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The Weekly Alliteration Game
Solve Problems, Make Money Everyone Is In Sales 10 Ways To Stay OUT Of Trouble With The IRS
MARCH TO THE BEAT OF YOUR OWN BUSINESS! December 2014
If you're thinking of taking a yacht vacation, no need to look any further than SELECT CHARTERS! – Carlene Robinson Dailey
www.SelectCharters.com Peggy@SelectCharters.com 4020 N. MacArthur Boulevard Suite 122-183 • Irving, TX 75038 (972) 659-8941
Susan Hamilton & Pam Russell host this offbeat radio show. We talk about all things small biz. Stop by and take a listen! It's always fun & informative! We talk about all things small biz and entrepreneurship on our always fun always informative show. We talk about marching to the beat of your own business. Don't follow the crowd. The unsaid stuff. The basic stuff. The crazy stuff. The struggles and the triumphs of having your own business. Come take a listen...you'll have fun, learn from us and our awesome guests!
1st Tuesday: Pam & Susan | 2nd Tuesday: Pam | 3rd Tuesday: Pam & Susan | 4th Tuesday: Susan
Listen to us on www.pegasusnetwaves.com/ To listen to past shows, go to our website, click on the calendar option to top right of the box and select a date. At this time, our shows began airing on July 8th. Select ‘Read More’ to hear the recording. Upcoming shows are listed. Please contact us if you would like to be a guest on The Offbeat Business Show.
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03 | Table of Contents
IN THIS ISSUE EDITORS’ NOTES
06
Ring in the New Year
FEATURE
07
The Weekly Alliteration Game 10 Ways to Stay Out of Trouble with the IRS Everyone Is in Sales
LIFESTYLE CHORDS
15
HEALTH/Hand in the Cookie Jar MONEY/Maximize Cash Flow and Breathe Easier TRAVEL/The Company Party COMMUNICATION/How Business Speaking Works
OFFBEAT BIZ
20
Simple Marketing Solve Problems, Make Money The Courage to ReBrand
HALF NOTES
25
INSPIRE & SUCCEED/The Benefits of Blessing BOOK BEATS/Ticket To Freedom - From Chaos to Calm by Taylor Kay Stephens PAM’S PERSPECTIVE/ The Good & The Bad SUSAN SAYS/ Don’t Forget to Schedule Your Life On the Cover Happy Holidays to All!
You May Have Someone ‘Doing Your Taxes,’ But That Isn’t Enough. Once you’re in trouble with the IRS, you risk losing property, money and even your business - not to mention your peace of mind.
Is Anyone Helping You Stay OUT of Trouble With The IRS? “My name is John DiLucci, and at Masters of Taxation, we’re there for you well before potential IRS issues arise. Many tax preparers have less training than you think. As a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, I help my clients play by the book, to adopt legal, effective, strategic planning and stay out of trouble in the first place. Enrolled agents, like me, are the ONLY professionals that are specifically licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the IRS.”
“I’m Nina DiLucci, a Tax CPA with a Masters in Taxation, bringing 30 years of experience to you. Don’t suffer through tax anxiety, I’m here to make sure your taxes are accurate, and low as possible!” We are YOUR national solution to tax preparation.
Contact us to discover 10 Key Things to Do to Stay OUT of Trouble With The IRS Absolutely FREE Masters of Taxation, Inc. 6565 North MacArthur Blvd, Ste. 225 Irving, TX 75039 Phone: (972) 444-9934 Info@Masters-of-Tax.com
Masters of Taxation, Inc. Tax and Related Services - On Your Schedule
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EDITORS’ LETTERS/06
WOW, this year really flew by! I’m so excited about the holidays and I’m so excited about the content we have to offer you this month. Our year-end edition reminds you to spell out your plans EVERY week so you can get back on track quickly when you skip a beat. You’ll get a birds-eye view of simple marketing that will help you put your plans for next year into perspective, and you’ll gain the strength to do the rebranding you’ve talked about for months. This December, take a hard look at your cash flow – and begin to think about attracting higher-paying customers so you can have more time to LIVE. We’re even going to help you make the sale. Take a trip across the country for a Christmas party, give yourself some ‘party permission’ when it comes to snacking, and spend 15 minutes each day tackling that big project (it may not be that big, after all!) Friends, thank you for your continued support of The OffBeat Business Show and Magazine. I always welcome your feedback and suggestions because that’s what will take this baby magazine ‘from sea to shining sea’! Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season. His birth, life and resurrection are the reason we celebrate His free and precious gift of freedom and grace - available to every man, woman and child on the planet. Don’t get too busy to let that sink in. Go be a blessing to someone, Pam makes it easy in Inspire & Succeed. And most of all, our prayer for you is for successful, healthy and safe families, companies, and communities. Merry Christmas from The OffBeat Business team of contributors and editors, and Roberson SQUARED, our wonderful publishing house responsible for our magazine every month!! God bless, Susan
December is here. Another year coming to a close. A new year beginning. Many will start thinking about resolutions for the new year. Lose weight. Make more money. Find a new job. Stop smoking. All the normal stuff. I challenge you to make what might be an abnormal resolution. Flip the resolution switch in a different direction. Make a resolution to be the best YOU that you can be. Right where you are with no pressure to be something different. Celebrate YOU! This month’s issue is packed full of great content. Great inspiration. Great education. Soak it all up and apply it when and where necessary. Let us hear what you loved best about this month’s issue on The Offbeat Business Facebook page. We would love to hear from you! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Time of Year! Pam
07/FEATURE
The Weekly Alliteration Game by Monica Cornetti How do you make yourself do the things you don’t want to do? Can you imagine how much less guilt, stress, and frustration you would feel if you could somehow make yourself do the things you don’t want to do when you’re supposed to do them? I feel your pain. Often, when I am on a speaking tour or designing curriculum, it is easy for me to get so focused on that project, instead of doing other important tasks that will help me grow my business. I put the long-term activity on the back burner. The result? Empty calendar dates, a website that hasn’t been updated in months, unwritten blog articles, and a net zero new connections made. That’s why I turned procrastination into a game – and it actually becomes not only challenging, but FUN to accomplish those things that would otherwise be put off. Now I look forward to focusing on and growing my business every day of the week. It goes like this …
The Alliteration Activity Game: You can’t do everything – so what can you do? The rules are easy. For each day of the week create an alliteration for an activity that relates to a major area of your business or career. Spend at least one hour in that area just for that day. Anyone can do one hour … right?!
FEATURE/08 To help you get started, here are mine with a brief descriptor of what I could accomplish each day. Remember, I don’t have to do all of them, I just have to do some of them to equal at least one hour of activity for that day. Marketing Monday: Includes outreach such as writing and publishing a newsletter or blog article, social media connections, emails to participants who have connected with me via a speaking event, or complete a Speaker RFP for an upcoming event. Technology Tuesday: May include website updates, video editing and publishing, updates on ‘pay to list’ sites that I use to promote my speaking, social media profile updates - verifying congruency in my brand across the Web. Who do you Know Wednesday?: Who do I need to meet that can either book me or connect me with a potential booking, such as a potential client, speakers bureau, local clubs and associations who book speakers, gamification platforms and gurus, or potential sponsors. Thirsty Thursday: This is ‘close the deal’ sales day. Thursday is all about direct contact with current prospects to get the deal closed. Remember the line from Glengarry Glen Ross, “Coffee is for closers.” Same idea here – only I reward myself with a Margarita when I close a deal on Thursday. Follow-up Friday: Time to tie up any loose ends. Emails hanging out there in your inbox waiting for my reply, promised proposals sent to potential clients, speaker agreements completed, radio program edited and ready to go for Saturday, and finalizing next week’s schedule. Social Saturday: Any work done on Saturday is wrapped around social encounters such as taking the computer to a great brunch spot downtown, networking with colleagues in a social setting, or strategy sessions while shopping the farmers market or hiking at Barton Creek Preserve. Sunday Funday: This is my day to relax, escape into a Netflix binge; enjoy a 3-Bloody Mary brunch … whatever! Depending on the weather, time of year, where I may be in the world … I rejuvenate and get ready to start the week all over again. Super simple and enormously effective! And the best thing is, no more dread and guilt. As long as I do a little bit each day, my business continues to move forward. Plus, that familiar, overwhelming feeling that ‘there is so much to do and so little time’ is essentially eliminated. So, how can you apply this? What alliteration activities can you create each day to help you complete your dull, dreary tasks, or to move your career forward? Not to mention how much happier and more effective you will be! I would love to hear your ideas. At its core, Gamification is about finding the fun in the things that we have to do. Making business processes compelling by making them fun is about the most fascinating and coolest thing that I can think of! For more ideas on Gamification: entreprenowonline.com/gamification/ Let’s play! Discover more from Monica at monicacorneti.com.
09/FEATURE
10 Ways To Stay Out Of Trouble With The IRS By John DiLucci According to the July-August 2014 issue of AARP magazine, the average hair-stylist has 1,500 hours of training, just to cut hair. No matter how poorly a haircut is done, the impact of a job poorly done only lasts a few weeks for guys - and a few more for gals. You would think that something that would have potential criminal implications for a client/customer would require at least as much training as a hairdresser. However, it currently requires zero hours training to become a tax professional!! And there are over 400,000 of these people doing tax returns for a living that do not necessarily have any training at all in tax law. Carelessly choosing any old CPA or enrolled agent does not guarantee a good result either, but at least you would be picking someone who has passed some sort of certification/licensing exam. 1. Choose a Tax Professional who has more training than your hairdresser. H&R Block may disagree, but there is really no reason to try to use the IRS as a type of forced saving plan for a number of reasons: (1) they do not pay you any interest on your money, (2) If they disagree with your deductions, they may just keep the money, (3) if you have an outstanding tax liability, then they will definitely keep the money. That situation is even more frustrating when they keep the money regarding an outstanding tax liability that you did not know about because they are mailing the notices to the last known address they have on file (their only legal obligation) which is wrong! It is much better to use the IRS Withholdings Calculator to predict how much money you owe them at the end of the year and have your company set your withholdings correctly. Then at the end of the year, it may be off by a few hundred dollars one way or the other, but it you will not get a $6,000 surprise like I saw one taxpayer get. 2. Don’t try to have a tax refund.
When you are in business, you must have a business bank account and a personal bank account, and a business credit card and a personal credit card. Otherwise, if you have one account for everything, there are a couple of bad things that could happen: (1) An audit of your business tax returns could easily be expanded to an audit of your personal tax returns as well, (2) If your business owes money to the IRS, you may find that Alter Ego Liens have been filed against your personal assets as well because, after all, everything is one big combination of stuff anyway. 3. Keep your business transactions divorced from your personal transactions. Making the IRS agent’s job easier is just what we all want to do, right? Actually, it is. IRS agents want to close their cases as fast as possible. The easier we make it for them to do so, the more likely we are to get a positive result. However, this comment is with regards to how organized you want to be when dealing with an IRS Agent. It does not mean that you should necessarily share more information with them than you have to. Just be very organized about what you do share. Do not show up at an auditor’s office with a big box of receipts. The harder you make it on them, the harder they will likely make it on you. 4. Keep up with your paperwork, so you can make the IRS Agent’s job easy.
FEATURE/10
Many people believe that if they can’t pay any of their taxes, then they shouldn’t file them, when actually the reverse is true. The Failure to Pay Penalty is only 0.5% per month. However, the Failure to File Penalty is 5% per month, 15% if they think it is willful! The message is clear; always file on time. 5. Always file your tax return on time, even if you cannot pay any of it.
If the IRS does not know where you live, then they are sending your mail to the last known address they have, which actually is the end of their legal obligation. They are only legally obligated to send their notices to the last known address they have for you. Whether or not you receive it doe not matter. So if your legal rights are expiring because they sent your mail to an outdated address (because you did not give them the new on), that is not their problem. It is yours! 7. Make sure the IRS always knows where you live.
Payroll tax is a trust fund tax, and the IRS considers people who do not pay it to be embezzling money. If you see people who are wearing those stylish orange pajamas due to nonpayment of taxes, it is usually related to payroll tax. Payroll tax is not dischargeable in bankruptcy like income tax can be. Therefore you will pay it. Your only opportunity to get out of paying payroll tax is to file for an offer in compromise, which is historically accepted only 30% of the time and must be backed up by a thorough financial analysis and a long list of corroborating documents to prove that you are totally unable to pay. 6. If you can’t fund the payroll tax, fire your employees.
Always open the letters the IRS sends to you and read them in detail. If you do not understand them, then find someone who reads them for a living and ask that person to let you know what you should be doing. By all means, do not let them sit in the post office or in your house unopened.
11/FEATURE
All of those letters have response dates, and if you do not respond, then your legal rights are expiring. When you send mail to the IRS, always use certified mail with return receipt. Certified Mail proves that you sent it, and return receipt proves that they got it. If you can’t prove that you sent it, then you may have a problem similar to an unfortunate client of ours who mailed in his 2006 tax return, but had no proof. When it did not arrive at the IRS after a year, his $100,000 tax liability became $125,000 as he was assessed a $25,000 Failure to File Penalty! 8. Read mail from the IRS, before you do anything else and respond with Certified Mail. Audits are about two things: (1) Do you have the tax law on your side? If your tax professional says that you do, then you should not worry about taking those deductions; (2) Do you have the proof? If you have saved the proof that you were following the tax law, then by all means take as many deductions as you can prove. Do not worry about getting audited. If you are audited, you will very likely pass through without a hitch. Carbonite.com. 9. Be very aggressive about taking deductions, but only when your Tax Professional says you have the law on your side, and you have saved the proof.
I remember mentioning to one Appeals Officer I was meeting that I bet she has the tee-shirt to prove it too. She told me that she did not have a T-shirt, but in her cubicle she does have a poster about it! (See #10) 10. When interacting directly with the IRS, be very care what you say to them and what you send to them, because they record EVERYTHING. Furthermore, don’t forget that these are the guys who took down Al Capone. John DiLucci is an Enrolled Agent and Certified Tax Resolution Specialist at Masters of Taxation, LLC. Serving business tax interests, John is well-versed with tax law and representation nationwide. Contact John@Masters-ofTax.com to reach him directly with your questions and concerns.
13/FEATURE
Everyone Is In Sales by Butch Bellah
No matter what your business card says, in today’s world - you’re in sales. I don’t care what role you play at your job, you can either help grow sales or you can drive business away, it’s just that simple. For most small business owners, sales are the last thing they want to think about. I hear it all the time: “I’m not good at it” or “That’s the part of the business that scares me” or my favorite, “I don’t have to sell, that’s for other people”. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you don’t sell - you will sell: your store or your inventory or your house or your car. You’ll sell something, it might as well be your products or services. Sadly, many small businesses today fail because nobody sold anything; not because the business didn’t provide a good product or service, but today that’s not enough. Someone has to sell it, and that someone is you. From the receptionist to the owner, everyone has to sell every day. You’re either moving forward or backward. There is no standing still. Yes, you’ve got a great pizza recipe or you’re the best dry cleaner or monogrammer or CPA in town, but if you don’t sell and market you’re going to be hanging the dreaded ‘Going Out Of Business’ sign on the building one day. I’m not trying to be a fear monger, just a realist. Sales are the most critical part of your business and the only part to contribute to revenue. Everything else is an expense. So, what do you do? Train your people. Don’t worry about the cost of training, it is a part of doing business. Zig Ziglar once said, “The only thing worse than training someone and losing them is not training them and keeping them”. Think about that as it relates to sales. Does your receptionist know why your customers should do business with you? Do they know the benefits for your customers in using your products or services? Does your delivery person know the advantages you have over your competition? Why not? Do you take every opportunity to sell yourself, your company and what you can do for potential customers? If not, why? If you truly believe you are the best at what you do (and you should) then you’re doing everyone a disservice by NOT sharing that information with them. Forget the business card and the title on the door. You’re in sales. Learn what you need in order to be successful at it and watch your business grow. Butch Bellah is a Speaker, Sales Trainer and Author of The 10 Essential Habits of Sales Superstars: Plugging into The Power of Ten. He owns B2 Training & Development where he works with individuals and companies to help them gain more appointments, win more business and retain more customers all while focused on bottom line profits. You can email him at butch@butchbellah.com, visit his website at butchbellah.com call him at 337-384-9204
10 Essential Habits of Sales Superstars: Plugging Into The Power of Ten By Butch Bellah “Butch Bellah makes selling fun again!” The Best $12.99 You’ll Spend All Year! If you’re as good as you’re going to be, life is as good as it’s going to get. Don’t limit yourself. EVERYBODY is in sales, like it or not. Sales is something we do for people, not something we do to people. Wrap your head around successful mindsets and start taking simple steps forward every day to dramatically increase your income NOW.
“The power of this book is how it gives the reader simple techniques that dramatically improve results. Butch's combination of creativity and common sense makes this a fun book to read. The strategy for getting past gate keepers makes the book worth the time and money ant that is just the tip of the ice berg!”
Noble L. Feldman, Amazon review
15/LIFESTYLE CHORD - Health
Hand in the Cookie Jar by Clint Fuqua
“October 31 through January 1 signifies the end of the year, the holiday season, and the most dangerous few weeks of food born frivolous frolicking.” No matter how well the diet and
new healthy lifestyle went those first 10 months of the year, even with a few weekend missteps, these 2 months will test your resolve. Will you stand resolute, or give in to the tasty temptations provided day after fresh baked day? Getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar is bad for both your health and your business. Keeping your hands clean this time of year can be tough, and the more times you put your hand in the jar the dirtier they will get. I’m not talking about germs - though the more hands on the treats the more bugs get around - this comes down to reduced productivity and even absenteeism. Let’s face it, that short term sugar rush will lead to a major crash both in energy and work quality resulting in lost opportunities, and countless hours correcting mistakes. The cleaner your hands stay the cleaner you work will stay and so will your health as the added sugar will drag your immune system down leading to potential sick days. Stay focused on the job at hand to keep your mind off that cookie jar and keep your hands clean. Break the cookie jar and not your piggy bank by setting up specific days to enjoy the best treats possible and rewarding good food behavior during the year. Establish a health based policy around incentives so each healthy activity builds on the next. If a
person is actively making better choices, reward them with a healthy activity or item they enjoy. Make sure the things on hand are the things everyone agrees they want on hand for better choices and better health. The productivity of a company is based on the health and energy of everyone in the company. Have a cookie and enjoy the season, but don’t get buried under a pile of “just one more” that will eventually break your health, your belt, and the bank. Action Steps: 1. Limit exposure time by setting a limit on how long treats can be left out at the office. The longer treats sit around the more chances you will have to take another one down. 2. Reward good food behavior with healthy rewards like chair massages, spa day retreats, golf outings, etc. 3. Create a snack plan for the office that allows for the occasional decadent treat during the year. Get the junk food machines out of the office and offer up healthier options agreed on by the whole office. Create a few treat days and get the best you can offer for full enjoyment. Visit me at ClintFuqua.com and contact me with any questions, comments, request, recommendation, proposals, fan mail, or hate mail at Clint@ClintFuqua.com.
Money-LIFESTYLE CHORD/16
Maximize Cash Flow And Breathe Easier by Christi Rains
Do you have ample cash flow monthly? It can be a tricky question for any business. Without ample cash flow you might not have enough cash on hand to pay expenses as they come due. You might end up paying unnecessary late fees and miss out on early pay discounts some vendors offer. Some people believe that simply signing more clients or selling more products will fix their problems. All too often though, it just masks more serious problems and doesn’t really fix anything. The key to cash flow is not just having plenty of it, but making sure you maximize what you have. If you’ve been organized and diligent in your accounting, then you should have access to information that can start this process right away. What are some examples of things that will improve your cash flow? If you invoice customers, it is important to review your accounts receivable (AR) activity and see what balance you are carrying monthly. Analyze the account to determine the average time to pay. If a majority of your customers are slow to pay you can offer an incentive, such as an early pay discount. This can drastically improve cash flow by improving the reliability of payments. Knowing what you have and when you are going to have it improves planning. Another option that I recommend using in conjunction with the above is reviewing your routine expenses. Check to see if a frequently used vendor can extend your terms. For example, if your payment is due 15 days after invoicing, maybe they can change it to 30. Or maybe your cash flow increases at a certain part of the month, say the 15th. If you have a specific day each month a bill is due see if the vendor can change the due date. For instance, from the 10th to the 18th. You might be surprised how willing companies such as, insurance and auto loans are willing to do this. This type of planning takes time and the proper information, but it will help you to smooth out the highs and lows of your cash flow.
Christi Rains, President Alpha Omega Consulting & Bookkeeping, LLC – Sensiblebusinessowner.com – Email Christi@AOBookKeeping.com for more information.
17/LIEFESTYLE CHORD-Vacation
The Company Party By Trula Witherspoon Traveling to San Francisco over the Christmas holidays was a new experience for me. Everything about it – the flight, the limo, the atmosphere. I’d never been to California, and was about to meet a bunch of people for the first time. Flying over the bay as we came in for a landing was my first taste. It made me a little queasy, but I had to look out the windows at the waves crashing directly under the wings of the steeply banking aircraft. I remember it taking hours to get off the plane and finally leave the airport. I would have complained, but didn’t see the point once my husband and I passed the long, winding line of people waiting to board. Crazy what people will do, I thought. If it weren’t for this party, I would never have considered flying during the holidays. I enjoy a long drive across our scenic America. I like to spread out and take off my shoes. But here we were, in dreary San Francisco. The air was thick with cool moisture even as the wind blew. My hair would be awful. I resigned myself to it. I was determined to enjoy myself, after all, I do like new experiences. I expected to unwind and clean up before dozens of people would congregate at a beautiful home nestled in the hillside. My husband was excited to get caught up with some of the board members he hadn’t seen in some time. We pulled up in the drive, dressed to the nines and were greeted by friendly faces and warm handshakes. We entered. As we were introduced to the group, I began to look around at our atmosphere. Persian influenced, there were large pillows on the floor and large rooms with beautifully carved entryways. And then the music started. It was only moments before people began belly-dancing! Soon everyone was up, I had NOT expected that! Someone grabbed me by the hand to join in, and though I have a pretty good handle on rhythm, I had absolutely NO idea how to move like they could! Embarrassing, yes. Crazy, yes. Unforgettable? Absolutely. My husband and I still break into laughter whenever we remember that Christmas. I learned that the world was much bigger than I thought. I learned to embrace the crazy, embarrassing, unforgettable moments in my life. And most of all, I realized how important it is to recognize the outstanding in our diverse, multi-cultural world. America the beautiful, indeed. However you’ll be spending it, have a very, Merry Christmas! Trula Witherspoon is a creative writer at Leaping Walls Consulting & Services.
How Business Speaking Works: Susie’s Story
Susie owns a Tree Service.
Susie has the gift of gab. She creates a talk titled
Susie speaks to Chambers of Commerce and
Save a Tree – Grow Your Bottom Line, about how making a business ecofriendly saves money.
networking groups, sharing tips and ideas about sustainable business practices like recycling.
She passes out a worksheet during her talk. On the back of her handout is information about her Tree Service.
Some individuals hire Susie’s Some people buy Susie’s Tree Service company for book and/or CD/mp3 about their homes and businesses. Sustainability. Some business owners and managers implement Susie’s ideas. A few of them hire her to help them create green business practices.
Some sign up for Susie’s monthly Workshop delivered in person, on the phone, or online.
Susie adds her audience members to her Tree Service newsletter full of valuable tips about yard care and ecology.
Susie builds a following of home owners and businesspeople who become her fans.
Susie’s Tree Service business grows AND she has additional income streams based on her expertise.
Some refer her to their friends and colleagues for both Tree work and Sustainability services.
At Speaker Co-op, we teach the Susies of the world to Grow Business and Revenue Using Speaking As a Business Strategy. Learn More at www.SpeakerCoop.com/Education 757-96-SPEAK (77325)
info@speakercoop.com
OFFBEAT BUSINESS/20
Advertising Made Simple By Jack Bick
Allow me to illustrate how simple it can be to achieve effective advertising. Most advertising agencies want you to see the advertising process as difficult and complicated. Many have introduced sophisticated methods that require that they be hired. Now, that may be a very worthwhile investment. This article is for those who want to be able to judge the effectiveness of their hired hand and those who want to keep that function inhouse.
“words, graphics, sounds, color, etc. to gain attention and turn heads your way.” Something as simple as one large letter or the sound of a car horn or something out of place can attract attention. That is all you need to accomplish your goal. Second, your message must be presented with benefits relevant to what the customer wants from your product or service. The example explained to me was that a person buys a ‘clean floor’ not the elements of a broom. Avoid what you want to sell. The customer thinks in their own terms and needs. So should you.
Simply, there are three elements required for effective advertising communication, whether written or verbal, print or electronic. Those elements are: A compelling attention grabber A message clearly speaking to your desired customer A response vehicle, so your customer can respond First, you need an attention grabber. If you do not have the attention of the person you want to reach, you cannot communicate. Use
Third, give the customer a response vehicle. The customer is not going to take the time to figure out what you want him/her to do. If you want them to go to a website or call a phone number, make those elements large enough for them to easily see it. If you want them to come to a location, be sure to be specific with the address and nearby references. A map is even better! These simple elements will lead to effective advertising that gets results. Jack Bick is a seasoned journalist with success online, in newspapers, magazines, and business events. He is the former publisher of the Dallas Business Journal and founder of Inside Collin County Business. Discover more at JackBick.com, and contact Jack@JackBick to book him to speak to your group.
21/OFFBEAT BUSINESS
Solve Problems, Make Money - The Purpose of Content By Susan Hamilton
Money pages, landing pages, sales pages - you’ve heard the lingo. These pages are where the action happens, where money changes hands or you’ve at least earned your way into an inbox. We get confused about landing pages, don’t we? Business owners seldom understand that a sale is usually not made in one instance. It can be, but often it takes as many as 9 different touch points to make a sale. That one page just isn’t enough. Truly, each of your service and product pages is a landing page - and even if written and designed perfectly, is probably insufficient. There’s more to it than that. See, the one thing your potential customer needs from you before they decide to purchase from you is to TRUST you, and one page may be very convincing - but not quite enough to seal the deal. And quite frankly, no one goes to your website to find your landing page copy. Copy vs. Content People may search on a term that you’ve used wisely on a landing page, but that’s no sales guarantee. Can you maximize the traffic to that page using Adwords techniques? Yes, but even that doesn’t guarantee a sale. I know business owners who’ve spent thousands of dollars a month on Adwords campaigns, only to attract the wrong people. You pay for those clicks whether they buy or not. Don’t play with Adwords, hire a professional with a track record. Please don’t confuse content with copy. Copy is sales language, and it’s the language of a well-written landing page. It’s language specifically guiding your visitor to a purchase decision. But no one will ever see that great landing page without content. Don’t try to side-step this with a PPC campaign. Let me set the record straight, Adwords or PPC can be amazing income generators with a professional running your
OFFBEAT BUSINESS/22 campaign consistently and wisely - which most people don’t know is a full-time job. If you can afford it, rock on. Done well, it pays for itself. But don’t do it in the absence of great content management. Content is your friend. Videos, audios and infographics have never been easier to use, and creating sharable content that drives people to your landing pages is good business sense. Get some of those touch points out of the way. Be gentle, guide to more content. Teach your prospect why they need your product or services so that by the time they decide to make that purchase, make that phone call or give you their email address, they’re crawling out of their skin! Businesses are solution providers. If your prospect isn’t head over heels in love with your solution, if your prospect isn’t sure the solution you offer is the BEST answer to their problem, if your prospect has any doubt they can easily use your product or system or services to change their life dramatically for the better - you haven’t quite done your job. Content creation, deployment and strategy are the key. Here are the situations your content needs to address if that landing page is going to make money: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Help, I have too much to do and there must be a better way - I’m drowning!! I have absolutely no energy; I’m exhausted with my life and my job. Everybody else is doing something different and it’s working, what am I missing? I want to be important, successful and rich; I want to be a rock star! I feel insignificant, and really wish I could make a difference. I’m SO mad about that, it’s unfair! I want to do something about it! I want what you have - influence, power, and money to do what I want.
And there’s more, but you get the picture. If landing page copy solves these problems, then use your content to gently discuss the issues. Link content to other content, creating a library of useful, humorous and eyebrow raising videos, audios, infographics and text to guide your visitor to the conclusion that NOT purchasing, calling or joining your email list would be the dumbest thing they’ve ever done. Make it easy for people to do business with you. Make it easy for them to want your solution. Content shouldn’t be an aggravation; strategized, it’s a useful tool in your marketing toolbox! Get excited about the things you can do with a great blog. It’s the single most neglected area in most businesses, and if you get it right - it’s a testament to your skill as a listener. It is essential to a successful content management campaign to clearly hear the pain and desire of your ideal customer. Acing this one area of your business will improve absolutely every other thing that you will ever do.
“Susan Hamilton is The Richardson Copywriter, owner of Leaping Walls Consulting & Services, editor and host of The OffBeat Business Show and Magazine. ”Discover more content, copy and marketing insight on LeapingWalls.com. Contact Susan@LeapingWalls.com for speaking engagements or to join one of her exclusive content coaching groups.
23/OFFBEAT BUSINESS
The Courage to Rebrand By Faydra A. Koenig Recently I took the bold step to rebrand my business. This decision was not an easy one to make. I had put a lot of effort and faith into my existing brand, my audience and my business. Making the decision felt like abandoning my child or as though I were telling myself that I didn’t believe in who I had presented my business to be to the world. Was I a failure if my brand didn’t survive? Making the decision to rebrand turned out to be the very best thing I could do for myself and my business. Everyone tells you that niching down is vital. That a path one inch wide and a mile deep is the best way to find and keep loyal clients. I wholeheartedly agree, but for me, I ended up excluding clients who wanted my services but didn’t know how I could meet their needs. Initially, my market was divorce and I was known in pop culture as America’s Divorce Coach®. As I made important connections many people grew to know, like and trust my services, but they weren’t in need of divorce support. I was leaving money on the table every time someone told me that they wanted to work with me, but their needs were not divorce based. With a lot of soul searching and guidance I decided to rebrand and market myself as America’s Crisis Coach™ which was ultimately more in alignment with my breadth of knowledge and abilities.
Rebranding expanded my market, my reach and my results. I was able to support more clients, more joint venture partners and increase my profits. Rebranding was a calculated and smart choice that yielded great results. Rebranding may be an important option for your business success. An evaluation of your market, your results and your personal interest in your business may support a rebrand. A rebrand may reinvigorate your enjoyment of your business and it may increase the reach you have to impact others. Considering a rebrand does not negate the effort you have put into your current business. It can be the very thing that changes your end game. Faydra A. Koenig, MA is a mental health professional, author, coach, podcaster and lover of iced tea. She helps men and women break free from the mediocrity that keeps them from the life they want. She can be found at http://www.DoingLifeWithFaydra.com
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25/HALF NOTES-Inspire & Succeed
The Benefits of Blessing By Pam Russell December is holiday time and most people are thinking about shopping for presents for family and friends, baking cookies and pies and hopefully relaxing with some time off. There are many individuals and families that can’t afford to buy gifts or don’t have any money to purchase ingredients to bake cookies and that might not have a job to take time off from right now. It may be someone you know that is too ashamed to ask for help. It may be someone on a street corner or under a bridge. I’m known for being straight forward and direct. So I am not going to shy away from that approach here. I want to ask you, encourage you, beg you to consider buying some food, a coat, a blanket, a night in a warm hotel, a Santa size bag of gifts for someone that needs it this holiday season. Have you ever done that before? Why? Why not? It’s easy. Try it. Here are some suggestions on little blessings that go a long way:
Grab an extra loaf of bread and some lunch meat. Grab your kids, your spouse, your bother or your sister and make some sandwiches. Put them in Ziploc baggies. Put 2-3 in a brown bag. Go hand the brown bags out to people on the street. Ask your friends to donate coats to you. They don’t have to be new. The ones that have been hanging in their ‘coat closet’ for years. Those coats. Gather them up and take them to a homeless shelter. You can do the same with blankets. Head out to one of those ‘super stores’ and give each of your kids $15-20 to pick out however many gifts that will buy. Let them choose what they will bless another child with this year. Take them to one of the many toy drop off sites or drive thru and let THEM give those gifts to the person collecting them. Teach them the gift of giving/blessing those that are in need. Sign up to serve food at a local homeless shelter. Let me tell you something. You think you will be blessing those wonderful people? You will. What you don’t know is how blessed YOU will be by them. It will be one hundred fold of how you bless them. I guarantee it. It’s easy....think up your own ideas, too.
It’s okay to receive over the holidays. But it is so much more powerful to give. To bless. To say no to self and yes to others. To create memories by delivering blessings to others. The benefits are in the blessings. I encourage you to bless someone in need this holiday season. Your blessing will be bigger than you could ever imagine. Your heart will be wrapped up in a bow because of it. Pam Russell is Founder and CEO of Pam Russell L.L.C., a sales training and inspirational speaking company. She empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners to Be Visible, Be Equipped and Be Inspired so they can Be Successful. Find out how here: www.pamrussell.com
HALF NOTES –Book Beat/26
Ticket To Freedom – Going From Chaos to Calm by Taylor Kay Stephens
How do you eat an elephant at once? Ask Taylor Kay Stephens, former international figure skating coach and conflict resolution life coach – she’s done it! And her technique might not surprise you as much as what she’s had to overcome. With her sweet, southern style and wit, Taylor shares her story like no one else can. Completely entertaining. As the story opens, she paints a picture and you are transported to her hometown. Many years later, she pulls up to her home, enters the door, and begins a tailspin that would take her on a journey through tragedy, heartache and loss that no one can tell like a true Texas rose. As she learns one lesson after another, she intimately shares her take-aways with a familiarity and charm that draw us in. We all know these stories, we have all experienced them, and as she unfolds From Chaos to Calm, we take a painful, humiliating, humbling, journey to refreshment, understanding, healing and peace. Taylor unwraps her story like you’re sitting at your table with a long-time friend. Wounds hide themselves in defeat, addiction, weight gain and confusion. Our cluttered minds can disable us, but when we dig deep enough, when we change our focus, we can start to practice one thing that can turn it all around. And we need to. So many people are disassembled from their past. Taylor shares her quest to reassemble her life and learn to find joy as she looks back on a masterpiece that was sculpted with dedicated, determined hands and a sincere heart. Take this journey with Taylor and find yourself laughing, crying and smiling. On Amazon soon, find the eversion of Ticket To Freedom – Going From Chaos to Calm on TaylorKayStephens.com, retailing for $19.97.
27/HALF NOTES – Pam’s Perspective
Pam’s Perspective The Good and The Bad Do you refer to things as ‘good’ or ‘bad’? I think our society uses these two labels for many things. Food. Behavior. Influences. Circumstances. Days. Children. What else? Labeling things ‘good’ or ‘bad’ can really mess with your mindset. Food. Let’s take food for an example. I know someone that always refers to eating something outside of her eating plan as ‘bad’. Labeling food as good or bad messed up my relationship with food. All food can be good if we honor it with moderation in my opinion. There is no good or bad food in my book. I’m not rail thin. I am not even thin. Thin and feeling like I am ‘bad’ for eating a certain food is not something I am willing to sign up to do. Behavior. Children. Do you think that referring to a child’s behavior as good or bad will help them in any way? I don’t. Do you think referring to an adult’s behavior as bad is any more acceptable? Circumstances. I have been in some not so great circumstances in my life. Many that people might label as bad. Ultimately I try to look at all the circumstances I have been in as life experience. Experiences that have brought me to where I am today. I would not be doing what I am doing today, living my purpose, had I not gone through all of them. I call them blessings. I believe we have to be very careful about the labels we place on things, experiences and people. They can be lifelong labels for some people. Do you have a tally board where you are keeping score of your good and bad choices? I hope not. I encourage to you to live each day as an opportunity to learn and grow. Not be bad or good.
Pam Russell is Founder and CEO of Pam Russell L.L.C., a sales training and inspirational speaking company. She empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners to Be Visible, Be Equipped and Be Inspired so they can Be Successful. Find out how here: www.pam-russell.com
HALF NOTES – Susan Says/28
Susan Says Don’t Forget To Schedule Your Life Falling behind? It’s not hard to do over the holidays! There was a time in my life when all I wanted to do was ‘as much as possible!’ I’m so glad I grew out of that. Eventually I went from having an incessant need to keep up with or outperform everyone else to the inevitable complete burnout. I always thought I’d get to ‘when.’ When this situation was over. When this hurdle was cleared. When everything slows down. When the stars line up perfectly. You know, our favorite mystical giant friend who will sweep us up and make it all worth it – ‘When.’ If I can just keep it up till ‘When.’ Friends, life doesn’t slow down. Believe it or not, we don’t have to sacrifice our sanity when the demands on us increase. Give yourself a most precious gift this year. Meet my new friend, ‘Time.’ Time kicks ‘When’s’ butt. Our schedules can get bottlenecked, and if you’re like me, even finding time to remember to grocery shop can be a challenge. In those moments, as I get ready to back out of my drive, I take a deep breath and remember that I’m giving myself this time. What a gift! At the risk of sounding arrogant, I have to realize that I’m my biggest asset. If I don’t take care of the core essentials, there isn’t enough of me to go around. That can often be in direct conflict with what everyone else says I should be doing, but that’s exactly why systems in my business are so important. I know how often I have to manage my tasks, and I know how long they will take. I don’t have to wonder if I can squeeze another minute out of myself if I schedule the oh-so-valuable TIME in between. I’m generous with it, too! And I never regret that. It’s gonna get crazy this month. So give yourself a buffer between things that are top priorities on your list. I hate to break it to you, but getting it ALL done … is a little overrated. If you feel like you’re being hurled from one activity to the next, give yourself a moment of time to regroup. Generously pad your life with extra minutes – actually schedule them in. You’ll do a better job and have a few brain cells left over.
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