Category Archives: Uncategorized

10 Questions to Ask When Collecting Customer Data

When your customers disclose their personal and financial information to you, they're taking a leap of faith that you won't lose, abuse or otherwise mess with it — accidentally or not. Your customers don't want you to spam them every two minutes, hawk their info to third parties or, worse, expose it to cyber attackers. 
 
Collecting Customer Data 
 
 
Collecting customer data has been notoriously loaded with a tangle of privacy pitfalls. But when done right, the benefit to your bottom line could outweigh the risks. Leveraging customer data can lead to happier customers, reduced client churn and bigger profits. 
 
Gathering sensitive customer information isn't something business owners should just jump into and make up as they go. Get up to speed with these 10 essential questions to consider before you ask your customers anything: 
 
1. I don't have time to get anything from my customers but their money. Do I really need to collect data from them, too?
 
Without customers, you wouldn't be in business. Knowing who they are and what they want, particularly from you, can lead to more effective marketing, increased brand loyalty and the holy grail — more sales. 
 
"Collecting customer data helps you know each customer more individually and treat them that way," says Jeff Tanner, professor of marketing at Baylor University and director of the school's "Business Collaboratory." And the info you glean from them can empower you to "craft offers that increase purchase rates at higher margins while also delivering better value to the customers because they're getting things they want," he says.
 
2. What types of personal data should I collect and why?
 
Start with the basics, such as customer names and mailing and email addresses. These allow you to personalize your communications with them, directly market to them and follow up with them if there's a problem with their order. Other data points to collect for an overall demographic snapshot are age, profession and gender. 
 
As you develop trust with your customers, Tanner suggests going deeper and asking them for certain psychographic data points, like details about their personalities, values and lifestyles. For example, if you own a furniture store and find out your customer has children via a customer questionnaire, you might consider marketing children's furniture to them.   

3. What types of transactional data should I collect and why?

Recording and analyzing each customer's transaction history — what they purchase from you, when and how often — helps you know which products and services to offer them in the future. Companies like Amazon, and Zappos are some of the best at this powerful marketing practice, also known as "basket analysis," automatically delivering sometimes impressively personalized product recommendations based on past purchases.   

4. What are the best ways to collect customer data?

You can start by accumulating customer data every time they interact with your company — on the phone or in online chat with customer service, in-store with a salesperson or via online survey or contest, Tanner says.
 
It's important to note, though, that the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 prohibits procuring email addresses from certain online sources, including blogs and internet chat rooms, without the permission of site users and owners.  

5. How should I organize and store it?

Once you obtain the customer data you want, dumping it into a basic Excel spreadsheet won't do you much good. The best, most time- and cost-effective way to store, track and make sense of customer data, Tanner says, is to use an all-in-one customer relationship management (CRM) solution. 
 
He suggests trying CRM packages for entrepreneurs from Pipeliner ($30 per month with a 30-day free trial), Zoho ($12 to $35 per month with a 15-day free trial) or Teradata (prices available by contacting Teradata sales). 

6. How can I best protect my customers' personal and financial data?

 
Encrypting all of your customers' data is your first step in safeguarding it. This includes their names, email and physical addresses, credit card numbers, spending habits, social media logins and any other sensitive data points you're privy to.
 
Best practices for data encryption vary from industry to industry. Here's a guide to creating a strong cyber security plan for your small business, complete with expert encryption tips. You might consider hiring a data security specialist to take on the task for you. 
 
If you hire a third-party to collect and store your customer data for you, be sure that they use the highest encryption standards available. 

7. How can I be sure what I'm doing is legal?

All that's legally required of you when collecting customer data is to create a customer information privacy policy and give your customers access to it, Tanner says. 
 
In an ideal world, your privacy policy should closely follow the Federal Trade Commission's Fair Information Practice Principles, which are guidelines for securely collecting electronic consumer data, though they aren't enforceable by law. 
 
Clearly state in your policy exactly who is collecting which types of data, how it's used and with whom you share it with (and if you intend to share it at all). You also have to allow your customers to opt out of receiving marketing material from you.  
 
Specifically, if you own a business in the healthcare industry and gather patient information, you have to abide by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) laws. Or, if your company's target demographic is children and you interact with them online, compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is mandatory.  

8. Should I sell my customer's information to third-party marketers?

The choice is yours and plenty of companies do — and profit from it. But Tanner warns that doing so could alienate your customers. And they generally don't come back once they've gone. 
 
"If [business owners] use customer data like a mailing list, then they spam," he says. "If they use data to have an intelligent conversation that includes relevant offers, then they become a preferred partner. You might be able to sell access to your customer list, but no customer will want to stay with you once they figure that out."  
 
If you decide to sell customer data to third parties, clearly say so in your privacy policy.  

9. What's the best way to benefit from the customer data I collect?

Leveraging it to offer added value to your customer is the biggest advantage. Customer data helps you paint a clear picture of who your target customer is and how to best communicate with, advertise and market to them. 
 
When you know your ideal customer better and really understand their needs and wants, you can better craft offers to entice them, which should in turn boost sales.  

10. What are some common mistakes to avoid?

Perhaps the worst in the bunch, Tanner says, is asking for too much at one time and overwhelming your customers.
 
Other common faux pas Tanner suggests steering clear of are not using the data at all and making assumptions about customers based on collecting transactional data only.

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Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive

markethive.com


Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Using Inbound Marketing Techniques To Convert Leads To Clients

Creating content for a website seems to be an endless task. Often times, businesses outsource to writers who can do the job efficiently. However, the job does not stop there. Efficient content requires more than skilled writing to convert leads to clients. Timing and placing with the right social media strategies also increase the likelihood of converting these leads to clients.

Inbound Marketing with MarketHive 

These strategies all fit within the inbound marketing technique, which has been the guide to great online marketing strategies.

Attract Customers

Customer attraction will turn strangers into potential leads. For businesses and blogs, enticing people to go to their website requires the following actions:

•             Blogs – Opening a blog will begin the journey to attracting customers to the business website. Add insightful information that answers questions and increases the attentiveness of the potential lead. A great business marketing strategy begins with blogging.

•             Using Search Engine Optimization ("SEO") – Clients will begin their search usually through online search engines. Using SEO techniques such as content building, link directing and finding optimal keywords and phrases will increase the overall inbound marketing strategy. Using SEO will help customers find out who a business is and make them the top of the search results.

•             Customized Pages – Website fluency is important for customers. Businesses who create websites that appeal to their intended customers will see more results than those who do not. Creating a great website with a user-friendly interface will be great for online marketing strategies.

•             Social Media Marketing – While great content will be the success of inbound marketing – social media marketing will help get this valuable content out. Social media marketing will help businesses succeed and – even better – it is one of the few free marketing tools. Engage with potential customers and post at times that will lead the business with the most results.

 

It is now important to convert these visitors to leads.

Converting Visitors to Leads

Content Marketing with MarketHive

 
Next step is optimizing a website enough to convert the visitors that great content brings in into leads. This requires a strategic method of creation and publishing.

•             Create Forms On a Website – Website forms will generate enough interest for a business to consider their visitor a lead if he or she fills out the website form. Usually name and email forms that popup on the website for a first-time visitor. Make this conversion process as easy as possible for visitors.

•             Generate Interest Through Call-to-Action – Creating a website where a business must have good call-to-actions is ideal. A lack of call-to-actions detriments the entire inbound marketing strategy. Buttons and links to other places and to sign up for webinars, free products or other interesting links will be great call-to-action.

•             Landing pages and contacts are also consistent in the conversion process. Now it is time to close the deal and turn potential leads to purchasing clients.

Close the Deal by Turning Leads to Clients

Turning leads to clients will be the "money maker" for the business. Through great content and conversion techniques, this step will be cake for most businesses.

•             Customer Relation Management – Also referred to as CRM, this strategy helps keep detailed information about leads' contact information and when the best time to facilitate a sale with them.

•             Use CRM to Figure out Team Efforts – Using the right reports, a business can see how well the marketing and sales team are working together to efficiently create a successful business funnel and great online marketing strategies.

•             Keep in Touch via Email – Sending relevant, interesting emails to clients may persuade them to purchase from the website.

 

Next, a business must can use clients as unpaid promoters.

Use Clients to Promoters

The next step is to get client feedback and persuade them to share a product with friends and families on multiple avenues, including social media marketing.

•             Send Surveys – Surveying clients will provide a business with adequate feedback to ensure the customer is getting what they want.

•             Updated Call-to-Actions – Personalize call-to-actions by presenting visitors, leads and clients with different, new call-to-actions varying on the buyers interest and step within the inbound marketing strategy. New call-to-actions increase the likelihood of turning one-time customers into long-term customers and promoters of the product.

•             Monitor Social Media – It's important for a business to know what their clients are saying about them and their product. Using social monitoring, a business can get the true opinion of their product and customer satisfaction and use it to readjust to be a better company.

Inbound Marketing Creates Great Online Marketing Strategies for Companies

Inbound marketing helps by providing businesses with free marketing tools that will enhance the overall effectiveness of the business' success. Each step is meant to help mold the content and products/services being sold and will generate more viewership than previously. 

If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive

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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

3 Benefits to Delivering a Good Customer Experience

Delivering a good Customer Experience is all the buzz lately. It's discussed in all fields of business and is the topic of many a staff meeting and board of director's meeting. But is there really a good understanding of what it is all about? The benefits of designing and crafting a good experience are vague to some teams. So, why, other than it seems to be the latest business "should do" are we striving for that good experience?

customer service and satisfaction

Increased Profits

Let's face it, when you create an experience that your customer truly enjoys – they'll pay you for it. Are you aware that 70% of your lost customers left ONLY because the experience provided by someone on your team was lacking? Someone treated them rudely, with indifference, or just merely pushed them through the system in your company? It has nothing to do with the product or service you provide or the price you charge.

Customers are willing to pay more for a product or service that they fully realize is not the best available simply because they know they will receive better treatment and customer service. Are you prepared to continue to lose customers and revenue dollars by continuing with business as normal?

Customer Engagement

Engaged customers are your best customers. These are the ones that view you and your business as partners and a resource for their needs. People do business with those that they know, like, and trust. By providing a good customer experience each and every time they do business with you, your customers will become more and more engaged with your business. They'll know what to expect and be pleasantly impressed when they feel that you are actively working with them to solve their problems.

They'll trust you. They'll share their ideas with you and give you candid feedback as to what it will take to keep their business. They'll share with you what they want to see you provide and what they really don't care for in the way you do business. When you've gained the trust of your customers by working in their best interest, you've know taken the relationship to the next level.

Customer Loyalty

When you give your customers the memorable experience they are craving, they'll return to you time and time again and you'll become their sole resource for the product or service you provide. Today's consumer wants to find a resource they can stay with over a long period of time. With the instant gratification gains in today's fast moving world, they don't want to waste time and energy shopping around. They want to find a business that values them, their business, and will do whatever it takes to gain their repeat business. As soon as today's customer finds that, they will stay loyal for as long as that business is willing to create the experience that centers around them and works to earn their business time after time after time.

Customer loyalty is really another word for continued revenue stream. Suppose you are the owner of a local grocery store and I walk in your doors and spend $ 100 per week in your store. Do you see me as just a $100 customer, or the customer that could spend $ 400 per month, $ 5000 per year? Or, to take it to a reasonable long term loyalty example… If I live in the same neighborhood that is close to your store for 20 years, you stand to earn $ 5000 for each of those 20 years. Now I'm a $100,000 customer. If you treat me well, smile at me, show me where the products are that I need, engage in small talk while I'm making my purchase, and thank me for my business, chances are I'll return to your store again.

It All Comes Full Circle

When you create that experience that is different than what your competition delivers, people notice. When you create that experience that is BETTER than what your competition delivers, customers will come back for more. They'll pay you to treat them well and make them feel good. They'll trust you and engage with your company and team. You won't be viewed as a commodity provider, but as a partner with a relationship that is working to make the lives of your customers easier and better by solving their problems. They'll reward you by not even thinking of going anywhere else and giving you their loyalty for as long as you are willing to work to keep it.

If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive

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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

LinkedIn – To Open Network Or Not

As an avid LinkedIn user, and as a member of the LinkedIn Open Networkers group (aka LIONs), it is a question I see being asked on LinkedIn and at other social media platforms and services on a regular basis. I actually think that the answer is more varied than simply the two options of "open networking" or "closed networker," and your individual answer depends on you and your objectives in creating a LinkedIn profile.

linkedin training

LinkedIn system

The reason that the question exists to the extent it does, is that LinkedIn has created an online network which at its basic level is fundamentally different to any other Social Media network. LinkedIn positively discourages members to connect to those that they do not know and have not met. They even enforce the systematic structure by making supporting statements in both their terms and conditions as well as their User Guidelines. This is in stark contrast to the social side of others online networks which most will be more used to in the form of Facebook, where chatting and connecting to people who seem to be much like you is part of the whole ethos.

But, and here's the crucial difference: LinkedIn users have an average household income of over $140k, with 80% over $75k, the spammers would see an open network as list building shangri-la! Further, when 60% are senior executives and 90% are college educated, it would mean that any affiliate or direct sale would inevitably come with a high commission return.

LinkedIn market

Hence from a market trust view point, making it difficult to connect is ensuring just that: consistent, believable and hence trusted online networking. Further, that is what LinkedIn's target audience want. They are not used to the fast moving and Farmville-powered coffee corner that is Facebook. They want something more akin to a select and stable club, where one can mix with like minded people, and then be introduced by acquaintances when mutual needs which are mainly business orientated arise.

LinkedIn networking

So, what options are there between open networking and closed networking which can be adopted by LinkedIn users? Firstly, lets be clear here: there is no such thing as closed networking on any social network, including LinkedIn. If you choose to be wholly "closed" in your networking, then you wouldn't even have a LinkedIn profile, let alone connect to known friends whom you work with directly or meet with on a weekly basis. You choose to join a club or network and stay there because it gives you a professional marker post in a popular place, and opens up opportunity on both a personal, professional and business level.

But on the other hand, nor does truly open networking exist. If you were truly open, then you would accept every invite that any "profile" sent to you. The reason I mentioned those statistics about LinkedIn at the start of this piece, was because however difficult a systems designer makes connecting to others, those membership statics much like the challenge of stealing the British Royal Crown Jewels or the Mona Lisa from Paris will always attract ambitious opportunists.

While as a recruiter and CV writer I never encourage non-artiste job applicants to place a photo on their CV, in online networking one of the first signs of a spamming profile is the lack of profile image, or use of one that you may have seen once or twice before: its amazing how many photos of Rod Stewart, Bono and Sir Tom Jones are available! Then there are the names, most often three letters as that is the minimum LinkedIn will allow; or the incomplete profile records of both education and work history: one term at Harvard and a three months on Wall Street doesn't fool anyone!

So in reality, everyone is the same type of networker, but at different points along a line of how much trust they require to develop in others before they decide to offer to connect.

List of Social Networking Sites

This is a quick list of social networking sites, which can be used for traffic generation, or just getting your name out there for marketing and credibility.

Facebook – This was developed for the collegiate market and later expanded to professionals as these people graduated from college. The interface is clean and crisp, without a lot of extraneous stuff. It allows people to connect with others in their own network. It offers a profile and several ways to market yourself to your friends, although you are not allowed to spam marketing hype on your profile or elsewhere. It has many applications you can add to boost your profile or add marketing features to your profile.

LinkedIn – This social networking site has a far more business-like and professional flavor. It is noted for helping people network to find new jobs or business opportunities.

Squidoo – This site allows you to define your brand and even promote and market products. It is more of a marketer's social network and is based on the creation of lenses that are focal points of interest that you want to highlight about your personal expertise or your business.

Twitter – A social networking site with minute-by-minute updates, if that's what you like. It's unlike the other sites, but hugely popular, particularly for mobile phone updates.

By the way, do you want to add a LinkedIn coaching program to your business? If so, join me in Markethive and I will introduce you to someone who provides training. There is no cost to either of these. Good luck.

If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive

markethive.com


Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

SHOCK: Professors claim Trump could be 1st to win all 50 states

In a shocking turn of events, professors and political science analysts are declaring that Donald J Trump could become the first person in American history to claim all 50 states in an election.

Admit it. Donald Trump is a volcano in a forest of Ronson lighters.

You’re not going to stop him. He may carry all 50 states.

The awareness of Trump’s invincibility is dawning slowly for several reasons. Nobody wants to be revealed as a fool if Trump flames out. Also, such a breathtaking prediction hates to be borne all alone. “Out on a limb” is a lonely place for a pundit to be. Then, too, a lot of heretofore wise observers are obeying the instinct to adopt a “business as usual” stance.

We put subconscious pressure on ourselves so that yesterday’s “clown-by-consensus” isn’t too abruptly hailed as the winner this absurdly long before the first vote is cast. The dreamers in the GOP are still reassuring one another that Trump’s domination is a “summertime thing,” and that come fall the public anger will be gone and the people will ask themselves, “Is this the kind of person we want in the Oval Office?” Dream on, Dear Establishment. People are already asking that question, and the answer is not just “Yes”; it’s “Hell, Yes!

Eight years ago Americans decided to take a chance on a “community organizer” without one single discernable accomplishment, not even authorship of his own book! (Thank you, Jack Cashill!) Obama was editor of the Harvard Law Review – and never wrote a single editorial. And we elected and re-elected him.

And now we’re taking the measure of a billionaire 11 times over who’s boldly carved his signature in stone and steel and golf-course green around the world, written best-selling books and produced and starred in dazzlingly high-rated TV shows, and you’re trying to tell me this world-class accomplishmentarian is a summertime thing set to evaporate with the first fall chill? In a pig’s eye! Even his worst enemies agree that Donald Trump gets things done. Meanwhile, your community organizer is now a political kidney stone that will take 17 more months to pass. You don’t like Trump’s rhetoric, maybe? What’swrong with “I love this country and I want to make it great again”?

Donald Trump has ruptured every rule of nature and human nature, science and political science, and continues to sneer at the Law of Gravity itself as he personally and deliberately pushes every down-button while his elevator nonetheless continues up, up and up.

Sen. John McCain satisfies most people’s definition of a war hero. Here comes Trump mocking McCain as being a “war hero only because he was captured.” Some of those “wise observers” declared Trump doomed even at that early point. And what happened? Trump gained!

At the Fox News debate of Aug. 6, some sinister force that wanted to stick it to Trump led things off, not by obeying the natural and organic procedure of calling for all those candidates who vowed to support the eventual Republican nominee to please raise their hands. No. The moderator instead called for “all those who will not pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee” to please raise their hands. And whoever imposed that reverse wording got his wish. There stood Trump in the middle of the pack, all alone with his right hand in the air. And what happened? Trump gained.

Doesn’t our culture forbid us to hit a woman? Meet Fox’s rapturous Megyn Kelly, whose very appearance sets the syrups of the soul all a-sizzle even before her formidable IQ approaches the scale for a weigh-in. Kelly ticked off a litany of horrendous things Trump has uttered to denigrate women. Trump struck back hard. And what happened? Trump gained.

Aren’t we supposed to tire quickly in the presence of a braggart? Trump plunges with gusto and abandon into firestorms of self-praise, citing his fabulous fortune, huge achievements, the hordes of people who love him and his admittedly impressive record for “getting things done”! Trump unloads like a sportscaster whose son just scored the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, as he shares the news that there was just a poll in Nevada, and “I came in first among Hispanics!” Aren’t candidates supposed to use subtle comments to smuggle across feelings likely to win them votes? Trump puts it all out on the front porch where the goats can get it. “And I’m going to take care of our warriors, whom I love! I love our wounded warriors!” Again, Trump gained.

Is Trump lying about the slump America’s fallen into? And isn’t it true that millions too few Americans are working, that our military has been eviscerated, that our allies distrust us, that our enemies no longer respect us, that we get beaten by smarter adversaries across every negotiating table? And isn’t it true that smart, gutsy leadership that knows what it’s doing could, indeed, make us great again?

If the anti-Trump rap weren’t so pitiful I’d be much angrier. Forever we’ve longed for a leader who didn’t have to mortgage himself out to fat-cats, a leader free to appoint the best people and not the best donors. Now we’ve got him.

During the Civil War a group of less successful generals complained to Lincoln that Gen. Grant was an alcoholic.

“Find out what he likes,” snapped Abe. “And send him another case.”

I don’t think Trump drinks.

by Barry Farber, WND


Editorial comment:

I would not care if Trump got on a stage and called us all vile names, or turned around and spit at his employees. I do not have to like the man. ( even though I truly do like him ). We are not supposed to vote for people just because we like them. We are supposed to vote based on their past accomplishments, experience, and their ability to get the job done. Donald J Trump can do all of those things and more. When you compare all of the other candidates to Trump, it is almost laughable how pathetic the rest of the field looks.

They are the fools, liars, and crooks who have brought us to the brink of destruction.


This is the beginning of the Rise of the Entrepreneur!


 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Online Business Checklist

business check listOnline Business Checklist

So the desire for starting a business online business is calling you.

You have some great ideas; have a lot of enthusiasm you’re ready to start.  You’re going to make a large amount of money and be your own boss.  Well wait a minute regardless of the claims of how easy it is to get rich off the Internet.

You will find starting an online business is no different than starting a business in the non-virtual world.  Maybe you need to consider some things first to make this profitable and mistake free.

When contemplating starting an online business you need to take an honest look at yourself.  What are your skills?  What kind of interests do you have?  Many people stared their online business in the fields that they worked.  A graphic artist could start a web design company or produce custom graphics.  You will also want to think of the type of jobs you truly enjoy.


Do your homework to start your online business.  Do not make the mistake of putting all your efforts, money and time into a service you want and try and find a market for it.  You cannot make people like your service or product.  Instead find out what the consumer would like and then design a service or product to fit that need.

Risk

Also just like a real world business there is a certain amount of risk.  By doing your homework you can lessen that risk by finding something people will buy and for how much.  This allows you adjust your costs to make sure of a profit.

You also need to study your competition.  Find out what they are doing and what works or what doesn’t work.  The more information that you have in regards to the market and your competition the better chance of success you will have.

Starting your online business, you need to have a plan and follow it.  What will it cost to start?  Where will you get that money?  If you are going to ask for a loan you will need to have a business plan to present to the loaning institution.  It is a good idea to have a business plan even if you are funding your online business yourself.  It will give you some set goals to look at.

To get your online business going you will need to make a time commitment and keep it.  It will be difficult to keep a full time job and work on your new online business.  You probably will not be able to accomplish that unless you set a specific time to work on it.  Starting an online business and making it profitable enough for you to work full time on it does take some time.

You have done the required research, taken the time and made the commitment for your online business.  You feel that now have a great product that the world wants and priced that they can afford and you make a profit.  You have one more thing to consider marketing.  Your customers need to be able to find your product so they can purchase it.  This can be done online, offline, or a combination of them both.

You will need to continually study what works and what doesn’t until you find what works for you the best.  However, remember what works today, may today may not tomorrow and be able and willing to change your approach to marketing as the consumer’s dictate.

A lot of business people pass through different trials during the period they are dealing with the launch and development of their company. Even if you are used to daily meetings, you will discover that for business meetings with clients and for signing contracts you need lots of strategies and abilities.

You have to collect supplementary information.

A simple phone call can anticipate the needs of your client. You have to learn more about them and prepare yourself for that face-to-face meeting learning more about the client’s company. Then create a list that has on it all the benefits your services will bring him.

The objective has to be realistic.

The experts calculated that a business meeting with your clients can cost you up to several hundred dollars, depending on the domain of the business and on location. So it is important for every meeting to be convincing for the client. If you are a public relations consigliore, for instance, a realistic objective for a first meeting would be the detailed presentation of the offer.

You must present quality products. Prepare your documents printed well on quality paper. You have to bring all needed, business cards, estimative graphs, brochures, presentation materials.

You must carefully analyze your client. All through the meeting, watch closely his behavior. It’s good to notice if he is approving of your ideas or if he isn’t. Pay attention to signals your client is sending and make sure to answer accordingly.

Any questions put must be well thought. A business meeting is an opportunity to discover your client’s needs and to present him with the solutions. If the discussion between you two isn’t equilibrated and you are the one that is doing all the talking, it means the meeting is a failure. It is important for you to put the right questions, but also to know how to listen carefully to answers.

You must always go for real cases and examples. True stories can demonstrate the fact that you kept in mind your client’s needs. Prepare for every quality and ability a demonstrative story. It’s preferable to tell a story that talks to the client about the benefits the rest of your clients and consumers have.

Provide efficient solution and act on time! Assuming you prepared very well and you used the observations efficiently, now you have reached the moment when you can ask directly the things you are interested in. This is important and it must not be missed. Some people organize great meeting but when it comes to closing the deal they leave home bear handed.

When getting to this, you must have the strength to act and go on with it.

Article by:
Brian Walters SEO

Skype: tuneup_bj

Brian Walters MarketHive

Markethive

Markethive Promotion

http://brian-walters-online.com/

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Press releases are a great way to get your content out there.

Press ReleasePress releases are a great way to get your content out there.

They can be used to announce a new blog, website, videos, or to be controversial within your content. They are a phenomenal way to ramp your business and get exposure.

The first thing you want to do is look at some good press release sites. One that is recommended is www.prlog.org. The one thing about this site though is they don’t allow you to sign up using popular email accounts. If you have a Gmail account, Yahoo account, or Hotmail, you can’t use that to sign up and submit a press release through their service. If you already have a domain out there and your own email, then you can use www.prlog.org.

Keep in mind that this is all about being a no cost program. So we aren’t asking you to go out and do any of that until you have generated some revenue. I do want to point out though that this press release site service is a good one. They offer lots of examples of content that people include in a press release.

The site gets lots of exposure; it is always ranked very high up in the search engines. It is a reliable free source to get your content on. Another really good site to look at, and you can’t submit here as it isn’t free, is www.prweb.com. If you go to the News Center, you will find all of the new press releases for the day. It is a really good way for you to find out what is going on and to see what types of current press releases are out there.


Then you can go from there and determine how to write your own press releases and the types of information to put in them. That is the value of www.prweb.com. Click the news center, and you will see there are lots of types of press releases. For example, one that I want to point out is a survey result. You can get those survey results for something in your niche market. You can use that information to create your own press release for it to share that information.

There are several sites I go to that actually help me to find free press release sites to post to. I go to www.google.com and type in Submit Press Release Free. This will give you a good idea of what is out there currently. Put in quotes around those words and you will get the best results. You will find several websites that jump out. You can get an idea here of what you can use.

Most of them are self-explanatory. You need to create a username and password. You can create accounts on a few of them and then you can set up your press release there. Some of them ask for a business name and a few more details. You can just tell them that you are in a certain niche market and that you are trying to share information with people about what your products are in that niche market.

The title of our press release should tell a story. It should encompass what your press release is going to be about. For example, Controversial Video Reveals 5 Ways that People Can Improve their Golf Game. A good summary should also be there to tell what your press release is about. At www.pressrelease.com, they give you a template.

You need a good introduction.

Again, I recommend you look around to see what a good press release should look like. It is very simple to get a press release submission done on most of these sites. Another that you may want to check out is www.pressrelease.com and you can get started there with creating an account and then posting that.

Many of these free press release sites do ask you for a company name and address. If you aren’t comfortable with putting in your name and your home address while you get started, don’t do it. You can just skip doing press releases for now until you get that all set up with an outside source. If you do want to move forward with it, you will need to enter what it asks for them to approve your account.

Your headline should be catchy and keyword rich for any press release.

Your body needs to say who, what, where, when, and why. It needs to have a call to action too such as a link to your website. Make sure you choose a free press release.

Some of the sites have different types that you pick from. You may be asked to list your keywords.

Make sure you stay within the guidelines of what the press release site allows.

Some of them are strict and you don’t want your press release to get declined. If you do it the right way, a press release can be a great way to get more exposure and more traffic.

Article by:
Brian Walters SEO

Skype: tuneup_bj

Brian Walters MarketHive

Markethive

Markethive Promotion

http://brian-walters-online.com/

Another Press Release site

www.presscable.com

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

The Alpha Advantage

The latest buzz about alpha males has spawned workshops and books geared toward both women and men who want to become more "alpha" in business. How can being more alpha help female entrepreneurs?

"Women need to stop waiting to be recognized and go after exactly what they want," advises Christopher Flett, author of What Men Don't Tell Women About Business: Opening Up the Heavily Guarded Alpha Male Playbook. "First, women need to stop competing to get on the 'guys' team. The only team in business now is profitability. Second, women need to stop attacking each other and speaking ill of others in the workplace. Finally, women need to stop inadvertently giving up their power to alpha male clients and colleagues."

Through his online program, Ghost-CEO, Flett offers guidance to women business owners, providing them with on-demand, downloadable coaching sessions. Women typically look to build consensus and make sure everyone's included, he says. "Alpha males call this 'henning.' By having this focus, [women] make concessions intended to bring people together, but instead, they give up their power."

"Women shouldn't be victim to today's business cultures," says Maria Bailey, founder and CEO of BSM Media, a $2 million marketing and media company in Pompano Beach, Florida, that helps companies connect with and market to moms. "If you act [as if] there is inequality, then you get inequality."
Bailey says two men can argue over business one moment, then be found on a golf course the next. "[But if] two women disagree, they both stew over it for weeks, taking it personally and getting emotional," she says.

Bailey, 44, thinks women get too emotional about business in general. "We fall in love with our ideas and companies," she says. "Look at how few women entrepreneurs have an exit strategy. So many women call their companies their babies. What woman would get rid of her baby?"
Nathan Kwast, managing member of BecomeAlpha, a global organization that "teaches the arts and sciences of social dominance," believes that women don't understand the "power of neutrality." Says Kwast, "[Women] mistakenly believe that blind aggression and displays of dominance are necessary to attain power. They choose being perceived posi-tively over grabbing for power, when, in reality, they can have both."

What can women entrepreneurs learn from alpha males? "Men are great at getting to the point and not internalizing issues," says Bailey, who learned long ago never to cry at work. "[Crying is] a sign of weakness," she explains. Instead, "When I feel upset about a professional issue, I always ask myself, 'What would a man do?' And then I ask myself if it's me creating the situation or really a situation to worry about."

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Article Content For Your Blog

blog secretArticle Content For Your Blog

Original and Fresh Content is not as easy as it sounds. We are talking about unique information that will move people to your site. See, the problem with many companies showing up on the top page today is that their pages are optimized for Google with a combination of nonsense sentences and keywords. So, my approach is, why not build a website that actually is optimized for humans?

When you do this, you are automatically taking care of the optimization for Google. Come on people, we all know that Google has game and they’re increasing their technology every day finding ways to get rid of this “optimization” deal. Google is always on the side of the users and never the advertisers keep that in mind.

Guess what, once you have original and fresh content, people are going to want to visit your site and link to your site. Hey, we just took care of Popularity as well. I’m not saying you do not have to work on the link exchange thing but promise me that it will be minimal. Also you want to stay away from link farms, link exchange offers and paying for links.

So I hear that question, how else am I going to bring links to my site? The answer is content. Write articles, submit it to article sites. Prepare a PR, submit it to Prweb.com. Believe me; all these will bring links to your site. All you have to do is, mention your website at the end of these articles and make sure you link to your site with your advertised link text.

Now you are thinking, “That’s it; I have the content and the links, I’m the king of Google”. That would be wrong. Always remember that while you are doing content and popularity, there are a million competitors doing that and more. So you want to Maintain your content. You want to update it every week so every time Google spiders come to visit your site, they find new useful information. Keep up with daily life and updated news.

For example, if you sell farming supplies and the price of grain goes up, you should write an article and put it in your site. Also publish those articles on other articles sites. You can find these sites easily with a “article submit” search on Google.

Connecting Your Posts To The Markethive Social Network Ecosystem.


My Markethive System

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

Donald Trump Has Mastered These 5 Psychological Tactics to Get Ahead

For many people, it’s surprisingly easy to dismiss “The Donald” as a moronic blowhard. From his bombastic remarks to his over-the-top lifestyle, he often comes off as little more than a rich bully pandering for attention. But is he really?

You don’t need to be a genius to make millions, but billions is a very different story. Billions is not an accident, and I don’t believe for a moment that his success in the presidential race is either. Rather, I believe we’re seeing a master class in showmanship from a very intelligent businessman.

Here are five psychological tactics that Trump is using to rocket himself to the top of the polls:


1. Make people underestimate you.

Making yourself seem smart is easy. Read lots of books, learn to speak eloquently, dress well — if you look and act the part, most people will take you at face value. But tricking smart people into thinking you’re an imbecile, even though you’re secretly brilliant — now, that’s hard.

Why would anyone want to do this? Because it gives them a rather useful advantage over their opponents, and Trump is a strategist at heart. He knows that if his opponents don’t take him seriously, all sorts of great things can happen: they may not prepare as well for debates, work as hard to win certain states or pay attention to what they’re saying as carefully as they should.

Takeaway: What looks like a mistake may be nothing but a feint, and if your opponent fails to keep their guard up because they don’t see you as a threat, you can mop the floor with them before they know what hit them.

2. Know who you're speaking to.

Trump’s wealth comes from real estate, which is an industry that involves constant negotiation. One of the first and most important facets of negotiation (not to mention politics) is to understand, as deeply as you can, the people on the other side of the table.

There’s an enormous amount of demographic data on voter turnout out there, as well as a massive number of blogs and social-media outlets available for data mining and sentiment analysis. Suffice to say that Trump knows who he’s speaking to, what their hot buttons are and how to get them riled up.

Beyond that, he says what’s on his mind (and more important, what’s on the mind of many Americans), and doesn’t pull any punches. To put it simply, he seems very real and very human.

Your typical politician is the exact opposite: they’re polished, careful and very much politically correct. Many of them come off as sleazy, cold and corrupt, with plastic smiles and limp handshakes. Politicians have a bad rap for a reason, and a great many people have learned not to trust them.

Takeaway: If you want to win, you need to know your audience, and gain their trust.

3. Be polarizing.

Did you know that Howard Stern is worth somewhere north of $500 million? Do you know how he made that money? By pissing lots of people off. Advertisers pay based on the number of viewers or listeners for a show, and Stern learned early on that the people who hated him actually listened to his show more than his fans.

Trump is no stranger to show business, and he understands this principle well. If you try to please everyone, you please no one. But if you try to please a specific group of people, you will absolutely make others angry, and that can be surprisingly good for business.

Takeaway: Taking a stance that will make some people angry is great — it gets you more attention, more press coverage and more fans (or in Trump's case, voters).

4. Ask for more than you want.

Anyone who has ever haggled for something knows that the first offer is nothing but a starting point for negotiations.

Trump gets this, and his opponents clearly do not. He throws things out there that seem ridiculous if taken at face value (build a wall, throw out all the "illegals," etc.), but if you keep in mind that he’s tossing out starting points, that changes things dramatically. Trump is almost certainly happy to accept far less than his opening offer, but he wants to control the range.

Takeaway: The person who makes the first offer gets to control the psychological range of the haggling, much as the person making the first move in chess gets to set the initial direction of the game.

5. Use misdirection.

Trump is loud, brash, and seems to get riled up fairly easily. I’m pretty sure it’s nothing but a carefully orchestrated act. In fact, watching Trump, I’m reminded of watching videos of con artists and mentalists such as Apollo Robbins.

Takeaway: The ability to control what people focus on puts you in a position of immense power. You can throw people off their game, send them on wild goose chases or rob them blind. In the case of Trump, you can lead your opponents and the media around by their noses while winning over the masses.

At the end of the day I believe that Trump is a brilliant showman and businessman, and there’s a ton to be learned from watching him spin his web. But there’s a great difference between being the CEO of a company and the president of the United States.

A president is an envoy, a representative of the people and a diplomat above all else. Who we put in that office tells the rest of the world a great deal about what we value, the type of behavior we respect and how seriously we should be taken.

Is Trump the right person for that role? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This article was written by

Entrepreneur Contributor

 

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member