There have been several posts

on this Journey of Building

a Business regarding Customer Service.

Customer Service, in my opinion,

encompasses many aspects of the business cycle.

And one of those aspects is building a warm and friendly communication base with the INITIAL  Conversation.

That was evidenced yesterday while shopping on line for an accommodation on our upcoming trip to visit son.

He mentioned there were two Motels nearby and close in price. Using the Search Engine I found the websites for both and read information and looked at the virtual tours, then picked up my FAVORITE communicator the telephone…

First call was answered by a FRIENDLY voice and I explained I was looking at the choice of two for a 5 night stay…
HER ability to engage in warm friendly and sincere dialog sold me on the spot. Even though the rate a slightly higher than the “other Place”.

If you are building your business and answer your own phone, consider how you answer and also how your answering machine message sounds.

(Sure hope you do not have Automated Phone Tree)

• Are you Friendly?
• Is there a smile in your voice
• Do you announce who you are or your company name clearly and with friendly authority?
• Do you begin to ask questions as to HOW you can best serve the caller?

These traits may seem old-fashioned in this modern day of automated messaging and “push button” to go here etc.. But it is amazing how many more customers are secured from FRIENDLY and sincere Conversation.

If you ever feel the need to stay in Mineral Wells, Texas, I highly recommend the Comfort Suites, just based on the pleasant experience I had with Sarah, Reservation Clerk Extraordinaire.

I will report back if my enthusiasm is at all dampened during my stay from POOR Customer Service, but somehow I doubt that will happen because if management is sharp enough to hire a young lady like Sarah, they probably have their “Ducks in a row”

Networking and Network Marketing..

Are they two distinct subjects?

Or, do they blend together in a mutually

beneficial circumstance?

These ideas struck me while driving home from a Horse Show Announcing gig yesterday and had the pleasure of talking to someone  (Hands-free Car system) I had met several years ago and enjoyed mutually beneficial business relations.. We chatted for a while and caught up on what’s happening.

Then, remembering his real expertise in the Construction business, I started to mention an opportunity I had heard about recently from another acquaintance from another past business dealing. I began describing the opportunity and directed the conversation that this might be something that would fit into his current business briefcase. The conversation was exciting and we decided to get back with each other and I could share more detail though e-mail by pointing him to published data and websites etc.

When I arrived home, I immediately called the C.O.O. of the Company discussed and asked if they were still in the market for a representative in that part of the country……
The outcome seems to be developing into a mutually beneficial relationship with the two people, each of whom had a “problem” and I provided a possible solution.

The  key element exhibited here was over the years I had developed favorable relationships with the parties and stayed in touch so there initial conversations went well because of the common bond of ME.

Does that make me special?

NO

Just shows how a Networker NETWORKS.
By the way, there is a comfortable “finders fee” involved, and the opportunity to offer expertise to the help develop the NEW relationship.

Over the past 50 years it has not been uncommon to receive 10% of sales, a percentage of future business etc from putting people together…..
BUT what is odd, that is NOT the motivation for developing solid relationships with like-minded people. It is just a belief that helping others and yourself at the same time is Fun and Rewarding lifestyle

The Network Marketing Arena seems

to be a bit different

The proponents of the Network Marketing System promote the need to develop relationships, but in my estimation, do not encourage or show the HOW TO develop that presence of being Known, Liked, and Trusted within  the market area (be a Networker)

A good friend Lindy Asimus just posted a unique article addressing that relationship building need with a provocative Twist!

Networking.

Who Loves Ya, Baby?

She emphasizes the need to truly develop solid relationships.

How does one capitalize on the skill set of Networking when they are involved in Network Marketing?

That takes some planning and execution of  skills that we all posses,  but may need enhancing.

Personally I feel two of the skills are the ability to Listen Effectively and being Sincere. We will discussing these two skills in  later posts, but for now you will enjoy our new book Active Listening. A copy is yours with the only string attached of being Pay with a Tweet.

 Remember to Share your thoughts below

in the Comment section

Does an Elegant Themed Website/Blog

really make a difference?

How important is the presentation

in attracting visitors?

Does it need to be “Elegant”?

Well, in reality Content is King and there many very successful sites that follow a plain format…
but when you combine a well designed, easily managed and attractive Elegant Theme to quality Content YOU are assured a winning combination.

As most of you know I am NOT a techie and have needed to learn, trial and error, over the past 7 years; with the exception of fantastic help from Mark Hultgren (AKA MKWeb). Because of the slow learning curve a lot of misdirection occurred and I missed some opportunities by not seriously looking at “premium” themes.

Before I go any further, I want to state that FREE themes, coupled with a serious approach and the dedication to BLOG regularly with quality Content will attract visitors and subscribers, but I noticed a difference in the speed that the growth occurred when I focused on  Premium Themes. It was explained to me that some scripts are built to Optimize better and so on..

Again I am not a techie, but I was pleased with results I have enjoyed using the Elegant Themes.

 What you get with Elegant Themes

Nick and his staff at Elegant Themes provide access to all previous Themes and access to all newly created Themes throughout the year, which seems to be a couple new themes each month. The annual cost of this service would be a Bargain at three times the price but you can lock in your subscription for $39.00 annually.

Before you go any further and jump at this opportunity The Nanny State forces me to WARN you that when you choose to subscribe, Nick will make me a Gazillionaire by paying a Commission for referring you to this site. I have not been incentivized in any other way and PAY my subscription every year.

Here are some example of the different Elegant Themes I have used and those of some of our Clients:

Best Business Mindset

Best Business Social Media Services

We Build Barns MdBarnmaster-Virginia

Michaella Walker Horse Natural Training

Are you Content Marketing?

Because Content Marketing seem to be

where the action is.

Blogs and social media have dominated the Internet since I arrived 6 years ago and it was through the creation of a lot of Content, I was able to create a positive Marketing environment for my niche products. I believe the Blog Content is King

According to Chris Marentis in a Blog Post on D&B’s All Business Blog:
One SEO boosting technique we’ve found that does make a significant difference in search engine rankings is posting keyword rich, relevant, and recent content.

One company found this to be true by inadvertently testing it on their business. The company already knew that posting this type of content was an important tactic to add to its online marketing arsenal, but until dealing with a sudden and unexpected personnel shift, it didn’t know how much of an impact it really had on search engine rankings.

In August of this year, the company’s SEO report showed them ranking on the first page of Google for the majority of their 20 keywords. However, they dropped to the second and third page of rankings for the month of October. Why?

When looking at what changed, or what they’d done differently, they realized that the only change was the fact that they hadn’t posted the typical 20 – 30 monthly blogs and articles for the month of September because of a lag due to the personnel change.

Well, those of us who manage our own Business Blogs have no excuse really, except a lack of Prioritization of the importance of producing Content for our Business Blogs. If you notice the date of this Blog and the most recent behind it you will see this Blogger has been remiss and his traffic and sales reflected a lovely downward spiral!!

If you are having trouble gathering the time and energy to increase your Content Marketing drop me a line, and I will send you a referral to a young lady who helps me, at an affordable price, with Quality Original Content.

Another consideration for optimizing content is to write some White Paper’s and also produce fresh PDF Content, to be posted on such sites as Scribd.com and Slideshare.com

Article Marketing, in my opinion, has been overstated as far as gaining Quality Prospects to you Company and capturing a solid reader base and the search engines recently have seemed to discount these sites to some degree. Here is some great advice from Karon Thackston

It’s time to stop following the crowd.  Here’s my advice: instead of spending $300 for two dozen crappy articles, spend that money on one fantastic article. Carefully place that piece with websites that can get you in front of people who want your product or service then watch the magic of a quality article marketing campaign do its stuff!

The importance of Quality Content for marketing is even more pronounced in  Business 2 Businesses circumstances. I suggest you grab this PDF by Doug Kessler of Velocity Partners:

Content Marketing Notebook

Is there a difference between

an Opportunity Seeker

and an Entrepreneur?

An Entrepreneur

is one has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.

An Opportunity Seeker:

Is a person that pursues an established opportunity, such as “joining” an MLM Marketing organization.

Coming on the Internet 6 years ago, I  chased links to some outrageous Headlines. Further research, of course, indicated there was very little substance in most of the Opportunity Claims. I was curious why the Time and energy was not spent seeking Entrepreneurs instead of Opportunity Seekers. Interviewed a few prosperous marketers and they disclosed no one really want to endure the journey to Entrepreneurial lifestyle, because it frankly takes WORK, some habit changes, and a totally different Mindset.

Some feel that the 92% of Opportunity Seekers  are involved with a company which provides their distributors a product owned specifically by the company, some training and discuss a seemingly smooth Journey to abundance, with little direction to the establishment of the Entrepreneur Spirit.

And the other 8% of  Marketers that are truly considered Entrepreneurs, achieve goals that many people could only dream of.

The following are some Traits found

in Entrepreneurs:

• An Entrepreneur possesses an overpowering need to achieve and tends to be very competitive against themselves
• They have the determination and dedication to follow through with commitments and they always appear confident and in control.
• the Entrepreneur also possesses a positive atmosphere. They are of the mindset “I can,” and “I will.”
• They are not afraid of failure because failure is not in their vocabulary nor is it an option.
• Entrepreneurs  are objective but have the ability to weigh risks realistically within the big picture.
• They have an uncanny ability to anticipate developments which gives them the edge on many competitive situations.
• Entrepreneurs seem to feel right from their gut, call it instinct.
• They are a resourceful group that possess excellent problem solving skills and are able to diligently work through obstacles as they occur.
• Entrepreneurs are excellent communicators and recognize how important clear and concise communication is to their success.
• They also possess a sound working knowledge of the business they are involved in.

Read More of these traits

Enjoy this Video discuss the Mindset of an Entrepreneur

We have not spent much

time on this

Business Building Blog

talking about MLM

Marketing Success

MLM Marketing has actually seen

an upsurge during these challenged

economic times and the pool of

mature work force seeking

supplemental or full time income.

A problem that many MLM Marketing
aspirants find when using the Internet
is they Lack a position of Authority and Recognition

We know the public typically chooses to BUY from those they know and trust and the Internet and Social media Tools allow many to gain that recognition quickly IF they are willing to invest Time and Energy and a small bit of capital. I have found one of the “quickest ” and surest way to OWN the Authority and recognition is to Create and Maintain a BLOG.

Experience has shown me that a self-hosted WordPress System has proved most effective.

An eager MLM Marketing developer can create enthusiasm and demonstrate Leadership qualities with a Blog focused on the “How to Build” and updates of the product need and quality. We discussed this concept in detail on our weekly Podcast Talk Show, You Can Build It, Business frrm Scatch

The following are two episodes of those Podcasts on setting up an

MLM Marketing Blog:

June 1, 2011

June 6, 2011

Many of our readers have found a real benefit in setting up one of our Networked Blog systems and enjoy the benefits of troves of Fresh Content through the Network and appreciate the quick high rankings and Search Engine Authority.
An MLM Marketer can benefit from this system and encourage their “associates” to also have a blog within the network and REALLY capture Internet Authority and dominate Search

Don’t forget to LIKE this post above and be sure to Comment below
*****************************************************

Cross Promotion of businesses 

using Social Media has become

a Successful endeavor.

Two of my Favorite Horse Industry companies have just created a

3 day Cross Promotion campaign

on the Social Media site, Facebook.

Buckaroo Leather Products and Silver Steer Boutique have posted on their respective Fan Pages a Cross Promotion “contest” to have their respective members visit each others Website, choose a favorite Product and then post comment on the Fan page. A random drawing will be held Tuesday, April 12th 6:00 PM EDT.

Check out example on their Fan Pages Now.

Buckaroo Leather Product Facebook Fan Page

and

Silver Steer Boutique Facebook Fan Page

Not only do campaigns like this increase FANS, it creates excitement and a feeling of Good Will throughout an Industry.

Too many businesses spend too much energy on the proverbial ME and not enough on the Total Pictures and learn to Share audiences.

I will post a follow up on HOW these two fine companies shared successful reults.

For more information on HOW TO set up Cross Promotion campaigns, such as this, contact me in comment section, e-mail bestbizmidset@gmail.com or just call direct 530-798-0245

Are Your  US  Business Tax Records

Up to date?

Many Home Based Business enthusiasts forget

the importance of accurate Business Tax Records

The following 6 Steps to setting up Business Tax Records should be followed by all entrepreneurs, especially the Home based Business person

Is the accumulation and separation of your Business Income Tax Records a pleasant experience?

If not, here is a list of 6 important “boxes” to keep your records and a FREE reference on HOW TO be eligible for more deductions than most consider, and highly recommended, affordable, record keeping software, designed for the Home Based Business person.

Following are the 6 Business Tax Records everyone should keep current, followed by a few that would be needed if you took full advantage of all of the possibles avenues of Business Income Tax Deductions:

1. Gross receipts. These reflect your business’ income, on which its taxes are based. Save documents that show the amounts and the sources of the income. Those run the gamut from cash register tapes to receipt books. Also with some NEW 2010 Tax Law changes remember to keep accurate record of your GROSS income from Paypal and other payment processors. It will be incumbent to keep track of ALL sources of Income. Paypal wil be reporting to IRS all transactions exceeding 2,000 per year and/or $20,000
2. Purchases. These are the things you buy and resell to customers. They include raw materials or components that are included in finished products. Such purchases may be considered part of the cost of goods sold, and be eligible for a tax deduction. Also remember to audit your Paypal and other processor accounts.
3. Expenses. Expenses are the costs of running a business, from salaries to rent to travel, and most are tax deductible. In addition to records such as canceled checks and account statements, use petty cash slips or a petty cash log to record your small purchases. The software mentioned below is extremely helpful here.
4. Employment records. It’s important to keep complete records of the wages, benefits and tips paid to your employees, including amounts and dates. Keep the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of your employees, and their dates of employment. Have employee copies of W-2 Forms been returned to you as undeliverable? Keep em. And keep copies of employees’ income tax withholding allowance certificates (Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4S, and W-4V). Many in home based businesses do not have employees but may utilize outsourcing which will require 1099 Misc. forms up to date.
5. Business assets. Business assets such as computers and copy machines gradually wear out, and businesses can write off their costs over time. Be sure to keep records of the cost of the asset and the sales tax, as well as costs for delivery, setup, training and accessories. When assets are sold, record and keep a description of the item, the price and date of sale, and any expenses pertaining to the sale—such as brokerage fees or advertising costs. Too many also forget to keep track of their Business Assets and effectively use the depreciation schedules.
6. Travel. Much of the cost of business travel is tax deductible, so keep records each time you make a payment—large or small—that involves a trip. Receipts for transportation, meals and lodging are a must. You should also keep a journal listing travel dates and destinations, the reasons for the travel .and a list of expenditure.

Automobile expenses (mileage or actual) need to be recorded. The Us Internal revenue Service accepts record for 90 continuous days or a complete week each month. Be sure to write down leaving your home office , reason for trip and return mileage

Grab this simple form and duplicate:

2011 Mileage Form

Here comes the big advertisement:
I have been using this simple software for the past 5 years along with the advice gained from the FREE PDF listed below. This procedure has saved many hours and 10′s of thousands in Tax Dollars. Even if you have completed your 2011 Tax forms, you may want to read and see if it would be advantageous to re-file. Regardless I encourage everyone in the US who is involved in small business to get the Software and start today recording your activity.

Warning: If you do chose to purchase my Income will increase slightly. Yes, this is an affiliate product!

Also Download your Tax Saving FREE  PDF here

Had an interesting conversation

today about Value of Internet

Products.

I was discussing a Value Priced
Client-Affiliate-Content Management System,
which of course is not a product for everyone in the first place.

Those possessing the Mindset of a Business person and understand Product Value will grasp the following easily.

Surfing and searching for products and tool on the internet is frustrating when sees the gamut of prices for what SEEMS to be similar products. unfortunately most focus on PRICE, not cost. A business person rarely focuses on the immediate charge for a TOOL or SYSTEM, rather asks the question, “What can I earn from the product, tool or event?

And..”how soon can expect those earnings?”

Those two question really establish VALUE.

Prices and value many times do not go hand in hand. Buying low cost products, made with cheap material and offering little, if any, Customer Service and Support can prove to be very Expensive.

Getting back to our conversation I was discussing a complete, powerful Client-affiliate-content management system, currently being offered for $87.00 per month subscription. he searched and found the “same product for $47.00 a month and asked the obvious question…WHY?

Well the “lower” priced product comes with Just the Software, nothing set up and a cumbersome, if not impossible to contact  Support system. An experienced script manager could probably be up and running within a matter of several 8-10 hours days, formatting each module.

If you would like to hire their support staff, the set up cost on products could range form $500-$1,500 per

And if questions arose, one would need to send a “support Ticket” and await a response.

The “higher priced product”, comes set up, modules in place, extensive training videos, weekly Teleseminars and Webinars on the HOW TO and more important, Published Phone number of REAL people, available 6 days a week during  Daylight hours.

The question is, What is the value of YOUR TIME in relation to having the ease of applying ACTION quickly and paying $480 per year more and have your Internet Business functioning faster?

What is the Value of Interent products, or any product, tool, system or service  offered anywhere?

Do the research, ask questions of the providers, if you can’t call them that lessens the Value immediately. Find out what is really delivered.

As Wallace Wattles said 100 years ago in the Science of Getting Rich, Always deliver more Real Value, than received in Cash Value. Following that premise, remember to ask the question How much can I benefit, not what does it it Cost.

By the way the link to the High Priced product is below. No fancy sales page, just information, and if you have questions call me 1-530-798-0245. I answer all calls with an hour during daylight hours.

2 Gain Sales Matters CMS

This seems to be the time of year

to be thinking US Income Tax

preparation and understand your

Deductions.

Yes, it is Income Tax Deduction Time.

This blog focuses on tips and trick to effectively grow your small business, be it On-line or Off-line. Closely associated with our weekly Podcast Talk Show, Beginners Marketing Class Talk Show This show has followed the procedure of Business Creation, from inception of idea through to growing a success.

We focused, on an earlier show,  the Income Tax deduction advantages of small Home Based Business, and HOW TO Optimize your profit by following simple guidelines to Optimize Tax deduction allowed through the Internal Revenue Code.

Take some time and listen to this informative Podcast on Income T ax Planning or download for Future listening.

Optimizing Your Small Business Tax Deductions

For the past 5 years I have been using the simple Software mentioned in the banner above. A 15-30 minute per week investment of time has returned thousands and allows the peace of mind knowing all is well with my Income Tax Filing and planning.

It is the use of tools like this, along with documentation (Download FREE Vehicle Log) and a well designed Business Plan, that will allow YOU to enjoy growing your business.  Oh, Oh the words Business Plan came up again. Yes they are Important.

It will take you a few hours to set up the Income Tax Software and enter your 2010 Data, but only a few minutes a week to enter current Income and Expenses for the current 2011 Income tax year.

When you set it up, be sure to add each major Vendor so you will be ready for the Mess of the 2012 1099  requirement

Click on the banner below and read all about the software and how it works.. Be sure to watch the FREE Demo

Internet Marketing and other Home Based Businesses do provide Tax Deduction Advantages, but you must be qualified and provide substantiation. Download the Tax Saving Book above  and also  order the MLM-Internet Business tax Helper Software

Also be sure to consult your tax consultant. Many are not up on the total package offered to Home based Businesses, so you may need to ask if they are up to date.

WARNING: Should you wisely choose to purchase, and use the Software listed above, I will add to my Income; but you will automatically be an affiliate to share with other and also see you Income increase. Fun, if you think about it. MLM Marketers find these Tax advantages to be a solid recruiting tool