93.7% of Online Marketers Fail... Avoid Being "Road Kill" on the Internet Superhighway

 Find out how to:

• Get an immediate coaching blueprint to becoming the pre-eminent business leader in your offline and online markets. Then learn how to develop an incredibly powerful unique selling proposition that drives new business from your competition directly to you.  

 

• Banish cash flow problems by utilizing the latest breakthrough techniques for optimizing your dual sales and marketing systems, including; quadrupling response rates, by lowering costs  50% or more, raising debt free capital in record time and increasing profit margins with irresistible offers. 

 

• Enjoy a rewarding and balanced lifestyle when you implement a revitalized sales and marketing plan that automatically builds and diversifies your cash flow in 30 days or less (no matter how bad the economy gets).

A Simple Way to Get Better Results With Your Unique Selling Proposition

(The Secret of an Effective Ice Breaker Opening)

By Thomas M. Reidy

Traditionally, the term “unique selling proposition” has been taught in basic sales school to mean answering the question: What makes you stand out, in a quality way, from your competition? The problem is that many sellers have the same answer as their competitors, thus turning “unique” into “mundane.” When you change the meaning of USP to: Understanding Special Problems; you will close more sales because you will be seen as an expert in solving problems (and that’s why we get paid the big bucks) from the buyer’s perspective, rather than the seller’s perspective.

I teach, in my business development seminars, the art of the icebreaker opening and USP. At the beginning of the seminar, I go around the room and ask each participant to give their USP. Even though they come from different backgrounds and industries, they sound alike. Their “uniqueness” is that they have: “unbeatable prices”…”best location”…”outstanding customer service” (most heavily used)…”wide selection”…”new breakthrough technology” (which isn’t bad, except they rarely explain, in a concise way, the benefits to the customer)…”best credentials”…”number of years in the business,” etc. etc., you get the picture.

A properly designed USP is most effective at the top of your marketing and sales funnels and when properly executed; it will actually open up more deals for you because you are arousing in your prospect the desire-to-acquire your product or service.

Here is why the new USP works better than the old: In the new USP you articulate the problems and pains of what clients typically experience and then offer the vision of pain relief through the benefits (not the features) of what you are selling. Your discussion with the prospect is about what that person is experiencing. The focus of the conversation is on client problems, issues and possible solutions.

 In the old USP, the discussion is centered on you, your products, features, benefits, prices, etc. Often you are, inadvertently, justifying, defending and explaining what is so special about what you offer. Many times when using the old USP, you feel like you are spinning your wheels in frustration discovering that the other person isn’t qualified or even interested in what you have to say: They were just being polite.

You will close more sales when you can articulate your vision of pain relief to your prospects because you understand their special problems, as no one else does. The new USP transforms your relationship from being perceived as a salesperson to being an expert in your field. At the very least you won’t be wasting valuable time with people who aren’t qualified for your services.

Many USPs are so concise that they never arouse curiosity from the listener. A good USP is a conversation ice breaker and leads to a discussion about the prospect’s concerns. At this stage of the game it is important for the seller to qualify the prospect’s pains, instead of doing a monologue on features that the seller is promoting.

Here is an action exercise: Take a sheet of paper and list each product or service you offer. Next, list the features and benefits of each product. Then, list next to each benefit, the customer’s pain that the benefit addresses. From the pain statements that emerge, create your new USP. Remember, write your USP as though you are the customer searching for your services. Be conversational in your script and arouse curiosity.

Keep in mind when using your new USP, that you can vary its length to fit the occasion. It can be used in conversational snippets, guiding a conversation to a meaningful and enjoyable conclusion where a curious party is asking to take the next step in a follow up meeting. When you master the rules of the new USP, you will never chase your prospects again.

Get more useful sales and marketing tips in the free e-book: "The Internet Entrepreneurship Survival Guide," located at the top of this page.

Thomas Reidy developed a new sales team from scratch to number one in the nation (per capita earnings) in less than eighteen months. He is known as The Sales Whisperer for Entrepreneurs because he rehabilitates sales systems and coaches business leaders on how to profitably synchronize their sales and marketing funnels.

20 Experts Share Their Insights on Helping Successful Entrepreneurs Rebound From Failure

By Thomas M. Reidy

It takes at least 30 days of consistent action to change a behavior or create a new habit. Often we want something different but fear blocks us from achieving our vision of entrepreneurial success. The pathway to being a successful entrepreneur can be lonely, even a little scary. Nonetheless, the best way to reduce fear and get better results is to lean on the wisdom and experience of successful leaders “who have been there and done that.” Here are some leadership insights that will inspire you to take the right action, even when the going gets tough:

1. Alan Keightley: Once in a while it really hits people that they don't have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Were you told to go to school and get a good job?  I was. While I know my mother meant well and thought she was preparing me to be able to have access to the pearly gates of success; she could not know how things would change. However, I knew that I wanted more? How about you? Remember, you don't have to settle for 60 hour work weeks, 30 minute commutes, your kids in day care, or relocating for the promise of career advancement. You don't have to be part of the grind...the rat race.

2. Mike Murdock: You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. Are you afraid to get started? It may seem overwhelming but if you focus on simply daily actions the big goals take care of themselves.

3. Brian Tracy:  No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals.      Get help right out the gate. Find a mentor, coach, mastermind or become a part a community that will help to support you in your success. You want to become a lifelong learner. Attend seminars and boot camps in your specialized area knowledge. When you learn from people who have been successful and you model their activities you will get their results.

4.  Michael J. Gelb: By stretching yourself beyond your perceived level of confidence you accelerate your development of competence. The only way to gain confidence in a certain area is to take action. It is in “the action,” you will start to have small victories which will increase your level of success.

5. Les Brown: If you don't program yourself, life will program you! Don't let other people make decisions for your life. If you have no plan on how you will create wealth during your working years, your employer will! Have no retirement plan? You don't want the government to be your strategy. Remember, it's your life and it's now or never.

6. Denis Waitley: There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them. No matter what your current conditions are, you have the opportunity to change them. However, this only can happen if you take total responsibility for the direction of your life. If you don't like where you are, forgive yourself and focus on solutions. Don't focus on problems or why you think something can't happen. Start to ask powerful questions; the answers will start to appear.

7. Dr. Wayne Dyer: Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now. You are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality.

8. Marianne Williamson: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate: our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Who are we NOT to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in us all.             [What can you do to make a difference?]

9. Disney's Pocahontas: You'll see things "you never knew you never knew." [The journey and pursuit of freedom allows you to see the world in a different way than others. As you grow you will naturally see opportunities that others cannot see. Jason Oman author of “Conversation with Millionaires” calls it "Money Goggles." Even if you were in a pitch black room, you will have infrared vision in the area of creating opportunities to make money.]

10. Peter Marshall: A different world cannot be built by indifferent people. You can't have what you want in life by being indifferent. Successful people are passionate and sometimes radical in pursuit of their dreams. Don't allow yourself to be in environments that discourage you.

11. Lee Iacocca: What is it that you like doing? If you don't like it, get out of it, because you"ll be lousy at it. You don't have to stay with a job for the rest of your life; because if you don't like it, you"ll never be successful in it. Why would you ever spend most of your waking hours doing something that you don't like? The key to success is finding something you love to do and set the standard for excellence.

12. Jim Rohn: Simply making consistent investments in our self-education and knowledge banks pays major dividends throughout our lives. The self-education I have pursued after college has been my greatest return on investment. There is something to be said when you develop skills that you know will support you in any economy. Specialized knowledge applied with all out massive results will yield hefty financial and emotional rewards.

13. Donald Trump: Finding your purpose may be a lifelong pursuit or you may have discovered it when you were 5 years old. There's no absolute timeline for anyone. That's a good reason never to give up, to keep on discovering things every day. If you have not discovered your life's purpose don't be hard on yourself. Start to ask yourself questions and enter into a discovery process. Allow yourself to dream without concerns of how you will get it done. Every time you think you have found the answer dig a little deeper with more questions. Rarely are your true goals, purpose and desires on the surface of your soul. Often times they have been put away for safe keeping to protect yourself from disappointment. Keep discovering new things until your purpose is crystal clear.

14. Oprah Winfrey: What material success does-- is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people's lives. When you get the money out of the way, your world expands greatly. [Oprah exemplifies this principle. She now looks for ways to help others in everything she does. Whether it is giving more support to your family or contributing to a worthy cause, having the financial freedom of an entrepreneur will allow you to make your mark in the world.]

15. Booker T. Washington: The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do. So what can you do to create and add value to the world? [This quote demonstrates very clearly that, at the end of the day, results matter! Don't get caught up in theories. Make sure you are constantly taking actions that move you toward a specific goal and on your time table.]

16. John F. Kennedy: There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction. [Are you so afraid to fail that you just can't get out of the box? Don't be. Many people have "failed" their way to million dollar empires. It is better to do something and be wrong then to do nothing at all.]

17. George Bernard Shaw: I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want. There is no such thing as luck. You create the luck by working and preparing for the opportunity. When you start to put yourself out there the universe gives back. [Make sure you are clear of your intentions and then go and make it happen.]

18. Sam Ewing: It's not the hours you put in your work that counts, it's the work you put in your hours. You have the same 24 hours in the day as Bill Gates and Oprah. Don't sabotage yourself by saying, "Well they can do it because their rich."  Unless you inherit wealth there is a price that everyone has to pay.

19. Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you cannot do. [It doesn't have to be something huge. A simple action of courage goes a long in adding to your confidence in every area of your life.]

20. Dexter Yager: You will never leave where you are, until you decide where you'd rather be. When the desire is strong enough you will search to find the answers.

Successful entrepreneurs combine 3 characteristics in their vision of a better future. With dogged persistency, they seek to improve, grow and lead through periods of doubt and failure. When you are facing setbacks and have doubts, review these quotes. Then remember that others have met adversity, just like you, and have defeated it on their terms. Never give up—never!

Get more useful sales and marketing tips in the free e-book: "The Internet Entrepreneurship Survival Guide," located at the top of this page.

Thomas Reidy developed a new sales team from scratch to number one in the nation (per capita earnings) in less than eighteen months. He is known as The Sales Whisperer for Entrepreneurs because he rehabilitates sales systems and coaches business leaders on how to profitably synchronize their sales and marketing funnels.

How to Handle the “No Budget” Objection

  By Thomas Reidy

Recently, I was asked by a business developer, in an Internet discussion, the following question:

What is your best way of handling the objection of “no budget” when your only objective is to set up an appointment or WebEx?

Here is my reply:

I would do a [pattern-interrupt] "Time out Mr. Prospect, you are three pages ahead of me and I am back at the first page." Followed by an [up- front agreement] "Would it make sense to setup a half hour meeting so that I can get a better feel for your concerns and you can get a better idea of what we do? At the end of that meeting you can determine if there is a fit and what the next step should be. Make sense?"

If the answer is "no," disconnect.

If the answer is "yes," proceed to setting the appointment. Be sure to go over your agenda with the prospect in your confirming call, and be sure to ask if there are any concerns that the prospect would like to add to the agenda.

In the reply, there are two tricks-of-the-trade; pattern-interrupt (PI) and up- front agreement (UFA) that need further explanation.

When your prospect is in a negative mindset, or just trying to blow you off, use PI to reset his sour outlook to something more positive from which you can regain the sales initiative.

The best way to have an effective PI is to quickly establish a UFA, clearly promising the prospect a “what’s-in-it-for-me” benefit for agreeing to meet at a later time. If your PI strays from your objective, even though it might be positive, the prospect will become irritated and the game is over.

Even though the UFA looks casual in its language, there are very specific things stated, that must be done to make it effective. The first thing, is to establish a specific length of time for your meeting and pose it as a question (pretend you are playing the TV game show Jeopardy!). In the example, the proposed meeting is a half hour, and it allays the fear by the prospect, that the seller will overstay his welcome.

Because the seller asked, there is honest dialogue and an agreement on when and for how long a meeting should take place.The next part of the UFA is to mutually agree upon the seller’s purpose for the meeting. There are too many sales calls being made where the purpose of the meeting is fuzzy or misunderstood altogether. When you define the purpose and it is agreed upon, you are not only effective in your PI, but you are quickly establishing bonding and rapport—the first step, and most crucial, in an effective selling system.

In the example, the purpose is to have a mutual discovery meeting. It is understood that budget talk is premature at this stage, yet the seller should ask intelligent questions to find out what exactly is the “budget” issue. From the prospect’s view point, there is a genuine desire to understand better what the seller has to offer; without fearing that the meeting will turn into a buyer-seller dance.

To be effective, all UFAs must reach a mutually agreed upon decision at the end of the meeting. When you discuss ahead of time what the expected outcome is, with the buyer, you eliminate games being played or bombs going off, later in your selling system.

Did you notice, again, how the expected outcome in our example meeting is posed in the form of a question? Now there are no surprises and the question gives the prospect the feeling of control. If either party strays from the agreed upon and discussed rules, then the other party can call for a reset—or the game is over. (The days of blowing smoke at each other are over!)

The UFA is a great way to qualify a prospect. If the prospect will not cooperate, disengage: You have a suspect. Too many suspects in your selling system will kill your career.

When you are successful in establishing a UFA, always do a confirming or reminder call, two to three days before the meeting. Repeat what you have agreed upon and briefly summarize the main points of your agenda. Always ask the prospect if there are additional agenda items that should be added. Remember, it is a mutually agreed upon meeting. Both sides are prepared and ready to act and you now have the momentum to proceed to the next step.

Don’t make the critical mistake that many mediocre salespeople do; announcing (instead of asking) what is coming next and failure to listen to what the other person is saying. PI and UFA techniques are effective only in honest win-win negotiations. Misuse the techniques, and you will lose the relationship and any potential business later on.

Buyers are looking for sales leadership from professionals who understand their pain, problems and desires. Master PI and UFA and you will be in the top ten percent of earners in your sales field.

Get more useful sales and marketing tips in the free e-book: "The Internet Entrepreneurship Survival Guide," located at the top of this page.

Thomas Reidy developed a new sales team from scratch to number one in the nation (per capita earnings) in less than eighteen months. He is known as The Sales Whisperer for Entrepreneurs because he rehabilitates sales systems and coaches business leaders on how to profitably synchronize their sales and marketing funnels.

The Reviews are In...

"Understanding the 'pain of the sale' and knowing how to use it will help in contract closures. Thank you!"--Allen Byrne, contractor, Manlius, NY

"Tom's talk exhibited exactly what he talked about: His immediately applicable suggestions are the core principles of effective leadership."--Ron Bildstein, president of Picturestone Promotions

"It is exciting to see all the members participate with a speaker...it is obvious there is a lot more that you could coach about leadership.  I enjoyed the exercise in accountability and leadership.  Thank you."--Craig Arrison, founder of TrueThinker.com

"Tom is well-organized, professional, entertaining and sure to keep the audience's attention with his interactive presentation.  His unique approach to achieving success by knowing what's going on in the mind of your target (prospect, customer, boss, employee, spouse, etc.) should be of interest to all."--John Graves, president of NFC Consulting

"Tom's enthusiasm and clarity help one focus on taking the next step to improving one's effectiveness.  His stories of others who have led well, point to what you can do to improve your leadership skills."--Dan Meyers, Brill Securities

The Dirty Little Secret to PLR Content

by Thomas Reidy

Writing high quality content for your blog can be very frustrating and time consuming. As an alternative, outsourcing your content through ghost writers also has its drawbacks because they can be very expensive. Another reason; quality can suffer if the ghostwriter is not an authority on your subject.

Purchasing private label rights (PLR) can be your best solution.

Much Private label rights articles are usually released for a limited period of time and you do not get exclusive ownership to the rights. To be professional, you should always edit the content, grammar and punctuation to make the article valuable to your readers.

Nonetheless, most of the heavy work is done for you. The bulk of the formatting and research is already in place. If you're short on time and want to have fresh content, this is the option for you.

Much of what is out there is pure rubbish-- there are definitely some providers that are better than others. Do your due diligence on PLR products. Here are some websites to get you started:

• nicheplrarticlepacks.com, they have a wide selection of categories including blog templates, starting at $25; niche article packs, starting at $13; niche reports, starting at $18 (includes video tutorials on how to customize your PLR blog).
• theplrstore.com has a broad selection of categories, including Amazon Turnkey Stores. PLR articles start as low as $1.99. They also offer autoresponder message packs, e-books, giveaway incentives for increasing your opt-ins, master resale rights, websites, and educational videos.
• easyplr.com promises high quality PLR product control. Each article that they produce goes through a 2 step process of article creation and then editing by separate writers. All of the writing staff is college educated and they are experts on the topics they write about. Article packs start at $7 and they offer a wide variety of products.

You can find a huge selection of free PLR products at the WarriorForum.com. In choosing a supplier, preview their samples before you make your purchase. Also, check on the original distribution date (especially in the Warrior Forum). Make sure that the content has not been widely distributed to others and is current.

Done right, PLR content in your blog is a tremendous time and money saver. But spend some time researching for quality. Then, edit the templates you purchase. PLR products are at the start of your creative process-not the end.

Get more useful sales and marketing tips in the free e-book: "The Internet Entrepreneurship Survival Guide," located at the top of this page.

 Tom was invited to showcase his book Winning and Losing It! at BookExpo America. It was a great opportunity to meet other authors and celebrities. Below, Oscar winner Robert Duvall.

Click here for more celebrity photos

New! Get Connected!...your hub for business development

Dear Fellow Entrepreneur,

In business it is not just what you know that spells success; it is who you are connected to, that sustains success.

I built a sales organization from scratch to number one in the country, in per capita sales rep earnings. Achieving that goal in under eighteen months wasn't easy. The key factor in the success of my sales team was that I taught my reps how to become well connected.

In today's struggling economy, profitability depends upon your connections and timing.

That's why I started this column. Each month I'll be featuring important individuals, groups, and events that can be crucial connections to your business development.

It can get very lonely out there at times, I remember what it's like building an effective sales team--it wasn't all fun and games. If you are looking to develop your resource base beyond its present limitations, you will find here connections to world-class opportunities, accelerating your vision of success...Click here to read more.

Old School vs New School Business Development, Sales and Marketing

With our society and economy changing at such a alarming pace, entrepreneurs must innovate or face being swept aside. Profitable clients are tougher to find, and even more demanding. The old ways of selling are giving way to the new. Here is the definition of old school vs new school selling from the entrepreneur's view point:

Old School Business Development: The traditional selling techniques that generate business for a company's products and services. The primary focus of the seller is to position the "needs" of the customer in alignment with the products that the seller offers. Sales are made through features and benefits presentations, price pressure, and overcoming objections.The relationship is win-lose, seller driven.

New School Business Development: The seller understands the desire of the prospect to avoid pain and disaster while enjoying success from the benefits and services that the seller offers. The seller is positioned to fulfill what a client wants through strong questioning and listening skills. The relationship is win-win, client driven.