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How To Beat The Competition, With The Basics
By Ken Leonard Jr.
2002 KLJ Online
It goes without saying that having good work habits is
essential for success in any business venture, whether
online or offline. Online marketing presents a worldwide
selling opportunity, but with it comes a "sea of
businesses" competing for the same customers that you are.
Successful people do what others aren't willing to do to
"make it happen". Don't you think that using excellent
work habits might give you an edge over the competition?
You're right. It will!
Direct marketers in the "real world" have succeeded using
the basics for years. These apply to any form of sales or
business, certainly to online marketing. Consider email
marketing, which "is" direct marketing. You are presenting
a product or service (read:"sales pitch") to a prospect
directly to their own personal email inbox. The marketer
has to deal with a lot of the same issues that offline
marketers deal with daily.
With experience comes the "know-how" of a veteran
marketer. These sales talents have been developed around a
base of straight-forward, simple concepts that are a must
for success. The online marketer that learns and applies
these ideas "will" have an edge over the poor work habits
of a lot of people selling on the internet today.
Step One - Be Positive, Always
------------------------------
When someone asks "How are you today?", how do you answer?
If it's not "great", it should be. Positivity breeds
positive results, as negativity only leaves you nasty,
with poor results. Do whatever it takes to build and
achieve a positive manner and outlook on life. This will
be easier for some than for others. You know yourself the
best. If you are generally a negative, abusive or short-
tempered person, this may be difficult for you. But it is
certainly possible. If you are an easy-going person that
may have an occasional "bad day" (like we all do!), this
will be easy for you to accomplish.
The benefits of achieving a positive attitude are enour-
mous, helping you reach all of your goals and aspirations.
The presence of a negative attitude can be disastrous to
any business, especially to a home-based venture.
Step Two - Don't Lose Your Attitude
-----------------------------------
It is easy to relax on a sofa with chips and a
cool beverage, and maintain a great attitude. The test
comes when you are confronted with "negatives". They may
be from family or friends, a co-worker, or from a business
"lead" that just told you "no". How about from a day of
dozens of "no"s from potential customers?
It helps to understand the "law of averages", as it
concerns sales matters, to keep that good attitude going
strong. Basically, the law of averages means that the more
people (contacts) you see (or call or email), the more
"yes"s (sales,leads,promo opps) you will get. Sales of any
kind is all a numbers game. When you are having a bad work
day (lots of "no"s,poor ad responses), don't quit with a
bad attitude. Increase your efforts (see the people, or
work to make the people see you) and you will find the
prospects and sales. You will make more money, and will
feel better about yourself for going that "extra mile".
It takes work to keep up a good attitude.
Step Three - Be Prepared
------------------------
Yes, here in the US, this is the motto of the "Boy
Scouts". Know what you are getting yourself into. Always
research your "position" in the market. Never lose a sale
or a good lead because you didn't "do your homework". With
online marketing, this means reading as much quality
material on the subject. This means studying your comp-
etition. Don't launch a product, then find your "target"
market. Research the market first, find a common problem
and fix it. Find a small, focused "niche" of customers
that you can present a beneficial product or service to.
Now build your product around the unfulfilled "needs" and
"wants" of this niche market. Being prepared "before" you
develop a product will save you time and headaches in the
future. It may also mean the difference between success
and failure.
Step Four - Set Goals
---------------------
All of the "steps" in this article are important. Setting
realistic, "do-able" goals may be at the top, along with
having a positive attitude.
You must have a solid business "plan of action" if you
expect to succeed. You must know where you want to take
this "ship", and where you want it to take you. Do what-
ever works for you to build a strong game plan. If you
want to write your goals down, do it.(This is an excellent
way to know "exactly" where you stand now, and where you
want to be going). If you need to put up signs and notes
around your office or home to remind you daily of your
goals, by all means do it!
Set achievable goals to "map out" your plan. This gives
you a "focus point", so all of your tasks take on great
meaning. It doesn't matter if the task is large or small,
all focus points to your goals. When you set short-term
(daily,weekly,quarterly,etc.) goals, and don't reach them,
reevaluate your goals. Start a little lower until you can
achieve those tasks, then slowly increase them. Medium-
term goals (monthly,biyearly,yearly,etc.) can be edited
occasionally to ensure that everything is moving
in the right direction. Long-term goals (yearly,further
into the future) can be adjusted,too, but don't stray from
your "vision". This is the "big picture" that enables all
other goals to make sense, and is "the motivator" that
will let you keep a good attitude and strive for success.
Achieving goals along the way will give you a sense of
progress.
Step Five - Know Your Customer
------------------------------
The most effective methods of online marketing involve
selling to a small, "niche" group of prospects. Focusing
your product or service to a perfect, "target" customer
will allow you to meet and exceed their wants and needs,
while gaining a "perfect" lead for future (back-end)
sales.
Before developing a product, find out what your target
customer is all about. Get to know their "needs" and
"wants", their likes and dislikes. In short, "become
your customer". Don't waste time marketing to everybody,
just focus on the few that may be interested in what you
have to offer.
Step Six - Work A Full Day
--------------------------
Not everyone is "cut out" to be their own boss. That's why
regular "jobs" exist. "Employees" go to work and know that
they have to perform, or they will be replaced. That is
their motivation, along with the supervisors to watch over
them, making sure that they are "doing their job". A
person who owns a business or works from home needs to
find motivation from a different source, themselves.
The benefits of running a home-based business include the
freedom to work whenever you want to. You should give
yourself time away from your business to relax and enjoy
your family, but don't let it get out of hand. You should
come up with a loose schedule of what tasks you need to do
and when. Know what time of the day you feel most produc-
tive and schedule that time as work time daily. If you are
not getting all of your tasks completed, add hours to the
base schedule you already have.
Remember,"be" your own "boss"!
Step Seven - Take Control
-------------------------
This can pertain to doing what it takes to "close" a sale,
or for our subject, controlling your personal "situation".
The goal is to have a work environment and a physical and
mental well-being that is conducive to running a "profit-
able" business. Take control (in a nice way, of course) of
family problems, any "negatives" from spouses or friends,
etc. Make sure that your life is stable, both financially
and emotionally. Taking the "bad things" out of your life
will contribute to "you" reaching or exceeding your goals.
You may be thinking,"Yeah, easier said than done." You'll
see that taking control of your situation, whatever it may
be, is not as hard as it sounds. Plus, you will end up
having a better overall attitude, more focus on your busi-
ness and goals. You might even start having fun at work!
Step Eight - Know Your Opportunity
----------------------------------
Regardless of what kind of business venture you are in-
volved with, you have to remember why you got into it in
the first place. You have to remember where it can take
you. This doesn't necessarily have to do with "biz-opps"
or MLM (Multi Level Marketing) programs.(It does hold true
with those, too, though). The "opportunity" of any
business is where you can take yourself with it, with
planning and hard work.(Despite what you read on the
internet about running a home-based business, it is
"not" easy, and requires hard work). Use this to motivate
yourself when you are letting the "negatives" get you
down. When you've called dozens of leads, and everyone
tells you that they are "not interested", this will help
you start the next day with a great attitude. Now you're
ready to pursue your "opportunity" of a successful bus-
iness, which will lead to "you" reaching your long-term
goals.
These steps will compliment any business plan, be it an
online venture, or a "brick and mortar" store. Using them
as a regular part of your life can make you a happier,
more successful person. You will notice better produc-
tivity, and more sales. If you live and do business with
confidence, and be tolerant of others, you have found
the keys to a happy and productive life.
About the Author
Direct marketing veteran Ken Leonard Jr. publishes
"New Marketer Ezine" weekly, helping to take the
headaches out of starting and growing your online
or home-based business. Get yours now by going to
http://www.kenleonardjr.com and get two useful
resources free.