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Publishing dates:
'Pathway To Success' is published every other Sunday.
Next Issue is supposed on 24th April 2005.

Today's Feature Article

11 Powerful Marketing Tips
Bob Leduc

Each of these 11 marketing tips is based on a marketing strategy or tactic proven to boost sales. How many are you using?

Tip 1: Your customers buy your product or service to feel a certain way after their purchase. Keep this in mind as you develop your ads, web pages and other sales tools. Use vivid word pictures to dramatize the pleasant feelings your customers experience when they use what you are selling. It intensifies their desire to have it and motivates them to buy now.

Tip 2: Continually test new advertising and marketing methods ...and old methods you never tried before. A good guideline to follow is to allocate 80 percent of your budget to proven promotions and 20 percent to testing new things. Most businesses using this formula keep growing regardless of changing market conditions and intense competition.

Tip 3: Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. Don't be surprised if your short ads generate a higher response than long ads - giving you a bigger return for your expense. One of the most effective ads I ever used was only 11 words.

Tip 4: Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

Tip 5: Active, stimulating words and phrases keep prospects interested in reading your sales copy. Look for dull passive words and phrases and replace them with active ones. For example, change a phrase like "...it's practical and inexpensive" to "...it's fast, easy and you save $99".

Tip 6: After telling prospects what they gain when they buy your product or service, tell them what they lose if they do not buy it. Most people fear loss more than they desire gain. Customers want your product or service so they can enjoy the benefits it provides. But they will want it even more if you remind them of what they lose by not buying it.

Tip 7: You can eliminate any last minute hesitation prospective customers may have by announcing a pleasant surprise near the end of every selling procedure. For example, add an unexpected bonus to each transaction immediately before the final action that completes the sale.

Tip 8: You can boost your total sales volume and your average size sale at the same time by combining 2 or more related products or services into a Special Combination Package. Set the price lower than the cost of buying each item separately. This "special deal" will motivate both procrastinators and bargain hunters to buy now.

Tip 9: You always need to find new customers. But don't overlook the sales you can easily get from your existing customers. It's easier to get more business from them than it is to get any business from new prospects. Follow up with your existing customers to get more sales of the same product or to offer them additional products and services.

Tip 10: How would you react if you got a personal "thank you" from a business several days after you spent money with them? You'd feel good and probably want to do more business with them. Give that same feeling to your customers. They will reward you with more business - and a flood of referrals.

Tip 11: Convert your customers into publicity agents. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them can produce sales you would never get with any amount of advertising.

How many of these 11 marketing tactics are you using? How many have you overlooked? You are losing sales if you don't use all of them.

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Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods below or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
http://BobLeduc.com

Today's Motivational Reading

Fears: A Detour on the Road to Success
Boris Vene

If you are like most people, you are often confronted with fears that hold you back - consciously or subconsciously. Although you weren't born with them, you are under the strong influence of the environment that implanted them. You might even be tempted to think that worry and fear is the primary base from which your actions stem.

Salespeople know of this powerful influence. People buy truckloads of insurance in preparation for some disaster that "might" happen. "It is better to be safe than sorry." Do you have an extra set of keys (or two) for your house or car? Do you buy food, drinks or even pills that will help you improve your complexion or lose unwanted weight?

Whether it is a fear of losing something good, or getting something bad, fear is a driving force that is always there ...

Why does someone behave rudely or arrogantly?

Because he or she is afraid of losing their "feeling of" authoritative power, which would destroy or undermine his or her position in society. You already know where jealousy stems from - out of fear for you, wanting or losing something you think you cannot have or the fear that someone else will get what you feel "belongs to you."

New situations in life force you to confront a new set of fears. You may even comfort yourself by saying it isn't so bad. Have you ever made a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment or a hairstyling appointment only to arrive in the respective waiting area with no pain or the best hair day you've had in a long time? Now you want to go home. Fear is a powerful motivator.

Some of the more common fears are:

You have to deal with ALL of these fears if you want to succeed.

You cannot deny them or banish them to your subconscious, as that will only add fuel to a fire that will probably and suddenly burst out beyond your control. Like fires, fears are easiest to squelch when they are still small.

Confront your fears and banish them forever!

Start with ...

The Fear of the Unknown

There isn’t a person alive that isn’t apprehensive, nervous or even fearful of entering new territory, wandering into the great unknown.

What will it hold? How will it change you? Will you be able to handle the situation or complete the task? Will you know what to do and have the ability to do it? Will you be laughed at? Will it be worth it?

One way of confronting the unknown is to recognize that without action you will never escape mediocrity. The primary difference between people who fulfill their dreams and those that don’t is action – the former move from words to action, the latter never get beyond the words.

Ask yourself:

What could I lose if I begin to act? Answer frankly. Typical answers are time, pride and so on. You should note that these answers are merely superficial.

What could I gain? An experience that will, without a doubt, make you richer (maybe financially) and one that will bring you closer, above all, to success. You shouldn't forget that it is self-confidence, overcoming your fears and changing your habits or undesirable attributes (like transforming yourself from timid to outgoing) that bring you a step closer to attaining your desires.

I remember a case where a young entrepreneur was taking an exceptionally long time to decide whether to start a new business that excited him, or not, because his mind told him that he wouldn’t succeed. After a conversation we had, he decided to start the business because he felt this was his path. He didn’t succeed; in fact, the results were pretty awful at first.

I was surprised a year later when I received a kind letter from him thanking me for the time I had spent with him. He wrote that he has been a changed man since then and that he is enjoying what he is doing for the first time in his life. He wasn’t doing well, financially, in the beginning, but gradually he built a firm foundation and is now earning well.

“If I hadn’t made the choice and taken that first step,” he added, “I wouldn’t have known that work exists that can bring in both money and pleasure. My first financial failure was a small price to pay for such awareness. More importantly, it enabled me to identify the fear that had been present in all my business and personal decisions in the past. Today, I laugh at the limits I was living under then. Now, I’m happy to meet new challenges and I have been succeeding in everything I do lately.”

In 1991 my partner and I started construction of a large corporate building. We put all of our savings into this project. During that time there was a war in Slovenia and alarms signaling a bomb attack often interrupted our work. People asked me several times if there was any point in continuing construction while the war lasted – what if the building was destroyed? We decided to continue with our project. Had we stopped construction then, maybe that building wouldn’t have been finished until today, if ever. However, by following our own instincts and remaining true to our vision, that building has been serving the purpose it was intended for, for more than ten years.

Is it worth it to miss an opportunity? Think.

If making a decision appears too difficult, take a piece of paper, divide it in half and write out the pros and the cons. More often than not, the “against” side is filled with “circumstantial objections,” like “a lack of self- confidence,” or “I don't have enough money or time.” The substance of these objections cannot compare to the reasons “for” doing something.

Most of your reasons for not doing something are probably based on weak excuses. If you are afraid of doing something, your mind will find a way to make sure that you don't do it, will even stand in your way and prevent you from doing something that it perceives you do not want. Be sure to address all your fears first and then take that piece of paper in your hands once again.

Chase your fears away and consciously decide to take a chance in life. Trust me, it's usually well worth the trouble!

Of course, the decision (as always in life) is still yours.

********************************
Boris Vene is known as one of the most distinguished European international speakers, motivators and personal coaches in the areas of leadership, communication and development of human potential. He has devoted his life to personal growth and the discovery of human potential. He is now for the first time sharing his vast experiences with the US audience through his new free "The Millionaire Weekly Memo" eZine. Subscribe here:
http://www.thecassiopeia.com/MillionaireMindset/

Today's Subscriber Article

The 10 Cash Flow Rules You Can't Afford to Ignore
Philip Campbell

The statistics on small business failure are alarming.

Michael Gerber, author of "The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What To Do About It", says that 40% of businesses fail in their first year. 80% fail within their first five years.

THEY RAN OUT OF CASH.

Don't let this happen to you.

Here are 10 Rules to help you take control of your cash flow so you can create the business you have always dreamed of.

1. Never Run Out of Cash.

Running out of cash is the definition of failure in business. Make the commitment to do what it takes so it does not happen to you.

2. Cash Is King

It's important to recognize that cash is what keeps your business alive. Manage it with the care and attention it deserves. It's very unforgiving if you don't.

Remember, Cash Is King, because No Cash = No Business.

3. Know the Cash Balance Right Now.

What is your cash balance right now? It's absolutely critical that you know exactly what your cash balance is.

Even the most intelligent and experienced person will fail if they are making business decisions using inaccurate or incomplete cash balances. That's the reason why business failures are not limited to amateurs or people new to the business world.

4. Do Today's Work Today.

The key to keeping an accurate cash balance in your accounting system is to do today's work today. When you do this, you will have the numbers you need - when you need them.

5. Either You Do the Work or Have Someone Else Do It.

Here is a simple rule to follow to make sure you have an accurate cash balance on your books. You do the work or have someone else do it.

Those are the only two choices you have. The work must be done. It's like mowing the lawn. You can't just ignore it. Someone has to do it. That means either you do it or you have someone else do it.

6. Don't Manage From the Bank Balance.

The bank balance and the cash balance are two different animals. Rarely will the two ever be the same. Don't make the mistake of confusing them.

It's futile (and frustrating) to attempt to manage your cash flow using the bank balance. It's a prescription for failure. You reconcile your bank balance. You don't manage from it.

7. Know What You Expect the Cash Balance to be Six Months From Now.

What do you expect your cash balance to be six months from now? This one question will transform the way you manage your business.

This question really gets to the heart of whether you are managing your business or whether your business is managing you.

8. Cash Flow Problems Don't "Just Happen". You would be shocked and amazed at the number of businesses that fail because the owner did not see a cash flow problem in time to do something about it.

The key is to always be able to answer the question - what do I expect my cash balance to be six months from now?

9. You Absolutely, Positively Must Have Cash Flow Projections.

Cash flow projections are the key to making wise and profitable business decisions. They give you the answer to the all-important question from Rule # 7.

It's impossible to run your business properly without them.

10. Eliminate Your Cash Flow Worries So You Are Free to Do What You Do Best - Take Care of Customers and Make More Money.

Use these 10 Rules to free yourself from cash flow worries. That way you can focus all your time and talents where you can make the most difference in your business.

No more wasted time worrying about what's going on with your cash flow. Instead, you can focus your unique talents and abilities each day on ways to grow your business and make more and more money each year.

And that's a recipe for success and wealth creation.

****************************
Philip Campbell is a CPA and the author of the book: “NEVER RUN OUT OF CASH, The 10 Cash Flow Rules You Can't Afford to Ignore”. Philip has helped hundreds of small business owners take control of their cash flow. He shows you how to eliminate your cash flow worries and take control of your small business. Is your cash flow under control? You can download his new Special Report "The Secret to Creating Cash Flow Projections You Can Trust" FREE Right Now. Click Here to get your copy NOW: http://www.growandsucceed.com/freereport.htm

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