My 2¢ Worth

ave you ever noticed that when you misplace something it's always in the last place you look for it? Hmmm? Now why couldn't it be in the first place?

 lost my glasses the other day. I know what your thinking; if I'd keep my glasses on my head they wouldn't be misplaced. Well I agree, and that does sound good in theory. That, however, does not work well in practice.

ou see, I have this problem; I cannot see to read or work on the computer with my glasses on. Not anymore. I used to could. Now my eye doctor has suggested bifocals the last three checkups in a row. I absolutely refuse! I asked that woman, "Didn't your mother ever teach you that if you couldn't find anything good to say then you shouldn't say anything at all?"

o I have a simple solution to my dilemma. I simply remove my glasses for everything except driving and I'm considering removing them for that too. Maybe then I wouldn't see all those deer that like to cross the road in my neck of the woods.

Feature Article

Removing Obstacles To Sales

by: Charlie Cook charliecook.net

During the summer Olympics I watched the men's and women's hurdles. I'm always impressed by these athletes' ability to run at full speed and leap the hurdles without breaking stride.

But each time I watch this track event, I have the same reaction. If they just went out on the track and removed those barriers, it would be a heck of lot easier to get around the track. The athletes could run faster, more smoothly and wouldn't risk falling (as the accomplished Flo Joyner did).

If you are struggling to attract clients, you may feel like you're running the hurdles. Obstacles like limited promotional budgets, ads that don't sell, web sites that don't generate leads, prospects that aren't ready to buy or who think your prices are too high, all get between prospects and the sale.

Do you find yourself struggling to overcome hurdles to getting the sale?

You can clear the track of the hurdles that are getting between you and potential clients once and for all and create a clear path for prospects to become clients. If your target market knew you and how you could help them, understood the value of your services and contacted you when they were ready to buy you'd be rolling in revenue.

Is this how your business works?

Are you getting a steady stream of calls and new clients?

What can you do to remove these obstacles and increase your sales?

If you haven't already identified your marketing obstacles, start by doing so. The first step is to list them. Once you know what are your biggest obstacles to increasing sales, you can look for ways to get rid of them. (If you have other staff involved in sales, get their input too.)

Below are two common obstacles to sales. For each I've included some simple strategies for removing these obstacles. Once you understand that marketing obstacles aren't permanent you'll discover that you can remove more and more impediments and clear the way for increased sales.

Lack of Awareness
You're just starting your business. No one has heard of you, and, given your lack of revenue you have little to invest in advertising. What do you do?

Use lead generation strategies that are free or almost free. During a severe downturn in the economy, a local financial services firm offered a series of workshops for free to private investors. Within a year the firm grew their assets under management from $5.5 million to $15 million.

Using an ezine I sent to librarians and online editors, I grew the value of a web site about search engines to almost a million dollars, without spending a dime on advertising.

This strategy works equally well for established companies. Les Schwab Tire Centers fixes flats for free, giving away over $10 million in repairs each year. Building goodwill with giveaways like this and an unusual dedication to customer service, this chain of 300 tire outlets earned estimated revenue of $1 billion in 2003.

Lack of Results from Advertising
You're not getting a positive return on your ads, should you buy more ad space? How much? Where?

In my experience, there are two obstacles to increasing sales with advertising. Its either the message or the audience. Both can be fixed and to increase sales.

If you want people to respond to your advertising, get their attention and prompt them to contact you, write your marketing message, ads and marketing copy from your prospect's perspective. Identify and address their concerns.

No matter how good your marketing message is, it won't help you unless its seen by people who want your products and services. Even if you do your homework up front, there is no guarantee your ad will draw sales.

Track each ad campaign and each sale to determine which ads sell. No matter how good your copy is or how many people see your ad, if the ad audience doesn't include people who want your services and are ready to buy, it's the wrong audience. Drop those ads that bring in meager results and identify additional advertising opportunities, ones that will be seen or heard by people who want to buy your products and services.

Stop wasting your time struggling to jump over marketing hurdles. Instead, you can identify the obstacles that get in the way and eliminate them one by one. Make this shift and you'll increase your sales and be more successful.

**************

The author, Marketing Coach, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners attract more clients and increase their earnings with the 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing. Sign up for the Free Marketing Guide and the 'More Business' newsletter, full of practical marketing tips at www.charliecook.net

Glowing Text Links
(IE only)

This special effect will make your links appear to be glowing. Place the following code in your HTML document where you would like your link to appear.

<span style="position:relative; width:200; height:25; filter:glow(color=#f0701a,strength=4)"><a href="http://www.yourdomain.com">Glowing Text Link Example</a></span>

Change the text indicated in red for customization. All I can say is to play around with these values until you achieve the desired effect. The more you change these values, the better you'll understand what each value does.

This effect works in Internet Explorer only. Netscape will display the link in the blue default color. I suggest that you make limited use of this effect, as it tends to irritate visitors.

Glowing Text Link Example

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for yourweb site, free. *

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ThroughClock

Second Article

Plan Well Before Buying a New Computer

by: Iain Helkins FAQ Computers

For the technologically challenged, buying a new computer can be a daunting task. To avoid problems, be prepared with a list of what you want and need before shopping online or entering a computer store. The following general suggestions will help you to decide what to look for as you prepare to make your computer purchase.

Narrow down the options by first considering how you will use the machine. Will it primarily be for games, to access the Internet, to watch movies or just want to maintain various family records? Will you spend a lot of time reading text on the computer?

As well, decide whether it would be useful to pay more for a notebook computer that allows for mobility, or if a desktop model suits your purposes well enough.

Expect to see processing chips from either Intel or AMD, and both are good. They will range in speed from 1.6 to 3.2 GHz and even higher. Paying extra for a fast chip makes sense if you will be doing tasks that rely on speed, such as serious gaming or number crunching. Otherwise, save money on a standard or mid-range chip.

The size of your hard drive may not be a tough choice. Unless you will be loading many large games, the typical 40 or 60 gigabyte drive that now comes standard will likely serve your needs well. However, if you can afford it, choose the 512 MB memory rather than the more standard 256 MB to allow for flexibility and growth.

Your computer will likely come standard with a keyboard and mouse, but you will likely have on option on the monitor. Large screen LCD monitors are easier on the eyes than the CRT when reading text, save space and energy, and are coming down in price. If you have a bit of extra money, they are well worth the investment.

Decide how you will access the Internet. A netword card is necessary to get cable access, while a modem is used for dial-up. Some notebooks will come standard with the network card and a wireless card, which is handy for travelers.

A CD-ROM R/W drive for playing or burning CDs is standard, but consider whether you want to pay a bit more and be able to play and burn DVDs.

A good sound card will be critical for enjoying music, movies or games. If sound means a lot to you, consider an upgrade from the standard card that the typical computer carries.

The other element of fine sound is speakers. Some computers will come with standard cheap speakers, but if you like quality sound an upgrade is again advisable. The speakers built in to a notebook computer are merely adequate, so some add-ons will be more satisfying to the attuned ear.

A quality graphics card will be high on the list for serious game players. Non-gamers will likely be satisfied with the standard card and happy to forego the extra cost of upgrading.

Budget, of course, is a key consideration. If you would like more features than you can afford now, be sure to get an upgradeable model so you can add in what you like later as funds permit. This will also give you the flexibility to adapt to changing technology and your changing needs.

Consider all these factors and others that leap to mind to ensure your purchase meets your needs now and a year from now. If you're feeling lost with the technical aspects, be sure to ask a friend for help before starting to shop.

**************

Iain Helkins edits the Computer Bits newsletter at faqcomputers.com , the information resource for computer topics.

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