How To Increase Sales With Telemarketing

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First - the real key to effective telephone marketing is structure and organization. Winging it is a real bad idea. A script, an outline, notes, flip cards, some written tools to help you stay on track are important. The most experienced telephone selling professionals in the country use scripts and notes.

Second - courtesy is a paramount of importance. Remember that the person on the other end of the phone can't see you; they can only react to what you are saying and how you're saying it.

Third - recognize that some people will not respond well. They'll cut you short, even hang up on you. You'll just have to be okay with that. Don't take it personally. Remember people throw out your mail pieces unread too. You just don't have to be there to see it.

Fourth - practice makes perfect or at least better. You need to give yourself the benefit of at least twenty or twenty-five calls of a particular type with a particular offer before even beginning to be judgmental about yourself, your skills or the results. If you've never used a telephone this way before you'll be understandably uncomfortable with the process.

It's important to remember that just about everything you now do well was once difficult and uncomfortable for you. Stretching comfort zones and mastering new skills is an important reoccurring part of living to be enjoyed not feared.

Learning telemarketing skills, mastering them and being able to teach them to others is a way to greatly enhance your personal worth and be able to increase the sales of profits of just about any business your involved with.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that many businesses don't like using this tool or because of the DO NOT CALL LIST, they think they can no longer use it. And in many applications that is correct.

But there is one application that every business should 'legally' be using the phone for in order to grow their business.

Dan Kennedy, http://www.dankennedy.com/

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A very important topic to talk about is how to organize your time when working on your blog or web site. Many readers ask me how I structure my day and it has taken me a couple of months to get to a point where I can function at my peak levels. I will share a few suggestions with you that can really help you be more productive.

Keep A To-Do List.

Each day when you wake up, write down the top 5-10 things you have to accomplish that day. It is best to not do any other web based activities until you can cross off each item on your list because it is too easy to get caught up reading other blogs and forums before getting your own work done. Before you know it, you have spent 3 hours reading and getting none of your work done. If you did not finish an item from your list, carry it over to the next day.

Assign A Certain Amount Of Time For Important Items.

Tell yourself the first thing you will do each morning is check and respond to email for 30 minutes. I know some people think email should not be the first thing you do in the morning, but I prefer to get it out of the way first. You also never know who sent you a pressing item that can help you monetize your site. If you read an email but do not respond immediately, mark it “un-read” so you do not forget that you have to respond later.

Figure Out What You Like Least And Make Yourself Spend Time Doing It.

Sometimes I struggle to write ReviewMe posts and the only way I can get myself to do it is if I sit down and tell myself that for the next 2-3 hours, the only thing I will do is research and review the web site. I force myself to write a review and I go back and proof read it later. Whatever your weak points are, be sure to take the time to do them anyways. They could be valuable to your readers and your blog’s value.

Do Not Check Stats More Than Twice Per Day.

This is a big one. So many people waiste time hitting refresh on their visitor stats and affiliate sales all day. I used to do the same, only to realize that my productivity is so much better now that I only check stats once in the morning and once in the evening. There is nothing you can do to increase your statistics that much by hitting refresh every 10 minutes that you cannot do by checking stats in the beginning and end of the day. Try this for a few days and you will be happy you did.

[Via JohnChow.com] 

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Michigan Considers Extending Sales Tax to Service Industries

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Move to address state budget deficit and generate additional revenue could hurt small businesses, opponents say.

Michigan legislators are considering expanding the state sales tax to include businesses in the service industry as a way to generate added revenue for the state. With Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and a financial advisory panel scheduled to meet throughout the month to address a state budget deficit that is expected to be close to $1 billion for the current year—and possibly twice as large in 2008—many business owners are wary of how those discussions might affect them. If extended, the sales tax could be imposed on a large number of the 142 currently untaxed services in the state, including salons, dry cleaners and golf courses, and possibly even extend to legal and accounting services.

As with the broader U.S. economy, Michigan has seen a decades-long shift from an industrial economy toward a more service-oriented one. At the same time, the Michigan tax base has not been expanding and the state's tax revenues have been declining for the past six years. Given those changes, the sales tax in Michigan does not reflect the present structure of the economy, said Okan Kavuncu, an economist at Public Sector Consultants, a public policy firm in Lansing. "We have an uneven playing field right now," says Kavuncu.

Taxing services could bring in approximately $8.5 billion a year for the state, according to Kavuncu. "If the state taxed all services, it would be able to solve every single problem it is now having," he said, noting that he personally does not support extending the sales tax as the only solution.

Some business owners like Paul Hense, president of Hense and Associates, a CPA firm based in Grand Rapids, Mich., say the state shouldn’t be looking to them to make up the budget shortfall. "In these types of situations," Hense said, "we end up as a collection agency for the state."

Although Hense believes that a tax on his accounting services would not hurt his business, he expects opposition to the tax to gather momentum. "There's going to be a huge battle because the question is: the state needs the money, who are they going to get it from?" Hense said.

On January 10, Governor Granholm appointed an emergency financial advisory panel of former public officials to discuss new tax reform policies. In addition to confronting the state's fiscal crisis, lawmakers are feeling pressure from last year's repeal of the Single Business Tax (SBT), a value-added tax on businesses that will be phased out starting in 2007. While many in the business community pushed for the elimination of the SBT, the question remains of how to effectively replace the tax without hurting the entire business community.

Tricia Kinley, Director of Tax Policy and Economic Development at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, says the state is in need of some major tax restructuring, which she believes should be accompanied by government restructuring and a plan that will use tax payer's dollars more effectively. The Michigan Chamber has long objected to expanding the sales tax to cover services.

Kinley noted that the impact of such an expansion would not only increase costs for consumers, but also for business owners purchasing services for their company. The burden "will be disproportionate for small businesses," she said. Larger companies are more likely to be able to afford an in-house attorney and save on costs, for example, whereas smaller businesses generally retain outside legal help, putting those small businesses at a disadvantage when competing against other big businesses. Taxing more services "will drive up the cost of products that small businesses sell to consumers and might discourage customers from buying their products," Kinley said. Michigan businesses would also be at a competitive disadvantage with neighboring states, she added.

Granholm has not yet laid out her thoughts on the proposed tax, but has reportedly refused to rule it out. Business leaders say any move to extend the sales tax will likely face harsh public scrutiny and be challenged by small-business owners. "At the end of the day, it probably doesn't have enough support to pass on its own," said Robert Fowler, President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan.

Granholm will announce her plan for solving the state budget crisis during her State of the State Address in early February.
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Q: I'm trying to decide whether to go out on my own and start a retail clothing business.

With a lot of experience in my field, I know I can operate the business, but I have questions about what else is involved.

Is there a profile of what it takes to succeed?

A: The fact that you are looking for success criteria indicates a realistic approach to entrepreneurship. Many folks jump in with both feet and ask questions later.

Entrepreneurs are generally inspired by at least one of two factors — independence and financial gain. Independence is sought to take risks and escape from other people's direction.

Many seek a haven from corporate bureaucracy.

They want to be their own master, have a strong need for achievement and the freedom to make decisions.

In short, they want the freedom that they did not have as employees.

The motivation for financial gain is generally considered to be unlimited. Importantly, the gains that are possible in new businesses must be great enough to offset the high degree of risk.

Many entrepreneurs are so focused on escape that they ignore the unbalanced relationship between risk and reward and forge ahead in a high-risk enterprise without taking the prudent steps to minimize risk, e.g., preparing a good business plan.

In a Small Business Administration study, five characteristics were identified as the most important predictors of an entrepreneur's success.

•Drive is the most important attribute. New small-business owners can expect long hours, high stress and endless problems as they launch a business. The ability to maintain the necessary stamina should not be confused with the desire to succeed, although they are often interrelated.
•Thinking ability encompasses creativity, critical thinking, analytical abilities and originality.
•People skills are the ability to motivate employees, sell customers, negotiate with suppliers and convince lenders. Personality plays a big part in success in this area.
•Communication skill is the ability to make yourself understood. Part of this is the acknowledgment that muddled or abusive communications go unheeded.
•Technical ability speaks to the need for entrepreneurs to know their product and their market.
They must be experts in their field to operate their business with ease.

Finally, contact your local SCORE office and speak with a veteran counselor to get an objective assessment of your probability of success.

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