to keep going, ok?

If you aren’t sure how to do what I recommend, tune back in tomorrow. We will walk through it. In the meantime, go get and read John Cow’s ebook about building a business not a blog. It will take you step by step and get you going. We’ll visit some more about this on Monday.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Pushy marketing really, well, pushes my buttons. Not the “buy now” button or the “let me tell all my friends about you” button. No, more like the “opt-out, delete, don’t ever send me another email” button and the “I am selling your stuff on e-bay today to get the stench out of my house” button. Not pretty.

What has me so hot and bothered? I received an email recently from an internet marketer who had sent a big freebie bonus offer to me. The marketer was apologizing for having referred me to someone who was so relentless in his sales pitch (fortunately, since I had not opened the offer yet, I had been spared. I felt sad for all the others who had not been). This IM wonder said he was sorry if I had been offended, being sent a free offer, that I had to go through sales page after sales page of hard hitting, multiple offers. He said he thought it was a fun salemanship roller coaster ride and hey, the guy makes big money with these techniques, so it’s all good. GRRRRR….

I’m here to tell all you internet marketers out there that, NO, it is not all good. Especially for women buyers, these techniques no longer cut it (if they ever did) and it would be a wise move, in the new social media Web 2.0 environment, for you all to get on board and get over yourself. I can’t speak for all women, but having tolerated this treatment through the thousands of dollars of products I have bought over the years, I know I am not the only one who doesn’t like what you’re putting down.

Here are the top 3 things internet marketers should stop today if you want to sell to more women.

1. No more sports and war analogies. I am an avid boxing fan. I play around at golf. I know many women who love watching and playing sports. But, sinking a slam dunk, having home court advantage, or scoring a hole in one is not the only way to describe business success. Being a player isn’t that great either (women give a fake phone number to players, not their credit card info). I am not a road warrior and I am not out to make a killing. I am not afraid of who else is out there in the market because I know my USP. I don’t need to be pitted against another human being to make my way in this world.

I am a professional business woman with a college degree, a busy life, and a passionate, vested interest in my client. I don’t want to annihlate the competition. I’d rather joint venture with them and achieve synergy. Could you sell me something by focusing on providing great service and value without me having to butcher anyone, please? No more drop dead anything, ok?

2. No more “buy now or else” and “here today, gone tomorrow” strategies. A one of a kind Monet painting is priceless. Your eBook or mentoring program is not. You can and do crank those puppies out faster than I can eat chocolate ice cream, so just stop it. Don’t artificially create or inflate scarcity. It causes me to doubt your customer service, your commitment to your client, and your ability to actually give me real value. Your 100% money back guarantee means nothing if you’re out of business. Fly by night sales technique makes me wonder if you will be around to fulfill your promises. On top of that, my life (contrary to your narrative) will still be good without your product, so you don’t need to tell me how I’m a loser or an undedicated hack unless I get off my butt now and buy your product. Bull. Bull. Bull.

It’s especially irritating when I find your “today only” sale on a google search 6 months later. That doesn’t do much for my trust in you. Are you a going concern or not? Act like it! Most women buy through trusted sources and thoroughly investigate before buying. Once they buy, they tend to be fiercely loyal. Offer me a long term relationship and I will reward you with money and more referrals than you can shake a stick at. Are you interested in that or not?

3. No more hidden, auto-renew memberships as bonuses. Offering a month or two of free access (after which time you will begin charging my credit card $39 a month) to your paid membership site as a “free” bonus, among a zillon other bonuses on a long sales page is just plain deceitful. Sure, it’s all there in writing. Sure, you’re following the letter of the law. I know the opt-out rates are low because people just aren’t observant. But if it’s really ok with you to build your business on apathy rather than true value, count me out.

Your membership site should give me so much great advice and assistance that I am banging down your door to renew. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t deserve to be on auto-pay. I know these techniques work to make money, but so do SPAM scams from a foreign diplomat. I’m not suggesting that this approach is criminal on that level, but as a woman, I value transparency, forthrightness, and being given a fully informed choice. Betrayal lasts a long time for most of us, and the old adage of a woman scorned does have some truth in it. Be bold enough to lay it all out and let me choose. No tricks, no hiding, no deception. Respect my ability to recognize a great deal and act on it. Spend more time on how you can actually benefit me rather than polishing the vanishing act routine. You’ll get my business if you do.

I know I have painted with a broad brush here. I am not a self-appointed female representative. I have to edit myself too, because I have learned marketing from mostly men who use these techniques. But editing yourself for your audience is what professional marketers do. Learning what makes your client buy is the key. (you see, I wanted to say the name of the game there, but I edited myself…hint…). I also recognize that the buyer has full culpability in this process too, which is why I am speaking up. And opting out. And building a better approach for my clients (and yes, selling off some of the worst offenders’ stuff on ebay.)

Times are changing. Permission marketing, a la Seth Godin, is where things are moving. And, women worldwide open and run more small businesses than any other single group. We make 70%+ of the purchasing decisions in households. We are well educated, dedicated, and street smart. We’re not some little girl who gets giddy when you tell her how cute she looks (although we do enjoy sincere compliments) and we all already have a daddy. We aren’t on a man basher crusade (most of us). We are business women with money to spend. Do you want some of it? Following these tips could help. Try it and see if you can score a homerun with your sales.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

In our modern times, you could make the argument that people are becoming a consumable commodity. ATMs, self-checkout lines and more point to the idea that less human interaction, with less ”please” and “thank you”, is occurring. How do clients feel about this apparent trend?

To some, they feel devalued. To others, they’d rather do things themselves. But, even the DIY crowd still appreciates a sincere smile and greeting. Why does a huge warehouse discount store like a Super Walmart’s have door greeters? They know the value of making you feel appreciated, so they compensate for the lower level of service in the aisles themselves with a human hello. They want you to remain their customer.

How do you do it? Do you treat your customers like a slab of beef? Or, do your customers feel special when they interact with your business? What do you do to make your clients (and visitors) feel special? Does what you do actually make a person feel special or do you just think it does?

If you aren’t sure of how to solve this issue, here are a few suggestions that might help:

1.  Ask for feedback. Asking is the best way to find out an answer to a question. Be sure that your clients can answer anonymously so they will feel comfortable giving you bad news if you need to hear it. Try sending a survey in the mail so they see you took the extra step instead of sending of an email. And, do something about the problems they point out. Learn and change from it. Respond.

2.  Use courtesy. Say please, thank you, and use their name when you can (and when it’s appropriate). You don’t need to be overly friendly or artificially intimate. We’ve all had the used car salesperson experience where they say your name every two seconds and call you “buddy” or “my good friend”. Not good. But, a thank you letter (or email or phone call) for a purchase  (without ANY additional sales pitch in it) really speaks volumes.

3.  Train your staff (and yourself) to see your clients as people, not prospects. Value what and who people are, not just what they can do for you. The customer already knows you want to make a sale—heck, they want to buy!–but it’s a shift in mindset to see the person first and the action second. You will behave differently if you do this. Eliminate language that denegrates a person down to commodity level–prospect, lead, mark, for example. Who wants to be a mark? No one, so don’t use that language. Quota talk and numbers games do not respect people. Your staff will follow your lead so do a reality check of yourself and how you communicate sales level expectation throughout your company. Think people not targets.

4.  Give the pitch a rest already! Every email you send should not contain a direct sales pitch. It’s called the breathe technique and living things breathe. Breathe in (relax, don’t push, provide value) and breath out (provide an offer). Depending upon your audience, it might be a 1:1 ratio or it might be 3:1 but, give your clients a rest from pushing to buy. Give them something of value to demonstrate your respect and appreciation for them. It can be educational, or a gift (with no strings attached, including an opt-in) or just a hello, we appreciate you email. If you always act like all they ever do for you is buy, you will lose. They will opt-out, they will go somewhere else, or worse, they will ignore your message. Regardless, you just lost your chance.

It’s not the Golden Rule you need to apply, but the Platinum Rule–treat others how they want to be treated. If you do, you will succeed. And, in the spirit of this post, thank you for stopping by. I am glad you came.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

If you are like me, you are passionate about what you do and you like to have others into it too. For me, I am quite an advocate. I like talking about investing, entrepreneurship, passive income, internet marketing, empowerment, female power, organic living…you name it. If it’s something I believe in, and it’s changed my life in a positive way, I like to spread the word.

But, this approach isn’t the way to go when you are working to acquire new business. Although it’s important to communicate the benefits of your products and services, if you’re having to convince the client, to push, to manipulate with fancy sales technique, you don’t have the sale. And, you probably don’t want it even if you do finally “win” it. Here’s why:

The people you have to convince are the hardest to sell, the most expensive to service, and are the most likely to want a refund. You’ll work your tail off for them and then they won’t refer you to their friends. Or, worst still, they will refer their friends. Since the old adage “Birds of a feather flock together” often rings true, their friends are going to be like them– a pain in your balance sheet! Convincing just doesn’t pay and it isn’t the way business is done anymore.

Advertising and marketing have changed a lot in the last decade. People’s buying behavior has changed too. They concentrate on relationships even more and they don’t buy things that they don’t already know. When was the last time you bought a book or went to a movie with little idea of what you’d be getting? It was a long time ago for me. More to the point, when was the last time you paid more for a product because you knew and trusted the vendor? I did that yesterday, was happy to do it, and I would do it again today.

It’s not that I don’t buy new inventive products. When I do, it’s because I was educated about them first. The business owner took the time to be in the market, teaching me what their product was and what it does and how it works. Even though their idea was brand new, when I finally bought, my relationship with them was not.

I’m not saying I am immune to great sales technique. None of us are. I tend to study it and admire it. But it’s not why I buy. I don’t buy because some slick salesperson knew the right “close”. Sales technique shouldn’t get in your way, but the quality of the product and the relationship drives the sale, not the sales technique.

So, what does this mean to you? Get yourself out in the market ahead of your sales pitch! Give people ample opportunity to know you and learn about your product. Educate, communicate, give people a way to learn about you prior to even contacting you (your website’s a great tool for this). Get involved in your community so your reputation preceeds you. And protect and enrich that reputation with great service and honest dealings.

If you do these things, people will come to you and they will be great clients. When you approach them, they will already know you and will be glad to see you. They’ll be a raving fan that insist their friends should deal with only you. They will buy more often, in larger amounts, and be a breeze to service. They might even become your friend. They will already be convinced from the start because they had the opportunity to be convinced by the person whose opinion they respect the most–themselves.

When you finally embrace the power of the relationship, you’ll be out of the convincing business too.

Are you curious about what the Internet thinks of you? If so, Google yourself!

We are all focused on satisfying our clients, developing products and services, and all the other administrative, sales, and marketing activities that go with running a business. It’s not always so easy to take a step out of our bubbles and see how others see us. But, it’s crucial.

As women, some of us are a bit shy about our image. We don’t necessarily want to be in the spotlight. And,  we tend to shy away from our missteps. We’d rather hide under a rock than objectively examine our mistakes. But, I would ask you to consider this:

If you get a glimpse of you and your business from the outside, you will learn things about how and why you get new sales (or not) and also how you can contribute even more. And, it’s kinda fun!

So, this weekend, as a professional curiousity, go Google yourself–your personal name, your business name, your website name, maybe your executives’ names. If you have extra time, type in the words that describe the service you provide and see what comes up. It can be a real eye opener.

All I am asking you to do is to see what you see. It’s about awareness, not shame or judgement. See it all. Be ok with it. You can and will change what you don’t like but you have to see it first

Notice what blurps come up with your web page descriptions–would YOU click on it to buy what you’re selling? How many pages are you on? Who is there along with you? What are your competitors doing that you could learn from?

Notice who mentions you. If you don’t know them, you should.  Business is all about relationships and you could build some new ones with people who are already mentioning you.

Don’t neglect to notice where you are doing a great job also. This is an exercise in finding the good too, not just the not-so-good. You are bound to be doing things right and it can be very satisfying to become aware of that. It’s important to celebrate when you find gold. (Victory dances are encouraged.)

So, until next time, have fun and report back what you discover!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. I  discovered that a link to SmartWoman is now available in Russian–how cool is that?