Starting your own home based business can be hard, never easy. You always need money to pay your bills, and things just don’t happen for you very easily in terms of getting unique visitors, them turning into leads, converting those leads into prospects and then actual clients, and then enrolling them into your primary business. All of this while trying to pay your bills. It’s hard for a person whether they are single or whether they have a big family to support so I won’t talk about that. What a lot of people don’t realize is that business expenses are 100% tax deductible, but that doesn’t make it free, especially if you’re not earning any money. So most people that start with a home based business do so while having a job or do so from savings as a big investment.They are many types of home based businesses and most of them, I mean besides the kind that are there for stuffing envelopes, require the use of a telephone or more often the computer with an internet connection. All home based businesses pay you for how much processing or prospect conversions that you do.This is especially true with a Network Marketing or MLM home based business. So how do you get your unique visitors to come to you? How do you turn those unique visitors into leads? How do you get them as prospects who are interested in your company or product? And, how do you actually enroll them into your business as a client? That’s when they are now in your boat asking these exact same questions. Questions that you, like I will have to answer for them.So the first step, getting unique visitors is usually the most easiest thing to do, specifically you must invest enough money into marketing. But how much does it cost, and are you marketing in a specific niche that is interested or caters to your product or service? Once you find your target niche, after that you have to worry about your competition. So how do you stay ahead? Well, it’s really up to you. And I’m going to try to help you as much as I can.First of all, what is a niche market? A niche market is composed of individuals and businesses that have similar interests and needs, which can be readily identified, and that can be easily targeted and reached. Finding a niche for your business means finding a great product or service for a highly targeted audience. An example of a niche market is women teenagers clothing, or boys clothing, or catering for needs of the elderly.A great tool is ranking on Google for free, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve which I won’t discuss in this article and am saving for my personal team. Another great tool is pay per click advertising using overture, word tracker, or my favorite, Google AdWords. This is where you can find a specific keyword term with less than 300,000 results that you can actually compete in. Of course pay per click marketing is very expensive, and seldom people can afford this at first unless you’re already making money with your online business. But to find a good keyword phrase with little competition use Google’s, Google AdWords: Keyword Tool. Just Google that phrase on Google and you’ll find it.But before I get into more trends, I have to establish that if you’re going to have an online business, what you need is a lead capture page and an email auto-responder so people can subscribe to your newsletter and it helps you keep track of your leads. Now if your great with computer technology you can get a very affordable domain name with GoDaddy and host it for less than $4 per month using HostGator but then you have to really understand html and create a programming environment where every time someone clicks somewhere on your page that, that information is tracked, stored, and processed using some type of program environment tool. Most people that have a home based online business or are interested in having one are not savvy enough with computers, much less savvy when it comes down to html and especially programming. Things like cgi scripting, perl scripting, php, asp, java, java scripting, etc. What most people need is a capture page that already has everything set up and running for you. A capture page that lets you sit back, relax, and see exactly what is going on with your online campaign. This isn’t going to cost you $4 dollars per month. If you want all these tools available to you you’re going to have to find something a lot more technologically practical, useful, convenient, sound, and concrete; and yet still at an affordable price. Say for under $50 per month? I personally recommend this site. It’s called lead system pro and it automates a lot of or all of the things necessary to effectively host a web capture or lead page and allowing you to track your visitors and doing a whole bunch of other cool things, basically also giving you a back office where you can manage and edit your site and content without any knowledge of html or web based programming. You could also take advantage of a whole bunch of Web 2.0 applications that are all free and link them into your capture page. Applications such as youtube, MySpace, Facebook, twitter, and more are covered in the tutorial section with step by step video guidance in lead system pro. The company also has recorded webinars or phone/computer seminars that are pre-recorded that you can watch or listen to so you can take examples from what others already know and apply it to your own site(s) and business and market that way.You’ll also need some type of advertising that you can do about every 3 days or so in order to get consistent traffic coming to your site. I know about two services which cost about $200 each for 1 year and I think that, that is a great offer. It comes down to advertising costs of about a little over $16 dollars per month each, and lead system pro shows and tells you about these great non-spamming email list advertising programs. So you can learn a lot of information from that website, and I highly recommend it. It costs about $1 for a 14 day trial, where all other similar hosting sites only give you a 7 day trial for the same price, and probably offer a lot less. They also offer you a bunch of affiliate programs that you can sign up for on other websites to generate money from each lead whether or not they join you in your primary business or not.Now I know I’m talking about a lot of upfront money here just for a capture page and advertising, but if you decide that you want to join my team, I’ll share with you ways to do marketing and generate 20 leads per day guaranteed and all for free.But for now, let’s get back to more trends. How do you turn those unique visitors to turn into leads? Leads are people that opt-in or sign up for your newsletter, an interested market, that put in their real name, email, and phone number and automatically get put on your auto-responder newsletter. If you’re worried about the auto-responder newsletter, don’t be, lead system pro has all of that built in and taken care of so you don’t have to write a thing to your list unless you want to. Once a person is a lead, there’s no cold calling, no hunting people down, no convincing other people or telling them about your business. These are people that are already interested, so they are called your warm market. What that means is that they’re open to you, what you have to say, and what you have to offer. But although I’ve told you what a warm market is and what a lead is, I never explained how you turn those unique visitors into these leads.Simply put, to turn a unique visitor into a lead requires original content. Just like you’re reading my article now, or watching one of my videos on YouTube, you need to be descriptive, creative, and unique basically coming up with a marketing formula or system that brands you instead of your company. That is what makes people interested in what you have to offer them. People are not generally interested in buying into a company. People are more interested in leaders so what they will usually do is sign up with the person that offers them the most value. And that person, that leader, is going to be you. And I’ll show you how.You need to create Your own unique selling position – study your competition to find out what they emphasize about the product which makes them stand out from the crowd or their niche that you want to compete in. Then decide on something that will make your business unique from the others. It could be something unique about the product, the service, or you, or you could choose a more highly defined target market. You need to build and promote your web site – to develop a profitable web site for your niche product you need to create a number of informative pages that will not only attract visitors from the search engines, but inform and move them to purchase from your site.Define Your Purpose – Without a clear purpose for your site, you will not know where you are heading, for example, to help small business owners attain a presence on the web to sell their product or service. Now, write down the statement of purpose for your web site. Go over it a few times to make sure it is crystal clear, then write an article and/or make a video. Otherwise your unique visitors will be trying to figure it out for themselves.Realize many others may be competing to sell the same product. Focus on something unique you may have to offer, that stands out from your competitors. If you are setting up a company, make sure it is a reputable company with a good track record with lots of help available from others involved, such as your upline, partners, coaches, mentors, etc. Don’t recklessly jump in – you will waste a lot of time and money. This is the number one reason, why many entrepreneurs give up so quickly and basically fail.You have to have to put on your customers shoes. Make a thumb nail sketch of this person – who is your customer? What is his/her wants, needs and worries? Try to understand what makes them tick. Then you can understand what gain you can offer and what worry you can solve. This is the only way to gain trust or confidence in your customer so that they will buy from you in a very competitive market.Develop your product that addresses one or more of these needs. Always refer back to your thumbnail sketch as you write for your site. Elaborate on the points that fit your product and what it delivers. As you start writing, new ideas will naturally emerge, but always keep them focused on your targeted customer so you won’t go off the track of what your customer wants. Remember, to sell to your customer you have to have their wants and needs in mind.Maybe you have seen the ads, “Get 10,000 visitors to your site, for only $20″. Wow, you think, that’s a great bargain, I’ll go for it. The result – 10 people visiting your site and no one buying. What do you do?Write Your Copy to Sell – When you begin to write the copy for your site, always stress the benefits. Develop a theme for your site that focuses on this benefit and don’t stray from it.Also, make your customer want to click through to the next page or click through to your order page.Now, that you have identified your targeted customer and written copy tailored to solving your customers’ problems, you will no longer lose those that you have driven to your site.More realistically put, to turn a unique visitor into a lead, as mother said, you only get one chance to make a first impression – and that’s the one that sticks. What she didn’t say was that when it comes to web sites, not only must it create a good impression, it must be effective.Your web site has two choices. It can choose to sit quietly in the corner like a wimp, or it can engage with visitors, make contact, and do business. Not much different to a real world encounter when you think about it. If you have something to offer, you either go out and tell people about or sit home and get ignored. And guess which web site does more business – the inactive wimp or the pro-active go-getter?But there’s a problem. To interact online, you have to have some way of establishing contact with your visitor. Most importantly, finding out who they are, what they need and when they need it. With lead system pro, on your capture page they have a form where people put in their name, email, and phone number. This is what you need to contact the person and truly find out their needs.Let’s get one very common misconception out of the way. However good it is, don’t expect your web site to sell your organization, your product or your service immediately; it won’t.Using the Web is called browsing for a reason. Visitors are browsing, not shopping. But be it on the Net or in the local shopping mall or store, people do see things that catch their eye while browsing [aka window shopping]. They do ‘come in’ and ‘look around’. They may not need what you have at the moment. They may not even be able to afford it right now. But they are interested or they would not have ‘come in’ and browsed around. Your web site’s critical task is to ensure that when they can afford it or when they do need it; they know exactly where to find your web site – easily and quickly. But how do we achieve that?I use the term pro-active. To me web sites that just sit there and wait for visitor requests or signs of interest are re-active [aka: wimps]. They do nothing until poked by the visitor. Pro-active web sites poke the visitor – in the nicest possible way, of course! It is vital your web site finds a way to engage your visitors again in the future.You must always give in order to receive. The better quality you give, the more you receive. It is a universal law of nature established long before the Internet or probably even the dinosaurs. Provide a *quality* ‘something’ to you visitors in exchange for the ability to contact them. Then treat this exchange with the care and respect it deserves and, sooner or later, that visitor will become your client. It may take days, maybe months, but sooner or later, when they have a real need of what you provide, they will come to you and ask for it – guaranteed. You won’t have to sell it. They will want to buy it.A good example of this is building that email list and writing articles for your leads to read on a weekly basis, sort of like a newsletter, adding value and insight, not just promoting what you can do for them but also helping them to solve a want or need as well.Thousands of people may visit your site every day. This is totally futile unless you help them to help themselves. Help them remember you by offering articles, newsletters, RSS feeds, Blogs, Videos or whatever does it for you. There are many avenues you can choose from. Whichever you choose, don’t just have your web site sit there in the corner looking pretty – and doing nothing. Make it work for its living.You invested time, effort and probably money in putting your website up. Make it earn its keep – it owes you that. Ensure it greets the visitor, what you do, have plenty of attractive and useful content, but above all else, ensure you make all efforts to get your visitor’s calling card/email address before they leave your web site.I think by now you’ve got the general idea. We’ve also covered how do you get them as prospects who are interested in your company or product.The last step is, how do you actually enroll them into your business as a client? Well we’ve covered that as well, and with a system like lead system pro it is all automatically done. Your content, your brand/image, and what you put into your site will make the browsers actual shoppers.
8 Keys For a Home Based Business Model
Every successful home based business has a business model that describes how the company creates, delivers and captures value to all involved. This whole process is part of a business strategy.This is an excellent time to look for an online home based business. A home based business can give you the quality of life that people only dream of. It’s an excellent way to get another stream of income, whether you want to help with finances or replace finances that have been lost during this recession.It is important to look at your opportunity and evaluate the company’s business plan.There are 8 keys that every successful business model should have. Ask yourself the following question: What is the…Purpose
Offerings
Strategies (Marketing)
Infrastructure
Organizational structure
Trading practices
Operational processes
Policies of the companyThe development of a business model originally was a basic model was the shopkeeper model. This included setting up a store in a location where potential customers would be or displaying a product or service where it would be beneficial.Over the years this business model became more sophisticated. In the early 20th century, there was the bait and hook business model. This included showing a basic product at a very low cost, sometimes at a loss (the “bait”), then charging a recurring amount for the refills, or related services (the “hook”). Some examples of this would be the razor (bait) and blades (hook), computer printers (bait) and ink cartridges (hook), and cell phones (bait) and air charges (hook). I just know you have seen ads for computers and they give you a free printer but you know that the printer is never truly free because you have to buy the ink to print to it to be of any use. Cell phones are another example, where the companies are offering free phones, but don’t you have to pay monthly fees for minutes to use the phones?In the 1950′s new business models came from McDonalds and Toyota. In the 1960′s it was from Wal-Mart and Hypermarkets. In the 1970′s FedEx and Toys R Us; the 1980′s was from Blockbuster, Home Depot and Dell Computer; the 1990′s from Southwest Airlines, Netflix, eBay, Amazon.com and Starbucks.Today, the type of business model depends on the technology that is used. For example, internet based businesses have created entirely new models that depend entirely on existing or emergent technology. Using the technology, online businesses can reach a large number of people with minimal costs.So when you search for a home based business, check to see if the company has a sound business plan. Does it have a plan that is similar to that of successful businesses? Home based businesses are a growing trend in today’s world and being online is continuing to grow even through this recession. Look for a green company that has business plan where there is an online presence.Whatever you find, you can be very successful in a home based business with a very good business plan!
Creating Wealth From Home – Factors For Choosing a Successful Home Based Business
Many people are looking for ways to start a home based business for creating wealth. Some people turn to home based businesses in order to make extra money. Others want to replace their job salary with an online business. It really doesn’t matter what goals are laid out for the business. The key is choosing the right home based business that has the potential to grow. In addition, there are a variety of ways to start a home based business. In short, internet marketing has become one of the most popular ways to earn money from home.Here are some factors to consider for having a successful home based business.Huge and Expanding Market
It is important to start a home based business in a niche that is expanding and with a huge market. If not, a business with a decreasing market will not succeed. A business will be successful in a huge market that has long term potential. What are some markets with long term potential and with a huge market? Some of the expanding markets are internet marketing, health, nutrition, fitness, personal care and ecommerce.Provide a Product that Solves a Problem
It is important to provide a product that’s needed and will be used by the target audience. Marketing a product that’s used on a regular basis means repeat buyers. This will lead to a steady income for the home based business. Characteristics of a good product are a product that provide benefits and solve a problem. You want to provide or market a product that’s in demand. These are some of the factors that will help with creating wealth and building a successful business.Try a Proven Successful Business System
It is important to find a successful business system and improve on the model. You want to start a home based business that can generate income as soon as possible. Time is very valuable when starting any business. Also, you want to invest in tools that will automate tasks and make tasks simpler in order to generate income.Most people would like to be their own bosses and to become financially free. There are several steps involved to when it comes to having a successful business and replacing a job’s salary with a home based business. It is important to research the niche and to learn everything about running that type of business. Furthermore, creating wealth involves making smart marketing decisions and choosing a profitable business system.
The Benefits of an Online Home-Based Business
Are you looking for a way to supplement your current income, or to start a new career? If so, then you should certainly consider launching an online home-based business. Here are some of the key benefits of such businesses:ConvenienceIf you are looking for a convenient job, then an online home-based one is definitely one of the best ones you can choose. Unquestionably, one of the most convenient aspects of such jobs is that there is no commute. Instead of taking a traditional highway to work, you can take the Information Superhighway instead! And while Internet traffic might be heavy at times, you’ll still save a ton of time and effort that you’d normally spend commuting between your home and an away-from-home office. If you have an online, home-based business, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection.CostTypically, the start-up costs of a new business can be quite staggering. That’s due to various types of expenses, including rent, salaries, equipment, materials, and so on. You can save a small fortune by starting an online home-based business. In fact, your start-up expenses might only include a PC or laptop, and an ISP. You could then spend the savings on overhead costs, to expand your business. The bottom line is that an online home-based business can improve your company’s bottom line.IndependenceIf you are tired of taking orders from a boss, then how about becoming your own boss? That is another benefit that you can enjoy if you choose to start an online business at home. Yes, extra responsibility will accompany extra independence. But if you’re willing to take on those duties, then the additional freedom you can enjoy is certainly worthwhile. As your own boss, you can make crucial decisions such as when you will start working during the day, how many hours you will put in, and so on. Having those options will definitely make working not only more bearable, but better.SecurityMore specifically, online home-based businesses provide outstanding job security. As long as your company is in the black, you will have a job. That definitely provides an edge over traditional jobs, which have become particularly vulnerable in today’s global economy. Many companies are strictly concerned about maximizing their profits, so creating and sustaining jobs oftentimes is not their highest priority. Yes, there is always a chance that your online home-based business could go kaput. However, you will have more control. And that power can definitely be an incentive to make your business as profitable as possible.PotentialOne of the main benefits of online home-based businesses is that you can basically write your own paycheck. After working decades in a traditional job, you could be “rewarded” by getting a meager pension and a plaque. On the other hand, an online home-based business can give you a better chance to achieve your financial goals. In fact, you ultimately might have the opportunity to retire decades before the traditional retirement age. You could start enjoying your golden years several years before your hair turns grey.
Canadian Small Business Owners: “Lacking in Financial Literacy”
There is both good news and bad news when it comes to the level of small business financial literacy possessed by the average Canadian small business owner. The results of a recent small business financial literacy quiz conducted by Intuit Canada show that more than 8 out of 10 respondents failed to achieve a score of “good or basic knowledge” or better. Nearly half of these respondents revealed “well below basic knowledge.”Put another way, only 17 percent of respondents achieved a score of “very good knowledge” or better, and only 2% said they have “great knowledge.” The quiz consisted of 10 questions about business financial fundamentals, such as what is the role of the balance sheet and how can short-term cash flow be improved?What’s the Good News?That’s the bad news. The good news is that a majority of the respondents said they understand that financial management is important to the success of their business and they need to start closing the “knowledge gap.” Specifically:
42 percent said they wanted to spend more time with an accountant.
24 percent said they would benefit from information sessions with other small business owners.
22 percent said they would benefit from online tutorials.
The study indicates that small business owners’ use of financial literacy tools and resources increases their financial management confidence. Three-quarters of respondents who use financial software are confident that they have a good knowledge of accounting principles. Only 16 percent of respondents who rely on their own financial knowledge expressed this same level of confidence.Up Close and PersonalIn our position as small business financial consultants, we see the reality of these statistics up close and personal every day. Most entrepreneurs start businesses because they have particular talents or skills when it comes to manufacturing and delivering a product or providing a professional service – not because they are financial experts. However, they quickly learn that a good level of financial knowledge is very important to achieving success.It’s not uncommon for an entrepreneur to have a great business idea or product, a strong distribution system and/or sales force, a crack customer service team and raving customer reviews – only to fail because it suffered from poor cash flow.You’ve probably heard it said before that “cash flow is the lifeblood of a business” and it’s true. Companies can often withstand short-term periods of slow sales, and even unprofitability, but a lack of cash flow can prove fatal – even to companies with strong sales and high profits.Cash Flow SolutionsIf your company is suffering from poor cash flow, you owe it to yourself to speak with a small business financial consultant willing to sit down with you and help analyze your situation and suggest solutions. Often, these involve asset-based lending (ABL) solutions like factoring and accounts receivable (A/R) financing.A full-service factoring company will purchase selected receivables on an ongoing basis for a small discount to provide immediate cash flow for your business. This form of financing is widely used around the world – credit card companies are essentially doing the same thing. The elimination of a “receivables lag” can mean the difference between success and failure for businesses with a lack of working capital, or those that are operating with long or unreliable cash conversion cycles.An A/R financing company will lend to a business based on the total value of its eligible receivables. There is a subtle but important difference between this and factoring receivables outright: With A/R financing, the receivables become the primary collateral, a workable advance rate is established, and the company is able to call upon funds based on the “borrowing base” of eligible receivables.Many business owners fail to seriously consider these two options because they are unaware of how they work. They don’t realize how quick and easy it is to qualify, or the many advantages of these options over traditional financing. And many think they are simply too expensive but fail to ask themselves, “Compared to what?” The result of doing nothing is sometimes the loss of the business or bankruptcy.Don’t Be a Statistic Statistics indicate how hard it is to be a successful Canadian small business: While 85 percent of Canadian small businesses make it through the first year, only 51 percent are still around after five years. How many of these failures could have been prevented with a bit of knowledge and a stronger grasp of business financial management?If you own a business or know someone who does, you are in a position to alter the statistics directly. Start by learning about or improving your knowledge of alternative financing solutions. The success or failure of many Canadian small businesses may depend on it.
Are You Ready For A Home Based Business?
Today many people are currently unsatisfied in their careers and are looking for opportunities to work at home. A home based business can have so many rewards, no boss, more income, less stress and spending more time with your family to name a few. The solution for this desire is quite simple, find the perfect work at home opportunity that meets your goals and interests.
Locating the right work at home opportunity isn’t very difficult. Everyone is unique and has their own gifts and talents. Learning your gifts and talents in the business world,will help you decide what type of home based business you will do best.
The perfect home based business should include your interests. Any home based business requires that you be a “Self Starter” and motivate yourself to do better then working for that lousy boss you had at your last job.
Anyone can easily create a work at home opportunity, but finding a home based business that can financially support you is a lot harder to come by. You can look for a business that offers telecommuting opportunities that allow you to work at home The benefit of working at home in these types of careers is a safer, more secure revenue stream then owning your own business. The down side, your still working for someone else.
So your ready to start your own work at home business, and you have a concept you may like to do, then your ready to do some research. It’s very important that you, focus on what you want to do before going through the vast amount of home based business opportunities advertised all over the Internet. A great place to start is with a reputable work at home directory, such as [http://homebasedbusinesslistings.com]. A legitimate home based business directory can save you a great deal of time and energy as they have already done the research for you and will help steer you away from online scams.
Although running your own business may sound easy, motivation, determination and initiative are all very important characteristics of a successful home-based entrepreneur.
Here is the basic concept for running any successful home based business.
1st – Have an idea of what kind of items or service you would like to offer
2nd – Do the research on your competitors and see how your business can get noticed and stand out.
3rd – Getting started, how to get your plan in motion.
4th – Bigger is better, knowing your competition is key. Your goal is always to be bigger and better.
The setup process in building a lucrative business seems like it gets more difficult as you go, but if your committed and stay the course your business will soar.
In the first step of creating a home based business you need an idea or a concept and determine what you would like to do. The types of home based businesses vary greatly. You can take any interest or idea and turn it into a sales and service oriented business. You can also find a preexisting home based business opportunity that has a well thought out business model with great support and use it as a stepping stone. One of the hottest ideas right now is selling products through auction sites. Home based opportunities like http://eprofitsource.net have taken this idea to the next level, allowing you to sell any type of products or services that your interested in. Partner yourself with a business opportunity that you are interested in, and success is sure to follow.
The next step in creating a home based business is researching other businesses that offer what you are planing to offer. Market research can help you to figure out what will make your home based business idea unique. Whether it’s just finding out price points or marketing strategies, knowing your competition is a key to success.
The third big step with setting up a successful work at home business is getting paid by your customers. This area generally requires the ability to get people to understand why your service or product is important . If it’s your low cost, let them know what your competitor is selling it for, if it is a service , let them know the benefits of choosing you over your competition.
The fourth step is how you keep your business a success. Non stop research for what other businesses are doing will help you to provide better services and products for your customers. Always remember to scout for any new competitors, because if they’re as smart as you, they’ll be watching you too.
You may find that one step is usually simpler for one person than another. The simplest way to guarantee that your home based business allows you to reach your goals is to plan well and always be ready to meet your customers needs. As change is always inevitable, the work at home business that can change and grow, will always be the one that stays on top.
The last ingredient to running a successful home based business is you. If you want to keep your home based business going you must believe in yourself and what it takes to succeed. Its always a huge step when your making the decision to start a home based business, but use that “old” fuel of frustration and failure to remind you that you have what it takes to succeed, desire & determination.
Your Local Small Business Online Marketing Funnel
Marketing your business online is all about showing that you have something to offer your visitors that your competitors do not have. Marketing your small business online means reaching out to your current customers as well as prospective customers and setting yourself apart.
Successful small business Internet marketing is all about establishing relationships. Just as customers in your brick and mortar store have a chance to come in and get to know you, online customers need to be given the chance to learn more about what you do and to decide that they want to do business with you.
This is where the concept of your small biz online marketing funnel comes in. Your small biz online marketing funnel is a means by which you can – over time – find new customers and increase your small business sales.
Your small biz online marketing funnel is not unlike the local small business marketing that you undertook when you first opened your business in its physical location. First you needed to choose a location and to get that location ready. You ordered the supplies you needed. Then you started advertising. On opening day, it’s likely that you had a product giveaway – a keychain, a coffee mug or maybe even a t-shirt – as well as a coupon giveaway, something that would entice your customer to come back.
Your small biz online marketing funnel works in much the same way: you choose a domain name and build your website, or have your website built for you. You’ll get everything that you need in order – including a free or low-cost giveaway. And then you will begin marketing your small business online.
It is important to remember that your website is your virtual business. All of the Internet ads that you place will bring traffic to your page, so be sure to use the page wisely.
Use your homepage to tell prospective customers about your business – share your mission statement, share customer compliments. Use a page of your website to let your current and prospective customers know more about who you are and what you believe in. Focus both on your business and on establishing a relationship with your customer.
Drawing prospective customers in to your website brings them into the widest part of your small biz online marketing funnel; allowing them the opportunity to get to know you begins to draw them down into the funnel.
However, you do not want them to make it to the second level of the funnel and stay there, just as you do not want customers at your physical location to walk in and walk back out again. This is why you should plan – as part of your small business Internet marketing campaign – to draw them into the next smallest area of your small biz online marketing funnel.
You do not need to offer a physical giveaway. Instead, continue to build relationships with your site visitors by offering them something of value. Offer them free articles about products and services that your small business offers. Set up a newsletter that will allow you to communicate valuable information (as well as special offers) to them at specified intervals.
Doing so allows you to take an important step towards increasing sales: it allows you to establish a relationship. By consistently providing your subscribers with information or coupons that are valuable to them, they will begin to recognize you and your company as a company that they want to do business with, and they will look forward to hearing from you.
You will be able to encourage them to do business with you by promoting low-cost front-end products. Now, rather than a free article that gives your prospective customers a little bit of information, turn them into your new customers by offering low-cost products. Low-cost front-end products such as e-books that provide useful information about important topics within your industry – and further establish your credibility and the customers’ trust – will help to draw those customers down to the smallest level of your small biz online marketing funnel.
For instance, let’s say you own and operate a local floral shop. A perfect low-cost front-end information product that you could offer to your customers to draw them further into your sales funnel would be an e-book with planting tips for growing flowers in your local area. Customers who purchase your low-cost e-book will find value in the information, increasing the likelihood that they will purchase additional, higher priced products from you as well.
The last level of your small biz online marketing funnel is the place that you want your new customers to be: it’s the stage where your free and low-cost front-end items, along with your newsletters and other marketing, will increase sales of your high-cost, back-end products and services.
This is the goal of your small business Internet marketing: to find prospective customers, establish a relationship and increase sales. To recap, your small biz online marketing funnel works like this:
o Build and Market Your Website to Draw in Prospective Customers
o Engage the Prospective Customer
o Establish Trust with a Giveaway
o Establish a relationship using a newsletter and special offers
o Encourage small, low-cost front-end sales
o Make the big-ticket sales of your products and services
Through this process, and by continuing to market your site to new prospective customers, you will find that the small biz online marketing funnel is a technique that allows you to consistently and reliably get new customers and increase sales for your small business.
The Finer Points of Internet Auctions
WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?
Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.
The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.
The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.
The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.
HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!
The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.
There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.
Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.
HOW TO WIN!
Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.
The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.
The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.
The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.
HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!
Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.
Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.
Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.
CONCLUSION!
New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.
There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.
It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.
How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items
Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.
Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.
There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.
There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.
Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.
There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.
Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?
Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.
Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.
A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.
Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.
When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.
When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.
Hiring An Auction Company
Estimating your assets value:
Typically, one of the first questions a business owner will ask me is, “how much will the assets bring at an auction”. After taking the time to review the assets, the auctioneer should give the client a conservative estimate of the sale based upon his experience and the current market trends. It is important that the company give realistic expectations so the seller can make informed decisions based on their best interest.
Compensation and Expenses:
Is the company you are considering working for you or against you? The agreement you decide may determine this.
A business owner should carefully consider how the auction company is compensated. The most common commission structures include: straight commission, outright purchase of assets, guaranteed base with a split above to both auctioneer and seller, guaranteed base with anything above going to auctioneer or a flat fee structure.
In a straight commission structure, the company is paid an agreed upon percentage of the total sale.
In an outright purchase agreement, the auctioneer simply becomes your end buyer. The company purchases your assets and relocates them. While this can be an option in some unique situations, keep in mind that they will want to purchase your assets at a very reduced price to make a profit at a later date.
In a minimum base guarantee, the auction company guarantees the seller that the auction will generate a minimum amount of sales. Anything above that amount either goes to the auction company or split with the seller. While a seller might feel more comfortable doing an auction knowing that he is guaranteed a minimum amount for his sale, keep in mind that it is the best interest of the auction company to secure a minimum base price as low as possible in order reduce their financial liability to the seller and secure higher compensation for the sale.
In a flat fee structure, the auctioneer agrees to show up for the sale and call the auction. There is no incentive for the auctioneer to get the best prices for your assets. The auction company is compensated regardless of the outcome of your sale.
What is the best option for business owners? In my experience, an agreed upon straight commission structure. This puts the responsibility on the auction company to offer the best outcome for everyone involved. There is an incentive for the auction company to work hard for both parties, set up and run a professional sale, get the highest bid and sell every item on the inventory. Successful auctions translate to a higher bottom line for both the seller and the auction company.
Auction Expenses:
In most auction agreements the expenses to conduct an auction are passed to the seller. If the auction company pays for the expenses, it is simply absorbed in higher commission rates.
All expenses should be agreed upon in advance in a written contract. Typical expenses will include the costs of advertising, labor, legal fees, travel, equipment rentals, security, postage and printing. A reputable auction company will be able to estimate all expenses based upon their experience in previous auctions. An agreement should be actual costs charged as expenses, not an estimated amount.
Advertising is typically the highest cost in conducting an auction. The auction company needs to set up an advertising campaign that will promote the sale to its best advantage and not overspend to simply advertise the auction company.
Once the auction is complete, the auction company should provide a complete breakdown of all expenses to the seller, including copies of receipts within the auction summary report.
Buyer’s Premium:
What is a buyer’s premium? If you attend auctions regularly, you are very familiar with this term. The auction company charges a fee to the buyer when they buy an item at auction.
The buyer’s premium has been around since the 1980′s and is standard auction practice. It was first used by auction houses to help offset costs of running brick and mortar permanent auction facilities. Since then, it has spread to all aspects of the auction industry. It is prominent in online auctions and allows auction companies to cover added expenses incurred from online sales.
It is the responsibility of the auction company to provide clear disclosure of the buyer’s premium to both the buyers and the sellers. Those not familiar with auctions are often taken back by the buyer’s premium. They looked upon it as an under handed way for the auction company to make more money. Reputable auction companies will provide full disclosure within the auction contract, advertisement and bidder registration.
Typically, an auction company will charge online buyers a higher buyer’s premium percentage than those attending an auction in person. Extra fees are incurred with online bidding and are charged accordingly to online buyers. This provides the seller a level playing field for both online buyers and those attending the auction in person. Without the buyer’s premium, there is no way to do this.
Pre-Sales:
We’ve all been there. We’re looking forward to attending an auction only to find that some items were sold prior to the auction date.
As an auctioneer with over thirty-six years of experience, I can honestly state that pre-sales will hurt an auction. When a company decides to liquidate their assets, it is easy to sell off high-end pieces of equipment through online sources, equipment vendors or to other businesses. The seller receives instant cash and avoids paying a commission to an auction company.
Auctioneer’s find themselves appearing to acting in a self-serving capacity when potential clients say they are planning to sell off parts of their inventory prior to an auction. It’s hard not to consider the auctioneer’s commission when they warn you not to pre-sell anything. Yes, the auctioneer wants to earn a commission on those sales but it is more important that the auctioneer protect the sale from potential negative backlash that comes from pre-selling. The buying public knows when an auction has been “cherry picked” prior to the sale and it reflects in their bidding. It becomes a sale of “leftovers” and that impacts prices.
A buyer who purchases prior to the auction usually does not attend the sale. They already bought equipment at a good price with no competition. If they do attend the auction, they tend to let others know of their great pre-sale purchases which again, impacts prices and the overall excitement of the sale.
It is important to understand that auctions work best with a complete inventory. You want competition on your higher end equipment. The easy to sell items make it possible to gain respectable prices for hard to sell items.
When a business owner decides to liquidate their equipment assets, there is only one opportunity to do it right. Hiring a reputable auction company will assist you with a professional, orderly and timely liquidation.