Management Consultancy interviews – planning to succeed

“Recruitment at management consultancies is highly buoyant but the competition for these positions is still intense – according to one survey there are over two hundred applicants for every role in strategy consulting! The vast majority of these will be screened out at the C.V. stage and go no further – but if you do get through to the interview stage the following advice may prove highly valuable. ”

Keywords:
managemeny consultancy, recruitment

The following article arose from discussions between Mindbench and its clients about where candidates go wrong in interviews. This prompted us to carry out a qualitative survey with clients, candidates, HR personnel and recruitment consultants involved in the management consultancy sector to establish some of the key skills and major pitfalls of …

Recruitment is buoyant – so is the number of candidates

The current market for recruitment at management consultancies is highly bouyant – indeed it appears set to reach record levels this year. However the competition for these positions is still intense, with record numbers of MBAs looking for work in the sector! There are over two hundred applicants for every role in strategy consulting – the vast majority of these will be screened out at the C.V. stage and go no further – but if you do get through to the interview stage the following advice may prove highly valuable.

Understand whom you are applying to

A significant skill-set in consultancies of all types is research – and the less published information available the more important consultants become to their clients – and the more these skills are tested. It is very important that you don’t waste time in the interview room – also that you display a genuine interest in the company and it’s work – good research is the key! Research the company on the internet – not only on their own website, but follow any links they may give, search press articles, industry associations and look at their clients’ sites. Try to fully understand what type of work they do and what is it like to work for them. Know which industries and sectors they operate in and who their major clients are. Never be afraid to pick up the telephone and ask other people’s opinions. Talk to anyone who has worked in the sector or ideally at that firm! Again, a good recruitment consultant should be able to put you in touch with such people.

As in life – it is all about selling! In this case you are there to sell yourself into the consultancy – make it easy for them to hire you! Show them how your qualifications, qualities and experience will match and enhance their own – but you can only do this successfully if you understand what they do and who for. Corporate culture has become more important in recent years and consultancies in particular have embraced this idea. Again their website should furnish you with a good overview of how they see themselves as a work-environment – but remember, this is how the like to see themselves. Speaking with a current or former employee will give you a better insight.

The ideal candidate

First of all we discussed the key characteristics that a candidate should possess and – crucially – be able to demonstrate during the interview process:
• Strategic thinking – is this candidate able to think in terms of strategic direction?
• Analytical rigour – does this candidate think in a logical, methodical way?
• Mathematical ability – does the candidate have the mathematical aptitude to cope with financial modelling, understanding of statistical analysis, corporate financial reporting etc
• Commercial awareness – is this candidate able to think in terms of pricing, competitive environment etc?
• Intellectual curiosity – is this candidate sufficiently curious to go beyond the surface and seek out the detail and underlying reasons?
In addition to identifying these specific qualities a number of less tangible facets were mooted. These are traits that a consultancy would ideally like all it’s consultants to have, but are rather more difficult to identify or display:
• Drive – has the candidate demonstrated the necessary levels of drive and ambition so far in their career?
• Focus – can the candidate demonstrate the ability to ignore distractions and follow the main thrust of a project?
• Ability to manage people – has the candidate shown a willingness/ability to manage others, in any environment? This can be managing down (staff, subordinates), managing colleagues or managing upwards
• Commitment – is there a willingness to work long hours and under pressure
• And finally, “Depth of character” – this last trait proved the most difficult to define. The following quotes from Consultancy Recruitment Heads were inciteful in summarising their views:
“As long as the candidate is reasonably intelligent and willing to work hard we have in place training plans and mentoring systems that will enable us to pass on all the skills our consultants need to fulfil their roles – the one thing that you cannot teach is character… and it’s probably the most valuable trait of all!”
“How do you recognise it in interviews? We look at the prepared responses that candidates give to the more predictable questions, and we also try to ask them some questions they won’t be prepared for! But ultimately – you know it when you see it!

Successful interviewing

It is in the consultancies’ interests to allow you an opportunity to sell yourself to them. They want you to be able to demonstrate your qualifications, your abilities, your enthusiasm and – to some extent – your personality!
You need to be able to do this effectively and efficiently – so BE PREPARED!
Preparation will allow you to speak fluently about whichever facet you are called upon to discuss – as well as talking about yourself and your achievements in a structured and logical manner. These are all highly attractive abilities in a consultant!
The best way to prepare for this is PRACTICE!
• Think about the questions you are likely to be asked
• Search on the internet and in libraries for further examples
• Talk to the recruitment consultant or the interview co-ordinator
Work out some answers to these questions that allow you to show your best qualities and highlight your achievements.
We would also highly recommend that you practice answering these questions out loud. Find some friends or colleagues and arrange to spend some time asking each other interview-style questions and listening to responses. Discuss your own and others performance – there is no substitute for ‘performing’ in front of other people!
The ultimate goal in these situations is a difficult balance to achieve:

“Be prepared – sound spontaneous!”

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Get A Grip On Your Internet Goals To Bring In Sales, Not Woes.

As far as search engine marketing tactics go, your goals must be defined and long term oriented to attract targeted, high-lead-yielding web users with the greatest potential of conversion to customers. SEO, or search engine optimization is NOT a one-time shot. Winning the lottery or discovering oil will get your rich quick. Hiring an Internet marketing company to do a job and leave will not get your rich, ever.

We will examine the importance of long term goals as they appl…

Keywords:
Internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, online marketing tactics

As far as search engine marketing tactics go, your goals must be defined and long term oriented to attract targeted, high-lead-yielding web users with the greatest potential of conversion to customers. SEO, or search engine optimization is NOT a one-time shot. Winning the lottery or discovering oil will get your rich quick. Hiring an Internet marketing company to do a job and leave will not get your rich, ever.

We will examine the importance of long term goals as they apply liberally to search engine and general Internet marketing, and show you how to view your web marketing strategy with knowledge, confidence and vision. See your target clearly, not through the rose-colored glasses so many marketing geniuses and false gurus try to slip over your eyes.

WHY TALK ABOUT GOALS?

Because too many people still don’t understand that building a well optimized site, establishing and maintaining search engine rank, and helping your customer base continue to grow takes effort and time.

Because the Internet can most definitely help your business and probably increase your sales immensely, but not overnight.

Because nothing is free.
Getting on the first page of a search is not free. It takes money for someone to research if it’s even feasible to attempt high ranks with your product or if an ulterior approach must be developed. If you have the expertise to do it yourself, it takes your own, valuable time to build and rebuild your pages for long term gain. It takes time for changes to be picked up by the search engines and ranked.

OPTIMIZATION DOESN’T HAPPEN JUST ONCE

This is another concept many people misunderstand, where some shady SEO’s take advantage, and what fuels a lot of ulcers. If you optimize a page for a targeted keyword phrase and you, I, or someone doesn’t keep supporting that page by adjusting and tweaking the optimization techniques as the competition changes, as the internet changes, and as you add new content, then your money will be a wasted.

You might pay thousands of dollars for someone to successfully get you top the top three pages across the main search engines if you have a particular non-competitive niche or unique approach to a competitive one. And you could get record sales that first month you reach those great positions!

But, then your competition starts outranking you, your unique approach is now hindered by copycats, search engines have changed their focus and algorithms, you’ve just purchased raw materials, hired extra help because you thought your demand had spiked, and invested in a bigger office. Three months later you’re screaming at your web guy who rightly says, “I’m sorry, I did what you paid me to do!”

BUILD YOUR SITE LIKE YOUR BUSINESS

As you must build your business, so must you build your web site. It should have a solid and strong foundation that will keep it at the top once it gets there. You are much better off investing in a web design or optimization firm that’s going to stay with you for several months. Invest in monthly maintenance programs so your new pages are continually changed to match the Internet and competition.

Remember, every main page on your site should be optimized. Each page is a chance to be ranked in a search engine. Monthly maintenance plans may seem like a lot of money, but when you add up the time it takes and the amount of constant research and tracking involved, it’s a valuable investment. If your serious about your presence on the Internet, don’t sell yourself short.

Just like traditional marketing, Internet marketing has multiple thrusts and targets. You wouldn’t try to brand a new national company by running one ad in the local newspaper, right? You’d hit all sides of your market with PR stories, advertising, maybe telemarketing, parties, and incentive programs. And you’d track every move and response and lead and sale to five decimal places.

It’s the same principle with Internet marketing. The best part is that dollar for dollar
marketing on the Internet costs almost nothing.

If you have a pay per click campaign, it is even more important to have a good handle on that. It’s very easy to waste thousands of dollars because you didn’t continually modify your ads and target your keywords.

DEFINE THE GOALS

Whether web design and development, maintenance, search engine optimization, or any Internet marketing endeavor, always begin with a clear vision of where you want to go. If you hire a company to work with you, let them help you define those goals.

Even a simple website that is nothing more than an online brochure has a purpose. Understand what that purpose is. And don’t let anyone touch your site in any way that doesn’t have a clear idea of what the objective is!

By outlining where you are and what you are striving for you will spend your money wisely, and get the most beneficial results from your Internet marketing.

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Getting People to Keep Your Cards

No matter how you design your card make sure that they effectively provide the information that the customers need to know.

Keywords:
business, cards, printing, services

For an entrepreneur a business is more than a piece of paper. It represents their image and years of effort, hard work and dreams. But for other people they are just another advertisement, another piece of clutter to file. To them, your business card may be nothing more important than any other business card that crosses their desk at any given time. So, as a business man how can you make your card attract attention, gets kept and actually used?

Often, it pays to think of the reason why people keep business cards in the first place. Understanding this concept can affect the design and effectiveness of your card. There are some reasons why people even keep business cards. For one, they use them as link to a supplier or resource. Let’s say you are in the construction business and you meet someone who sells hard to find equipments. You will probably keep their business card to contact them whenever you need equipments. Second, you may keep them as a contact to a colleague. Perhaps from time to time you need to contact your business associates or work with other members of the industry. Having their business cards can facilitate contact much easier.

You may also keep business cards for non-business reasons such as when socializing and organizing parties. Likewise, you may retain business cards for the purpose of referring them to someone else. Like for instance, your neighbor needs someone who washes windows. You will probably pass on the card to him so he could contact them.

But often people see business cards simply as contact information for a customer or potential customer. With a little planning you can avoid that routine and make you cards unique and more useful to customers.

There are dozens of ways you can use to encourage customers to hold on to your business card. Most of these ideas center on providing information that the customer may find useful. By using a unique format such a tri-fold format or by adding relevant information on the flip side of the card, you can add value to your business card that makes them worth keeping. For instance, you can include at the back of the card a calendar that lists typical upcoming events. Let’s say you own a coffee house. You can promote events such as live bands, karaoke nights or comedy nights at the back of the card.

Nevertheless, no matter how you design your card make sure that they still effectively provide the information that the customers need to know. Remember that your card may be passes on to someone else or the recipient may be trying to remember you later after a long day of meeting people at a convention. So, make those cards do the sale for you.

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Fishing & Lead Capture – Part One of Three

The first in a three part article series about lead capture and email marketing – from a different perspective.

Keywords:
lead capture,email marketing,network marketing,list building,internet marketing,direct marketing

“Those worms are good enough to catch the sunfish around the edge, but you gotta use some liver and cast out to the middle to catch the big cats.”

The ol’ fella was right – good advice for that place and time. I caught more catfish that day than I had all summer.

Fishin’ and lead capture. They’re not so different.

Right bait… right place… BAM! You get a strike – someone drops their contact info into your autoresponder form to get some of that sweet smellin’ bait you’ve offered them.

Then you set the hook – and verify their subscription.

To protect yourself, your business and your subscribers, always use a subscription verification to make sure they are actually interested in reading your material.

Some will confirm. Some will not. But that doesn’t mean the trip is over.

You keep on fishing.

…and eventually you get another strike.

Once you get the hook set (receive confirmation of a new subscriber), it’s time to real in your fish – deliver your lead to a sales page for your product or service.

You can’t just lift your rod, crank the reel like a lunatic to drag the fish to the boat. You could easily break the line and lose your new lead.

You have to use a little finesse.

Let him take some slack (give up some great, free information), and allow just a little room to run.

Ease him in – guide him and reel up the slack as you go.

Show your lead – your new friend – that you can be trusted. Don’t lose ground by sending junk in an effort to make money.

Closer and closer he gets until you have EARNED his trust – and his business.

Then you hold him up by the ankles and pose for a picture. (just kidding)

This is the first in a series of three articles devoted to the exciting art of lead capture and list marketing.

In part two we will talk more about your bait, presentation and setting the hook. Don’t miss it.

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Webmasters Improve Your Adsense Earnings, Monetized Income

Webmasters who have been there and done it have quite some useful tips to help those who would want to venture into this field. Some of these tips have boosted quite a lot of earnings in the past and is continuously doing so.

Keywords:
adsense,google adsense,making money with adds,adds

Webmasters who have been there and done it have quite some useful tips to help those who would want to venture into this field. Some of these tips have boosted quite a lot of earnings in the past and is continuously doing so.

If webmasters want to monetize their websites, the great way to do it is through Adsense. There are lots of webmasters struggling hard to earn some good money a day through their sites. But then some of the “geniuses” of them are enjoying hundreds of dollars a day from Adsense ads on their websites. What makes these webmasters different from the other kind is that they are different and they think out of the box.

Here are some 5 proven ways on how best to improve your Adsense earnings.

1. Concentrating on one format of Adsense ad. The one format that worked well for the majority is the Large Rectangle (336X280). This same format have the tendency to result in higher CTR, or the click-through rates. Why choose this format out of the many you can use? Basically because the ads will look like normal web links, and people, being used to clicking on them, click these types of links. They may or may not know they are clicking on your Adsense but as long as there are clicks, then it will all be for your advantage.

2. Create a custom palette for your ads. Choose a color that will go well with the background of your site. If your site has a white background, try to use white as the color of your ad border and background. The idea to patterning the colors is to make the Adsense look like it is part of the web pages. Again, This will result to more clicks from people visiting your site.

3. Remove the Adsense from the bottom pages of your site and put them at the top. Do not try to hide your Adsense. Put them in the place where people can see them quickly. You will be amazed how the difference between Adsense locations can make when you see your earnings.

4. Maintain links to relevant websites. If you think some sites are better off than the others, put your ads there and try to maintaining and managing them. If there is already lots of Adsense put into that certain site, put yours on top of all of them. That way visitor will see your ads first upon browsing into that site.

5. Try to automate the insertion of your Adsense code into the webpages using SSI (or server side included). Ask your web administrator if your server supports SSI or not. How do you do it? Just save your Adsense code in a text file, save it as “adsense text”, and upload it to the root directory of the web server. Then using SSI, call the code on other pages. This tip is a time saver especially for those who are using automatic page generators to generate pages on their website.

These are some of the tips that have worked well for some who want to generate hundreds and even thousands on their websites. It is important to know though that ads are displayed because it fits the interest of the people viewing them. So focusing on a specific topic should be your primary purpose because the displays will be especially targeted on a topic that persons will be viewing already.

Note also that there are many other Adsense sharing the same topic as you. It is best to think of making a good ad that will be somewhat different and unique than the ones already done. Every clickthrough that visitors make is a point for you so make every click count by making your Adsense something that people will definitely click on.

Tips given by those who have boosted their earnings are just guidelines they want to share with others. If they have somehow worked wonders to some, maybe it can work wonders for you too. Try them out into your ads and see the result it will bring.

If others have done it, there is nothing wrong trying it out for yourself.

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Rescuing concrete floors from holes and adhesives

As companies attempt to retrofit floor spaces and walls, carpeting and vinyl tile are often removed or repositioned. These renovations usually end up exposing large areas of adhesives, underlayments, and
sprawling holes from anchors, studding, and equipment. Now there is a solution with step by step instructions and help.

Keywords:
Concrete floor coatings, industrial flooring, garage floor seals, building maintenance, facilities management, flood resistant, mold resistant.

As companies attempt to retrofit floor spaces and walls, carpeting and vinyl tile are often removed or repositioned. These renovations usually end up exposing large areas of adhesives, underlayments, and
sprawling holes from anchors, studding, and equipment. Now there is a solution with step by step instructions and help.

Remodelers often can see no alternative but to reinstall similar adhesives and floor coverings like carpet and tile. This is unfortunate because hard epoxy, urethane, and glass emulsion surfaces offer less expensive and longer wearing alternatives.

If concrete is exposed to wear, it will eventually deteriorate. Friction wear, erosion, and contamination all play a role. Dust, cracks, crumbling, rough surfaces, and the inability to keep the environment clean are symptoms of a floor that has not been protected and is moving towards an unserviceable condition. Carpeting often holds contaminants in place and can be a growth medium for mold and mildew. Vinyl tile cannot hold up under heavy wheeled traffic, is subject to lifting when wet, and has a soft finish which can be contaminated by solvents and dyes. In contrast, laminated epoxy coatings create a wear-barrier between a floor and its environment. These laminated surfaces not only keep the concrete from deteriorating but also provide a protective plate over it. Contaminants and hazards, like PCBs, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals, are kept away from the porous concrete. Properly applied, these laminated surfaces can provide decades of protection and service.

Epoxy coated floors can cure, rather than just cover over, the holes that exist in even the most devastated floors. Customers are often surprised how holes from old walls and equipment stands can be made
to disappear when filled with 100% solid epoxy and then ground flush. The process is quick, easy, and long lasting.

Supplies that may be needed include adhesive removers, oil removing detergents, and durable long lasting epoxy fillers for holes, joints, cracks, and crumbling surfaces. Kits of materials can be customized to owner specification and delivered directly to the job site. Kits include full directions and 24/7 help
lines staffed by seasoned flooring experts, so professionals and amateurs alike can successfully install a quality floor.

Web visitors can obtain free, job-specific quotes on materials or nationwide turnkey installations by completing a simple questionnaire at www.concrete-floor-coatings.com.

For photo examples and more detail, visit www.concrete-floor-coatings.com

For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at: harvey@concrete-floor-coatings.com

Phone: 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)
###

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Seven Secrets to Buying a Franchise

There are great benefits to owning a franchise. You often can sell goods and services that have instant name recognition and can obtain training and ongoing support to help you succeed. But be cautious before you sign on the dotted line.

Keywords:
franchise buying, buying franchise, franchise information, business information, entrepreneur, business buying, buying business

There are great benefits to owning a franchise. You often can sell goods and services that have instant name recognition and can obtain training and ongoing support to help you succeed.

But be cautious before you sign on the dotted line.

1. Know How Much You Can Invest – A franchisor may tell you how much you can afford to invest or that you can’t afford to pass up this opportunity. Before beginning to explore investment options, consider the amount you feel comfortable investing and the maximum amount you can afford.

2. Know What Type of Business is Right for You – A franchisor may attempt to convince you that an opportunity is perfect for you. Only you can make that determination. Consider the industry
that interests you before selecting a specific franchise system. Ask yourself the following questions: Have I considered working in that industry before? Can I see myself engaged in that line of work for the next twenty years?

3. Realistically Evaluate Your Own Background and Skills – If the industry does not appeal to you or you are not suited to work in that industry, do not allow a franchisor to convince you otherwise. Spend your time focusing on those industries that offer a more realistic opportunity.

4. Take the Time to Comparison Shop — Talk to or visit several franchisors engaged in the type of industry that appeals to you. Get answers to the following questions:
• How long has the franchisor been in business?
• How many franchised outlets currently exist?
• Where are they located?
• How much is the initial franchise fee and any additional start-up costs?
• Are there any continuing royalty payments?
• How much?
• What management, technical, and ongoing assistance does the franchisor offer?
• What controls does the franchisor impose?

5. Get Substantiation for Any Earnings Representations — Some franchisors may tell you how much you can earn if you invest in their franchise system or how current franchisees in their system are performing. Be careful. The FTC requires that franchisors who make such claims provide you with written substantiation. Make sure you ask for and obtain written substantiation for any income projections, or income or profit claims. If the franchisor does not have the required substantiation, or refuses to provide it to you, consider its claims to be suspect.

6. Avoid High Pressure Sales Tactics — You may be told that the franchisor’s offering is limited, that there is only one territory left, or that this is a one-time reduced franchise sales price. Do not feel pressured to make any commitment. Legitimate franchisors expect you to comparison shop and to investigate their offering. A good deal today should be available tomorrow.

7. Study the Franchisor’s Offering — Do not sign any contract or make any payment until you have the opportunity to investigate the franchisor’s offering thoroughly. The FTC’s Franchise Rule requires the franchisor to provide you with a disclosure document containing important information about the franchise system. Study the disclosure document. Take time to speak with current and former franchisees about their experiences. Because investing in a franchise can entail a significant investment, you should have an attorney review the disclosure document and franchise contract and have an accountant review the company’s financial disclosures.

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You Can Write Ads Too

The art of writing advertisements is something most people think they don’t possess. I hear so many people say that they don’t possess the ability to create ads that get results. The proverb that writers are born and not created takes over the thought pattern. I’m telling you to put those thoughts aside and open your eyes and your mind.

Keywords:
marketing,internet,internet marketing,work online,online success,marketing success,internet marketing success,online business,ezine,ezines

The art of writing advertisements is something most people think they don’t possess. I hear so many people say that they don’t possess the ability to create ads that get results. The proverb that writers are born and not created takes over the thought pattern. I’m telling you to put those thoughts aside and open your eyes and your mind.

If you are in the business of Internet marketing, you probably read many advertisements each week. If you have the desire to improve your ad writing abilities, take the time and look at other ads. Don’t just skim over them and dismiss them. Actually take the time and study which ads grab your attention. Take those that are appealing and copy them to a file.

Set aside some time and look at those ads that caught your attention. Look at each individual ad and see what part of that ad grabbed your attention. Make a list of the points that were appealing to you and things that you feel would catch the attention of others.

Now that you have identified some things that you believe made these ads successful, it is time to use that information for your own benefit. At first, substitute your product or advertising information in some of the ads that you like. Then start making small variations to these ads to make them original. Keep working in this fashion and pretty soon, you will be thinking up your own variations and original ads that will sound catch as well.

This is one way to get the creative juices flowing. Most people have a difficult time getting new ideas for ads. Using other successful or appealing ads as a guideline, can sometimes get you over the hump and started towards writing your own successful ads. Don’t just substitute your product or business idea into another ad and leave it at that, make it your own work.

Advertising is such an important part of your online business, so spend some time and work on your ad writing abilities. With a little practice, you will be amazed at the thoughts that start flowing.

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Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway

Stop letting Fear get in the way of what you want to achieve. Find out how you can conquer fear to get the results you want in your business and personal life.

Keywords:
sales calls,business,promoting,fear,promote your business,direct sales

Just like the successful self-help book written by Susan Jeffers, feeling the fear and doing it anyway is one of the secrets to achieving success in business. In fact, it is one of the key secrets to succeeding in almost anything you ever want to do in Life.

In case you weren’t aware of it, you a salesperson. Before you deny this fact till you are blue in the face, let me explain. You are a salesperson if you:
* Promote your own business to others
* Promote the business you work for to others
* Promote yourself to others

Everybody, at any point in time, fits into one of these categories. You are either drumming up sales for your business or one you work for through direct sales or convincing others that the company you work for is a good company. Or you are convincing others about a point of view you might have toward a subject. So, everyday we are all trying to persuade another human in one area of our lives or another.

What does this have to do with fear?

Let’s take the act of persuading somebody to make a purchase from you or your company. This can also include trying to get them to agree to a meeting where you have the opportunity to show a new product to them. For the experts – those of us that do this everyday – this may seem like a walk in the park. But for the rest of us, this can be very intimidating, especially if you are new to the job.

So how do you cope with these feelings? To put it simply, feel the fear, and do it anyway.

It is important to acknowledge the Fear as being real. It is unwise to try and pretend that the feelings are not there, because they are. You know it when your stomach does back flips or your palms start sweating. Instead of trying to convince yourself that those feelings don’t exist, accept that you are having them, and this is the reason why.

*** The moment you face Fear head on, you destroy the power it has over you ***

Your first step in this process is to acknowledge your feelings as being real, BUT not having control over you.

Often our brain’s tendency to fabricate what the other person (client, prospect, friend, etc) will say or do when you present your ideas to them comes next. Will they reject you and slam the door in your face, or slam the phone down in your ear? Will they think that you are wasting their time, and that they wished you had never contacted them?

Truthfully, you might get some people who may think that way, but the reality is, most people are so concerned about what is happening to them and how people think about them, that thoughts about what they will say to you don’t enter their minds.

So, instead of giving your brain time to imagine and dwell on these fantasies, raising the level of fear in your mind even more, get moving. And here is the second secret to feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

*** Action destroys the energy of fear, and motivates you into a definite outcome ***

You may have heard the acronym for Fear? FEAR = False Events Appearing Real. The first time I heard that I was listening to a CD by Anthony Robbins. False events = fantasies, or your imagination.

By stepping up and taking action, everything you do begins to destroy these false images, as your actual reality is vastly different to your imagined one. You will find that your offer to help that company, provide them a new product, or to help show your friends a better way of completing a task, will be received with an open mind. Now this does not guarantee the result you want, but it will guarantee a result. They will either accept your offer, want more information, or decline it.

Let’s look at these results for a second.

* If they accept, then you have achieved your outcome.
* If they want more information, then you can still achieve your outcome.
* If they decline, then you can move on to the next person to achieve your outcome.

99% of the time they will be respectful and courteous to you, even if they really don’t want to hear what you have to say. Not mater what the results though, the imagined events in your head (the Fear), is always ten times worse than the actual events. Now that can be guaranteed.

So next time you start getting nervous about anything you want to ask of someone, be it a sale, a favor or a date, remember this – destroy the fear by taking action. Acknowledge your feelings and decide to change them, not ignore them. One more thing – the people you are talking to have exactly the same fears, and when you truly understand that, then you will know that your actions will help to eradicate their False Events too!

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Web site marketing and effective search engine optimization

Building and hosting your website is not enough. To get business from your web site potential customers must find the site easily in the major search engines.
At least 1/2 of your initial budget should be dedicated to marketing the site and otpimizing for the search engines.

Keywords:
search engine optimization,cincinnati search engine optimization,website marketing,search engine placement

Marketing Your Web Site.
You wouldn’t put a bill board in the desert, so why are you hiding your web site?

Too many companies spend too much money developing a really nice web site that no one will ever see. Before starting any web site design or re-design make sure you’ve allocated at least half of the budget to getting the site optimized in the search engines.

For those selling a service.
There are a few steps you need to take. The first step is to create meta-tags with a description of your site and keywords that are relevant to the content on your site. The keywords and content should stress the service you provide, why a potential customer should use your company for this service and how to contact you to buy this service. A meta tag generator will help you to create the properly formatted code for you web site based on keywords you select. These can be found on google or msn by searching with the keywords “meta tag generator”.
You’ll then need to submit the site to the major search engines like Google and MSN. For Yahoo! you have to pay a yearly fee of $299 to get listed. There are dozens of search engine submission services that will perform these services for you at a very reasonable price.

When you’ve completed your submissions you can expect an increase in traffic but it’s going to take some time. Anywhere from a few weeks to a few months is not out of the ordinary. To increase traffic more quickly you’ll need to use a service like overture or Google adwords. These services allow you to place small ads for your site whenever someone does a web search that includes your the keywords you’ve purchased. You probably only offer your service to a limited area so you’ll want to make sure you include this area (City, state, town or region) in your keywords. That way you won’t be paying for clicks and visitors to your site when you do business in California and the visitor is from Texas.

For those selling a product.
The process is essentially the same. The difference is you’re selling to a much bigger audience. Sounds great right? More potential customers equal more sales. Not necessarily. You’ve also got a lot more competition and much more pressure on your prices. I’d recommend starting out selling regionally. Your own backyard doesn’t have to be the starting point but it may help with shipping costs. When you’ve got that system ironed out you can expand geographically and still control your web advertising costs by including the locations in your keywords searches.

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