We have all been through that and it is rarely a pleasent experience and is almost always a humbling one. The important thing is to learn from these experiences and try to keep one step ahead.

Whenever we find ourselves looking back at something that should have been obvious, we almost always discover that we failed to look at things from the right point of view. In other words, our judgments and thought process were distorted because we had some preconceived notion or bias.

In other words, we failed to keep an open mind.

That is why it is important to enlist the help of othersas often as you can. Two people will look at the same situation or problem and come up with different ideas, opinions, and thoughts. That is because how we look at things is structured based on our life experiences in our past.

This alone is reason enough to get others involved in looking at every process or aspect of your business. Ask your customers, suppliers, employees, and anyone else you can think of what they think about you and your business and how it could be changed for the better.

You don’t have to take all the comments and suggestions and implement the! After all, this is your business. But you should try and understand each and every response to see whether there is any validity to it and why that response was forthcoming. Based on this kind of input you will get more ideas on not only what needs changing, but also on how to best go about making those changes.

Don’t try and do everything yourself or think of everything yourself. If you do, both you, and your business, will suffer.

The Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

But let’s think about how NOT to build a list!

A list is not all about the number of names. It is about the QUALITY of those names. Which would you rather have, a list of 100 million people who will never buy from you or a list of 500 names from people who will buy from you over and over and over again?

Duh………

It may be common snese but the way most people building their list gives them names but not names of  BUYERS! Hey, I can show you how to gwet a lot of names quickly but that would be almost worthless. Instead, let’s talk about how to get the names of BUYERS!

A lot of people love JV’s as a way to build lists and that is a good source if the product match is good and the way to get the names is right. But one bad thing about getting names by JV is that most of those names are on your list because you GAVE them something. You might ask, what is wrong with that.

Plenty.

There are a LOT of people who troll the net looking for free stuff. They go into those JV sites and sign up for 4,345 free offers just to get something for nothing that they will likely just store on their hard drive and never open or read. Just like they never read it, they are likely not to read your e-mails either.

But it gets worse.

The great thing about JV’s is that they actually have to give a real e-mail because that’s how they receive the product, right? Well, technically yes but most folks have one e-mail just for these free things. so they sign up, download the product and the only time they go back into that e-mail download the next free thing or to mass delete the hundreds of e-mails marketers like you send them. So you send out hundreds of free products, and thousands of follow-up e-mails and don’t make a single sale.

So much for list building, right?

Wrong!

If youbuild your list corectly, then you will have a valuable tool.

I build my list from people who actually come to my website to see the products I have to offer. I offer them a free product JUST LIKE THE REST OF MY PRODUCTS. A DEAD ON DIRECT MATCH! So the names that I get are people who had an interest before they got to my site and now they have a product I know they are interested in and I have their name. That is my first list.

My second list are people who have already purchased from me. There are people I KNOW buy over the Internet because I have already sold them something! This is my most responsive list! When someone from my first mailing list (the one from the freebie list) purchases something, I move them over to the second list as they are now a customer, not just a lead!

Mailing lists need to be built with care and not just for volume. They need to be maintained as well. Remove those who asked to be removed. Remove the addresses that come back as undeliverable and keep the list fresh.

Treat your list well and it will treat you well at the same time.

The Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

You will see a lot of hosting companies offering plans that say you can host “unlimited web sites” on one plan. that sounds great until you find out that they are hosted as sub domains and all share one control panel. When that happens, it can be a nightmare to edit and move files around!

But this company offers you web hosting for under $6 a month and you can host UNLIMITED websites WITH EACH HAVING IT’S OWN ACCOUNT!!! that’s right, each website has it’s own control panel and is a complete indepenant site on it’s own!

We have been using this company and the exact same plan we are talking about for a long time and we have a few comments about their service.

First, up time is excellent. I would compare it favorably against any web host.

Second, support is very timely and very helpful. They are patient with newbies and will offer advice and help you through things you don’t understand. We can’t rate them any higher!!!

Third, the value of this plan is huge! If you have normal sized web sites, you can host a 100 of them on the same plan and just pay $6 a month!!! That is unheard of and the quality is excellent. You are not sacrificing quality to save a few bucks!

Fourth, hosting is a necessary expense and at one time we were paying over $40 a month to host our sites. We took all our sites, moved them over to this one hosting account, and saved $34 a month or over $408 a year! that is pure savings and pure profit for us! Pocket the extra savings, put it back into advertising or promotion, or buy some great software or graphics with it! The choice is yours!

For more information on this great hosting plan, just click on the graphic below. I know we are thrilled we found it and we are happy to bring it to your attention as well!

Hey, maybe with some of the money you save, you can buy some other stuff on this page!

Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

But one resource that we purchased a few years back, continues to deliver results and unsurpassed value. It is one of those rare products that promises you a few things and then, after you buy it, it provides those things and a heck of a lot more! It’s kind of like buying a bag of groceries at the store and then getting the bag home and finding out you have 3 or 4 bags instead of just one!

E-mailing is important but other resources are important as well. In fact, using just one marketing approach is a sure sign of impending failure! In order to be successful, you need to combine e-mail marketing, and other types of marketing resources all in one overall marketing plan.

With this resource you get mailers that send your message out to millions every day and a whole lot more! There are downloads of many popular marketing resources, e-books, free products, free software, publishing software, ad trackers, HTML editors, headline creators, plus a whole lot more than we have space for here.

But here is the best part! There is no monthly fee to use all these resources. Just one small initial fee to join and then you can use the software, mailers, resources, and everything else FOREVER!

We were using some other resources and paying anywhere from $7 to $25 A MONTH EACH for them and we cancelled them all because with this one resource we didn’t need them any more!

I cannot think of a more valuable resource, a better value, or a better way to market your products and business. Why not try it yourself and see first hand what we are talking about! One word of warning, though. Dedicate some time to look through the Member’s Area because there is so much there. Much more than you would expect!

The Monthly Business Builder!
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

But no matter how large or small your business is, you still need to make certain that you provide value and satisfaction to your customers. Why? Because all these new opportunties created by the Internet have also increased the number of options available to every customer. So, yes, the opportunties are there, but you will have more people fighting for the same customers.

For example, 20 years ago, if you wanted to purchase a piece of lawn equipment, you would have had to go to your local dealer or home center and choose from their stock. Today, you search in a search engine and you can pick from hundreds of stores with a far greater inventory and purchase something that is exactly what you want!

So what does that mean to those of us in business? What it means is that we have to make every effort to provide the types of products and service that our customer want, need, and enjoy. We need to make purchasing from us enjoyable, profitable, and rewarding. In other words, we need to create a 100% positive customer experience.

Another reason for creating this type of experience is that one thing we have lost in today’s society is customer loyalty. People are no longer buying from a business just because they bought from them in the past. Today they are looking for the best value and best experience. If they don’t get it, they will look elsewhere.

Don’t give your customers any reason tolook elsewhere. Because if you do, you might lose a customer to the many other businesses out there trying to steal them from you!

Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

Look at the bottom of this post and try to make a comment. You will see something called “recaptcha” which makes you enter a code in ordere to submit a post. Some people find it annoying and we do as well but we need to do that.

Why? Because there are a lot of “jerks” (oops!, I meant individuals!) who use software to place nonsense posts in order to get links. So we write a post about the best kinds of traffic and we get comments that say “grimmelsdorp xfemmlesniffer and portsemmlefizz” with the url attached.

It would be bad enough if we got one or two of these nonsense posts but when you get 50 or 100 of them, it becomes annoying so every else suffers. The same goes for people putting virus code in their e-mails or hacking legitimate sites or spamming e-mails.

If yo are serious about building your business, then do things right. Stop all the short cuts that lead nowhere and act responsibly. We will thank you and others will as well. And you will develop the reputation you need to survice long term.

do it right and reap the benefits!

The Monthly Business Builder

http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

The learning part can be a lot of fun and a big challenge as well since most of us have busy schedules and lots of commitments. When in situations like these, we should be looking for things to make our lives easier and make us more productive.

Recently a firned of ours had a new “toy” that he showed us and we wondered why the heck he ever bought it. Then, as we started to look at it and play with it, we started realizing just how this tool could help us accomplish more in less time.

The “toy” I am referring to is the Kindle Reader. A Kindle Reader is a device that enable you to store thousands of books, magazines, PDF files and more in a device less than a half inch thick.

We thought that Kindle readers would enable us to “train” while on the road without carrying a bulky laptop around with us. We could bring all of our PDF manuals and other resources with us on the plane, on the train, subway, even when we car pool!

It is amazing how much time we spend commuting or riding or travelling somewhere every month. We found that Kindle readers enable us to make valuable use of that time and free up our other time for family, relaxation, or for other things we want to do.

These days being able to have more control over what you do and when you do it gives many of us powerful advantages over the rest of the population. Do yourself a favor and think about how a Kindle Reader might help you out as well!

Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

Why?

Because Adsense makes no sense for just about everyone! Think about it for a minute. You place ads on your site and you only get paid when someone clicks on them and then you make a few pennies, maybe a quarter. If a sales is made you dont see a penny of commission, either!

Most experienced Internet marketers agree with us that you are much better off selling commission based products and not adsense ads. They just dont pay enough to make it worthwhile.

But there is even a greater reason to run, not walk away, from Adsense!

The Google Slap and banning of accounts!

It is absolutely amazing that Google actually gets away with this and does not have the government on their butt for unfair practices! Here is what Google does, and does very, very often.

You open up an Adsense account and palce ads on your website. You increase traffic and start to see increased traffic and increased clicks on your adsense ads. You see money starting to come into your account and you are pleased.

Then, one day, your account is gone! Google send you a message stating your account has been banned. they dont give you a reason why it was banned only that you are banned and all your earnings forfeited! No reason, no proof, just an arbitrary decision and you lose your money!

That has happened to us in the past and also to many others as well. Just do a search on this behavior and you will see a lot of stroeis about people cheated by Google in this and other ways.

You are far better off picking products that are directly relevant to the theme of your site and which provide a great value to your viewers. Adsense does not give you that much control and you lose money, and visitors because of it.

Pick a commissioned product that is relevant, market it effectively, and keep control over your site and your money.

As I said, Adsense makes no sense for anyone!

The Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

But there is one complaint you really never hear and that should indicate one of the msot important aspects of running your busness. That complaint is:

“You gave me too much!”

If you give your customer MORE than they purchase or expect, you will not get any complaints but chances are, your customer will be very pleased and satisfied with his or her purchase. People have a certain expectation whenever they purchase something and when you give them more, they are suprised and pleased. Doneright, this can give you a customer for life and a lot of referrals as well.

There are a ot of businesses out there who provide the bare minimum to their customers and run like crazy once they have your money. so many of these businesses exist that many people actually expect this kind of treatment and are suprised, even shocked, when someone gives them more than what they purchase! This “shock” creates a powerful image in the mind of your customer and may even result in a strong bond with your business that results in a lifetime of purchases!

We have all bought products that resulted in disappointment. We have all been the victim of over hyped promises and exaggerated claims all designed to get us to purchase. But once we made that purchase, the result is disappointment once reality sets in. At that point, we will likely not buy that product or from that business again.

That’s something to think about isn’t it?

Giving people more than what they purchase accomplishes several things at one time. first, it provides more value to the purchase and that alone might give you the business instead of your competition. Second, it shows that you value the business of your customer and have a genuine desire to do provide the best value you possibly can for them. Last, but certainly not least, it shows that not only do you value your customer but that you appreciate their business!

In today’s business environment, competition is higher than ever before. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are competing for each sale and every customer. Every business is looking for an edge.

Don’t go for gimmicks to lure customers in and disappoint them. go for something real that your customers will appreciate. Give them more than what they expect. You will be suprised what that will do for your business!

Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com

Reprinted with the permission of The Customer Service training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com

Perception is everything in life and once you lose your credibility you run an excellent chance of having your business fall apart or at least be severely damaged. Let’s see what Frank and We’re Bazaar has done now.

You will recall that we have talked about Frank Haywood and We’re Bazaar several times in the past because his business represents so much about what is wrong about Internet business today. In fact, if he ran a storefront business like he does his internet business, he would be out of business!

He now runs a membership site called PLRCodeMine which sells internet software products to its members. They can resell this software and brand it as there own. (Why they would want to is beyond me because the stuff just is not top drawer stuff!)

This site was introduced in Jan of this year and almost every product was delivered late. Weeks late, infact, long after membership had been paid for. He always had an excuse. he was sick, someone left the company with all the code. People disappeared, you name the excuse and he has used it.

His latest mistake was promising a free product to his members and then claiming it was not ready to be given free. Yet this was the same product he had been selling for a fee for well over a month! Magically, this product was not available until the members paid their next months dues and then: “WOW!” it became available! Imagine the coincidence! Pay and extra months membeship and you get it!

He still has not delivered other so called “Bonuses” which were promised months ago. Therein lies the problem for Frank haywood and We’re Bazaar.

Why would anyone believe anything Frank Haywood says in the future?

Why would anyone who had purchased a product that Frank Haywood no longer provides support response for buy another of his products?

Why would anyone who joined Franks haywoods membership site, PLRCodeMine, remain a member when every product is late and they are some little WordPress Plug-in with little or no real value?

The answer is they likely won’t and that is where your business comes in. If you choose to take the same route as Frank haywood and We’re Bazaar, you will lose credibility and customers. it costs a lot of get new customers and that cost comes out of your profits and expenses.

Tactics and behavior like those of Frank Haywood result is customer ditrust, like of loyaly, customer dissatisfaction, and loss of credibility. Once you lose your credibility you lose your ability to gain the trust of your customer.

After all, why should a customer believe you when you fail to meet deadlines, fail to deliver on promises, and fail to deliver products promised or paid for? The short answer is that customers will immeditely distrust you and it will take many positive experiences before you will trust that person or business again.

When you run an Internet busness, or any business where people cannot walk in and personally see you or touch the products, your credibility is the single most important aspect of your business.

Don’t mess with it or poeple will leave your business like I left Frank Haywood and We’re Bazaar. Come to think of it, Frank haywood’s business name is a very appropriate one because they way he does business is very bazaar……………

The Monthly Business Builder
http://www.monthlybusinessbuilder.com