Top 50 Ways to Advertise Your Business!

First off, let me congratulate you on taking the first step towards your financial freedom! With some hard work, you have the opportunity to build your business into a money maker! As with any business, there are no guarantees of success. The ultimate success of any business venture will be directly attributed to your ability to learn and execute a marketing strategy.


The first thing you need to do is to come up with a budget for marketing your business. Some people have thousands of dollars to invest and others have very little capital to invest in marketing. In any event, establish a monthly budget and stick with it! Consistency is key! 

I have come up with 50 different ways that you can get your business off to a good start. Some of these ideas are free, some are not. The main objective is to get you off and running and thinking about marketing and advertising. In fact, if you have any other ideas you have found to be successful, please email them to me!


The following 50 ideas are in no special order. I would suggest reading each idea and
highlighting the ones that interest you. Then do some research on the suggestion and take the time to execute the idea and see if it yields results. If it does, great, keep doing it! If not, try something else on the list or come up with some ideas of your own. There are 100’s of ways to market your website business!!!


1. Pay Per Click Advertising: Check out Google Adwords, Google Adsense, and Yahoo.
Visit http://adwords.google.com/select/Login , https://www.google.com/adsense/


2. Place Free Ads Online: A free way to get some interest in your business! Visit
www.merchantcircle.com , www.engineseeker.com , www.busydirect.com, www.usfreeads.com , or www.adready.com


3. Discount Coupon Codes: Offer special discounts for people visiting your website. You
and http://sem.smallbusiness.yahoo.com/searchenginemarketing/
can offer a percentage or dollar amount off each sale at checkout! This feature is
available as part of an upgrade that we offer. If you have not already added this to
your website, please contact your eConsultant to see if it would be worthwhile!


4. Craigslist: A very popular site that does not charge to place basic ads. It requires a
little work to place the ads but once you find one that works, simply repeat it over
and over in different parts of the country! Visit www.craigslist.org for more info!


5. Flyers: Create your own or ask your eConsultant for one. I would be happy to
email you one that you can print out and put up anywhere there is foot traffic!
Schools, Stores, under car windshields, in mailboxes, etc. A cheap and easy way to
get your name out there!


6. Flea Markets: Go down to the local flea markets and see what its fee is to have a
booth for a day or weekend. If feasible, order extra catalogs and take orders on the
spot. Maybe even purchase some gift items from the dropshipper as samples or to
sell right at the flea market!


7. Business Cards: What better way to show you are a legitimate business, than with
business cards. Even better, we will show you where to get 250 for FREE!!! Go to
www.vistaprint.com for 250 free cards, just pay for shipping which is about $5.95!


8. Blogs: Blogs are a great way to talk about your business, post new promotions, etc.
Go to www.blogger.com to set up a free blog for your company!


9. Start your own Affiliate Program: Affiliate programs are a great way to have other
people working for you. They help drive sales and you pay them a percentage of the
sale for their efforts. Your website can be set up with an affiliate program as part of
an upgrade. If you do not have that feature and would like to know more, please
speak with your eConsultant.

10. eBay: Although very competitive, eBay remains an option when selling your products. 

Although they get a ton of traffic, sales are usually based solely on cost, which means 

you may not make much per sale. However, if you can find an item that is not already flooded on eBay, you can make money here. Go to www.ebay.com to find out more. If you are new to eBay and would like to learn from the ground up, visit the eBay University Learning Center at http://pages.ebay.com/education/index.html

11. YouTube.com: Why not create a 30 to 60 second commercial with your camcorder,
post it on www.youtube.com for free, then create a link on your home page, directing
people to view your message. Promote your company, objectives, and anything else
that would help people to purchase from you!


12. ECXMarketing.com: Check out this website for 4 different marketing packages
starting from $99.00. Visit www.ECXMarketing.com today! 

13. Friends and Coworkers: What better way to make a few extra sales, than from your
friends and coworkers? Order an extra few sets of catalogs and leave one at work or
bring a set with you to family get togethers. An easy way for a few sales. Don’t
forget to give them a good deal!


14. Sponsor a Team: While you may not be able to get your name plastered across a
NASCAR racing team, it is very affordable to contact some local teams for
sponsorship. Many times for $100 or less, you can sponsor a soccer team, little
league, or bowling team. In return you usually receive a mention on the team jersey,
in their newsletters, etc. People want to do business with people who give back to
the local community!


15. Sell Advertising: Your website is not only used for selling products. How about
creating a page or multiple pages where people can advertise their business? Take
out a free classified ad on craigslist.org or with a local paper. Even if you had 10
people pay you $10 monthly to advertise on your site, that is $100.00 a month and it
is all pure profit!!!


16. Price Control Feature: With a simple upgrade to your site, you can manually control
all prices. Offer a special of the week or month. Items to draw traffic in and create
sales. When they buy the specially priced item, they are almost sure to purchase
more items at the regular price! If you do not have this feature, please contact your
eConsultant for more information.


17. Weekly Survey: As part of your website, you have the opportunity to run weekly or
monthly surveys. Ask questions of interest and give 4 to 5 potential answers.
Questions like, who will win American Idol? Your website will track the answers and
studies have shown people will come back to your site to check on the results.


18. Cafepress: Go to www.Cafepress.com and create custom mugs, shirts, hats, etc, with
your company name, website address, and logo on it! You only pay for each item you
order. Be a traveling billboard for your company. A great idea for friends and
relatives. Let them advertise the business as they go about their daily routine!


19. Visit Marketing Websites: There is a ton of free information out there. Take the
time to absorb as much as you can. Visiting sites like www.ecxwebtools.com can help
you get that edge your business needs!


20. Create a Logo: Image is everything! Create your own logo or have someone help you
create one. It is imperative that you give your business an identity. Visit
http://www.logomaker.com/ or www.logosmartz.com for help!


21. Search Engine Optimization: This can be very pricey so be careful before purchasing
an optimization program. Check out articles that explain how SEO works. Here is a good one you can review. http://www.seomoz.org/article/beginners‐guide‐to‐
search‐engine‐optimization To find a list of SEO companies simply Google the
phrase, “search engine optimization.”


22. MySpace: If you haven’t already, create a MySpace account. Since
www.myspace.com gets tons of traffic, what better place to put a blurb on your
business as well as your website address. This will take people directly to your
website!


23. Yellow Pages: Contact your local yellow pages or yellow book to inquire about rates.
Many times it is much less than you think it is. Yellow Page advertising lends
credibility to your company so it is worth considering.


24. At Home Parties: Organize at home parties with friends and neighbors, just like
Avon, Tupperware, The Pampered Chef and other at home party services. Offer the
host 20% of any profits to make it worth their while.


25. Civic Groups, PTA, Lions Clubs: Become a member in one or more of these groups. A
great place to network and offer your products! Contact your local Chamber of
Commerce for the best places to join!


26. Local Cable TV Spots: Advertising on local cable channels is not always as expensive
as you may think. Contact the local cable company and they will put you in touch
with the sales department to discuss any possible ways to advertise on TV!


27. Free Giveaways: Create a free promotion and giveaway. Get custom made pens,
magnets, anything that has your business name, telephone number, and website on
it. Visit www.gopromos,com for more information!


28. Multiple Domain Names: Did you know that for as little as $25 you can have 2
domain names, both driving traffic to your website? Look into advertising more than
1 domain name and driving traffic to both. All the big guys do it, why don’t you?


29. Opt In Email Lists: Check out companies like www.infousa.com for mailing lists. This
is a great way to email blast out tons of people for very little. Get that message out
there!


30. Amazon.com: Did you know it’s possible to work with amazon.com? If someone
searches for one of the items you are selling, they can direct them to your products!
Go to http://www.amazon.com/Advertising/b?ie=UTF8&node=276241011 for more
information!


31. Word of Mouth: This is the cheapest and most effective advertising. Tell everyone
you know about your business. If they buy something from you and all goes well,
they are going to tell their friends and that usually results in more sales!


32. Banner Exchanges: Exchanging banners with other companies is a great way to drive
traffic. Most banner exchanges are free to join and participate. Please visit
www.e‐bannerx.com or www.home.free‐banners.com for more information.


33. School Events: Call and see if you can work with the school on any type of upcoming
events they have going on. Maybe offer a discount for any order made from the
schools referral. Maybe they can mention you in their newsletter or you can come in
and do a presentation for the class about starting a home based business.


34. Local Bulletin Boards: Post flyers and business cards everywhere you see a bulletin
board. Be it the local library, supermarket, gym, or drug store!


35. Car Stickers and Signs: Contact the local sign store and see if they can make you a
magnetic sign for the side or back of your car or maybe letter the rear window with
your website address. Herbalife, real estate companies, pizza delivery companies,
locksmiths, and others have done this with their vehicles and it has been very
successful!


36. Facebook.com: Similar to MySpace, Facebook allows you to create a free website
that talks about you! You can mention your website and drive traffic to it. Its free,
easy, and a great way to market!


37. Email a Friend Feature: We have a feature available that allows people who view
your items on your website to forward them to a friend with one click of the mouse.
It is called “email a friend” feature and is great for people who find something that
someone else would be interested in. They simply click the button and it forwards
the product and link on your website to the friend and allows them to add a short
message to the email.


38. Local Charities: Everyone wants to work with a company that gives back and donates
to worthwhile causes. Check out some local charities that you have an interest in and
work with them on a fundraiser where a portion of the proceeds go to the charity.
Make money and help others!


39. Consignment: Work with local store owners on a consignment basis. Ask them for a
small corner to place some items and for each one that is sold, you simply pay a
commission to the store owner.


40. Post Card Mailers: Create a post card or mailer and work with the local papers to
have it included as an insert in the paper. Many smaller papers will work with you on
the pricing and circulation. Work on a small scale and test it out. If it works, increase
the exposure!


41. Networking: A great way for you to work with other professionals to help each other
meet mutual goals. Here are 2 great articles on networking. Read them here!
http://www.businessknowhow.com/tips/networking.htm and
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/networkingmm.htm


42. Restaurant Placemats: Ever see those advertisements on the placemats in diners and
local restaurants? Usually in the corner of the placemat you will have a telephone
number to contact the company that places those ads on the placemat.


43. Door to Door Sales: Many people still practice this sales method. While not practical
everywhere, there are still places where walking door to door with catalogs does
work.


44. Sell to Local Businesses: Just because you primarily sell to customers, does not mean
you can’t sell wholesale to local businesses. Try to set up a meeting with a few local
stores and see if they would like to carry some of your product line. You can discount
the retail price so that they can buy the products from you and still sell them for a
profit. You have close to 3000 products so surely they can find something to offer
their clients.


45. Grocery Receipt Coupons: Ever flip over the receipts from the grocery store and
notice ads? Well, look into getting your business noticed too! See if any people
offering similar items are advertising on there. If they are, chances are it is working!


46. Flyer Handouts: Ever notice a flyer under your windshield when you come out of a
store? Well although not all of those flyers will be turned into a sale, some of them
will. That’s why people do it. Because it does work and it is a very cost effective way
to market.


47. Monthly Newsletters: Create and email out a monthly newsletter to all of your
clients. Offer a discount for returning clients by creating a discount code for them to
use at checkout. Repeat customers are the best customers!


48. Sponsor a Highway: It usually costs nothing, just the time a monthly trash pickup
along the roadway. Your sponsorship gets your company name on a sign, which
thousands of drivers will see!


49. Customer Surveys: Email out customer surveys. This will show you what you are
doing right and where you need to improve. The better the customer’s experience is,
the better chance of them shopping with you again and telling their friends!


50. 800 Customer Service: Look into getting a toll free number for your customers to call
for ordering and information. These numbers are easy to get and can ring right to
your home line or cell phone. Visit sites like www.tollfreenumber.org for more
information.

And There you have it! Try Them all or just a few , STAY CONSISTANT and watch your business SOAR!!! 

How To Sell Avon: An Avon Rep’s 6 Best Tips For Being Wildly Successful At Selling Avon Products

As an Avon sales representative, you always want to find new customers and sell more products to your existing customers.

However, most reps are not wildly successful at selling Avon.



Why not?

It’s not because Avon products don’t have a market. Truth is, few Avon reps have the “fire in the belly” motivation needed to turn this inexpensive business opportunity into a substantial money maker.

But you can be different. Here’s how to sell Avon and make higher profits than most other Avon representatives. 

#1 – Don’t spend all of your profits on product for yourself.
Many Avon sellers make the mistake of spending their profits on items for themselves.
It’s usually part of the lure that makes selling Avon seem so attractive at first. However, if you want to be really good at selling Avon, you need to get past that beginner’s mentality.
Yes, it’s always a good idea to know about your products firsthand. However, to make serious money as an Avon product representative you have to treat it like a business… not a hobby. So remember: you’re in the business to make money, not to get product discounts!
One thing that helps is to set sales goals for yourself. And when you reach them, treat yourself to an Avon product as a reward for a job well done.

#2 – Publish a newsletter.
One way to keep in touch with your customers is to publish a monthly newsletter that keeps them informed of cosmetic trends and what new Avon products are available.
In the newsletter, talk about your personal experiences with Avon products and give suggestions on how to use the latest Avon cosmetics.

Customers love to learn new ways to use cosmetics, and they will be more likely to buy your products if you can show them how they can make their life better.

#3 – Approach local business offices in your area.

This can be a goldmine if worked properly.
Women who work in local offices wear cosmetics to work every single day, and they seldom have the time to shop for them.
So take a stack of Avon brochures and drop them off at offices in your area along with samples. Offer an incentive to buy from you — such as giving first time customers a free gift or a small percentage off their order.
Let them know you’ll be returning at the same time each week to offer more samples and take their orders.

#4 – Personalize each of your brochures.
When you drop off the latest Avon brochure to your old customers, always include a sticky note on the front cover with a product suggestion specifically tailored to their needs and interests.
To make it easier to stay on top of your customers’ unique wants and needs, keep a database of what each customer orders and what they’re interested in.
That way, you can customize your Avon marketing each time to meet their specific needs. They will love you for it!

#5 – Send thank you notes.

When a new customer orders Avon products from you, send them a personalized thank you card.

Let them know how excited you are to welcome them as a customer.
This small step is something that most Avon reps seldom do, and it’s one of the most effective ways to build customer loyalty.

#6 – Be informed and enthusiastic.

To be a better Avon product representative, take the time to stay abreast of the latest cosmetic trends. And always be prepared to show your customers how to use them.
Being knowledgeable and enthusiastic about your product is contagious.
Get people excited about what you have to offer and they’ll reward you with repeat orders.



Being a successful Avon product representative is not difficult if you’re prepared to put forth the time and effort needed to build a loyal customer following. Be consistent with your marketing efforts and you should see the return you’re looking for.

How to Grow Permission Based Email Lists

Whether you have a very successful business or have just set one up, it is likely that you have a plan to use email marketing to not only increase your reach but also improve your sales. Now, in order to truly benefit from email marketing, you know that you need a permission based emailing list but are unsure how to get one.

Here are some of the top ways that you can create and grow a permission based emailing list.

The Signup Form

One of the simplest and most important ways through which you can create and grow an email list is creating a signup form and putting it up on each page of your website.

The signup form can be simple and, in fact, should be simple because you should not make it a daunting task for people to sign up. You can put two or three fields on your signup form such as email address, first name, and last name.

Forum Posts and Blog Posts

If you are an online entrepreneur then it is likely that you are very active on the internet through blogs or forums. You can place a button or a link to a signup page under your signature.

This way every time you post a reply on a forum or comment on a blog, people would have access to your signup form. Moreover, if your comments and posts are smart and insightful then you will attract more subscribers.

Subscription Drives

Subscription drives are easily one of the best ways of building emailing lists. A subscription drive, in simple words, is a concerted effort from you and your associates to get your customers to sign up to become a part of your emailing list.

A subscription drive is usually implemented in conjunction with an incentive for the individuals to sign up. This incentive could be a wide variety of things such as a discount, a special offer, access to VIP sales, a free gift, advance notices for sales, or even a raffle.

References from Members

The forward to a friend system is very popular these days but it only works if you have something unique and special to offer. The trick is to provide some unique content, some special offer, or even something especially creative.

If you play your cards right in the way your business conducts itself and the way you interact with your customers, you have a chance to get them to give you references of their friends and family members who might be interested in being a part of your emailing list.

Trade Shows, Exhibitions, and Other Events

Trade shows, exhibitions, and similar industry events offer a great chance for creating your email lists. If you have ever visited such events then it is likely that you have seen glass bowls, folders, or boxes in various stalls filled with visiting cards. These are people who are interested in knowing more about the company which holds that stall.

If you participate in trade shows and similar events then you can do the same and you can be sure that you will get many interested parties. The trick, however, is for you to get these subscriptions confirmed. Simply take the cards and enter their information into your signup form (which you should already have up and running).

This would result in these people getting an email asking them to confirm their subscription. If you do this in a timely manner, then the chances are that you will get loads of new subscriptions.

Newsletter Syndicate

While there is no newsletter syndicate per se, email marketers are sympathetic to their peers. This is why many newsletters have space for advertisements where other businesses can place their ads. You could simply place your advert on a newsletter for a business that is laterally related to your business.

This advert would contain a link to your signup form. A good example of this system working is that if you are selling football equipment then you can simply try to place an advert on a football based newsletter. It would be prudent to add that this would not be possible if you approach competing businesses.

Third Party Sources

Many online entrepreneurs and marketers get tempted by third party services that provide emailing lists for a price. Third party sources could also include sourcing emailing lists from friends, colleagues, and peers.

While sourcing emailing lists from third party sources is a simple way to get your emailing marketing campaign up and running, it is important to verify the quality of these lists. The reason for this is simply that you can never be sure about the fact that the emailing list you have sourced is opt in or not.

If it is not an opt in emailing list then you run the risk of your emails being marked spam by the individual who owns the email address. Enough of these instances can easily get you blacklisted by internet service providers.

Ensuring That an Emailing List Has Opt In Email Addresses

It is likely that you are now questioning yourself about the usefulness of sourcing emailing lists from third party sources particularly because they are so risky. However, there is a way through which you can verify each emailing address on the list.

In order to verify questionable email lists, you need a series of things. You will need a simple and basic email message, a fresh confirmation link, an unsubscribe link, a link which points to your website, and an email address which is similar to the one you use for your business.

Once you have these things set up, you can go about verifying each email on your emailing list. Here is a step by step process that you can follow.

Step 1: Formulating the Basic Email Message

Formulating the email message that you will be sending to the email addresses on the questionable emailing list can be a difficult task. The reason why this task is difficult is that finding the right words to get the individual to confirm his subscription would be an exercise of immense balance.

On a practical level, this means that you will have to invite and, indeed, compel him to confirm his subscription without actually giving away much information about how you got his email address in the first place.

The trick is to be upfront and friendly, telling the individual that you are updating your emailing lists and allowing him to make a choice to continue being a part of it or unsubscribing. Make sure that you include a confirmation link, an unsubscribe link and a link to your website’s home page.

Step 2: Create One or More Email Addresses Similar To the Kinds You Use For Your Business

Before you send these confirmation email messages, it is important for you to realize that you cannot use the same email that you will be using for sending your newsletters. However, you do need an email address that is similar because the individual would need to know how to recognize you.

For instance, if your newsletter sending email address is going to be johndoe@abcbusiness.com, then you can choose a similar email address from one of the free email account providers. Your email address for sending the verification email could bejohndoe_abcbusiness@gmail.com.

Step 3: Initiate Sending Email Messages As Soon As You Get Confirmation

When you have sent out the verification emails, you would begin to get confirmation from the people in your emailing list. The people who choose to opt in will not have a long term memory of you or your company. Therefore, you will need to reinforce your presence as soon as you get a confirmation.

Effectively, as quickly as you start getting confirmations, you should start sending out your newsletters immediately. It will especially be beneficial for you if you formulate a special email thanking these individuals for their continued subscription.

You should also prepare yourself for the majority of the people to either unsubscribe or not respond altogether. However, this is expected and you should not get disheartened about it. Statistics show that it can be difficult for an emailing list and email marketing expert these days. If you doubt this fact, consider the following tidbits.

1. Changing email addresses: Research shows that more than 30 percent of email addresses change every year. Therefore, the same logic means that it is possible that around 30 percent of the email addresses on your emailing lists have already been abandoned.

2. Apathy and disinterest: The internet is no longer as fresh and exciting as it used to be when it became accessible to the masses. People are a lot more apathetic to emails and disinterested in businesses soliciting their interest. Therefore, many of your verification emails may have just been ignored by particularly uninterested individuals.

3. A missed connection: It is even possible that your first confirmation or verification email was not even seen by the owner of the email address. In such situations, what you should do is send another confirmation or verification email to the individual after a few weeks or even a month.

4. Using a signup form: While using third party emailing lists can be useful, nothing really compares to creating your very own emailing list by way of a signup form on your website. Use this technique and you would not be disheartened like this ever again in your email marketing campaign.

Avon Campaign 26

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year at Avon!

The latest episode of Avon WEB TV is here! Check out Episode 7 to learn more about Avon Living and a sneak peek into what’s coming up in Campaign 26

How to Host a Community Event

Basics

Community events—house parties, video screenings, presentations, and dialogues—are great ways to strengthen a group working to end corruption. A community event may serve to provide information, motivate activists, bring allies together, increase awareness of the Represent.Us Campaign in your community, announce a campaign launch, or celebrate victories.

Goals

A community event, just like tabling or canvassing, must have goals in order to measure success. It should have numeric goals (i.e. audience turnout, funds raised, co-sponsor sign ons) as well as non-numeric goals (i.e. to educate the community about the issue, to raise awareness about the campaign, to celebrate a victory).

Before planning an event, you should be able to state your goal clearly: “Gain 40 new cosponsors” or “Produce 35 hand-written letters to our elected representative.” All other decisions about your event should be made with this goal in mind.

Step-By-Step: How to organize a community event

1. Logistics
Type of event: There are many different formats for a successful event. The choice of format depends, in part, whether your goal is to educate or motivate. If your goal is to educate, a debate or a panel discussion is an engaging way to provide information. A single focused speaker or a screening of an anti-corruption video allows for an emotionally resonant presentation that will motivate your audience. If you decide on a speaker(s), possibilities include chapter members with expertise in a given subject area, local or community leaders, local college or university professors, elected officials, or individuals who have been personally affected by this issue. If you are interested in doing more creative events like holding a direct action, speak with your staffer to brainstorm ideas.

Co-hosts/co-sponsors: Working with another organization to co-host or co-sponsor your forum offers several advantages. Collaboration provides a bigger pool for resources and potential attendees. It can result in a more balanced or diverse perspective, which is especially important for a debate. Furthermore, working with other organizations represents a great opportunity to build and maintain coalitions, presenting a united front. The Event Co-Sponsors section below includes suggestions for possible co-host organizations. If you do cosponsor the event – make sure that you have the same goals, or that their vision of the event does not conflict with yours

Location: Choosing the right location for your event depends on who you’d like to attend and the particular environment you want to create. Where do people in your community already gather? If you are promoting the event to the public, think about a place where people of any race, religion, or sexual identity would feel comfortable. If you want to encourage your local public officials or other community leaders to attend, select a location that would be appropriate and convenient for them. Find a space that is big enough for your guests to be comfortable, but not so large that it is difficult for people to see the presentation or participate in a group discussion. Other factors to consider when selecting a space include parking, access to public transportation, and the distance your guests must travel to get there. It is a good idea to select a space that is wheelchair accessible. Here are some good potential locations for your event:
Reserve a room in your local library or community center
Incorporate the forum into the regularly scheduled meeting of a local club or organization
Use space available at your church, mosque, synagogue, or temple
Ask a local coffee shop, pub, restaurant or other business if you can use their space
Hold the forum on a school or university campus–in a classroom, student center or dorm lobby
If you are showing a film or video, find out if a local independent movie theater will host your forum
If the event will be small and you feel comfortable, you can always host the event at a committee member’s home

2. Recruit Your Volunteers
Planning and running a successful event takes time and energy. You will need volunteers to make the event run smoothly. The number of volunteers you will need depends on the size and scope of your forum. The following tasks are usually managed by volunteers:

Publicity: For this key task, volunteers must create and send advisory notices to local media venues, create and post flyers, make copies, send emails, place phone calls, and generally coordinate event publicity. This is a big role and may require a small committee with a leader. (See Publicizing Your Event)
Set-up and clean-up: There will be tables and chairs to set up, food to arrange, copies to make, name-tags to prepare, and a multitude of other logistical details to address before, during, and after your event.
Greeting and registration:Station one or two volunteers at the door to greet guests and route them to the appropriate area. Have one or two other people handle registration, asking people to sign in and answering any questions attendees may have.
Technical set-up: Are you showing a DVD or other audio-visual material? You may need assistance locating and setting up the appropriate equipment for your presentation. Find someone who is skilled at operating electronic equipment and troubleshooting technical problems. Make sure the AV equipment works properly before the event begins!
Photographer: Have someone take pictures at your event. Be sure they capture one overview of the room to show how many people attended your event! Let your guests know that photos from the event may be posted on a Represent.Us website, and allow them not to be in a photo if they so choose.

Once you have your volunteers, make sure you clearly explain each of their tasks to them. Allow them to ask questions before the event so that they know what to do on the day of your forum. At the event, if you notice that they don’t have enough to do, give them another job. If your volunteers become overwhelmed with too many tasks, try to quickly locate a sympathetic guest willing to help out. Most importantly, don’t forget to thank your volunteers after the event is over!

3. Publicizing Your Event
Know Your Audience: Not every event is of interest to every audience.Before you develop your publicity plan, decide who you want to attend your event.
Personal or public: If you are hosting a small house party, personal invitations are the only “publicity” you will need.These can take the form of phone calls, e-invites, or written notes. If you are seeking a large audience, many of the techniques listed below could be appropriate.
Paid advertising: If your committee has funds at its disposal, paid advertising could be an option. Knowing your intended audience will ensure that resources are targeted and well spent. Even if a publication has a huge readership, if only a small percentage of readers are among your intended audience, it’s not worth the cost. A smaller publication with a high percentage of readers in your target audience represents a better value.
Know Your Event: If you are hosting a large public event, make sure you have planned it to be of interest to the general public. What is unique about your event? Is your event linked to a national news story? Linked to a larger event or day of action? Different “angles” will give you a “hook” to catch the interest of potential attendees and the media, who can help raise awareness about your event.
Make Your Plan: Having focused on your audience and your event, you are now ready to make your publicity plan. This should include a calendar listing all relevant deadlines, e.g., for publications (newspapers, magazines, events listings, etc.), as well as “lead times” required for printing and distributions of flyers, posters, invitations, and programs.
Decide on your “look”: All your materials should have a consistent theme and share similar design elements that highlight the message of your event.
Put someone in charge: Publicity by committee is rarely successful. Although several volunteers may assist in accomplishing tasks, make sure that one person is responsible overall for execution of your plan.
The Five W’s: In everything you produce—flyers, posters, e-invites, news alerts, event listings—you must have the correct 5 W’s:
Who will be speaking
What will they be addressing
When will it happen
Where will it take place
Why your committee is sponsoring the event

Every publicity piece must have this information. You can be brief, but make sure it is accurate and exact—time, address, directions, etc. In addition, most publicity should have contact information where people can get additional information.
Publicity Tactics

The most typically used publicity pieces include:
Flyers: Often simple 8 x 11 reproductions, flyers can be posted in high-traffic locations distributed at booths at fairs or farmers’ markets, given to passersby. Some good targets include:
Campuses
Shopping centers
Libraries
Local businesses
Movie theaters
Sports stadiums

Make sure to pay attention to local rules on posting. Flyers posted in restricted areas will likely get taken down quickly. A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t see any other flyers posted in an area, you probably can’t hang your poster there. Stick to community bulletin boards and kiosks
Newsletters: You might advertise your event in publications from local organizations and neighborhood associations, merchants’ groups, PTAs, or local chapters of national nonprofits.
Phone Calls: Phone calls, personally inviting individuals, is far-and-away the best way to guarantee a turnout at your event. You can ensure that 50% of people that say they will come to your event over the phone, will show up. The downside of this tactic is that it can be very time consuming, so plan accordingly. Start with the people you know are most-likely to show (volunteers, friends and family, etc) then reach out to other community members (i.e. presidents or chairs of local community organizations, religious institutions, libraries or schools, etc.) Because this tactic can be time consuming, you can try getting some volunteers together to hold a phone bank.
Email:
A well designed email announcement will not only be read by your address list, it will also be passed along to their contacts.
Web sites:
Find local online calendars (these will often exist on the town website, and/or the website of the local paper)
Make a Facebook event and post the event on the pages of local groups and schools
Paid Advertisements:
Contact your local newspaper and the publications of nearby schools and colleges; they often have reasonable rates.
Community Events Calendars:
Most large regional newspapers and many local radio stations have community events listings.
You might be able to have your event featured in several of these venues.

If you have developed your message, and focused on your “local angle” or “hook,” these media will be more likely to select your event for publication.

Many campuses have student-produced radio or TV shows, and public access stations often appreciate notice of events in their local area.

Collaborate: Having partners in your publicity effort expands the reach of your message.
Ask local friends and collaborators to make announcements at their meetings, send out an email about the event, or commit to bring a certain number of people to the event. Offer to do the same for them when they have their events. This helps to reach a larger audience as well as foster relationships amongst organizations and communities.

Follow Up: If your event is worth publicizing, it’s also worth reporting on. Prepare a brief news story about the event for publication in the local press. It doesn’t hurt to write a brief thank-you note to those publications or media that featured your event in their community events calendars. Let them know how many people showed up and how well the event went. The benefit of establishing good, professional relationships with media gatekeepers will pay dividends well into the future.
Debrief: What worked, and what didn’t? Ask attendees how they heard about your event. The more you know about which publicity techniques worked in your area, the larger crowd you’ll be able to attract to your next event. Publicity is a key step to planning a successful event and an effective tool in spreading the word, about both your event and the importance of getting money out of politics.

4. The Event – Careful preparation on the day of your Community Forum will result in a smooth-running event.
Registration: At your registration table you should have the following things that one or two volunteers are in charge of:
Sign-in sheets with space for attendees name, address, phone numbers, and email
Cosponsor sheets for the AACA at the registration table so people can become cosponsors if they aren’t already
Represent.Us educational materials, bumper stickers, pamphlets, etc. Contact Represent.Us and we may be able to send you materials.
Name tags and markers
Extra pens
Refreshments: While not absolutely necessary, guests always appreciate refreshments. You can keep it as simple as coffee and sodas, with store-bought cookies or pastries. If you hold your event at a local coffee shop or restaurant, owners may donate some drinks and snacks.
Introductions and opening remarks:As your guests get settled, before the presentation begins, take the opportunity to welcome them.
Introduce yourself—who Represent.Us is and why you are holding an event— with a few brief comments reminding attendees of the importance getting money out of politics. If the group is small enough, you might go around the room and invite each person to say their name and what brings them to the event. If you notice any local elected officials, community leaders or other key individuals in the room, introduce them and thank them for their attendance.
In your opening remarks, briefly explain the format of the event so that people know what to expect and how long they might be there. Take this opportunity to mention the photographer and the opportunity to request to not be in photos. Also, suggest that your guests write down questions, comments, or ideas they have during the presentation to bring up during group discussion.
Sample Programs: To give you some ideas on how to structure your presentation, we’ve included two sample agendas: one for a one-hour event and another for a two-hour event.
1-hour program:
8:00 – 8:10 Welcome and introductions
8:10 – 8:40 Panel presentation, debate, speaker, or screening of video
8:40 – 9:00 Take individual action (letter writing, phone banking, etc.) and planning
for continued action
2-hour program
7:30 – 7:45 Guests arrive, sign in, enjoy refreshments
7:45 – 8:00 Host welcomes guests, makes introductions, explains agenda for event
8:00 – 8:30 Panel presentation, debate, speaker, or screening of video
8:30 – 9:00 Group discussion, comments, and individual action—letter writing, phone banking, etc.
9:00 – 9:30 Plans for next meeting and continuing actions
Group Discussion: An important part of the evening will be the time when individuals can share ideas and actually take action, such as writing letters, sending emails, making phone calls and organizing for continuing activities. Leave ample time for group discussion and suggestions for individual action to follow the screening.
Have a few pre-planned topics or questions. If everyone in the room seems to have something to contribute, you can scale back their ambitions to focus on a few central points and one or two urgent actions. On the other hand, you can use a question or idea as a way to elicit a response.
Call on people. Give each person a chance to speak and graciously limit the length of their comments.
Stick to a time limit. If you hit your time limit and the group is still talking, ask for one last question. If people wish to continue the discussion, they can do so outside or after other people have the chance to leave.
Wrapping Up: At the end of your forum, it is a good idea to give a short concluding address. Thank everyone for coming and be sure to remind them to sign up as citizen cosponsors (sending around a clipboard with cosponsor sheets works well.) This could be a good time to let people know about all the great work your committee has been doing and what is coming in the future. Announce the time and location of your next chapter meeting and invite everyone to come. Also, offer cosponsor sheets and other materials to anyone who is interested in spreading the word about the campaign.

5. Debrief: After the event pull together your volunteers. Evaluate whether you achieved your goals or not and what you would do the same/differently next time. Celebrate a job well done with the volunteers.
After Your Forum:
Sustain and utilize your activist base. The sign-in sheet from your forum becomes one of your most valuable organizing tools. Enter it into an electronic database the night of the event. That list contains the names of people you already knew were inspired to become activists, or someone you met whom you had not worked with before, or a key leader in your community or an organization who you can ally with in the future. The next time you plan an action in your community, the people on your sign-in sheet will be the first people you invite. For your next event, invite them and ask them to bring a friend!
Follow up with your guests in some way before too much time passes. If it was a small event, give everyone on your list a call or send an email or note. If you had a large event, choose a select number of people to contact, or ask volunteers to help contact people on the list. Tell attendees how glad you are that they participated. Ask for feedback on the event. (Be ready for constructive criticism or tips for next time.) If you already have plans for another event or chapter meeting, give them a heads-up now and ask if they will commit to being there. Ask for names and contact information for any friends they think might like to be added to your list.
Share your news: Your forum is powerful because it inspires people in your community. You can share news about your event with your community. Draft an article about your forum, including the number of people who attended and any plans for future action. Suggest ways that people can get involved and provide a way for them to get in touch with you. Send your article as a letter-to the-editor to your local or neighborhood newspaper or submit it for publication in a community newsletter.
Represent.Us would love to see pictures from your event! Send photos to grassroots@represent.us. Please identify the name of the photographer and the names of the individuals pictured. Please let your guests know that photos from the event may be posted on Represent.Us website. If you did not have a chance to let your guests know that photos may be posted, please let us know.


Sample Planning Timeline
2-4 weeks before the event:
Plot your general program timeline
Select location, make necessary arrangements, set event date and time
Decide on intended audience and ideal number of guests
Secure event co-sponsor/s
Announce the event to your friends, neighbors, and associates
Seek out volunteers
Determine appropriate promotion strategies
Contact Represent.Us to get materials for your event 1 – 2 weeks ahead of time.
Submit advisory notices and information to local media and community event listings
Send emails and place phone calls
Post flyers
Prepare checklist of items necessary (refreshments, handouts, sign-in sheet, nametags, etc.) and begin gathering them
Refresh yourself on the issues surrounding campaign finance reform and the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act.
2 days before your event:
Send follow-up emails to media and attendees
Make follow-up phone calls to media and attendees
Finish gathering all necessary items, including food and supplies
Confirm the date and time of your event with outside venue
Draft and practice your opening remarks
Plan a few items for the group discussion
Confirm final tasks with volunteers
Test your technology, especially if showing a video
Print handouts and materials for guests
1 day before your event:
Send second advisory notice to local daily media venues
Two hours before your event:
Set up all technical devices and test your technology!
Set up chairs and tables
Set out handouts, sign-in sheet, pens, and name-tags
Arrange refreshments
Answer last-minute questions from volunteers

Avon Pre-Holiday Season Prep 2015

Get In The Thick of It!

The holiday season incites bonanzas, conferences, craft fares,concerts, funraiser,fashion shows you name it. Find out who the event coordinator is, ask if there are any vendor booth, sponsorships or fundraisers opportunities available.

Avon Holiday Credit Extendion!

Starting Campaign 22, Reps who have been with Avon for over a year may qualify take advantage of this benefit ! Ask your district manager to assist you with the application

Buy extra books!

Campaign 24 – 26 will be your best campaigns of the year so buy extra books. ONLY GET AS MANY AS YOU CAN IF YOU VOW TO MAKE THEM WORK.

FREE STUFF:

For added value AVON give you 5  Avon Living flyers FREE for  Every 10-pack of Avon Campaign 24 books you purchase.

ITS A PARTY!!!!!

Have a holiday get together.  Bake some cookies, warm the apple cider and be sure to have plenty of Avon holiday demos on hand. Oooohhhh Yes and LIGHT THOSE AVON SCENTED CANDLES.  I have found if you have those on hand your guest find a way to leave your house WITH A COUPLE.  You might want to have a few Avon Gift Sets on hand and offer this as a solution to your guest Christmas shopping for a loved one.  You can even offer to wrap it for them. Let your guest know that  Avon is great way to earn extra christmas as well and that you are delighted to show them how to earn it!

Never Leave Empty Handed!

With the permission, obtain the following contact information of EVERY person whom you give a card, brochure, or exchange any Avon business with.  And ask if you may send them an Avon Ebrochure.

Name
Phone #
Email

After all your hard work, enter this information into the youravon.com address book.

*Remember make sure your card is presentable and on hand at all times.
*
Happy Holidays!

Brand Your Beauty Business Using Social Media

Using Social Media To Brand Your Beauty Business

Have you used social media to brand your beauty business? Social media is making it possible for you to brand your beauty business, whatever it may be, and for you to become an important part of consumer interaction.

There are things that you’ll want to be prepared to do.

It takes time and energy in order for your social media to kick in, and you want to ask yourself a few questions about social media.

Will Social Media Work For You?

Do you really believe a social media strategy built around your beauty product will work?

Does it have a place in your brands future? You also want to ask yourself if you enjoy exploring and assessing the possibilities of all the technology or intricacies of working in the social media environments.

Are you willing to dedicate time and resources into building and maintaining an identity in the arena of social media?

Before I go any further, social media are those environments like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Digg.

These are just a few of the environments that you can use to brand your beauty business but they are considered the arena in which things happen and take place fast and quickly.

It’s important that you understand these platforms even if you hire a company to work them for you.

These are spaces in which a lot of business and relationship building is being done.

Because of that, you’ll also want to ask yourself, can you take it when a consumer uses your platform to share criticism of your brand or your products.

They may not have liked it and sometimes people just wake up and want to have a place to vent and lash out and you were the last person or your brand or product was the last product they tried.

It may have caused a certain reaction but this person is now coming online and lashing out. How will you handle that?

Trusting Your Customer To Tell You What They Want When Branding Your Beauty Business

Do you trust customers enough to take what they tell you into consideration?

If you’ve answered yes to most of these questions then it’s possible that you will be able to use social media as a marketing tool for your beauty business.

When you brand your beauty business using social media, you’ll be creating a persona or what’s known as a voice for your product brand with opinions and values that are similar to those of your customers but are not always shared by them.

You’ll also want to share with your customers and give them the opportunity to share with you as your owner.

The more you share, the more you’ll connect. Being able to maintain an environment in which social media will give you a presence has actually become a necessity for beauty brands.

Finally …

When branding your beauty business,whether you’re a big or small company,domestic or international, everyone who has a business is using social media to stay in touch with people who are interested in the product they are selling.

So it may be a good idea for you to do the same. 

Your AVON Business On Halloween

As AVON reps we have so many opportunities to make a ton of sales and a ton of money.

This Holloween consider passing out goodie bags to the children  filled with candy, your business card, a current AVON book, outlet, insert and Mark.

Furthermore plan on hitting major areas in your neighborhood especially the areas where Halloween festivities will be. Your message will be "Happy Halloween from the AVON " Then hand people a bag. and a brochure.

I NEVER leave empty handed however. I place a post it on the from of my brochure as ask for contact info, cell or email for my REALLY interested prospects. Have a SAFE and SUCCESSFUL Halloween!! !!

SUCCESSFUL BRANDING Techniques for the MODERN "AVON LADY"

SUCCESSFUL BRANDING Techniques for the MODERN  "AVON LADY" 

In the past Avon operated on territory selling so each Representative had a set neighborhood or territory that was assigned to them to work and sell. This made it possible for every household in America to have an Avon Representative. They all knew who their Avon Representative was and they all purchased from her loyally.

When territories were lifted the effects were widespread… The positive impact was that it allowed Representatives to sell to friends and family members across the country. The negative impact was that all of a sudden we had entire neighborhoods that did not have an Avon Representative. Right now approximately 9% of the female population is purchasing Avon products; however, 60% of the female population has stated that they would purchase Avon products if they had a Representative.

That is staggering statistics!!

So what can you do?

“Brand” yourself and Avon into your own neighborhood so everyone recognizes you, your car and your customer service every campaign.

So, let’s get started….
BRAND Your NEIGHBORHOOD
Choose 60 homes in your immediate neighborhood as long as it does not have another Avon Representative actively working it already (in other words, leaving brochures every campaign, following up with everyone, every campaign, etc.). You can make those 60 homes 3 streets with 20 homes on each street or 2 streets with 30 homes on each street, etc.  

1. Customer Follow Up List (can be obtained by clicking on the “Training” tab at youravon.com, click on “Beauty of Knowledge”, click on “Tools and Resources” and scroll down the list to “Customer Follow Up List” and print off enough pages for your 60 homes. Number each column under “Campaigns” with the next 13 campaign #s.

2. Take your Customer Follow Up List, title the first page with the name of the street and odd or even numbers, and go down the street and write down the house numbers on one side of the street on each line of the List. Then do the same thing with the other side of the street. (see Sample Customer Follow Up List).  

3. Fill in any information that you already know about that particular house number, such as neighbor’s name, phone #, email address, etc.

4. When finished, you should have all 60 house numbers, from your chosen neighborhood, listed on your Customer Follow Up Lists.

PREPARATION FOR CANVASSING
Items Needed:
60 Brochures with contact information and book expiration date clearly marked on back
60 Double Sided Raffle Tickets to affix to the front of each brochure (leave the side with the name, address and phone # loose)
Introductory Letter of your own or Home Sweet Home letter with contact information on letter
60 Samples
60 What’s New Bags
Basket with Handle


Pack the What’s New Bag with the Brochure with affixed raffle ticket, letter, and sample


Load your basket with the What’s New Bags, note paper and pens, demonstration products, and maybe some “cash and carry’” items along with your Customer Follow Up Lists, Customer Order Book, and Calculator.



Get Ready, Get Set..….Now Go Beautify Yourself! 

Customers will purchase products more readily when given the opportunity to meet a sales person face-to-face to establish credibility and confidence. So look the part –


Beautify Yourself – Be Proud Out Loud…
Wear Avon Make-up
Wear Avon Jewelry & Accessories
Dress casually and comfortably but please, dress appropriately
Nice clean shirts, pants or skirts, comfortable shoes, etc.
Please no short shorts, sweats or dirty sneakers.

Go Ye Therfore; Establish the relationship

Personal contacts are vital since they give a Representative the opportunity to establish a solid relationship with her Customers.

Using your prepared Customer Follow Up List, go to your first street and knock on the first door and say something like this, “Hello, I’m Brandy Iron, your neighborhood Avon Lady and I wanted to stop by and introduce myself and offer you the latest Avon Brochure.”



What to Expect!!!! 

In neighborhood selling only four things can happen when you knock on a door.

Someone will answer and invite you to come in:

Sit beside the Customer, preferably at a table where you can display your demonstration products and show her your cash and carry basket. Take her through the brochure, show her the sample and follow the steps to a sales call:
Open/Get Acquainted
Determine her needs
Sell the benefits
Overcome objections
Close the sale

Be sure and have her complete the raffle ticket on the brochure for your weekly product drawing!

Update your Customer Follow Up List with her contact information and the total amount of her order on the first line of the address under the Campaign column to track your sales and orders.

Someone will answer and take a brochure but not invite you in:

Take a brochure out of one of your What’s New Packets, tell her to complete the other half of the raffle ticket for your weekly product drawing and let her know you’ll give her a courtesy call before your order is due. Update your Customer Follow Up List with her contact information when you get home and put a “B” under the Campaign # on the 2nd line of the address (see Sample Customer Follow Up List)

Someone is home but says, “No Thanks”:

When someone says “No,” let her know you understand. Regardless of the type of “No” you face at the door, you can handle it.

No one will be home:

The not-at-home person may become your best customer. She tends to have more money, needs personal service, and she hasn’t said “No.”

When no one answers the door, here’s what you do:

Place a “What’s New” bag on the doorknob.

If there is a name on the door, jot it down on your Customer Follow Up List and put a “B” under the Campaign # on the 2nd line of the address (see Sample Customer Follow Up List)
When you get home, all the “not at homes” need to be looked up on websites such as whitepages.com, anywho.com, etc. You can do a “reverse lookup”. For example, put in Oak Street, City, State & Zip and up will come all listings on Oak Street. Scroll through the list until you find your address and jot down the customer’s name and phone # so you can call for a follow up!

Steps of a Sale

Every time you meet a Customer or deliver an order, you have the opportunity to build your business. The basic steps of any sale are:
Open/Get Acquainted
Determine her needs
Sell the benefits
Overcome objections
Close the sale

1. Open/Get Acquainted

How to talk to prospective customers:

“Hi, I’m Brandy Iron. I’m the neighborhood Avon Representative. Avon has some wonderful values that you don’t want to miss. May I show you the brochure today?”

2. Determine her needs

Your goal is to encourage that Customer to give you information about product likes and dislikes. Ask questions that begin with who, what, when, how, or tell me to determine her needs.

“What kind of skin care products do you use?”

Remember asking questions that can be answered “yes” or “no” makes it too easy for the customer to end the conversation. Always listen to the customer, than recommend the products that suit her needs.
3. Sell the Benefits

Now that you know what your customers need, let them know what the product can do for them. Use the information in the brochures. It is strongly suggested that you try the products yourself so you can give a personal testimonial.

“I love the Anew line; it’s the best anti-aging line in our skin care family.”

4. Overcome objections

Using the felt/found technique is the best way to overcome objections.

“I felt the same way when I found out the cost was $30 a jar but I found that similar skin care products that offer the same benefits cost much, much more.”

5. Close the Sale

The key to closing a sale is asking the customer to make a decision to buy. Help your customer make the decision to buy by asking for the order.

“Shall I order both the Anew Day Cream along with Anew Night Cream?”

How to Handle a “No”
Just remember to…

Smile! Be friendly. Be Positive.

Agree…to show you understand.

Listen…to what she’s really saying.

Ask…to find out what she uses.

Offer her…what she wants or needs.

Show demo products.

Introduce her to all that Avon offers.

Keep selling…especially those specials!

Sell her on regular, personal service.

No…don’t take that “NO” personally!

Be persistent…and keep going back! It may take several calls to turn that “NO” into a “YES”.

Enjoy the challenge of selling the tough ones.

Tips…On Selling to More People

Use a daily calendar to organize your time.
Spend only 20 minutes with each customer
Plan to call on a specific number of new people each day.
Adjust your selling time to when people are home – include evening and weekends.


Use the telephone.
Make appointments to see new people.
Make appointments with people at houses where you have left brochures.
Set aside time to do follow up calls on every brochure left at every door every campaign.
What to say? “Hi, this is Brandy Iron, your neighborhood Avon lady and I just was giving you quick courtesy call to let you know my order for the brochure I left for you is due tomorrow, was there anything you needed this time?”
If no, Say? “Oh by the way, did you happen to see the special on the back cover? Our famous Glimmersticks for eyes, brows and lips are on sale for only $1.99 each and the regular price is $6.00 each? What shades would you like me to order for you?”


Update your Customer Follow Up List.
Fill in the names, addresses, phone numbers and emails of all the people in your neighborhood
Be sure and fill in the dollar sales per campaign, per customer!
Order enough brochures for the upcoming campaign for every person on your Customer Follow Up List and a few extras for their friends and family!


Keep Your Business Growing
Experiment and try various techniques like…
1. Order extra brochures each campaign to get new customers.
2. Go back to the people who said they would buy later
3. Return to the people who said no.
4. Work Saturdays and some evenings to reach “Not-at-homes”.
5. Consider key customers for referrals and/or helpers.
6. Use the “courtesy call” technique during the last days of the campaign to reach those customers you could not reach in person.
7. To interest new customer, try “lumpy brochures”
Attach 4 – 6 samples to the pages they appear in the brochure so customers can try various products.
8. Have open houses with other Representatives
9. Go out on rainy/snowy days. People stay home on nasty days.
10. See every member of the household as a potential Customer.
11. Brand yourself with 30 more houses.

· Do your “homework”
· Prepare Yourself
· Get Ready, Get Set…Now Go

12. Don’t forget the first 60 houses where you received “No’s”
· After canvassing for 6 campaigns in a row, go back every 5th campaign and leave another What’s New packet. Maybe someone new moved in? Maybe they lost their previous Avon Representative? Maybe something in the brochure will now be of interest to them?


 MAYBE THEY WILL LOVE YOUR PERSISTENCE! Haha Who knows...
But most of all…..

Have Fun!!!

1st Steps as a AVON Rep

1st Steps as a AVON Rep

The Power of Rehearsal

"Everyone loves to win - but how many love to train?"
Mark Spitz - 1972 Olympic Gold Medallist Swimmer

When I was little, I wanted to be a singer. I loved the idea of entertaining people with rythum melody and harmony. I listened to records and learned songs and even put on shows performing with the handle of the vacuum cleaner.

The magic fraternity has a number of rules. The most important one is that you must never reveal the secret of a trick (so don’t ask me!) But one of the rules that I learned that has been useful in my real experiences as a singer speaker and trainer  is that you must practice and practice – and then practice some more. And only when you are thoroughly rehearsed do you perform the trick in public.

Practice and rehearsal also make a huge improvement to the delivery of presentations and speeches.

Here’s what happens to an unrehearsed speaker:

They "um" and "ah"They can’t remember what comes next. They get sidetracked and waffle. They go over time or run out of time.They read their presentation and put the audience to sleep.They lack confidence, control and credibility.

This list of problems is bad enough. But the real problem is that your audience doesn’t say to themselves "this speaker hasn’t rehearsed" – no, they say to themselves "this person and their company, product and service are incompetent." They don’t make allowances – and why should they?

Take on board that you have not finished preparing when your notes are written and your PowerPoint is on a drive. You need to practise your talk out loud from beginning to end. And the more often you rehearse it the better.

Learn your opening – know your first line in your sleep so that "starters nerves" won’t stop you from remembering or delivering your opening words with energy and confidenceKnow your closing – for maximum impact you want to be able to deliver it directly to the audience without any notes and without PowerPointPractise with any props and visual aids – especially PowerPoint. Get the timing of your slides right and be thoroughly familiar with their content.

I learned the discipline and the benefits of rehearsal from my childhood poetry contest daye. And it is a discipline because it is time consuming and repetitive and you often don’t feel as if it’s really contributing to your performance. But I can guarantee that it does.

The popular Polish pianist and composer Ignace Paderewski was once asked to explain why, after so many years, he still practiced every day. His response?

"If I miss one day's practice I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices."

Opportunity For You To Market To Real Estate Agents, Insurance Agents & More Today Only!

I have partnered with a dear Friend from WomenPartner.org. WomenPartner.org has orchestrated a Guinness World Record attempt to break the record "most people attending a business speed networking event" (multiple venues) on Sept. 17. 10 cities participated.

Although they didn't break the record, they got a lot of donations to help charities that supply back to school supplies and food to the needy. 600 business and professional, female and male, people participated in the events. They included real estate agents/brokers, insurance agents, CEOs, executives, coaches and more. To thank them for their participation and donations, WomenPartner.org is putting together a powerhouse virtual goody bag that will be sent out Monday evening. They are looking for 10 more virtual goody bag sponsors, only $50 to insert a full page ad to promote one company, to complete the "bags". You can promote two businesses for $75 or 3 businesses for $100. In addition to having their businesses positioned in front of the participants, sponsors will be mentioned in the press release distributed by the 10 city organizers.

Visit WomenPartner.org's Guinness World Record attempt Facebook page , http://tinyurl.com/pw4mc55 , to check out some of the participants and organizers. Read the pinned post or email jerrilynnbthomas@womenpartner.org for more information on grabbing one of the sponsorship's. Please note that the payment option is Google Wallet not PayPal. If you aren't familiar with Google Wallet, it's very easy to use. Sponsorship's are first come first serve today.

Until next time

Email Strategies To Elevate Your Holiday Marketing Program

It's not too late to inject a little innovation into your holiday email-marketing planning, even if you feel as if Cranberry Red Thursday (Thanksgiving in the U.S.) is hovering over your shoulder already.

My list below suggests six holiday revenue or engagement strategies that you can either launch or update in the weeks that remain before the blitz begins.

1. Strategy: Look for ways to close the smartphone conversion gap by making your emails easier for shoppers to view and act on, coordinating email and mobile messaging.

Launch: If a full redesign isn't in the cards, make your emails more mobile-friendly: raise the font size, reduce the column width to avoid side-scrolling, and trim copy to place the most important content at the top of the message. Delete all but the most essential copy.

Update: Use email to encourage customers to download, install and use your mobile app. Also, use email to persuade users to accept mobile and Web push notifications.

2. Strategy: Move beyond the one-day extravaganza to differentiate your emails from all the other Black Friday emails in subscribers' inboxes.

Launch: Create a unique promotion and content approach for each of the five shopping days bracketing Black Friday, from "Cranberry Red Thursday" to Black Friday to Cyber Monday.

Update: Focus on Cranberry Red Thursday, which became a retail shopping day in 2014. If your stores will open on Thanksgiving, consider special promotions and shopper information about store hours, locations and special offers to increase awareness and drive traffic. 

3. Strategy: Dedicate at least one email a week to "white space" content that informs and educates.

Launch: Kick off your holiday shopping season with an email guide covering essential information: free or expedited shipping deadlines, store locations, special hours, gift lists, return policies, payment options, customer service contacts and anything else that would help shoppers buy successfully.

Update: Create email buyers’ guides for specialty gift purchases where rookie shoppers could use some virtual assistance -- like sporting goods, electronics, jewelry, housewares or clothing. Alert shoppers about impending deadlines, changes in store hours and other late-season initiatives.

4. Strategy: Promote gift card purchases and redemption promotions in remarketing programs and email content.

Launch: Develop a broad-based promotion plan that suggests gift-card purchases to browse abandoners. Dedicate several emails to buying, giving and redeeming gift cards online and in stores. Add gift-card information to every holiday email.

Update: Close out the shopping season with an email listing gift ideas and policies/procedures for redeeming gift cards.

5. Strategy: Add abandoned-cart and browse-abandonment reminder emails to bring casual or comparison shoppers back to your website.

Launch: This might be an ambitious undertaking in the waning days of Q3 or the quietest days of Q4, but given the potential revenue at stake, it's at least worth exploring.

Do what you need to do to get a basic abandoned-cart email program up, tested and running before the shopping season swings into high gear. Address the reasons why shoppers break off transactions, such as technical problems or shipping-fee objections. Link to the transaction page, and include exact product descriptions and photos.

Update: Increase the number of email reminders from one to a series. Move from batched messages to an hour or less from cart abandonment for the first message.

Shoppers often use carts as virtual shopping lists. So, make your carts persistent if you can but remind shoppers in abandonment emails about the hazards of waiting too long (out-of-stock merchandise, expiring promotions, etc.).

6. Strategy: Add or buff up transactional emails to increase trust, reduce doubt, engage new shoppers and bring them back after the holidays.

Launch: Add at least one new transactional email, especially a "fulcrum" message: an email that's pivotal in driving revenue, engagement or actions. Consider an enhanced welcome message or onboarding program or a companion to a purchase, such as a shipping notification.

Update: Add an opt-in invitation to every transactional message to convert new shoppers to subscribers. Move from batched message sending to near-real time.

Which of these has the potential to move the needle on your holiday email program?

Until next time, take it up a notch!

Why Online Presence Is Important For Your Business

The importance of having an online presence and a personal brand is growing day by day, regardless of which industry you belong to. The potential customers and clients want to see that you are engaged in the respective community and are more likely to take on your work if you already have an online presence. The beauty and wellness industry is a blooming business and the high organic search engine rankings go a long way towards its ability to secure first-time as well as repeat client bookings. Beauty companies and advertisers now realize the importance of increasing their online presence and have shifted ad dollars to have a prominent digital focus rather than traditional television and print campaigns.

In this industry, the experience at the point-of-sale (POS) remains highly important because it is where the sale is won or lost, where the interaction with the brand comes to life and the seeds of loyalty are planted. It can affect brand performance by improving brand image and consumer satisfaction. It can have direct impact on a brand’s overall perception among customers and their loyalty to it, delivering a unique shopping experience and further enhancing the beauty brand and customer loyalty. By having an online presence for your beauty products business, you are able to guide traffic generated through media. Beauty companies invest in media to further a particular brand or category, linking brands with special occasions and holidays already connected to your purchases. Therefore, you need to improve return on media investments in order to have an appropriate POS support. It can help you generate incremental sales, build recognizable brand missions and values, attract customers with appealing store merchandising, and foster a retail culture and skills. You can know your shoppers and can have indirect as well as indirect contact with end consumers of your beauty brands and fully understand their needs and behaviors. Your strong online presence will provide consumers with a balanced product knowledge, service and sales techniques that fully embody your brand image.

KASH SKILL Income Producing Activities

Are You Focused On Income Producing Activities?

Or are you busy running in 50 different directions like a chicken with its head cut off?  If you’re like most people getting started in Network Marketing and trying to build a home business, the picture isn’t really clear as to how you should go about producing income.

Income Producing Activities

I’m sure you have some great income producing activities, but most of them won’t generate income right away!

Let me explain:

Most people, myself included when I first got started, focused too much on the company products, the science behind it all, the compensation plan. How to do social media, building a blog, watching guru videos, studying this and studying that…

The next thing you know, a month has gone by and  all of the so called income producing activities you were working on, didn’t bring in a dime.

Yes, having some basic knowledge of your product line and how the comp plan works is important.  BUT… None of that is ever going to generate any income.

A lot of us when we just start out in our home business have a limited amount of time because we have so many other commitments to attend to. Like a J.O.B., our families, hobbies etc. Most come into network marketing as a part time gig in order to make some additional income. Especially in today’s economy.

Well, if you’re spending all your time doing Non-Income Producing Activities such as the ones listed above, you are setting yourself up for nothing but frustration and disappointment.

Here Are My Top Three Income Producing Activities!

If you focus on these three things, 80% of the time, you will experience a lot less frustration and become successful in half the time.

1. Share Your Opportunity – Prospecting!

It’s as simple as this… If you are not talking to at least 3 people a day and sharing your opportunity, (5 or 10 would be better) then where will the income, come from?

2. Build New Relationships!

This goes hand in hand with prospecting. You have to build the relationship first before you can ever share your opportunity.

Get out and network! Hey these days you don’t even have to leave the house to network, although I suggest you do. There are meet-up groups going on all over the country in every city. Get out an mingle with people, if you’re the type person that shy’s away from socializing, then you need to break old habits, force yourself to get more.

Remember, your not going out there to sell anyone anything! You job at this stage is to build relationships.

If time is really limited then spend an hour a day on Facebook or Google + and start up some conversations with people. Friend the interesting people who are talking business and current events. You can join different groups on Facebook, get connected in forums, start to add value to the conversations going on there.  People will take notice and start to look at you as a leader.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT just start hitting them over the head with your new business opportunity. That should be the last thing you discuss. It takes a little time to build a relationship.  Some build faster than others.  It’s all part of the Income Producing Activities.

Lead with solutions, not your opportunity! You wouldn’t walk up to a complete stranger and ask them to marry you right? This is no different!

The Most Important Of The Income Producing Activities is… (drumroll please!)
3. The Follow-Up!

The fortune is in the follow-up as they say and it’s the most overlooked step in the process, for whatever  the reason is.

Quick story…

The other day as I was working on a one of the long term income producing activities, putting together a few new autoresponders for one of my lists, an email came through. It was someone that had opted into my system because they were looking for information regarding how to generate leads online.

That person had just received an email of mine from my autoresponder about Domain Names and Autoresponders. (oddly enough)

Here’s what they had to say:

“Sir what do you want? I’m in college at the age of 48! I have no life anymore and I just want to finish my degree. I don’t think there is anything you can help me with!”

WOW – I thought to myself, how do I approach this one? Or do I just let it go? After all, they were the one that opted-in for this info… But sensing their frustration I decided to follow-up with them immediately.  What did I have to lose?

My response:

“I apologize if there has been any misunderstanding. At one time you opted into my website looking for info regarding marketing online. At the bottom of all my emails you will find a link to allow you to Opt-Out so you don’t receive any mail from me”.

I do understand your frustration, I am 54 and a couple of years ago I had to reinvent myself too. I can relate to NOT having a life for a while.

You chose to go back to school, get a degree and most likely will work for a big corporation. I chose to build my own business and in the process, try and help those who are looking for ways to use the internet.

My first time around working for someone else didn’t work out so well, it’s even worse in today’s economy. Corporate America and its loyalties just aren’t what they used to be.

I wish you all the best in the world and hope you can take back your life very soon!

One final thought… At one point you were looking online for something. Perhaps a way to generate some additional income, I am assuming thats how you found me in the first place.

I don’t push my primary business often but thought you might find this intriguing”

I added a link to my latest video capture page and figured I would probably never hear from that person again; or worse, I’d get a really nasty email back!

Much to my surprise, 10 minutes later I received an email with an apology and their phone number saying… If you want to talk business, give me a call.

I about fell out of my chair! 95% of the time I can’t capture someone’s phone number with a direct call to action- LOL!

But if I hadn’t followed-up, who knows how this would have ended! This just proves the most important income producing activities end with the follow-up!

Decide Commit Succeed!

Xoxo
KASH Karla A Smith Howard
Declaring and Sharing Inspired
Knowledge Attitude Skills & Habits

"To Be or Not to Be" The Face of Your Brand

The secret to creating a powerful personal brand include building a compelling persona by accentuating the better aspects of your characteristics while minimizing those that are less compelling, shaping your personal persona to appeal to your target market and forgoing cheesy gimmicks.

Now that you’ve identified these essential components of your personal brand, it’s time to carefully consider what will happen the moment you step in front of your business and become its public face.

People Will Want To Meet You And Know More About You

Many consumers do research before choosing to patronize a business – most simply seek out reviews from current and former customers, but some want to know more, including how long a company has been in business, how many people they employ, if they have ever relocated and, finally, what awards or recognitions the company has received. For some, the stability of an established company speaks positively to their reputation, while others seek out attributes that they like and can identify with. Many people like to support local and locally-owned companies, while others may feel compelled to patronize a business with a long and interesting history.

You Must Be More Available To Others

When an entrepreneur becomes the public face of a business or organization, their personal brand essentially takes the place of their business brand, and it becomes necessary to share many aspects of your personal and professional history and accomplishments with prospective customers.

Becoming the face of a business or brand doesn’t mean that your life is now a completely open book, but it is necessary to become more open and available to others, especially at public events, and seeking out opportunities to introduce yourself and share your personal story with others.

These opportunities can include public speaking events at conventions, conferences and smaller events held by organizations such as your local chamber of commerce. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to groups in public or sharing your story, or the idea of mingling and meeting new people is intimidating, you may want to reconsider taking a public role as the face of your business.

Prepare To Face Personal Complaints, Criticism And Gossip

Shushh she coming!! There is another, sometimes more personally uncomfortable consequence of becoming the public face of your brand: when a client or customer is unhappy or disgruntled, you may become the personal and often public target of their ire. As professionals, we have all likely dealt with an unfortunate situation in which a client or customer was unhappy or disgruntled, but it was likely more of an impersonal situation in that the client or customer directed their complaint or ire at the business. Once you become the public face of your business, many clients and customers will hold you personally responsible for the actions of the business, or for the actions of one of your employees. While you are ultimately responsible for the satisfaction of your clients and customers, you may be emotionally unprepared when a public and sometimes very personal complaint or criticism is lodged, especially over the Internet.

Reconsider Some Public Activities

Creating a compelling personal brand involves accentuating your positive attributes while downplaying and sometimes omitting the negatives.  Once you become the public face of your business, it is important to carefully consider and sometimes rethink activities that you may have felt comfortable doing in the past, such as commenting or discussing controversial topics in public or on social media. While some business owners feel compelled to be politically active or to share other controversial opinions, it is important to consider the ramifications of alienating any segment of your target market.

Should Someone ~Else~ Be The Public Face Of Your Company?

After carefully considering some of the responsibilities and consequences of becoming the public face of your business, you may be more hesitant than you were before to take on this role. Not everyone is willing and able to become a public figure, even a minor one, and it is better to consider going another, less personal route with the branding of your business than damaging your personal brand and the brand of your business. However, some business owners seek a compromise – instead of becoming the face of their business, they appoint an employee or manager to take that role, or they have sought out a former owner to become a promotional “figurehead” of the company. Perhaps the most famous promotion figurehead of a company was Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s. Although Mr. Thomas resigned from running the daily operations of Wendy’s in 1982, he spent the remainder of the 80s and the 90s appearing in commercials and other advertisements as the face of the company, and many believed that he was the actual owner and leader of Wendy’s during that time.

Are The Risks Worth It?

As the owner or manager of your business, you should carefully consider whether or not allowing someone else to become the public face of your business is a good idea. While the previous example of Mr. Thomas was a resounding marketing and branding success, it is important to remember that by handing this role to a third-party, you are ceding the branding and public face of your company to someone else, and this can backfire. If one of your employees becomes the public face of your company, what will you do if you have to terminate their employment? What will happen if they commit a public gaffe, or share a controversial opinion? It may be better to create a less personal brand for your business, rather than risk its continued success and good standing in the community.