Networking-The Consultant’s most valuable Weapon b y Kah l i l Harr is

Upping the Ante on Creativity by Luc de Brabandere

As management consultants,

most of us no doubt secretly

enjoy being portrayed as the

―smart people‖ who get called

in to fix client problems. The

real reason management con-

sultants get a seat at the table

is that we bring a fresh per-

spective on how to solve

thorny problems—or to find

where they may be lurking—

and the experience to turn that

new perspective into a better

reality. But the question is

this: Can we make ourselves

more creative?

The short answer is ‗yes‘—

absolutely. But before saying

how, let me first make an im-

portant distinction Both relate to

ideas. The difference between

them comes down to how the

ideas are born. Innovations

arise from looking at how things

are—existing business opera-

tions and processes, Creative

thinking, on the other hand,

comes from stepping out of our

day-to-day reality and seeing

things from a drastically new

perspective.

This radical change in view-

points allows us not to just

tweak the system, but often to

replace it wholesale with some-

thing that‘s dramatically supe-

rior, Call it a ―paradigm shift‖ or

a ―Gestalt change‖ Astonish

Yourself into Creativity-I sug-

gest that the best way to have

creative ideas is to have lots of

ideas. And to do that, we need

to be astonished by what goes

on around us. And, perhaps

even more so, by what doesn‘t.

The old saying is true: The world

is full of surprises. Only most of

us don‘t see them. The Talmud,

for example, tells us that

we don’t see the world as it is;

rather, we see it as we are.

How many executives today,

particularly in companies that

are doing well, bother to ask

themselves whether their entire

Special points of interest:

Networking The con-

sultants most valuable

Weapon

Business Development

in a new environment

Recession Marketing

Business Strategies

Finding Financing for

your Business

Monumental Partners

Limited

Monumental Report

Inside this issue:

Networking - The Best Weapon 1 – 2

Upping the Ante on Creativity 1 - 2

Loan or Investor? 3

The Masters 4

One Minute Entrepreneur 5

6 Steps to Business Success 6

12 Ways to double your profits 6

The Skinny on Radio Advertising 7

Embracing Rejection is stupid! 8

Newsletter date

September 2009—October 2009

Volume 1 Issue 2

You might hear the term network-

ing and wonder exactly what does it mean? Since Social Net-working websites are now a big

thing, the term ‗networking‘ when it comes to business, is also a big thing.

The word networking has become a new catch phrase in corporate

Jamaica and of late the concept is being pushed as a new market-ing tool thus being publicised by

every business executive as a creative way of marketing ones product. In reality, networking has

been a mainstay in the Jamaican business arena and throughout overall Jamaican business cul-

ture. The popular saying ―it‘s not what

you know, but who you know‖ is held true in Jamaica due to fact that networking is one of the main

functions necessary to achieving

of networking today has wa-

tered down the skill and net-working sessions have become nothing but parties being at-

tended by the same people to talk and socialize on a regular basis thus losing the essence

of the exercise as a construc-tive business tool.

It has always been said that Jamaicans love a good party Continued page 2

success in the market place. A

familiar client or friend is much easier sold by another friend than a total stranger pitching a

product or service proving one‘s popularity is always an advantage in the world of busi-

ness. Consultants are no different

and networking may be even more important to a consultant, considering jobs are mostly

based upon referrals.

While this art form is very important and

possibly the most impor-tant tool a

marketer has in his arsenal, the over-

whelming use

something Next, there is as-

tonishment over something

that has always—or long—

been, but that you have never

noticed until now. The third

kind of astonishment happens

when something, or someone,

that has always been there no

longer is.

The fourth kind of astonish-

ment is perhaps the most

important of all for today’s

executive to cultivate: aston-

ishment at what is not. Several

low cost airlines are currently

booming because some peo-

ple were surprised that there

wasn‘t a more efficient alterna-

tive—an insight that enabled

them to go out and create one.

Paving the Way for Creativ-

ity…and Happier Clients

At the end of the day, clients pay us to

bring fresh, creative perspectives to bear

on their problems. And it‘s what we tell

them we can do. Awakening our power of

astonishment is the best way to deliver

on that promise.

Astonish yourself into new perceptions,

and you seed the ground for creative

ideas. Be astonished—at what is, what

always has been, what has changed, and

at what could be. Learn to question

what‘s behind your newfound surprise,

and you will be a long way toward gener-

ating the ideas that you and your clients

need.

business might be vulnerable?

Probable answer: Not many.

For example Ken Olsen, the

former CEO of Digital Equipment

Corporation, was confident (in

1977) that there was no reason

people would ever need to have

a computer at home. The under-

lying problem was a lack of as-

tonishment—an inability to be

surprised by an idea and capti-

vated by its potential.

Fortunately, we can cultivate our

ability to be astonished by taking

a second look at something fa-

miliar, by exposing ourselves to

different viewpoints, by question-

ing our questions.

The Varieties of Astonishment

There are (at least) four kinds of

astonishment, they are.

First, there is astonishment over

Page 2 Monumental Report

Upping the Ante on Creativity c o n t p g 1

If your

business is to

fulfil its

potential,

you've got to

raise their

business

development

skill levels

and I myself can attest to that, but when consultants

attend a networking session it should be captivating, informative and most of all productive, rather than just a social gathering of party goers ―who dance the night

away‖. Not taking anything away from those who have planned

and coordinated valuable networking meetings (where professionals have gained tremendously and developed

positive business relation-ships which could last a life-time) but these networking

events should not be hin-dered or caused to be blind-sided by those who offer an

inferior product, which is in turn ends up costing money and more importantly time.

Although the blame may be misplaced because we as

consultants should probably take up the baton and host more structured networking

sessions based on the theme or niche to which we are catering. For us as consultants, networking has to be seen as the life blood of our profession and as such we

should put more effort into ensuring that each network-ing session is effectively managed/ worked to the bene-fit of the firm.

Most firms or companies cannot afford to host network-ing sessions, especially in our present economic state, but then the consultant should be then able to attain

the best out of every networking mingle or party they attend.

Astonish

yourself

into new

perceptions

, and you

seed the

ground for

creative

ideas.

Here is a list of things to do in order to get the best out of

your networking session: Keep in mind that networking is about being genu-

ine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and

seeing how you can help others.

Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in

networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are

looking for.

Visit as many groups as possi-ble that spark your interest. Do the people sound supportive of

one another? Does the leader-ship appear competent? Hold volunteer positions in

organizations. This is a great way to stay visible and give back to groups that have helped you.

Ask open-ended questions in networking conversations. This means questions that ask who,

what, where, when, and how . This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows

listeners that you are interested in them. Become known as a powerful resource for oth-

ers. This keeps you visible to them.

Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, for whom, and what makes your do-ing it special or different from others doing

the same thing. In order to get referrals, you must first have a clear understanding of what you do that you can easily articulate to others.

Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you.

Page 3 Monumental Report

Monumental Report

Staff

Volume 1 Issue 2

Should You Take Out a Loan or Look for Investors for Your Business? Article by Ronda Levine

.Whether you

decide to look for

investors or take

out loans is a

personal choice

that should be

carefully thought

out

Creative Director

Kahlil Harris

Editor in Chief

Tanya Sue Brice

Business Development Con-

sultant/Contributing Writer

Christopher Goulbourne

Marketing Consultant

Terry McNeil

Accounting Consultant

Wayne Parcells

This article compares the advan-

tages of taking out a loan with those of looking for business investors - which is right for differ-

ent types of businesses? Read on and find out.

Let's face it, when you're starting out a business, unless you are independently wealthy or manage

to be lucky and win the lotto, you are going to have to find a way to raise funds. You'll need money to

rent a space, to pay employees, and to acquire the necessary supplies. There are two ways to

do this: take out a business loan or look for business investors.

Which is better? A big part of this depends upon your business, your goals, and your personal

collateral In order to help you decide what is best for you and your business, let's first look at

the advantages and disadvan-tages of each option.

Advantages of a Business Loan: 1. You will retain all rights and

ownership of your business and of your business equipment

2. You will not have to split your profits with anyone

3. Managing money will be easier – with a loan you have a fixed payment over time.

4. There will be more motivation to make your business work

(imagine having to pay back $5,000,000.00 when there are no customers or clients lined up.

6. You can use the money as you like for your business

Disadvantages of a Business Loan:

1. You may not be able to pay it back on time if your business does not perform

2. You have to pay interest on the amount borrowed

3. You may have some asset set against the loan as collateral

4. It may be difficult to obtain a business loan if you have a poor

or nonexistent credit history

If, on the other hand, you plan to

have a small business that will not grow, or if you do not want outside interference on the decisions you

make for your company, a busi-ness loan is a better choice.

Yes, you will have to pay the loan back (with interest), but you will have complete control over what

your business does. Examples of businesses that will work better with a small loan include house

painting, plumbers, maintenance shops, etc.

Whether you decide to look for investors or take out loans is a personal choice that should be

carefully thought out. Take a look again at the advantages and dis-advantages of each option. Write

down a few venues where you could fulfil that option. With a little background research, you can

decide what is right for your busi-ness.

5. Even with on-time pay-

ments, if your business fails, you may still have payments that you will be responsible for.

Advantages of Looking for a Business Investor:

1. If you need a large amount of money, business investors

can sometimes provide more than a loan can

2. You will have others inter-ested in the success of your business

3. If you are new at running a business, there is a good men-

toring opportunity available 4. It may be easier to get

money through other sources for your business

Disadvantages of Looking for a Business Investor:

1. Investors can create a very complex process when it comes to running your busi-

ness's finances 2. Business investors will often

be unwilling to work with small businesses

3. Investors will want to be part of a board of directors

4. You may find that your con-trol over your business is threatened should the inves-

tors not agree with your busi-ness practices.

What option is best for you? In the article, "The Basics of Venture Capital for Small Busi-

nesses" by Rosemary Peavler, it is stated that investors look for companies that promise a high return on the investment.

Because of this, they aren't as interested in small businesses that intend to stay small. If you

are planning on starting a busi-ness that you will eventually turn into a large business, or a

corporation, perhaps looking for investors is a good choice for you. Examples of busi-

nesses that may want to look for investors are computer software development, product

development, a store you plan to one day franchise, etc.

Examples of businesses that will work better with a small loan include house painting, plumbers, maintenance shops, etc.

Books to read when seeking financing

1) How to Get the Financing

for Your New Small Busi-

ness: Innovative Solutions

from the Experts Who Do

I t E v e r y D a y A u -

thors : Sharon Fullen

2) Financing Your Business

Made Easy by Ralph Al-

terowitz (Author), Jon

Zonderman (Author) 3) Financing Your Business

with Venture Capital:

Strategies to Grow Your

Enterprise with Outside

Investors by Frederick D.

Lipman (Author)

4) Where to Go When the

Bank Says No : Alterna-

tives For Financing Your

Business by David R

Evanson (Author )

5) Financing Your Business Dreams With Other Peo-

ple's Money: How and

Where to Find Money for

Start-Up and Growing

Businesses by Harold R.

Lacy

6) Financing Your Business

(Run Your Own Business)

by Iris Lorenz-Fife

Ken Blanchard on The One Minute Entrepreneur

nancial services business and

we provide this and that ser-vice. What it had to say would-n‘t motivate a flea.

I said if I was your potential

customer, I would prefer you to be in the peace of mind busi-

ness. If I give you my money, I want to have peace of mind that you will take care of it and

maybe even grow it. Wouldn‘t you all rather be in the peace

of mind business?

We worked with PETCO Park, the baseball stadium they built

for the San Diego Padres a few years ago. The clients wanted to remake the image of

the Park and better serve their customers. They decided that they were in the major league

memory business. Their mis-sion was to create good memories for their fans.

That makes for a powerful mission statement, and I think that entrepreneurs need to

follow that example. What are you doing for your client or customer? What can you do to

excite the people you want to work with? Figure that out and put it in your mission state-

ment. McLaughlin: When an entre-preneur starts to put to-

gether a team, what are the common pitfalls that he or she should look out for?

Blanchard: The biggest prob-lem is that you tend to hire people who are all like your-

self. That compounds your weaknesses. You really need to find people who bring skills

to the party that you don‘t. For instance, if you‘re a vision-ary and a good thinker, you

need somebody who can and will take ideas and apply them. When my wife and I started

our company, we knew a lot about people management but we didn‘t know anything about

financial management. We couldn‘t even balance our own check books. So we had to get

people on our team who knew

Many people don‘t real-ize that about 90 percent of the companies around the

world are small businesses.

.

Four Pillars of Business Success Sales Must Exceed Expenses:

Without profit, there is no busi-

ness. Collect Your Bills: Don‘t be a

banker for your customers.

Take Care of Your Customers: Listen to your customers. Their ideas can make your business

more successful. Take Care of Your People: Nurture

your people. They make it all hap-pen.

Adapted from: The One Minute En-trepreneur

We asked Blanchard about his latest book, The One Minute Entrepreneur,

which lays out a strategy for making

any new business venture flourish. McLaughlin: What prompted you to write The One Minute Entrepre-

neur? Blanchard: Many people don‘t real-ize that about 90 percent of the com-

panies around the world are small businesses. And the data show that a lot of them fail, so the advice in the

book is widely relevant. I see two main groups of people who are very interested in entrepreneur-

ship. One is the younger folks who watched their parents work hard and be loyal to their employers, only to be

downsized, right-sized, or outsized right out of their jobs. Our research shows that people in this group are

technologically adept, and they would like to have their own compa-nies within five years.

The other group is the Baby Boom-ers, and it looks like they really don‘t want to retire. We have a guy on our

Board who worked for Procter & Gamble for thirty years and now he‘s started a company with his son.

We‘re seeing a lot of that. McLaughlin: What’s your view on the role and impact of a com-

pany’s mission statement? Blanchard: What we need is more rallying calls. The old-style mission

statements are maybe okay for your Board of Directors, but you need something that will excite everyone

else. I was working with a bank a while back and I asked the clients to send

me their mission statement. Later, I got up in front of the President and the Chairman and said I appreciate

you sending me your mission state-ment because I‘ve slept much better since I got it. I put it next to my bed

and if I can‘t sleep at night, I read it. The statement said we‘re in the fi-

something about finances.

McLaughlin: One point you’ve made is that strength taken to ex-tremes can become a liability. What

do you mean by that? Blanchard: Well, take me, for exam-ple. I have an entrepreneurial mind,

and I get new ideas almost every day. If they left me to run wild in our com-pany, I could burn the place down.

The worst day to work for me would be Monday because I would have had all weekend to think. I would come in and say, today we‘re going to go in

this direction, and everybody would run with that. The next day, I would take everyone in a completely different

direction. In our company, my wife heads up what we call the Office of the Future,

and any new ideas go there. They study the idea before they present it to anybody in our operation. That one-

two punch is really important because we have a lot of creative people and they could send the organization into a

tailspin. Maybe you have somebody who is a great administrator. But if that person

takes things too far, you might end up with a big bureaucracy. Someone else might be adept at involving people in

decision making, but you can overdo that too. Then everybody becomes super followers who check with some-

one else before they do anything.

Any strength taken to the extreme can

be a weakness. That‘s why you need

a balanced team. You also need peo-ple you can trust to tell you when you‘re off base. If everybody‘s telling

you everything‘s great, even when it‘s

not, you‘re going to be in trouble.

McLaughlin: Are there other com-mon mistakes you see entrepre-neurs make?

Blanchard: There are two main rea-sons that companies go out of busi-

ness: They are lousy at financial man-agement or at people management. You have to cover those two areas.

It sounds silly to have to spell it out, but you have to make sure that your sales exceed your expenses. I see a

lot of people starting companies and

There are two main rea-sons that companies go out of business: They are lousy at financial management or

at people management.

Page 4 Monumental Report

Monumental Partners

Limited

Phone: 876-944-1881

E-mail:

info@monumentalpartners.com

Would-be entrepre-neurs believe in what I call the fatal assumption: that

knowing how to do the tech-nical work means you know how to build a business.

Ken Blanchard changed the language of management with his groundbreaking book, The One Minute Manager®,

which is one of the most successful business books of

all time. Since then, he‘s helped countless organiza-tions across the globe. He is also the bestselling author of more than forty books.

The worst thing is to be successful at doing something you don’t really want to do.

Ken Blanchard on The One Minute Entrepreneur

they want a fancy office and expensive stationery; they

want to do all kinds of research on their product, but they don‘t have any customers yet. You have to build your business.

Another mistake is not collecting from your customers. Many people go out of business with customers owing them money. You have to keep track of your receiv-

ables. I was at lunch yesterday with a great entrepreneur who has owned all kinds of companies. Thirty years

ago, he took me and my wife for a walk and said there are only three things to remember to be successful as entrepreneurs: cash, cash, and cash. When it comes to managing people, it‘s a mistake if

you don‘t recognize that none of us is as smart as all of us. If you start thinking that you‘re the only bright bulb in the whole pack, then you don‘t listen to your

people, don‘t respect or trust them, and don‘t empower them. After a while, they quit and stay, which is much worse than just quitting.

McLaughlin: Do you have any advice on how pro-fessional service providers can grow their busi-nesses with existing clients?

Blanchard: Recognize that satisfied clients are not enough. If you want to do more business with your present

clients, you need a strategy for how you can blow them away. You want your clients to say wow—the service we get from these people is unbelievable, so

why would we want to go anywhere else? When we bought our first house in California, our real estate agent came over and made it fun to fill out and

sign all those crazy legal forms. So we recommended that agency to a number of people because they‘re fun to deal with and great with the minutia.

That‘s what you need to do—build relationships that draw clients back to you and make them want to send you other business. Then, your clients become part of

your sales force. McLaughlin: Last question: If you could give an entrepreneur just one piece of advice, what would

it be? Blanchard: I would say, recognize that it‘s not all about you. While you will start the enterprise, you‘re

going to need others to get your idea out the door and bring in business. Don‘t think of yourself as a one-man band and the rest

of your people as hired hands. Let them bring their brains to work and be part of your dream. You need people from the beginning to catch the wave and ride

it in with you. McLaughlin: Thanks for your time.

Kenneth Hartley Blanchard

(born May 6, 1939) is an American author and management expert. His book The One Minute Manager (co-authored with Spencer Johnson) has sold over 13 million copies and has been translated into 37 languages. He has co-authored over 30 other best-selling books, including Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Cus-tomer Service (1993), Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effective-ness Through Situational Leadership (1985), Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization (1997), Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships (2002) and Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations (2006).

Blanchard is the "chief spiritual officer" of The Ken Blanchard Companies[, an inter-national management training and consult-ing firm that he and his wife, Marjorie Blanchard, cofounded in 1979 in San Diego California

Among many accolades, Blanchard has been honoured as one of the top 10 Lead-ership professionals in the international Leadership Gurus survey for 2007 and 2008. The ― Leadership Gurus survey‖‖ award, by Global Gurus International iden-tifies the top and most influential Leader-ship professionals in the world by merit and public voting.

Blanchard is a Cornell University trustee

emeritus and visiting professor at the Cor-

nell University School of Hotel Administra-

tion He and his wife were named Cornell

Entrepreneurs of the Year in 1991.

The On-time, On-target Manager

The Secret! Discover What Great Leaders Know

-and Do

Heart of a Leader: Insights on the Art of Influ-

ence

The 3 Keys to Empowerment:

Putting the One Minute Manager to Work

Page 5 Monumental Report Volume 1 Issue 2

Monumental Partners

Limited

Phone: 876-944-1881

E-mail:

info@monumentalpartners.com

Books by Ken Blanchard

Who Killed Change?: Solving the Mystery of

Leading People Through Change

4th Secret of the One Minute Manager

Know Can Do!: Put Your Know-How Into Ac-

tion

Leading at a Higher Level

The Simple Truths of Service

What if there was a really great way to double your

profits for sure real fast? How much would you spend to get your hands on that kind of information?

Suppose you could get the information at half the cost you are now spending each month to market your busi-ness? How much more would you desire it then?

They say that the best way to learn something is to actually do it. What if you were told what to do, when

and how to do it as well as given all the resources you needed to do it? Would that help? Well there are over 10 extremely easy to implement,

inexpensive techniques you can use to grow and mar-ket your business very fast. It is suggested that you attempt to learn and implement just one of the tech-

niques each month in order to reap the maximum benefit.

Each technique in itself can grow your business by a minimum of 8.2% and a maximum of 87.9% so con-ceivable just 3 of these techniques could easily double

your profits. The reality is, it may end up costing you a lot less than

half the cost you currently incur to market your busi-ness. You don't need to have any specialized knowledge to

implement these techniques and you will need about 2 - 3 hours each week to implement each technique.

T h e y a r e s i m p l y : 1. Attract and keep more clients. (There are over 50 sure-fire ways to do this.)

crucial in terms of success or

failure. Planning helps us to deal with this change and to effectively

w or k w i t h i n t h i s d y-namic. Basically, the message that's trying to be conveyed

here is...Do you have a plan. If not then let's at least create a simple one here that can be

used as a guideline. This can be modified and built upon as one sees necessary.

Step 1 - Summarize your core advantages over your competi-tors. What products or ser-

vices do you offer and why should people buy them from you? Do you have a business

plan? Do you know what you're going to be doing? You should have this blueprinted

and written down somewhere. Step 2 - Consider your target

market and how you will reach them. Are you going to adver-tise on the web, radio, tv or in

print? Are you going door to door? Are you advertising at all? What are your competi-

In the news today all you hear

about are people losing their jobs, stock market and real estate crashes and now....you

want to start your own busi-ness? Well, at least you're not just waiting around for some-

thing to happen. Being proactive in times like

this is probably a testament of the natural innate human will to survive. There is nothing like some pressure and stress

to see what you're really made of. Being proactive in and of itself is not going to get you

extremely far. You also have to plan. See lack of planning is what got most of us into this

mess in the first place. What is being said here is not

meant to diminish the overall importance of action. Action is probably valued to account for

around 70% of the success equation. The part that a lot of people fail to take into ac-

count, however, is the impor-tance of the remaining 30%. This 30% can be the most

tors doing? Are they successful? What

does it cost to get started? What's your back up plan if it fails? You have to get the word out. Without a customer base

you don't have a business. Step 3 - Make some specific realistic

goals and include yearly monetary ob-jectives that can be broken down further (monthly, etc). You should also consider

how much you need to sell in order to meet these goals. Step 4 - Think about and plan your daily

activities - make certain that these daily activities are all income producing and are inline with your goal objec-

tives. Follow this daily activity plan. This is so that when you actually start doing the work you will know that what you

are working towards will most likely happen. You can then feel confident that you WILL ultimately reach your

goals. This minimizes the "let's see what happens" type of thinking.

Step 5 - Practice your pitch, learn to overcome common objections, and once you gain a customer make a follow

up plan. Continued on page 8

Do You Have a Plan? - 6 Steps to Small Business Success By Carlos Rosario

Phone: 876-944-1881

E-mail:

info@monumentalpartners.com

Business Development Consultants

2. Get all your clients full contact information. (There are 3 ways to easily do this.)

3. Contact them often. (There are 5 ways to do this. Some cost pennies a day.)

4. Treat them the way they want to be treated. (There are 8 simple ways to do this.)

5. Give them what they want. (There are 13 ways to do this.)

6. Get them to visit or contact you more often. (There are over 10 ways to do this.)

7. Get them to spend more, each time they visit or con-tact you. (There are 4 ways to do this, fast.)

8. Get them to tell you precisely how to improve your business. (There are 9 ways to do this.)

9. Get them to help you market your business. (There are 6 ways to do this.)

10. Help every member of your staff (especially those that have direct contact with your clients) to become better salespeople for less than $1,000 per person.

(There are over 100 ways to do this really, really, fast.) 11. Learn to sell 24-hours each day. (There are 3 FREE

and 6 inexpensive ways to do this.)

Continued on page 8

12 Quick Ways to Double Your Profit at Half the Cost! - By Christopher Goulbourne

Each technique in itself can grow your business by a minimum of 8.2% and a maximum of 87.9% so conceiv-able just 3 of these techniques could easily double your profits.

Make some specific realistic goals and include yearly monetary objectives that can be broken down further (monthly, yearly etc

Business Development Consultants

Phone: 876-944-1881

E-mail:

info@monumentalpartners.com

From meagre beginnings in 1920, radio has grown

with us to be a major player in advertising. The radio industry says they get about 8 percent of all advertising bucks. Not bad when you consider the

many ways to hawk your service or product They get their fair share because radio works. With over twenty radio stations in the country, the music

and news they broadcast is everywhere. Radio is the mobile medium. Few cars have TV‘s

up front, and few drivers can read the Gleaner or Observer while driving (safely). The advertising on radio targets you passively. You don't have to be

looking at it or reading it to get the message. Radio‘s strength is drive time. The times of the day when most people are in their cars driving to and

from work. You can sound like a pro when you call ‗em AMD and PMD.

AMD is morning (AM) drive time, typically 6 to 10am. AMD is traditionally the most expensive radio time because that‘s when more people listen.

PMD is afternoon (PM) drive and is considered to be 4 to 7pm. Other radio slots are DAY which represents 10a to

4p period and EVE, 7 to midnight. Most radio stations offer two ways to buy ads. Spe-

cific placement (I want to be on Ronnie Thwaites –Independent Talk) and ROS (Run of Station) a formula that spreads your announcements into all

day parts, including late night and overnight. Of course there are specials and sponsorships, too.

It's a burning question. One asked by every busi-

ness owner (and would-be business owner) on a regular basis. What's the question? "How do I effectively market my online business?"

While the actual methods may vary, there are certain fundamental things that simply must be in

place before any marketing attempts will be suc-cessful. So before you begin spending hundreds or thousands of dollars, take a moment to be

sure your marketing foundation is solid. Know Your Target Audience This is the cornerstone of all your marketing

efforts. It is also, without a doubt, the one fatal mistake most marketers make. Rather than tak-ing the time to prepare an in-depth outline of

their preferred customers, they guess. This gen-erally results in a target audience definition , That is simply too vague and will inevitably result

in a giant waste of both your money and time when it comes to marketing effectively. Basically, it makes for a very shaky marketing foundation.

Rather than guess. find out for sure! Do some research, and get a firm grasp on who it is you'll be selling to. When you do, you'll be able to

make qualified and accurate decisions on:

the type of copy to write,

the best mediums for advertising,

what benefits your audience is most inter-

ested in, their preferred payment and shipping meth-

and much more! Target Audience Analysis When you analyze your target audience, you'll want to find out the answers to questions such as the ones

listed below. Fill in the blanks with your product/service or area of expertise.

What _________ products/services do you cur-

rently buy? Why do you buy your current brand?

What do you like about it?

What could be improved?

If you could recreate the product/service, how

would you change it? What Web sites do you frequent?

What ezines or newsletters do you receive via

email? Sex?/ Age? /Annual income?/ Occupation?

Title? /Are you a business owner? Obviously, there are many more questions you could add to the list depending on your specific product or service. This list, however, gives you a good starting

point. Once you create a list of questions, it's time to gather information. Getting the Info

There are several ways to gather information in order to analyze your target market. Talk with people one-on-one or in a group. Conduct an online survey. Sur-

veyMonkey.com offers an excellent (and free) online

Building a Solid Foundation for Marketing Success

Here are my tips for buying radio ads

Always use 30 second ads. If you can say

the whole Lord's Prayer in 20 seconds, 30 is enough for your business (no matter what the

media person says) Buy advertising on the stations that reach

your target customers, not the ones you like. Just because you listen doesn't mean everyone

does (especially if you like Classical Music) Buy ads on two or more stations if possi-

ble. Few markets have one radio station so

dominant that it reaches all the listeners. Buy one week on one station, the next

week on the other, back and fourth. Limit your

buy to 4 weeks in any month, two on each sta-tion. 48 weeks per year gets the same impact of 52 and saves 4. Buy at least 12 ads a week (18 on each if

you can afford it) and advertise every other month. Insist on no overnight or evening ads. Ask for a package that puts you in AMD and PMD at a discount. Like the newspaper inches commit-

ment, you are talking about over 400 ads per year per station. Remember the media salesperson is interested

in selling ads, not improving your business. It is up to you to be the expert and make the in-formed decisions.

THE SKINNY ON RADIO ADVERTISMENT!!

Always use 30 Second ads. No mat-ter what the media person says

survey tool. Make use of online fo-

rums. Place a form on your site; if visitors fill out the information, enter them in a contest to win a prize.

Use your imagination. Find an "information collection" method that

works well for you. But don't neglect to get the details about your future cus-tomers. A firm grasp of your target

audience is the entire foundation of your marketing plan.

Be very sure yours is solid so your promotional efforts will deliver a high return!

Step 6 - Customer Follow up - think about main-

taining a customer list that you can market to again for more and easier profits. A customer that has bought from you is more likely to buy

from you again if they know you and like you. These are just 6 steps that you can but this

should give you enough to get the brain juices flowing and get you off on the right path. Planning is simply laying down the founda-

tion for doing something efficiently and effec-tively. To properly affect your foray into the en-trepreneurial world, similar thinking should be

taking place. Don't just run, run, run. Not until you have a game plan...then by all means, go for it.

It has been said that every journey starts with the first step, but don't take the first step unless you

know that you're headed in the right direc-tion. The plan is the pre-step. Plan your at-tack...then attack.

Do you Have a Plan? 6 steps to success (continued from page 6)

12. Streamline and automate your Marketing

efforts. (There are 5 ways to do this.) continued

You may have heard of many of these Tech-niques... but have you ever tried some or prop-erly implemented even one of them?

Simply knowing what the Techniques are is not enough, you need to know how to effectively

implement each technique and you also need the correct resources to help you successfully implement each and every one of them.

You can find all the techniques and resources online... One quick way would be to subscribe to

5 or 6 great marketing blogs and do searches on each specific topic. Another quicker way would be to go to YouTube.com and search on the

topic of marketing, small business, and sales. The key is to have an effective multifaceted mar-

keting system and in this economy, you needed to have started long ago.

If you are not where you what to be yet... do not give up hope. Just put a few of these techniques into action and you will be amazed at the results

you will get.

12 Quick Ways to Double Your Profit at Half the Cost! (Continued from page 6)

Every once in a while, I read something that a so-

called sales expert says that really ticks me off. Here's just a taste of this lunacy… "In sales, the results are in the rejections."

"Every time a contact results in a rejection, your salespeople can view the rejection as making money." "The secret is for each salesperson to realize how

much rejection is necessary for success.'" "Sales managers must coach their teams to embrace rejection."

This is the stupidest advice you could ever get. Think about it. Can you ever imagine yourself saying this: "Hallelujah! I've made 66 calls today and actually

connected with 24 people. But of that number, 23 of them were total failures. Those decision makers blew me off as fast as they could. But one person asked

me to send a brochure, so it was really a great day. With all those rejections, I'm well on my way to suc-cess."

Let me tell you why it's even stupider than you might think. Guess what happens if you embrace rejection as a

part of the job and quickly move on to make the next call. You're doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

What do I recommend? In my opinion, a rejection is a failure. It's a sales call that did not result in a desirable outcome. If you want to get better at selling, it is im-

perative to analyze your failures and find a different approach that will yield a better outcome. There is NO other way to improve in this profession.

To be successful, you must take a serious look at all aspects of the interaction that were within your con-trol. This includes:

Your word choices

How you positioned your company

The sequence of what you said

How much you said: too little, too much Your tone, pace, and sound. Each one of these can be changed to potentially improve the end result. So where do you start? I suggest you pay close attention to the specific obsta-

cles you encounter. What are your prospects saying: too high price, maybe next year, currently satisfied with the status quo? All these are indicators that you

need to rethink your approach. When you encounter these obstacles, mentally re-play what you said just prior to hearing the objection.

Most likely the words preceding the client's com-ments are key offenders. My point is that rejection is data. Simply data. It can

be analyzed to determine trends, frequency, and even specific sales behaviours. When you think about it this way, you can experiment with various

approaches. You can simulate conditions by listening to your presentation from your buyer's perspective. You can

get input from colleagues to see if what you say would sound interesting if they were the prospect. You can check with other sellers to see what strate-

gies they use. Stop listening to those sales gurus who tell you to "embrace rejection." They're spouting old-style sell-

ing techniques that won't get you in the door of major corporations. They don't have a clue what it takes to succeed in today's marketplace.

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