So you think you are going to do well with your next Marketing Campaign?  This is good because if you don’t, it impacts the outcome of your campaign, believe it or not.  Read on and you will find out why.

Every once in awhile, a light bulb goes on for me (incandescent ones, I don‘t do fluorescents. Hey the Air Force banned them for a reason) when thoughts come together that have been brewing for some time.

I happened to be going through some of the piles of books that I have and came across “The Power of Positive Thinking In Business” by Scott W. Ventrella.

I had read and own a first run copy of Norman Vincent Peal’s classic, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Good book indeed and runs along with “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

I had casually read through it before and it had not tripped my trigger, although I had lent it out to several people and one person in particular gave it credit for changing the course of her career and leading her to go back to school for her Masters Degree.  Still, I had not revisited it.

But as I opened it up it this time I came across a section that I think sums up one of the keys to business success, and success in most areas of our lives: this is called the Pygmalion Effect.

For those of you that do not know what it is, here you go. In mythology, there was a sculptor who sculpted a beautiful woman.  He poured his heart, soul, and all of his skill into the sculpture. It was so perfect that he fell in love with it and he wished it were a real woman and named her Galatea. Well, the Goddess Venus saw this and actually made Galatea into a real live woman. Thus arose the Pygmalion effect, where you get what you wish or expect.

Spring forward several thousand years and we end up with one Dr. Rosenthal of Harvard.

He did a famous experiment where he went to a school and pulled the names of three teachers out of a hat at random.  He also pulled the names of some students at random.  He then told the teachers that they were the three best teachers in the school and that they were going to be getting the best students to see how well they could do with them.

At the end of the year, on average, the students’ performance was 20 to 30% higher than the rest of the school.

This experiment was conducted over 300 times with similar results.  In essence, when the teachers thought of themselves as stars and that their students were gifted, the teachers treated the students as gifted, and both the students and teachers performed up to these expectations.

For me, this was mind blowing that such a simple thing could increase results dramatically. But, then again, it does seem to fit in the realm of common sense and from what I have observed over three decades working with people.

In fact one in one of my early sales job I had a sales manager name Robert that demanded that when he asked you how your were doing, that you always replied with something positive such as ” I am doing GREAT” or ” I am doing Fantastic”.

At first I really thought he was a nut job as I saw him fire and literally take out Jim, our 2nd best salesman on the spot one morning when he said he was having a crappy morning and he started to go off on a tirade about Robert and his dumb be positive policy.  Robert told him to shut up and right then and to take it out side I said whoaa…   Well, Jim got about 4 more ” non-positive words out” and it never made it outside because Robert had a wicked right hook and dropped him like a rock and said he would not tolerate it at all.   Guess what, he meant it.  No whishy washy mamby pamby HR policy there.

He would not tolerate any negative talk at all amongst the sales people and he meant it. No whining or complaining, no bitching or moaning.  If you had a complaint or issue, you had to frame it in a positive fashion.  He knew how important that it was to do this.

The proof was in the pudding as it were in that our sales group out sold all others by not just 10 or 20% but by a whopping 1,500%.  No one else was even close to our group.  It made me appreciate and respect that whole policy.   Perhaps this is why I have such a low tolerance for negative and whiny people.  I know how truly destructive this seemingly innocuous poisonous behavior can be to all people around that person.  The only exception to this rule is if I think the person is worth redeeming.  Otherwise, I let them wallow in their own self-produced misery of a life.  Stay away from me thank you very much.

Now back to the Teachers and the phenomenal results that were produced.  What was funny (OK, perhaps not)  is that rather than this being embraced and implemented on a wide scale in schools across the country, this caused a flurry of criticism within the teaching community as they said results are irrelevant.  I am not kidding or making this up.

They felt that children should feel good about themselves and not be compared to others and that there must have been something else going on.  So rather than being implemented on a larger scale, they did not adopt it.  Got to love Liberal Progressive Teachers Unions, but then again not.

Professor J. Sterling Livingston also did experiments with management in business with, as you may have guessed it, the same results, and those results were published in the “Harvard Business Review.”

Even Peter Drucker seems to weigh in on the subject as well.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
— Peter F. Drucker

I think if you look, you see this with a great many of the successful entrepreneurs and companies out there.

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Richard Branson, and Ashley Qualls (more on her later) all have one thing in common. They expect success from themselves and those around them.

Now how can you implement this in your own business?

• Make sure that everyone buys into what your are doing.  Do not tolerate negativity about what you are doing from anyone, even if they are just joking.  Talk to the person and tell them that you do not want to hear it nor can they talk to anyone involved that way.  If they don’t get it, get rid of them.  Seriously, your business may depend on it.  While this may seem harsh, the subconscious mind is a funny thing and picks up on the smallest things and tends to expand on them.  Good, bad, it goes to town on them.  One negative person in an organization may be costing you thousands and thousands of dollars or more.
  

• Plan for success by making sure that you think through what is going to happen once you get there.
  

But perhaps more importantly, there is a lesson in this for all of us.  Now do you have to be sickeningly sweet and Politically Correct all of the time?  No, and point in fact being PC all of the time can also have a negative effect on profits as well.  But of course just use common sense.  Don’t allow people to share being in a bad mood, or making negative non-productive opinions.  Make them couch their speech in a positive fashion.  This can take months to break bad habits but you will notice not only are people more productive, but they feel better about themselves.

Your expectations also play a large role in our own performance as well.  You need to start expecting success in your business and in the rest of your life. Your outlook plays a large role in your conscious and subconscious actions whether you realize it or not.  That is a reason why you should avoid negative people like the plague.  Especially when you are in start up mode.  Actually, you should avoid them all of the time.  I put a link to it in the PS below.

That is not to say that thinking “I am going to do well” in your business  is going to take the place of research and educating yourself, and work, but your expectation of doing well or mediocre may have a much larger impact on your success than you ever thought.

Thinking and expecting that you are going to get 8% returns versus 21.5% could be the difference between actually getting either result.

It might just be worth “thinking” about.

Have a wonderfully profitable day.  And, I have faith in you. Now we just need to make sure you do as well.  Plus, it can and will make a huge impact on how Happy your are in the future.  Happiness is not a destination, but a choice we make.

Cheers,

Andrew “Easy” Anderson

PS  Here is a link to another post talking about other people that have a negative attitude and why you need to avoid them. Money Magnet Or Crap Magnet

MASS MEDIOCRITY AND THE MOTIVATION PEOPLE PATTERN™

“Human nature is such that if we are relatively content, then we are not going to be motivated to do anything to change our comfort zone, whether it be now or later.” Marilyne Woodsmall

This is more on Personality Language(tm) from Marilyne Woodsmall.  I will say it again, grab the book, it will help you better understand people and make you a lot more money. – Easy Anderson

Why is this so? It is because when people have already gotten all the carrots and sticks they think they need to lead what they believe to be an acceptable lifestyle, then they no longer have that fire burning within to move any farther. Life is okay as is, nothing more nothing less, no bells and whistles; yet this is satisfactory to them so they don’t care to budge one bit. These are the very people who end up staying in jobs for years and are quite content to do so.

Most people are mired in mediocrity. All too sad yet true. These are the so-called masses. And these are precisely the people who don’t want to change even if they have the opportunity to do so as I’ll explain shortly.

This has major implications regarding motivation in the workplace. There are basically four reasons why people aren’t motivated:

1. People who are move toward in orientation and have nothing towards which to move.

2. People who are move away from and have nothing from which to move away.

3. People who are move toward and who have reached their set goals and have nothing else to get them out of their satisfaction zone.

4. People who are move away from and who have somehow managed to move away from all the things which they would like to avoid.

The last two types are the most challenging elements in any workforce because they don’t want to move in any direction. These people are a nightmare to any team, to any manager, to any organization, to anyone who wants to get ahead because they are indifferent to change. These people are the masses, the people who are content to live their lives in mediocrity.

Once again, the Motivation People Pattern is the basis of everything that we do in life, or don’t do for that matter. Imagine the possibilities if we could move people from relatively content to ecstatic and beyond! Tune in for more next time.

Claude Hopkins, one of the first Profit Consultants

If you want to improve your Profits, then here are 4 books and 1 report from Google that I am making available to your for Free. You should download and read them right away.  These are my gift to you at absolutely no charge. You do not have to pay anything, nor sign up for another list. And I am also going to show you one of the books that you can get for free for 14 days read it, use it to make money, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to pay for it.  But if you do like it, you only pay for it after you have read it.  How is that for an Author that thinks his material is good? This guy is one of my favorites and you will soon see why. The other 3 books and Report is yours for free forever.

The technique of giving things away is called a reverse risk factor and it is very effective as you can imagine but, most people are afraid to use it.  Which is good because it makes it even more effective for those that do.

Why Am I Giving These To You?

The reason why I am giving them to you is because I know that no matter where you are in your Business, they can have a huge impact on your profitability. Plus, it makes me feel good that I can give something of really high value that most people have never heard of before that can dramatically improve their life for the better. It is a complete kick in the pants. Plus, it is good Karma.

If you are an old hat at the online game, or are just starting out, these can help you immensely.  They will even help you in your Brick and Mortar business as well. You don’t have to sign up for an email list or anything as I mentioned.   How is that for a change? Just click on them and save them and you can start reading them right away.  They are all in PDF format except for the last one.

If you are trying to sell anything and have to write copy, Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins is a must read. It will dispel the myth about long copy that I see ignorantly bandied about these days.  It  shows you why it is good and how personal stories focused on your niche can really help sales.  The things that he talks about in this book  still work today.   Most people don’t have a clue as to who he is or use his techniques.  Now you don’t have to be one of them.

The Art Of Money Getting by PT Barnum is about as a good of a self-help book for business people there is.  You will note that it is the basis for many of the new ones that have been written recently.

Words and Phrases that sell is a handy guide you can use when writing any sales copy that you have.  Imagine having words that compel people to purchase your product at your fingertips!  This one is edited by yours truly.

Then there is the Google guide to Search Engine Optimization.  Read it, learn it, use it and it will help with traffic to your site.

Let me know what you think.   I hope these help you as much as they have helped me.

These are also the books are referred to in  Start On Monday by Andrew “Easy” Anderson, hey that is me.    I have just released it and it is on building your business online and how to find a JOB if you must.  You can check it out by clicking on the cover and you get to keep it for 14 days before you decide if you want to pay me for it. It has what I have learned in 20 years of being online, plus advice from some of the best Marketers in the world who have sold billions of dollars worth of products and services.

Even if you don’t keep  “Start On Monday” I suggest that you go snag it.  There really is valuable information and resources in it.  And you definitely need to get the other 3 books and reports.  Remember, often times it is just one small idea that takes you to a whole new level in your business and life.

Cheers,

Andrew “Easy” Anderson

ARE ALL TYPES THE SAME?

PEOPLE PATTERNS™ VS MEYERS-BRIGGS – PART II

In the first part of this discussion, we discussed the two points: 1) the concept of typologies from a perspective of formal logic and 2) the different forms of typologies. As mentioned, Meyers-Briggs presents immutable boxes or preferences, whereas we know that types can be changed, given our work in behavioral change technologies. Second, we discussed how Meyers-Briggs and People Patterns™ are what we refer to as horizontal typologies.

Now we are going to present the third concept that relates to typologies, that of contextuality. It is critically important to realize that all behavior is context dependent. This is one of the fundamental principles of NLP. In fact, all behaviors change depending on the context in which they occur. What this means is that you may behave or act in a particular way, for example, in a work context, while at home, you behave totally differently because it is a different context. So in one context, you’ll behave one way, and when you shift contexts, your behavior shifts as well. With People Patterns™, we constantly emphasize that they are context dependent. Myers-Briggs does not take this into account.

The notion of context and contextuality in our typologies (in this case, People Patterns™) is critically important. It is a concept that is a vital component to all behaviors, and thus, to typologies. Context, for our People Patterns™ takes into account several elements:

1. Where you are (for example in work, at home, at school, driving, etc.)

2. What are the circumstances in which you are behaving a certain way

3. When are you behaving a particular way

Now let us consider the fourth concept regarding typologies, that of deep structure and refinement. What we call People Patterns™ that make up one’s Personality Language™ goes beyond what the four Meyers-Briggs categories cover in their scope. People Patterns™ take the types to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what is involved:

Sensor/Intuitor: our Tangible/Intangible People Pattern™ is more refined.

Introvert/Extrovert: our Internal/External People Pattern™ is more refined.

Judger/Perceiver: our Structurist/Free Spirit (through time/in time dichotomy) People Pattern™ is more refined.

Thinker/Feeler: Our Decision People Pattern™ (looks right, sounds right, feels right and makes sense) is more refined. Also, the Chunk Size People Pattern™ clarifies this Meyers-Briggs preference.

Now, our People Pattern™ Profile is different from others that are out there in that we are not looking for content based responses. Our work is based on decoding what I refer to as the deep structure (as in linguistics), and here, the deep structure of the psyche. In this case, it is the deep structure of your thinking and of your behavior, rather than the specific content.

At another time, we will discuss the deep structure differences between the two typologies a bit more.

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Marilyne Woodsmall is one of the most sought after Human Modelers in the World.  She and her Husband, Wyatt Woodsmall have worked with some of the most successful companies and Athletes out there.  They help businesses and individuals reach the highest performance levels possible.  You can find more information about them and what they do at www.TheScienceOfidiots.com.  Their book Personality Language ™ can help you and your business go beyond where you are now.

This is why you need to make use of Social Media.  And guys, if you were not thinking about catering to Female clients, you are nuts!

And yes, MySpace still rocks if that is your demographic. But Twitter seems to rule if you want people that make over $100,000.

It is why we push it with our clients. Contact me if you want to learn how to super charge you Social Media for as little as little as $70 per month.

Can you really afford not to?

Not sure where to start, check out the Blog post, Twitter Explained in 5 Minutes.

Cheers,

Andrew “Easy” Anderson

A Profitable Website

I will be doing another video going over the basics of what you need and of course, WordPress is the only content managements system that I recommend these days.

WordPress currently powers 8.7% of all Websites.
WordPress currently powers 56% of all Websites that have CMS or a Content Management System.

You need to be using CMS and WordPress. This should be your Website if you want to make money. If you don’t have a Blog and update your content on a regular basis, you are losing customers, money, and you are getting killed on Search Engine Placement.

Here is the link to the Tour Page with the Buttons That I speak about in the Video as well as a few other sites.

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And if you are willing to be a Guinea Pig, you can pre-order the Software that we used to build the sites for only $77 a month and you get a 30 day free trial. No contracts, no commitments. Not only that, but you will get a Shopping Cart, an Affiliate Program, and an Auto-Responder built in as well. Plus other great good surprises. (and yes, I will get around to putting in a fancy button here too, but the most important thing is to have a way for people to give you money.

OK, I am going to go over some of the basics that you need to have no matter what, as well as a number of things that I see big companies and even well know Web Gurus are doing wrong with their Websites in the next video.

These are easily correctable but often overlooked.

Also, for those of you interested, if you don’t feel up to doing a site like the ones I show you in the video, we can do ones like them from turn key (you have to provide the content, although we can for more money) from $499 to about $2,470 for most small business sites. Larger sites are more of course. But typically, we are 1/2 to 1/3rd the cost of other solutions. We can also provide turnkey solutions on a monthly basis as well. If you are interested, just contact me and we will get you taken care of for sure.

Cheers,
Anderson

The Answer And A Video Explanation Of Your Most Valuable Asset

So, what do you think your most valuable asset in business is that you have?  If you are like the rest of the go getter’s out there, we have a tendency to think that if we work a little harder, a little longer, and put in more of ourselves we will solve the issue of of the moment.

Now you would think that if you just could put a little more time in, you could get it done.  Well guess what?  No matter how well you manage your time, it won’t matter.  Will you get more done for a while? Of course but you can’t run effectively day after day at full tilt for 16,17, 18 hours a day.

Your most valuable Asset In Business is your energy levels.  If you go after a problem after you are well rested and healthy and your head is in the right place, then you can solve many problems or issues that come up in a manner of minutes.  Yet you try and do the same high level task when you are tired and it could easily take you hours to come up with the same quality of solution.

In the book ” The Power Of Full Engagement” by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz they bring up some very good statistics and examples of why this is true.

You know what I am talking about.  Where you are tired and even the words won’t come out of your mouth right and the simple things are a pain.  Well, guess what, when you are like that and the extra hour that you put in would be better spent resting.

As a recovering, oh heck, who am I kidding, active Workaholic,  I have to watch out for that myself.  The only reason that I do is that I do like what I do so much that I find myself taking things to the enth degree sometimes with projects.   Yet I know that I would be far better taking the time off and sharpening the Axe as it were.

The kicker is sticking with that philosophy even though I know it is true.  What does it for me is that I have people the depend on me now to make the right decisions and I know that burning the candle at both ends only should happen once in a while and not all of the time.  It is not effective at all.  It is also a symptom of a simpleton.  I already have one of those T-Shirts and I do not need another thank you very much.

Now that is not to say you should not have tight deadlines.  But you need to plan on taking time off to keep your energy levels as high as possible.   Take at least one day of the Weekend off.   If a project has you burnt out, then spend time on another one, step away from it for a few hours, days, or even weeks.   It can make a huge difference in your profits, and your quality of life.

Here is a video of Tony Schwartz speaking at Google about this subject.  Also, learn why multi-tasking does not work.  I have been following him for several years now and his stuff works and it makes sense.   Actually, it is common sense which is the least common of all senses.

Are you staying local in your business and being a Local Yokel?

I have seen this quite a bit recently with many businesses when it comes to searching for talent or opportunity for their business.  Be it Web Design, SEO, sales, or Consulting Help, and even new customers.

The businesses that do this are seriously shooting themselves in the foot.  In fact to use yet another gruesome analogy it is like throwing a Frog in a pot of cold water and turning on the heat until it boils.  The Frog won’t jump out, but if you put him in Hot water, they hop right out.

In other words, you won’t know you are cooked until it is too late.

Just think about it.  There are now millions of people that you can reach on the Web and just from a statistics standpoint, the guy or gal down the street is not going to even be in the top 5% best at what they do but, the person that you can snag on the Internet is?

So why would you want a second string player when your competition is playing with All Stars?

Can you imagine any sports team from College on up just getting players locally?  Well of course not.  So you should not be doing it either.

If you do, you are just making my job easier when your competition hires me.    Perhaps I should say thanks in advance if you are one of the Yokels.

Cheers,

Andrew

Do you want more sales no matter what you are selling? Be different. Seriously as more and more competition is out there, the one thing that stands out is being different.

But be different in a good way, Be smart about it, but sometimes even being just a little different can mean a lot of money ending up on your bottom line.

Here is an Noodle Jolt. An easy way to come up with ideas is to look at your competition and see how White Bread boring they are? Don’t be like that, get out of the box, get out of the rut.  Do anything different than what they are doing.

You will be glad you did.

Cheers,
Andrew Anderson

Believe it or not, you really can get a complete eCommerce website done for under $2.500 these days.  And no we are not talking about those out of the box template monstrosities that you only pay $5 per month for or are from a template that 10,000 other business have that look exactly the same.

I am talking about having a full blown custom design that does not look like it comes from the 80′s.  I am not talking about a Website that is not centered in your browser.  That is the surest sign I know of these days to quickly ascertain if a company has their act together on the web.  If it is left justified and not centered on your screen, be careful about doing business with them.    Just saying… 

Today, you really need to have the following.

1. A Centered Website that lets people know how your product or service can help solve their problem or pain, or make their liver easier or more enjoyable.
2. You need to have an integrated design to the site which include a look and feel that is consistent throughout the site.
3. You must have a Blog, even if you don’t want to write in it, have someone else do it.
4. You must have RSS feeds and social media integration.  While I have not heard too much about this from the so called Gurus, your RSS feed can be your most important traffic source.  The same goes for your Social Media.
5. If you have products or services to sell, ( I mean why else would you be in business) then you need a way for your customers to purchase them. You need buttons and a shopping cart.   Here are some examples of some pretty cool buttons. Note the buy now button and the sign up for twitter button.

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Most companies can get a great looking Website, Blog, online Social Media Framework, and Shopping Cart/Way to collect money, Video Integration, and all done for your including graphics for $2,477. Where? Right here with www.21to21.com and www.MadFunMarketing.com.

So what are you waiting for? It does not matter if you are a just starting out, or need a serious rehaul of your Website. You don’t need to spend more in 85% of the cases.

In 99.99% of all of the sites that we have looked at, most can be done for under $10,000 using our new tools. 94% can be done for under $5,000 and of those, 88% can be done for under $2,500.

And putting money in your Web Presence is by far the best money you can spend for Marketing/Sales and in practically any other category you can think of for sure. Simply because in case you have not noticed, people go to your Website First!

Plus, you can keep it up-to-date and humming for less than $200 with hosting and fresh content for your blog. You don’t even have to write it yourself!

Why are we doing it so inexpensively?

Well, because we are tired of seeing crappy looking Websites for one. Secondly, we are tired of coming in after the fact when a client has spent $5,000 to $50,00 and still has a site the will not make them money and then having to convince them that it can be done form $2,400 or in the larger ones, for only $10,000 and that it can bring in 5 x the business they are bringing in now. It is painful to watch. And frankly, just silly and totally unnecessary.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer, and get access to our new tools, plus a whole lot of other bonuses such as marketing and SEO assistance then just click on the Button below to get started.

Oh, and you will be able to easily maintain, change, and update your site as well. Complete training on how to do this is provided as well.

DO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK? PART II:

By Marilyne Woodsmall

WHEN TO USE THEM AND WHEN NOT…

In our prior discussion, I talked about the Evaluation People Pattern™. This critical Evaluation People Pattern™ determines how an individual makes a judgment. In the context of sales, this pattern reveals how an individual makes a judgment to buy a product or service.

If you remember, there are two types of people when it comes to the Evaluation People Pattern™: Internal People and External People. Individuals who have what we call an Internal Referential Filter don’t want to hear about what other people are saying about a product or a service that they are thinking about purchasing. On the other side of the coin, there are those who have an External Referential Filter. They need to know what other people think before they purchase something. Remember, too, that there are some Internal People who will rely on what another person is saying if that person happens to be a proven expert on the product or service and has accurate information.

It makes a huge difference whether you are selling to someone with an internal pattern or an external pattern. Most Internal People think that the public at large is totally lacking in awareness and taste when it comes to making evaluations or judgments. In fact, our term, the Science of Idiots™ is quite apropos here, since Internal People view External People to be idiots for the most part. The former ask in referring to the latter: How is it possible to be such an idiot as to need another person’s opinion before buying something?

On the other hand, External People can’t imagine how a person can buy anything in life without getting feedback from others. They think that Internal People are idiots for not wanting the opinion of other people.

So what can you do to tailor your sales communication, whether one-on-one or on your site to reach these types of people? First, let us consider External People. If you are dealing with External People there are two viable strategies. One, you can position yourself as their external point of reference. The second strategy is to have people they respect or admire talk about your product.

The first strategy means that you have to be knowledgeable about your product or service as well as be trustworthy. Even sleazy car salesmen types don’t fare well here. Customers are much savvier than you may think and they certainly don’t want or need the traditional hype that has worked in the past in certain niches. The best rule of all is to always come from a place of integrity. In our work professionally modeling top salespeople over the years, my husband and I have always found that the best of the best have integrity and also create trust among their customers. I’ll delve more into this topic in a future article.

The second strategy involves telling your customers what people they respect have to say about what you are selling or providing. This means finding out who those people are for your particular customers.

In brief, with External People:

1. Provide as much information or referral material that you can.
2. Give as many testimonials as possible (more is better than less here)
3. Stress what others think about your product.
4. Have them see and or hear others’ reactions to your product or service.
5. Know that they are easily influenced by others.

Now, with Internal People, the strategy is totally different. With them you want to go out of your way to avoid telling them what other people are saying about your product or service. In fact, an Internal People will think less of you if try to sell your product based on testimonials or based on others’ opinions. They simply will view you as another idiot who has no clue about things.

In brief, with Internal People:

1. Suggest that they have their own internal check regarding the buying decision.
2. Stress that it is up to them and not up to you, as to whether to buy or not.
3. Avoid giving testimonials.
4. Tell them that you know that they are ultimately making the buying decision.
5. Know that telling them what others think is useless and may cost you the sale.

Also, remember that if you are an expert and or have someone else’s expertise to present regarding your product, it may be helpful to the Internal Person and only if the information is from an expert and is relevant.

In summary, it is critical in sales to know what criteria your customers are using when buying anything. This is why it is so important to appeal to both the Internal and External People in your presentation. In this way, you cover all possibilities; and you increase your sales as well as avoid missing half your customers and thus, avoid losing sales.

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As I have said before, Marilyne Woodsmall is one of the smartest marketing modelers out there, which is why many of the Marketing Gurus have sought her and her husband Wyatt, out for training.

While you may not have heard of them before, I can guarantee that if you have ever purchased anything online, you have seen their techniques being used.

To find out more information, you can go to The Science Of Idiots .com

I also suggest that you listen to the interview that I did wit her here.

Cheers,

DO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK?

Long before the internet came along, people have been giving testimonials for products. TV sales have always played a huge part in the conspicuous consumer society in which we live and still do so today. With the onset of the Internet, we have been overwhelmed with the typical and quite annoying bottomless sales letter that is riddled with endorsements and testimonials to convince prospective buyers to purchase a product or service.

And with TV shopping channels like QVC and the Home Shopping Network, testimonials play an increasingly important role in selling. Or do they? The question is do they really work with everyone? The answer is NO, NO, NO!!!

In fact, only about half of the population cares about what others think about a product before they buy it. The other half simply couldn’t care less what other people say about what they are buying. Which type are you? And more important, which type are your customers? Just because you may like to hear what other people are saying about products before purchasing them doesn’t mean that all of your customers think the same way. Or you may not care about testimonials and yet some of your customers won’t buy your products without them.

Are you a person who thrives on hearing what others have to say about a particular product? Or are you a person who can’t stand listening to or to reading about what people are saying about a product or service that you are contemplating buying? And there is another possibility as well. Are you someone who occasionally likes to read or to hear testimonials from certain individuals? How you answer these questions is quite revelatory.

In fact, it will determine still another People Pattern™ that comprises what we call Personality Language™. It is called the Evaluation People Pattern™. This all important Evaluation People Pattern™ determines how an individual makes a judgment, and in the context of this discussion, how an individual makes a judgment to buy a product or service. The emphasis is on how and not why.

Basically there are two major elements that make up the Evaluation People Pattern™. There are some individuals who make decisions to buy based on internal criteria and then there are some individuals who make decisions to buy based on external criteria. Those who make buying decisions based on internal criteria have what we refer to as an Internal Referential Filter or People Pattern™. They simply know inside that what they are doing or what they are buying, in this case, is the right thing for them. Those who make buying decisions based on external criteria have what we refer to as an External Referential Filter or People Pattern™. They need to hear what others think and tend not to buy anything without this feedback.

There are also some Internal People who, under certain circumstances, don’t mind having an expert give advice or information about a product, and only if it is information from an expert and not just anyone offering their opinion.

The bottom line is that Internal People don’t need feedback from others when it comes to buying products or services (unless, as mentioned, they want expert information under some circumstances); and External People need feedback before they purchase something. External People are often incapable of buying something without hearing first what other people think about it.

What this means for you in sales is that you have to tailor your communication on your sales page and/or in your presentation to both include testimonials for External People as well as include phrases that target the Internal People among your customers. Tune in next time to learn how to communicate with both types of customers in your audience, those with an Internal Referential Filter and those with an External Referential Filter.

This is from “ Personality Language” ™

By Marilyne Woodsmall

Could not having an editor be costing you thousands of dollars?

I am going to explain how getting an editor could help you make a lot more money.

This is the edited version of my post. As you will see, there was no miracle. 

How can not having an editor be costing you thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars? Let me start out by saying that I am the King of misspellings, bad grammar and improper punctuation, not to mention making up words, purposely misspelling others and being fond of alliteration, so please bear with me as I explain.

First off, I have really bad dyslexia, which is rather ironic as I make my living writing. What happens is the conversation in my head makes perfect sense, until I start typing it out, that is when things get all messed up. Usually, whole sentences come out backwards and spelling and grammar are arbitrary things. Honestly, I look at this as a gift and competitive edge in business, as it allows me to recognize complex situations, make connections and create unique solutions before the vast majority of people do.

With that being said and because most of us truly do judge a book by its cover, a lot of my potential clients will not see past the typos, bad grammar or improper punctuation to realize just how much more profitable I can help make them. Bottom line, if you have typos, bad grammar or improper punctuation, it does not matter how great your product or service is, people will notice and hesitate when buying!

Do not get me wrong, a lot of people do get “it”.  At the same time, a lot of potential clients who would normally be lapping up everything I have to offer, cannot get past it. This makes me a bit upset.  I have seen it happen, they are going to find some Whanker of a consultant who can spell better but does not know their rear end from a hole in the ground when it comes to what they are doing and that potential client is going to lose out because of it.

Of course it took me a while to realize spelling, grammar and punctuation do matter.  While I like to read things that are spelled correctly, I do not hold it against the writer. Unfortunately, a lot of people do. And as business professionals, we need to care about these people.  Something this easy to fix, should not be ignored.

What is the answer? Get an Editor.

What a good editor can accomplish in just ten minutes could pay for an entire year of their services and put a lot more money in your pocket! Seriously, if you blog, send out letters or copy, and you are not the world’s best at spelling, grammar, or punctuation, you need to get an editor, and NOW!

Get one that likes to edit. There are people out there that love to do it and that is who you want. It is easy for them too. I am probably on the low side but I pay mine $20 dollars an hour.  Crap after this, I am going to have to give mine a raise (yes you are, BTW) .  But, whatever I pay them it is an absolute bargain. It still  only costs me between 50 cents and $5 per blog post to have one of them look over and get it right.

This means I could pick up a $10,000 client because I spent 50 cents to $5 on editing the post which caught that client’s interest. Where else can you get this type of return?

Think about it. People judge you by your output on the Web these days. This is true in your Blogs, Website, emails, and everything else too.

As I say this, I continue to post to my Blog before I have one of my Editors go through it. They usually are not up at 3:00 AM when I get a cool idea and feel compelled to do a post. But I am slowly disciplining myself to have one of them go over it quickly after I post. I probably won’t ever completely break myself of the habit of posting on my own, but I am using my Editors a lot more now that I figured out how much money not using them is costing me.

I still need to have one of them go through this site with a fine tooth comb. If you look at any of the posts, you can tell quite easily when one of them has looked at it.

Now all of this being said, I do not want you to say you cannot afford an Editor. You can and here is why. I am going to make both of mine available to you. Both have degrees and they are awesome at what they do. They can help make you look like the genius you are.

Now yes, I know you can probably find one a bit cheaper, but you really do get what you pay for in this particular area. I also know you can pay a whole lot more for an Editor that is less competent. It took me quite awhile to find these two.

Here is the deal. You can purchase one hour of their time for $20. You can purchase as many hours as you like. One hour should cover a number of blog posts, pages or copy on your website.

Just click on the button below and they will get you hooked up. If you do not, you will never know how many thousands of dollars you are losing.

Cheers,

Andrew

P. S.  Just for fun, compare my “Before” and “After” posts to see what a difference an Editor can make.

Blog Or Die?

….

Don’t have a Blog? Why Your Competition Hopes You Never Get One

Updated March 12, 11:22 PM EST By Andrew Anderson

My advice for you is to get one today. Seriously, if you are spending money on any other media or advertising and you don’t have a Blog, STOP and get a Blog before you spend another dime.

It does not matter if you are a brick and mortar company or sell most of your products and services online, you NEED to have a Blog. I am surprised at the number of supposedly smart companies that have websites without a Blog.

Because of some recent conversations with clients I want to start from scratch here.  I actually have been working on this post for over two weeks now and it’s has even become more relevant since I started it. Here is a short video that encapsulates what this post is about.  I am running on about 3 hours sleep today.  You can probably tell from the video that I just shot.  Click and watch it before you go on if you can.

What is a Blog?

A Blog is basically a list of short stories that are called posts. They can contain text, graphics, audio, video, or a combination of them all. Typically it is updated fairly frequently.  It can be several times a day, to several times a month.

Subject matter varies depending on the owner and writers of the Blog. They can be about your personal life, a specific subject matter, or even a hobby.  The sky is the limit for what can be Blogged or written about.  In the case of a company, it would be information relevant to their clients or potential clients.  For instance, this Blog at 21to21.com is primarily about using and leveraging the Internet including Blogs and Websites for individuals and businesses so that their businesses become massively profitable.  I am interested in helping you make more money.  Which is what Profit Consultants do.

Why are Blogs important?

Blogs are important because they give give you, the owner of the Blog, the ability to communicate freely with your clients and potential clients.   The great thing about a Blog is people get to vote with a click of their mouse.  Meece Rule!  OK, so I made Meece up, but you know what I mean.  More on the importance after this next bit.

Both Online and Brick and Mortar companies need a Blog!

RSS Feeds and getting the word out

People are able to gather information in a non-threatening way.  It also provides you, as the owner of the Blog, to put out information immediately with virtually ZERO lag time.  Not only will people be able to find what you posted as soon as it comes out, but, through RSS feeds, it will pass that information along to subscribers immediately.

This is from Wikipedia…

RSS (most commonly expanded as “Really Simple Syndication”) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.^[2] An RSS document (which is called a “feed”, “web feed”,^[3] or “channel”) includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader”, or “aggregator“, which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based. A standardized XML file format allows the information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed’s URL or by clicking an RSS icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.

RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data formats. Although RSS formats have evolved from as early as March 1999,^[4] it was between 2005 and 2006 when RSS gained widespread use, and the (““) icon was decided upon by several major Web browsers.^[5]

On my Blog here for instance, I have over 12,000 RSS feeds going out on everything that I post.  Good, bad, or indifferent.  So, as you can see, RSS feeds are an important part of your Blog.

This can also help with your SEO or Search Engine Optimization.

Social Media

Another reason you should Blog is Social Media.  Your blog can post to other Social Media sites including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Stumbleupon, Digg, and a whole host of others.

And I swear this is a true story I heard today, a member of a fairly well known non-profit organization that helps businesses become better, stated Social Media was becoming less important, or at least that is what they had read.   Well, all I have to say to that is I remember people saying the same thing about the Internet back in 1997.

Social Media is exploding and will continue to do so.  Embrace it, understand it, make use of it, and enjoy it!  It can be a great way to interact with your clients, potential clients, and your friends.

RSS and Social Media give you the ability to leverage and go viral like never before.  Even though I am busier now than I ever have been, readership for my blog has doubled in the past two months and it seems that trend could continue for the next year.  And, my Social Media Blueprint is less than 10% complete.  So, there is a lot of room to improve.

Between my RSS feeds and Social Media such as Twitter, I can potentially reach over 22,000 people in a flash anytime I like for about 1 cent.  Can you do that with any other communications tool you have?

That is why you need a Blog.  Twitter and Facebook are fine but you are only leasing those.   Make your Blog your focal point.

The Ability To Give Great Content To Your Clients And Prospects

Include Interactive Items

A Blog gives you the ability to get great content to your clients and prospects.  Like on this site, I give away a ton of great information to people that read it. In fact, some of my SEO  (Search Engine Optimization) information is worth thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars to the people that make use of it.   And I give it away!  It freaks out a lot of the other more staid SEO companies that charge $5,000 to $10,000 a month for fewer results than what I provide for my readers in 30 minutes for free.

Why?  Because when I do have something to sell, they already have proof I know what I am talking about.   And guess what?  Good content is good SEO, period.

With a good Blog, you can engage your readers.  You can do cool stuff like what I am about to show you.

Click on the image below and watch what happens.

It is called a light box.  You may have seen them before.  Why do I like them?  Because I can put a lot of content in a small space, have you look or listen to something engaging, and yet keep you on my Blog and block out other distractions and have you concentrate on that one thing.  There is more, just wait.

You can also put in Google Maps like this

Make it easy for someone to find you!

Yes, this is a fun little Mind Map from Bubbl.us which I did a post on a bit back.

A Mind Map For A Profitable Blog And Website

This is what I consider necessary components if you want to have a really successful Blog / Website.

Go ahead and play with it using your mouse and scroll button. You can drag it around, recenter it, make it larger or smaller.

It is much easier to explain an idea like this don’t you think?

If you click on the picture below, you can see it larger and then click on the little icon in the top right corner to see it full size.

Build A Blog – Why WordPress Is The Only Game In Town Right Now

There are several programs or platforms you can use to build a Blog these days, but by far and away the best to use, if you want to make money from it, is WordPress.  With about 400 million installations, it dwarfs the other programs out there. Plus, the fact it is Open Source, meaning the code is open to anyone, means there are constant improvements going on with it by people all over the World.  But the best part is because it is Open Source, programmers can make what are called Plugins and Widgets to make it do some very, very cool stuff.

Now they can give these away for free or charge for them, while a lot of them do both. They put out a really cool free one and then have others you can purchase.

The Plugins and Widgets make it the most flexible Blog and Website building software out there.   The flexibility that WordPress offers and the fact that it is Open Source, has resulted in how it got so big, so fast.

A Plugin or Widget is an add on that can do some cool features like make a contact page, allow you to embed pictures or forms.  Most of the items to the right and left of this content are Widgets and Plugins.

Not only can you get WordPress to do some great things, like get good SEO or Search Engine Optimization, but it is easy to use.

While there is a learning curve, once the design is done, anyone who can check email can upload content and change it around. This includes not only text, but Videos, Audios, Polls and more really cool and engaging stuff for your readers.  This is an embeded video.  You can do this from virtually any video source in a matter of seconds.

What WordPress Can Look Like On Your Blog or Website

Here are some of the companies that now use WordPress for their Blogs and Websites.  You may have heard of some of thses.

Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The US Air Force, Nokia, National Geographic, Forbes Blogs, and hundreds of thousands of others!

Just click on the links below and you will see yet another neat feature you can do on your Blog.  This is a pretty good snap shot of what you can do with WordPress.  From complicated to a minimal approach to design.  I did Josh’s and I rather like it, even though it is not normally a style that I do.  It fits who he is and what he wants to represent.   You should have your own style too and WordPress allows you to express it.

• H-Mag
• Live Strong
• Forbes
• Nikon Festival
• Pepsi
• Jo-sh
• LaunchBox Pro WordPress Business Builder
• KettleCornSecret.com
• CommonSenseMarketing.org

KettleCornSecret.com is an example of a Hobby site that once built can turn out money on auto-pilot and is fun! You can see just what type of variety you can have in how a Blog or Website looks and acts with WordPress.

Themes Or Designs And The Bottom Line

As you can see, the designs can be pretty much anything you like.  A design in WordPress is called a Theme.  There are thousands of themes to choose from, many of which are free. You can also buy pre-made ones, or you can get a custom Theme designed.

A fully customized Theme runs from about $250 to $10,000+ for a more involved one. While you can purchase some pretty good looking ones for about $25 to $100. If you have the cash though, I suggest you spring for a custom one. You want to stand out in the crowd.

But if you are just getting started out, a free one will work if you don’t have the cash. Getting started is the most important thing.  Check out the Products and Services page above if you would like some help from me and the crew. We can work with nearly any size budget.

Now, remember when I said that one of the reasons that make WordPress so powerful and that there are Plugins that allow you to do some really good things? Well one of the ones that my partners and I have been working on allow you to build your own customized Theme and change it anytime you like. Not only that, but is allows you to build Landing Pages, Sales Pages, and fully customized and integrated Blogs and Websites that gives you the ability to maximize profits.  It is the first complete system that enables you to run your online business using WordPress.

Normally this would take a really good Web designer a week or more to build a completely customized Blog and Website. We cut that time down by a factor of 10 and will be able to do it yourself.

OK, that is my unabashed plug. It is the best piece of software that I have ever worked with by far. My partner Ryan has been building Website and Blog building software that is being used by thousands of Web Design companies and individuals all over the world. His Landing Page design software has been copied by several companies recently and we decided to blow them all out of the water with LaunchBox Pro.

Craig who is my other partner and the dude that that had the bright idea, has been a marketing consultant and worked with some of the largest companies in the World and what we have put together is the combination of all of our knowledge and experience.

We wanted to make it easy for someone at home just starting out, to large Fortune 100 companies alike to be able to put together profitable Blogs and Websites for 1/100th of the normal cost just a month ago.

It won’t be ready for launch for another 10 days or so, but sign up for our notices.  There will be some very special deals when we launch and I do mean very special.

This whole site and Blog is running on LaunchBox Pro and everything in here you can do easily by yourself.  Even if you have no experience! You can check it out here.

• LaunchBox Pro

Regardless if you use us or you take advantage of the $3.95 a month WordPress hosting account with one Free WordPress installation or not, you should get your Blog up and running today.  There is no need to wait any longer.

Your business and your bank account will thank you for it.   The CEO of Marriott has measured that they get 5 Million dollars a year in sales from his blog.   Not to shabby for a little bit of typing now and then.  I actually figured out that they bring in approximately $50,000 to $75,000 for every blog post he does.

The bottom line is it really could come down to Blog or Die for many businesses.  But why go there?  Just do it!

The choice is yours though.  If you need help, call or email me and I will get you pointed in the right direction and make use of the FREE WordPress How-To-Video Series below.

We can also get you set up with a great looking Blog usually between $99 to $299 depending on what you want it to do and look like.  Call us up at 307-459-1092 or go here to contact us.

If you already have a WordPress Blog and just want to spiff it up and help it bring in more clients, we have great rates and can give it a tune up for $49!

Happy Profitable Blogging!

Cheers,

Andrew Anderson

PS  I finished this up on about 3 hours of sleep as I mentioned and my editor has not looked at it yet. So, all of the typos and grammatical errors are mine.   Below is the link for the Hosting Special I mentioned in the video.

• WordPress Special Hosting For $3.95 per month and Free WordPress Installation if you need. Plus A whole bunch of other goodies. You must already have your domain name or order it have you grab this deal.

Also for Free Videos on how to use WordPress and to watch a WordPress site being built, you can go to www.StartOnMonday.com.

I found this in an old draft on the Blog today. Doing a bit of house cleaning as it were. Must have gotten  distracted by a shiny object.

This is from Bob Parson’s. The CEO and founder of GoDaddy.com, the most successful domain registrar in the World.  And the one that I use most of the time.  He puts out some great free information on how to run a successful business.

Some good stuff for sure.  There are 16 gems here.  What do you think?

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.

I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone.  I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.”  My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”

2. Never give up.

Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted.  Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work.  It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it.  If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.

3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.

There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true.  It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.

Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.”  My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.

Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”

6. Take things a day at a time.

No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment.  You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.

Never stop investing.  Never stop improving.  Never stop doing something new.  The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die.  Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way.  Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen.  Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide.

Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

9. Measure everything of significance.

I swear this is true.  Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

(Andrew’s note; If you are not testing everything from your Blog, to your Website, to your SEO-SEM, and copy, then how can you know what to improve. TEST, TEST, TEST!)

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.

If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while.  I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.

12. Never let anybody push you around.

In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair.

Life isn’t fair.  You make your own breaks.  You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.

You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge.  Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.”  There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently.  It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”

15.Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Lighten up.  Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.  (Andrew’s note; Luck has a lot to do with being in the game and showing up everyday. Luck comes often disguised as persistence and preparedness.)

16. There’s always a reason to smile.

Find it.  After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive.  Life is short.  More and more, I agree with my little brother.

He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

I could right a ton more on the comments, but I am interested in hearing what you have to say.

Cheers,

Andrew