Wealth Building Scams

I have some good news and I have some bad news. First the good news. The number of infomercials on television is decreasing.

Some might say that is great news. But, before you yell hurray, here's the bad news. They are reincarnating as web sites. Changes the whole picture, doesn't it?

For those who've never seen an infomercial, it is a program-length TV commercial touting easy ways to make money in a variety of ways.

Real estate is probably the most often run program. Others include low-interest government loans or grants to start a new business or go to college.

Then there are the old standby classified advertisement sections in newspapers or magazines promising "big money" business opportunities and/or work-at-home schemes. The companies behind these infomercials and print ads claim that by using their products and services, you can learn how to increase your wealth or start a business from the comfort of your home.

These infomercials and advertisements make it very clear you can make the big bucks only by purchasing their books, audio and video tapes, or computer hardware and software. The materials range in price from less than $100 to several thousand dollars.

To clinch the sale, some promoters include a toll-free telephone consulting service with your purchase and offer a money-back guarantee. The fine print in the guarantee is what gets most people.

Web sites promoting these same type of "opportunities" look like an infomercial. Hype, glitz and promises of big money adorn the screen. On the other hand, contact details, other than ordering information, is scant if existent at all.

On television, these infomercials are designed to look, feel, and sound like real TV programs. The FTC says "they often imitate the format of genuine talk shows or investigative consumer news programs."

Because they imitate real programs, "the products being sold often are discussed as part of the program and touted by paid "experts," "moderators," or "reporters", according to the FTC. The programs may last for 30 minutes, interrupted by advertisements for the shows products with ordering information.

As in the offline world, online promoters of wealth-building schemes claim that if you follow their methods, you can make substantial sums of money. The means to easy wealth have shifted from real estate and government auctions to web site sales and development, autoresponder sales, gift clubs and bulk email programs.
 
The offline world uses the infomercials and advertisements to invite you to attend seminars where you can learn more about their program. You can rest assured the seminar is a slick sales pitch.

The smooth-talking salespeople tout the programs, materials, and services and use testimonials of the people in the back of the room selling the materials to illustrate what easy money you can make. The truth is these people are paid to give testimony. They are on the payroll as salespeople and that's it.

At these seminars the pitch is feverish and it is easy to be lured by promises of success into parting with your money. They are designed to work off the herd mentality. Don't fall for the nonsense.

On the Internet, the herd mentality is engaged through testimonials and a rush to action. You are encouraged every step of the way to BUY NOW! There are only so many days left and this opportunity will be gone forever or some other such nonsense.

The FTC, and everybody else who has studied these programs, gives the following advice:

1.  Be skeptical about "get-rich-quick" advertising claims.

2.  Ask companies for written substantiation for claims in their presentations, especially those about success rates.

3.  Be aware that "experts" who endorse a product often are paid by the advertiser.

4.  Be cautious about "testimonials." They may be paid for and probably owrse, do not reflect the experience of most consumers.

5.  Be wary of purchasing a program if company representatives give you evasive answers or aren't willing to answer your questions at all.

6.  Before you buy, decide whether the price reflects a fair market value.

7.  Be wary of promises of free money or low-interest government loans. As a rule, these are available only in limited circumstances.

8.  Dont be pressured to purchase immediately. Good opportunities are not sold through high pressure tactics.

9.  Before you buy, ask about the companys qualifying requirements and refund policy.

10. Check out the company with your local consumer protection agency, Better Business Bureau, and state Attorney General's office. They should be able to tell you if any unresolved consumer complaints are on file.
 
Additional consumer protection resources are available at your local library. Check out materials on personal finance and those geared toward the small business owner.

Your local community college may have a marketing department. Call and ask to speak with one of the professors. Explain the program and ask his/her advice/opinion.

The Small Business Administration and your state and local government have publications and programs for new and potential business owners. Write or call and ask for a list of available publications.

Tap into the Internet. That's right, search engines could turn out to be your best friend. A host of scam busting sites exist and expose scams online and offline.

As always, common sense is your best weapon in the fight against this garbage. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, if you have more than a passing interest, do your homework. Getting too much information is not a crime or a hazard to your wealth.

2000(c) All rights reserved. No one may reproduce this article without permission of the author (tom-koziol@excite.com)

GUARANTEED! Turn your paycheck into a cash flow geyser. Cashclique.com Dollar$ign Newsletter provides proven paycheck stretching money management tips, tools, techniques and strategies to increase your personal cash flow. This is YOUR fail safe money management program. FREE subscription at http://www.cashclique.com/page4.htm

Business Profitability - 10 Ways To Boost

10 Ways to Boost your Profitability

So many business owners work hard - really hard - just to break even or keep afloat. Each one of us deserves reward for our efforts, whether that be financial or personal. The question to ask yourself is whether you are directing your effort in the right places, to get the reward you want?

Of the businesses I've seen and worked in, there are plenty of ways to mis-spend effort - that is, to work hard - but on the wrong things. Here are ten of the most common areas where the return on your efforts can really be ramped up.

1. Marketing Inconsistently

Once you have committed to owning and running a business you must be equally committed to marketing and selling the products and services of that business. It is difficult, if not impossible, to stay and remain profitable without a commitment to ongoing concerted marketing.

To get more out of your marketing, create a simple marketing plan that includes marketing activity every day, every week and every month. Marketing plans combine formal activities (such as advertising, promotions and writing) with informal activities (such as making new contacts) . Don't underestimate the power of talking to people about what you do. Use every opportunity, every time.

2. Fear of Asking for the Sale

Isn't it true that we think asking directly for someone's business means coming across as pushy or obnoxious. But if we have this attitude, we are letting profit-producing opportunities pass us by. Worrying more about what someone thinks of you than bringing more money into the business is an all too common mistake. If you find it difficult to "ask for the sale", you can be sure that you're not bringing in as much money as you could be.

The most effective way to address this issue it to practice asking for the sale in language that you are comfortable with (not too wishy-washy please). Write down what you want to say first, then practice it over and over. There is also plenty of stuff out there on handling objections. Prepare your responses to the most common objections so you are well armed before you speak with your prospective customers.

3. Getting help

Most business owners possess strengths in one or two specific areas, but whether by necessity or design, they often end up working in areas they aren't strong in. This builds inefficiencies and potential for mistakes into the business. To compound the problem, we don't ask for help straight away, but struggle on doing the stuff we are not suited to (saves money right?) But each day that goes by with your business running at less than maximum efficiency, means dollars lost from your pocket.

Work out where you add the most and least value in your business. Pay someone to help you out with these low value add activities. Your time is best spent where you add the most value. If you can do more of this kind of activity, your business will benefit.

4. Use your Existing Customer Base

All the research tells us that it is easier and cheaper to keep working with customers you already have, than to get new customers into your business. If you are not following up with past customers on a regular basis you are reducing your profitability potential.

Develop strategies to keep your customers with you, such as loyalty plans, regular communications and special offers. Implement a regular process for following up your customers after they buy from you.

5. Managing Expenses

Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven't completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.

At least once per quarter you should review your expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate. Categorize everything you spend under 3 headings: Essential, Nice to Have and Non-Essential. Everything in the last two categories is up for grabs ? be ruthless!

6. Spending large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expecting business to pour in without any additional effort.

Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. However, brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials in the place of marketing directly, your profitability will suffer. The most effective form of marketing comes from you talking about your business to others.

Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.

7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities

Don't we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.

What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in ? it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is no, find a way of getting these low-return activities done for a lower hourly rate. Hire a bookkeeper or assistant for a few hours a week, and spend your time doing the valuable work.

8. Not charging enough for what you do.

This challenge seems to arise especially for people who sell services. Either we feel embarrassed to ask for the amount we want, or we simply accept less money than we need - so we get "some money" rather than "no money". But beware, after a while, working for too little can leave you exhausted and resentful, not to mention the impact it has on your profitability.

You do not need to defend an increase in your fees either. It is normal business strategy to review fee structures, make changes and advise customers. And contrary to our fears, it is often the case that business levels improve after fees are increased. It seems that we attract a whole different class of customer when our fees reflect the value we provide.

9. Not making enough use of technology which could save time and effort.

As a business owner, you have a fixed amount of time and energy within which you must maximize your profits. Technology can help you do this in the form of autoresponders, voicemail, wireless internet connections, speech recognition software, SMS from your computer and so on. All of these tools are widely available to us, and are designed to save time and effort. Each of us needs to continually look for ways to make business processes more efficient by using inexpensive technology.

Often the problem is that we don't know what we don't know. Some wonderful tool might be available but we don't know it exists. You need to stay on top of the latest products by regularly checking in with business and telecommunications sites.

10. Sticking with outdated business models or plans.

You've all heard it before - doing things the way they have always been done means that you will get the results that you always got. If you are not satisfied with your results then you need to re-look at what and how you are doing things. An astute entrepreneur has a mindset that is always challenging the way things are done in the business.

Another great way of coming across new ideas is to attend seminars and conferences on various topics. If you get a single idea to put into practice in your business, then that seminar has been worthwhile.

If you are serious about improving your business' profitability (and aren't we all?), then taking action on these areas will help you make more money and have more fun in your business. And that's what it's all about really.

Megan Tough

7 Reasons You Want Referral Business and How to Get Them

Studies have proven that there is one reason why people don't do more referral business: they don't ask. There are two reasons why, they forget or they don't have a strong enough relationship with their clients, so they don't feel comfortable

The truth is every professional should strive to have all of their business be referral because the benefits of referral business are undeniable and extensive.

Referrals are more professional

Referrals make your job easier and more fun

Referral clients are more likely to call you back

Referrals are motivating

Referrals are more profitable

You have more credibility with referrals

Referrals take less time and resources

Keys to getting more referrals:

Ask for them - The worst they can say it no.

Have a specific and systematic way of asking for referrals. For instance, ask first within the organization, then within the industry, then within the industries that industry interacts. The process you use is not the most critical point, the critical point is your consistency, and making sure you don't forget.

Do not be too general and ask "who else do you know?" This will have him or her thinking about too many people. They will end up saying, "I can't think of anyone. I'll call with some names later." We all know what happens later, you never get the call or email.

Plant referral seeds throughout your sales cycle. During the course of your conversation(s)/presentation(s), the more people you get them to mention (the seeds), the more people you have to go back and harvest as referrals at the end of your conversation/presentation. Bring out and develop relationships, which you can later go back and use as referrals.
At the end of the day, the process of getting a referral is much less intimidating then the process of approaching someone completely new and with whom you have no history or reference point. Even more, referral business is generally much more rewarding then cold calling. Obviously, the referral process will differ depending on your industry and/or type of business (B2B, B2C, etc.), but no matter what you can develop a system. Increasing your referral business will make your job easier, your work more profitable, and your life more enjoyable. So next time start with the basics, and simply remember to ask.

 

by Jeffrey Czajka

Call 888-233-0407 x215 email jeffrey@deliverfreedom.com