Cold Calling - Marketing to Your Hit List

In most companies, cold calling means calling any list of prospects that you have any hope at all of selling at any time in the future. Although you can market like that, here is a better way.

If you go through your list of past customers, you'll notice something strange. Eighty percent of your marketing business will come from twenty percent of your customer list. In some companies it may even be a ninety five/five percent split. In other words, five percent of your customers will account for ninety five percent of your sales. You need to identify that five percent, and find out what they have in common.

This is easier to show in a business to business example. You have a few customers that account for most of your marketing results. If these are big companies, why not just get a list of the other big companies in your area and concentrate on marketing to them. I don't mean just give them a call. I mean send them direct mail packages, give phone calls, mail them articles they may like, and send little gifts. Make offers that are hard to ignore. Make them your cold call marketing hit list.

You can go to zapdata.com or infousa.com to get the lists. Make sure you have the name of the CEO and the phone number.

Then you just call, mail, or e-mail (light on the E-Mail) something every two weeks.

Will they take you call right away and see you? Maybe one or two will, but that's not where your real measurable success is. Figure on spending anywhere from a few months to a couple of years just to get to see the CEO. But you know what? After you have been in contact with them (meaning the CEO, not the company) for several months, an alchemy takes place.

Now you are not a stranger. In fact, you may become a topic of conversation. The CEO will remember your name. He will begin using you as an example of how his marketing reps should be more persistent in their cold calling. He will begin to wear down. And something else will happen. Eventually the company that currently sells what you sell to him, will do something that irritates the CEO. You'll get a call to replace the guy they are mad at.

If you look at the amount of money that you invest in marketing to each new Big Fish customer, you'll see that it is far smaller, by percentage, than what you spend marketing to the little accounts.

Of course, you still service your small accounts. But you concentrate on getting the big ones. Your company will love you, your spouse will love you, and you will surprise yourself at how easy this type of marketing really is.

And after you talk to the CEO once, it isn't cold calling anymore.

Small business selling and sales training expert Claude Whitacre gives talks on selling, and small business marketing. Claude is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com You can subscribe to Claude's free weekly marketing and sales tip at http://www.claudewhitacre.com

Free Advice For All Ages by E-Mail and Forum

In the days before the internet and World Wide Web people would write to newspaper columnists such as Ann Landers and her sister Abigail Van Buren for help. The advice giver would pick out representative letters to answer and the answers would appear daily in the paper. Similar advice columns now appear on the web, sometimes answered by an individual such as those working with Mike Hardcastle on About's Teen Advice. Carolyn Hax dispenses advice on her website from Seattle. Her column appears with those of Dr. Joyce Brothers and Rev. Billy Graham.

Amy Alkon, calling herself The Advice Goddess, writes a column which is intended to be both funny and appropriate advice. Amy Dickinson gives advice under the rubric Ask Amy.

If you type in the word ADVICE in Google or another search engine, you will find lots of opportunities to receive advice, including all the ones mentioned above. An unusual one is Elder Wisdom Circle. The advice is provided by people who are 60 years old or older who have been selected to offer their wisdom accumulated during a lifetime of activity and learning experience. Every letter is answered by email. You can read sample letters and answers on the website.

If you are troubled by any kind of problem at school or at home or work, about personal concerns, family matters, sexual worries, etcetera, and feel that you have no one to talk to about it, try one of the many advice columns and websites available to you via the internet.

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Jack Wilson is a writer and artist in Tempe, Arizona:

http://jackwilson-links.blogspot.com/

Frugal, Free, and Cheap: Finding a Goldmine Online

When the Internet first began everything was free. In fact, that was the basic philosophy of the Internet: the creation of a worldwide community that would share freely all sorts of facts, figures, programs, help, advice, and everything in between. But ever since big business hit the Internet things have changed. Now, it is difficult to find anything for free. But don't despair. There are websites dedicated to the philosophy of frugal living. These sites can direct you to hundreds and thousands of free or discounted things on the Internet.

How to find free stuff online

It's so simple. You can find all sorts of free and discounted stuff or coupons that will secure great savings. Here are a selection of some of the best sites for frugal and free stuff. For more, simply run a simple search for frugal and free stuff on your favorite Internet browser.

Coolsavings.com is a great site and can link you to grocery coupons, pet coupons, free samples, diet offers, travel coupons, and more.

Thefrugalshopper.com lists hundreds of freebies, hundreds of free eBooks, and coupons. It also tells you which online stores offer free shipping; a great way to save money on your purchases.

If you sign up with Eversave.com you'll be able to get free coupons, samples, and exclusive offers from top name American brands.

Peerflix.com gets you connected with movie lovers where you can swap and share DVD movies.

Frugalsimplicity.com boasts that it is "your guide to living better, on less". And it's true! You can download free software for yourself and your kids. Stock your computer with software to help your kids at school and to help you create a more professional business image. Pick up free tips on gardening and home schooling, and even advice on how to set up a business from home.

And if you are working from home, improve your professional image and order a set of free business cards from Vistaprint.com.

Dylan Miles, journalist, and website builder, lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of [http://www.livingfrugal.info] on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

10 Things You Should Know Before You Start an Business Online

More of us than ever are becoming our own bosses and there are certain things that you should know before you start a business online. Many of us dream of jobs that revolve around our home and hobbies. If you can turn your passion into a job you could use your talent to start a business online.

The following advice could turn your business into a hit.

1. Do things by the book even with friends. If you are going into a business with a friend put a partnership agreement into place. Consult an attorney who handles corporate law to draw it up on your own terms, so think about how you want the business to be shared including any property and what will happen if one of you falls ill.

2. Don't expect overnight success. Statistics show that fifty percent of businesses fail within the first two years. This happens often because people aren't realistic. Although the start up may not cost much, try to put savings of up to six months to tide you over before you begin.

3. Shop around for finance. If you need finance to get started, visit as many banks as you can to ensure you get the best seal on a loan.

4. Get the right training. There are lots of courses offering advice on different aspects of your business. Alternatively check out for start up coaching on a one to one basis. Who better to learn from than somebody who's already succeeding in the business.

5. Beware of global snags. Selling online opens up a global market but before you can sell your products overseas, consider how you'll get them there. It often makes sense to have a agent at the destination who can deliver the product and offer after sales service. You may also encounter legal issues or difficulties with customs. A snag free service means people are more than likely to use you again.

6. Keep your costs down. Work from home and alert your local municipality to assess the effect your business may have on the area. Visit the tax man in your local area for guidlines on tax issues.

7. Know your market. It might have been easy coming up with a business idea, but you have to test your market. This involves serious research, check out your potential competitives and decide how your idea will stand out from theirs. Join forums online and talk to as many people as you can.

8. Be web-savvy. With a good website a new business can appear much bigger and more established, so its worth spending money to ensure that it is user friendly and looks smart and business like.

9. Draw up a business plan. A detailed business plan including a marketing strategy. You'll need to know who your customers are and how you'll reach them.If you are looking for advice on how to accomplish this, the SME Toolkit at http://www.smetoolkit.org is a project that is run by the World Bank and has great advice.

10. Spread your finances. One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is to view it as their nest egg. Many people get a nasty surprise when they try and sell and discover it doesn't have any real value to prospective buyers. Invest in other areas such as the stock market and property so your financial eggs aren't all in one basket.

Now that you know what is needed to start a business online you are sure to make your business a hit and be very successful in all that you do. Careful and well thought out plans are the main ingridients for a successful business.

Expert author Michael Pepper enjoys writing articles that give advice on how to start a business from home. Go visit this site for more information to work from home.
http://www.superonlinejobs.info

Heard of MTurk? Here's a Review For You!

Mechanical Turk, also known as Mturk to most is a program from amazon where individuals perform task, called HIT's, to earn cash. Although the world is relying on computers and technology more and more today, there are still many things that are performed better by humans. That is the basis of this program, it allows business' to offer task to a diverse workforce to be completed.

What is a HIT you may ask?

A HIT is a Human Intelligence Task. These task range from very simple to more complex, thus the pay ranges from as low as .01 to 5.00 and sometimes more. Once you login in merely search for the task that interest you and then complete them. There are many different types of HIT's to choose from, so there is basically something there for everyone and there are virtually thousands of HIT's waiting to be performed daily. Some of the various task that are offered include, comparing two pictures, clicking on images, transcribing audio, making a comment on a website or blog, giving a review of a website, locating contact information, and the list just goes on and on.

Most of the HIT's are very easy to complete and require only a minimal skill level, while others such as, general transcribing, may require the worker (also known as turker) to complete a qualifications test first. Not all qualifications require the turker to be tested but for those that do, you must complete the test within an allotted time.

If you enjoy shopping at Amazon then this program will surely be something for you to check into. Once you have completed a task it will be reviewed by the requester and upon approval your money will be deposited into your Amazon Payments Account. You can then either spend your earnings in the way of Amazon Gift certificates or request that it be transferred into your bank account.

Many of the HIT's that are offered on MTurk are often enjoyable and easy to do. If you enjoy writing then you could accept HIT's to write a short essay or review, if you are thinking of looking into some kind of transcribing work then you could accept HIT's that involve transcribing and that would give you some practice and basic knowledge in this area.

See for yourself, Amazon Mechanical Turk, it may become your next extra stream of cash.

Tammy is a work from home gal that enjoys helping others find success in their online endeavors. For more tips please visit her blog here Learn To Make Profits

Internet Dental Marketing Takes a Hit

I recently looked into some of the top cosmetic dental groups in my immediate area. As a direct response marketer I couldn't help but notice how clueless some of them were when it comes to online marketing. One common problem that was obvious to me was the fact that many of these Dental web sites had come from the phone company.

These sites in particular offered many new challenges and several interesting problems. First, they were almost impossible to manipulate for the search engines. The HTML included in these sites are pretty basic and they were very limited when it came down to the nitty gritty.

Whats The Deal With Meta Keywords?
Are meta data keywords important? A lot of people in the know say they are not that important. I have seen negative articles written about this topic in tech publications such as, "Web Designer" magazine. We have tested the arrangement of this type of material in my studio and found some rather interesting points of interest. If you do not arrange them in a certain order you will botch up the description of your web page on the SERPS, (Google search engine result pages).

The search engine spiders will jump down and grab a hold of the first bit of text it can. If that bit of text happens to be, "Closed on Sundays" then your web site page will look rather unspectacular online. It will read something like, "Welcome to Smith Cosmetic Dentistry - Closed on Sundays". There is very little chance that your page listing is going to get clicked on anytime soon. There would be the missed opportunity to truly sell your services.

Example: "Welcome To Smith Family Dentistry - Cosmetic Dental Surgery Is Here and Brings Relief to S.E. Michigan".

I can list two sentences inside the description and this is my chance to REALLY sell the dental company. Sadly, a lot of dental practices do not do this because they lack the basic knowledge to do so. I honestly believe that the description section is the absolute best place to sell your services. In fact, it is important to treat this area like you would treat direct mail. This serves a double purpose. On one hand it is there to really deliver a preview to your online prospect. It should entice them enough to click on the above blue link, (Title of web page) and open your page.

You want your web page to get opened just like you want your direct mail to get opened. The whole purpose of being out there online is to get seen before your competition just like in direct mail. I do not see this to be any different because the objection is the same.

As Internet presence you need to exhibit some sense of control. And it is hard to get a grasp on Internet dental marketing when your formatting is limited. I actually prefer to either get a template to work out of that I purchase from a web company that I can upload myself to a blank hosting account. I want to be able to manipulate the HTML to have it speak directly to search engine spiders. I also would be open to manipulate the entire HTML pages from scratch if I had a choice. Buying a pre-fabricated solution from a phone company would seriously be my last choice in the world of Internet marketing. I would demand that I have this level of sophistication and control from my web site for one very simple reason.

Search Engine Spiders Travel Through Hyperlinks
To put things bluntly search engine spiders travel through hyperlinks looking for very specific keywords and conditions. I prefer to think of them as ticks hopping from one infected dog to another looking for a new host. This is the true nature of the search engines. There is a cohesive process involved that in dental organizations fail to recognize it. But that is their loss. Your customers are fickle and are looking for very specific things and do not necessarily want to do business with you. Your prospects are really in search for information.

I have come to the conclusion that nobody really goes online to buy stuff. We have become an information hording civilization and this is nowhere more true than the Internet. The sites that offer the least amount of information stand to lose on two levels. One, the search engines will give you a low page rank and not take you very seriously. Two, your customers will get bored with your online offerings and choose to find another online dental presence that will answer their questions.

In the end, nobody really cares that much about your staff or that you love people. I have found that your online prospects are really self serving characters after all. They want to know the big burning question and that is, "What's In It For Me?".

There are certain stop words that search engine spiders see and that spells out bad news for your web site. If you do not have the right structure in your site then it is not going to be able to be crawled through very effectively. In addition if you have to wrong long tailed keywords in your site you can pretty much forget about attracting traffic.

This stuff is so touchy.

But that is the what you need to know when you do Internet Dental Marketing.

Ted Cantu helps dentists get online and create a steady flow of online visibility. Cantu runs i-Cantu Media LTD which is a Web 2.0 Video studio located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. You can get the real scoop on Internet Dental Marketing here

How to Remove Desktop Defender 2010 - Defend Your PC, Delete 'Desktop Defender 2010' Immediately

Desktop Defender 2010 is a malicious antispyware application created by the same hackers who also created other famous parasites such as Unvirex and Centravio. It uses tactics such as declaring itself a legitimate security tool and claims to detect and remove computer threats. It will ask the victim to install its free trial to check the victim's computer. Once installed, it will run fake scans and will convince the victim to purchase the full version of the program for it to dispose of the threats. Don't fall for the madness, remove this badware from your computer as soon as possible!

How did I get this rogue antispyware?

In most cases, Desktop Defender 2010 is being promoted through popups or banner advertisements. Once the victim clicks on the ads, a malicious Trojan is automatically installed onto the computer. It then proceeds to secretly install this badware.

This infection can also come into the computer after fake video codec installation on adult sites, infected P2P mp3s and videos, and unsafe e-mail attachments.

How will I know if I have been infected by Desktop Defender 2010?

Having your computer fully scanned by a reliable antispyware program will give you a definite answer. However, there are common signs that you will notice once your computer is infected. Some of which are: Slower PC performance and stability, numerous undesirable and annoying popups, changed or new desktop icons, irritating taskbar warnings, and a change of your browser homepage.

How do I get rid of Desktop Defender 2010?

Although removal of Desktop Defender 2010 can be done successfully with either manual or automatic removal, it is advised that only IT professionals or individuals who consider themselves computer experts attempt to use the manual removal method.

The steps in removing this rogue spyware manually are complicated for beginners. Such activity can permanently damage your system if any mistakes are made during the process. If you want to remove it yourself, a back up of your system and registry should be done before starting the removal process. When ready, find and delete all DLL and LNK files related to Desktop Defender 2010 from the LOCAL_HKEY_USER registry folder. When done, delete all the folders that are infected with the spyware on your hard drive. You will then need to block all related system processes and related websites.

What's the Fastest Way To Get Rid of This Hot Mess?

Automatic Removal is advised for safe and sure removal of Desktop Defender 2010. Using a legitimate antispyware removal tool will also protect your computer from future spyware infection. I would prefer not to waste my time, energy, and money on risky manual removal. I choose automatic removal not only for the ease, but also for the future protection against the next big virus to hit the 'net.

Are you tired of worrying about spyware infections threatening the safety and security of you and your family? Uninstall Desktop Defender 2010 right away using a trusted removal tool!

Bob Walker is a veteran IT consultant with over twenty years of experience in the industry. He's helped clean up the computers of everyone from fortune 500 organizations to individual users and families. His website is dedicated to anti-spyware and virus removal research, where he ranks the most efficient anti-spyware and anti-virus programs currently available.

http://www.spyware-review.net

5 Easy Tips For Staying Healthy During the Holiday Season

The holiday season is the most desired time of the year when people find time from their daily work and hectic schedules and enjoy their life. During the holiday season you are free from your office work and can spend time in shopping, eating rich foods and traveling. But for some it is a tough time to stay healthy and fit. You will take in extra calories and find that rest and exercise are missing from your daily schedule. So, to maintain your health here are 5 easy tips for staying healthy during the holiday season.

1. Set a goal for yourself during the holidays and try to achieve it

During holidays people gain weight because they expect to do so. They accept it and carelessly avoid their health issues. But like anything else, you can set a goal for yourself during the holidays and focus on the ways to achieve it. Do anything, make a word document of your goal on your computer or write the goal on the mirror or tell a 3 year old child to remind you daily, to check your goal on a regular basis. Your goal can be as simple as staying away from cakes.

2. Reconsider your schedule

For most people things get busy during the holidays and their schedules get messed up. This is the time when you miss your exercise and gym time. Think over this matter and find time from your schedule eat healthy and exercise because it will keep you fit.

3. Control your eating

Try to limit yourself when it comes to eating rich foods. Eat rich food on some special events like Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve or any other special occasion like birthday, wedding etc. Eating a normal diet is a good thing to do during the holidays as it will keep you fit and it reduces the chance of getting over weight during the holidays.

4. Maintain your diet and fitness consistency

During the holiday season it is important that you maintain your diet and fitness. You are likely overeating during the season and to prevent any weight gain or other health problems you must stay focused.

5. Eat more green vegetables and food rich in protein

When you are at any of the special parties, hit the greens, salads and turkey first. Eating protein rich food and green vegetables will help you to fill up. You will remain fit and never gain weight.

Enjoy your coming holidays by following the above said tips and see the benefits.

Joshua MCWhorter has been working in the home fitness industry for nearly two decades. FitMed Inc is a national mail order/internet business and has been serving the fitness consumer and fitness professional since 1991. Offering the highest quality customer service and product support available in industry. Find your heart rate monitors at http://heartmonitors.com