Business Book Summaries

Miami, Florida, January 28, 2008—BusinessSummaries.com releases its new business book summary “Elements of Persuasion: Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster and Win More Business” by Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman. Subscribers may now access PDF, PDA, Powerpoint, Audio, Video and Mindmap formats of “Elements of Persuasion: Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster and Win More Business” and enjoy the book summary anytime, anywhere.

Miami, Florida, January 28, 2008—BusinessSummaries.com, one of the leading e-commerce sites for business book summaries, today releases the abridged version of one of the business bestsellers, “Elements of Persuasion: Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster and Win More Business” by Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman. This executive book summary is now accessible to subscribers in PDF, PDA, Powerpoint, audio, video and mindmap formats.

Storytelling is something that is innate in every individual. The elements of persuasion are comprised of the five elements which make up the core of storytelling. This book was made to teach you how to weave words in your story and tell them in a manner people will not forget. Most concepts are in groups of five, making it easier to grasp and recall. It is also rich in real life examples which will enable you to see how each concept is at work based from real situations that occurred in some of the industry's best businesses. Timeless in its approach, this book links primitive notions of the human psyche and its effects on contemporary times in the aspect of persuading, pitching more effectively and

selling with impact.

At the heart of every business transaction and opportunity is the need to be a master of persuasion. With the help of this book, you will be able to have a step-by-step guide in selling faster and winning more in your business. Reading this book will ensure that you are fully equipped with the makings of a fabulous storyteller that customers will learn to love and forgive for just about anything.

With the succinct and easy-to-read book summary of “Elements of Persuasion” by Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman busy executives can now learn new ideas and business strategies in minutes through its different summary formats.

Every week, subscribers enjoy business book summaries of today’s business bestsellers in PDF, PDA, Powerpoint, audio, video and mindmap formats. The latest versions of the book summaries are all available online upon subscription to BusinessSummaries.com.

Visit the BusinessSummaries.com website at: http://www.bizsum.com. For additional information, call 1-305-433-8579.

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Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, leadership, marketing

It is no mystery why so many leaders are asleep at the wheel. These days it is not uncommon for the best and the brightest to opt for opportunities that offer more life balance. Ten years ago, a bevy of baby boomers emerged, excited about the prospects of entering senior leadership roles. A decade later, the bloom is off the rose. The entire do-more-with-less philosophy is partially to blame. Equally to blame, however, is the fact that culture changed. Now leaders are expected to listen, be open, and seek differing opinions. Smart individuals, who want to lead, get with the program and understand the new culture. Unfortunately, there are still some who have not learned these new principles. Consequently, there are not enough qualified people to handle all the leadership roles available. The void is often filled by people with no innate ability to lead and/or by those with no formal leadership training. These leaders are asleep at the wheel. They are sometimes difficult to identify because they are almost always incredibly busy. Being asleep at the wheel doesn't mean that they are lethargic or lazy. It simply means that they have not mastered the work-smarter-not-harder methodology that good leaders make their credo. Their hectic schedule often causes them to miss the big picture. It becomes about finishing projects as opposed to finishing projects right. The process becomes unimportant. Leaders who are asleep at the wheel are certain that they are smarter than the rest of us. They know what we need and want, without asking. They talk a lot about listening but rarely do. This occurs frequently, even in some of the less important leadership roles. These leaders suffer from a serious lack of vision. They honestly believe that they are in touch with the very pulse of their community. Because they are so certain they are right about everything they miss the obvious. They may represent their position as the voice of a particular organization or that of an entire industry. Leaders who are asleep at the wheel aren't totally to blame. The life balance scenario is very appealing. Plenty of people want to work or serve their organization. They just don't want to be in charge. This means many leadership decisions go unchallenged. Unfortunately, this makes the leader feel more powerful and even the slightest criticism can be interpreted by the leader as a major threat. This results in people realizing that speaking up may have consequences. Even our churches are suffering from leaders who are asleep at the wheel. In a recent Wall Street Journal article it was reported that members are ostracized or shunned by their congregations because they questioned the pastor or asked to see the financial records of the church. So, it is often tempting to sit back and let the other person drive even though it is dangerous. The Enron financial fiasco that first came to light in 2001 is a perfect example of leaders asleep at the wheel. Although it will be a point of debate for many years to come who was actually responsible for the debacle, there were many leaders of departments simply not paying attention. They had been encouraged not to worry by their supervisors. They were receiving compensation at a level that must surely mean they were doing the right thing. No one questioned the situation and those who did were deemed ungrateful or unworthy. There are thousands of examples where businesses lost out or went under because leadership was asleep at the wheel. Consider a recent example with CompUSA. CompUSA started a customer loyalty program called The CompUSA Network. Rewards were earned for purchases. However management leadership failed to properly promote the program and it was suspended. Customers who liked the program were infuriated. This lack of leadership attention contributed to the closing of 126 stores. Former FEMA director Mike Brown, wasn't listening when he responded too slowly to the urgent requests for help associated with Katrina. Embarrassing emails revealed that he was sure he had the situation under control. He was asleep at the wheel. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was certain that he could abolish presidential term limits. He discovered, to his surprise, that he did not have the pulse of the people. Leaders who are asleep at the wheel rush to judgment, misuse their resources, and repeatedly use failure-prone tactics to make decisions. They are incapable of changing things on their own or seeing the situation through a different lens. As good members of a team, everyone needs to be prepared to speak up, ask questions and hold our leaders accountable. About Author: Terra Vanzant-Stern, Ph.D, holds several certifications to include PMP, SPHR, and GPHR. She is President-Elect, for Colorado Human Resource Association. She is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and principal of SSD Global, Inc. Ms. Vanzant-Stern has published a number of books and articles on topics related to leadership, human resources, business ethics and continuous improvement. Terra may be reached at Terra.Stern@ssd Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, leadership, management

You don't have to be a Fortune 500 company to have an effective business card that captures attention and inspires someone to want to know more about you and what you offer.

By being aware of these ten common blunders and making sure you avoid them, you'll have a business card that gets noticed and increases your number of referrals and customers.

1. Miniscule print. Have you ever received a card that has a huge graphic taking up half the card and print so small you can't read the phone number? Well, I have. Too many in fact. And after straining my eyes and holding the cards under bright lights, trying to "crack the code," I eventually pitched them into the trash.

Make your name, phone number, web site and address easy to read. Business people are busy and won't spend more than a few seconds trying to decipher your information. Most don't carry magnifying glasses in their back pocket either.

2. No physical address. Perhaps you don't want to give your physical address because you work from home.

Unfortunately, holding back on contact information is harmful and hints that your business is not well established or reputable. Consider getting a post office box or asking a colleague if you may use her business address for your mail. Create a suite number to create an image of professionalism and longstanding.

3. Slick texture. It is often recommended to have a business card that "feels" different from everyone else's so it stands out. The problem that arises with this practice is some of these cards cannot be written on.

Last week at an event, a gentleman gave me his card and struggled to write some additional information onto it because it was made of slippery plastic. He did his best, but by the time I got home, the information was gone.

4. Blank back. The back of your business card is prime real estate. Something that very few people use. Use this valuable space to print a coupon, offer a special report or complementary consult.

Create an offer that inspires action such as, "Present this card for a 25% discount on your first visit." or "Bring this in with you and get a free oil change."

This gives people an added reason to hold onto it.

5. No photo. Placing your picture on your card makes you more memorable and instills a stronger sense of connection. As people look at your card time and again, they begin to feel like they know you and are more apt to get in touch with you.

Imagine collecting 50 to 100 cards at an event then trying to remember who's who. Your picture creates instant recall while others may be quickly forgotten.

6. Incongruence. If you offer a web design service and don't have a web site of your own listed, your card will raise red flags in people's minds. I recall meeting a gentleman who introduced himself as a web designer and gave me his card.

When I asked him why he didn't have his web site listed, he said he didn't have one.

If you want to sell a Ford, drive a Ford. If you want to sell cell phones, have one and make your number available. If you want to sell toll-free service, make sure you have your toll-free number on your card.

You have to walk your talk and demonstrate that you live, eat, breathe and firmly believe that what you offer is of tremendous value to others, starting with yourself.

7. No benefits. A graphic, your name and contact details don't do a whole lot to create a memorable impression, and by the time new contacts get home with your card, they may have forgotten what it is you do.

Create a tagline or something memorable that expresses a benefit and states exactly what business you're in.

For example, a local delivery rep may have "Your important business packages delivered same day or get twice your money back!" That's grabs a person by the eyeballs and makes it very clear what the business does.

8. Not unique. Ninety percent of the cards you collect look the same. After all, how creative can you really get? Well, you'd be surprised …

- crop a corner or have a stencil cut out

- attach a magnet to the back so it's displayed on a fridge or file cabinet

- include contact details in Braille

- make the back a scratch ticket for a discount

- place a mini map to your location on the back

- make it 3D

- make it look like the product you're selling, ie. a cell phone

- place it in a protective sleeve

- have a picture of a satisfied client on the front with a testimonial

- if you're a lawn care company, make your card a packet with a few seeds inside

The creative possibilities are endless.

9. Challenging sizes. Although creatively shaped cards and over-sized cards do stand out, they can pose challenges for those who use scanning software to import the cards into electronic storage devices.

And, oversize cards don't make it into the standard business card albums or card holders.

Your card may stand out and stand alone, but it might also become lost or overlooked because it's not stored with others.

10. Home jobs. No matter how hard you try, a home-made business card simply can't compete with professionally printed cards. Perforated and light-weight cards scream "cheap" and "amateur" and will lessen your ability to make an impact.

Professional business cards can be printed inexpensively and go a long way to create an image of professionalism and quality for both you and your business.

Simple, inexpensive changes to your card can make the difference between boom or bust in the number of referrals and new prospects you attract.

Invest in creating an effective, professional card and you will be rewarded many times over.

2007 © Laurie Hayes – The HBB Source

About Author: Laurie Hayes, founder of The HBB Source, and creator of The Complete 12-Step Guide To Starting A Home-Based Business and The HBB Survival Guide, helps freedom seekers fast track their journey from employee to home-based entrepreneur. Get her free ezine packed with helpful resources at http://www.thehbbsource.com

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, marketing

There are two, and only two, ways to make your business more profitable. You either need more money coming in or less money going out, period. Here's a simple business management tip; if financial growth is your objective, then the entire organization must be focused around one of these two attack plans.

More Money In – Top Line Growth

How do you get more money coming in the door? You sell and deliver more things. When you break it down further you find there are only 3 ways to get more money coming in:

1. Increase the number of customers 2. Increase the average value of each sale 3. Increase the frequency of sales

Each one of these is a big topic in itself worthy of a lot of discussion and study, but it all starts with the simple understanding that these are the only three ways to grow the top-line (income) of a business.

Less Money Out – Cost Control

How do you keep more money in the business? You spend less. This is otherwise known as cost control. There are 2 basic types of costs that need to be controlled.

1. Variable Costs 2. Fixed Costs

Variable Costs are the costs directly related to whatever product or service you provide. If you sell more, these costs go up, if you sell less these costs go down. The main variable costs are typically labor and raw materials.

Fixed Costs are overhead. It doesn't matter how little or how much you sell, you still have to pay these bills. Examples of fixed costs are rent, and management and administrative salaries.

Like top-line growth, cost control is a big topic and step one is understanding that there are 2 large categories of costs in every business: the raw materials, time and labor required to deliver something to a customer (variable costs), and the things you pay for even if you don't sell anything (fixed costs).

What Should You Focus On?

Most business managers will tell you that you need to balance between top-line growth initiatives and cost control measures. While that is a very true statement, it is also true that every successful business is generally focused much more on one than the other at any given period of development. The typical small business scenario is generally challenged with top-line growth. Generating leads and converting them to sales is the main goal of the Entrepreneur. When a business is small, controlling costs is relatively easy as everyone has a personal investment in the success of the company, and the impact of expenditures on the bottom line (profit, or cash in your pocket) is easy to see.

As a business grows the infrastructure grows along with it and the company begins to acquire more equipment and employees. This is generally acknowledged as an indication that the business is doing well, and growth is healthy. As long as the growth is outpacing the new costs there's no problem right? Wrong! There are two things that can turn growing costs this into a big problem. First of all you generally have to pay for your supplies before you collect payment from your customers. So taking a huge order can actually hurt your business if you don't have adequate plans for financing the supplies needed to do the job until you can collect from your customers. If you don't have enough funds to cover your weekly pay checks or pay your suppliers, it doesn't matter how much money the customer promises to give you 2 months after the work is done. People can't wait that long to be paid. More than one big company with a healthy balance sheet has gone bankrupt because they didn't plan this right.

The other side effect of growth is that people become less and less conscious of the impact of costs. People start to see that new double sided laser printer as a necessity instead of a luxury. What's a thousand dollars to a company that's making hundreds of thousands? After all, the business is doing well right? They start to feel less guilty about taking home a pack of staples, or using the photocopier to make 100 copies for their children's school. None of this seems like a big deal until you realize that there are also more employees than there used to be. When every employee at the local corner store takes home a pen, the store might lose 5 or 10 dollars; when every employee at Wal-Mart takes home a pen it's a very different story. Cost control measures become increasingly important as a business grows.

Generally, healthy companies start out focused on getting more money in. When they notice that costs have gotten out of control (because they were not focused on that) they slowly switch focus from getting more money in the door, to letting less money out the door (I.E. controlling costs). Once costs are under control, they need to switch focus back to getting more money in the door. This balance of focus swings back and forth continuously as long as the company is healthy and smart. Every business needs to decide for itself whether to focus on top-line growth or cost control at any given point in time.

Summary

There are only 2 ways to financially grow a business. If you want your bottom line to grow your business focus must address these two things. The primary area of focus depends on how your particular business is doing at the moment, and changes over time.

There are only 3 ways to bring more money in the door: 1. Increase the number of customers 2. Increase the average value of each sale 3. Increase the frequency of sales

There are only 2 types of costs to be controlled: 1. Variable Costs 2. Fixed Costs

About Author: Daryl Cowie has shared management tips with 1000s of people in over 30 countries around the world. His mission is to help you and your company turn business opportunities into business realities. Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, marketing

Do you know what most women entrepreneurs bring with them when they start their own business?

The notion that being busy means being productive.

Nothing could be farther from the truth!

As I warn my business coaching clients, this faulty (and even dangerous) notion is a hold-over from the days of working at a j-o-b.

You see, at a job, you're paid to show up and stay busy. What people do at their jobs is rarely connected with actually bringing in new clients or making money.

But when you work for yourself, EVERYTHING you do MUST be tightly connected to getting and keeping new clients. Period.

Which means handling things like most emails, filing, problem solving (unless it's solving your clients' problems), administrative trivia, surfing the 'net, sorting your Outlook files, paying bills, fiddling with your website, creating brochures… are a waste of time. These tasks don't put women entrepreneurs closest to the money; they pull them away from it!

Here are my top favorite tasks that I do nearly every day to put me closest to the money:

Small Business Marketing Strategy #1: Write an article.

Not crazy about writing or not sure what to write about? One of the tips I shared in a recent Success Circle Marketing Makeover call is to write like you are having a conversation. Pretend you are chatting with a good friend about a very specific topic.

Small Business Marketing Strategy #2: Send a "thinking about you" card…or two!

Why not surprise a client, referral source, another woman entrepreneur or prospective client with a friendly "keep in touch" card? They will feel special…and think you are too!

Small Business Marketing Strategy #3: Send a press release written as a mini-article.

Think a press release is only to announce an important event? Nope! Take one of your articles, trim it down to 250 words and add your author's bio. You can use this strategy to send one a week.

Small Business Marketing Strategy #4: Record a free audio tip for your website.

Even better, transcribe it and post it on your website as a viewable option. Google will love your site for adding fresh content.

Small Business Marketing Strategy #5: Make your first (or next) information product.

Keep it simple and get your information product done now! The credibility and leverage you gain will tremendously boost your business. Example: one of my Platinum Inner Circle clients created a $9.95 eBook on a popular topic. The result? This woman entrepreneur received dozens of sales and several new clients worth many thousands of dollars. Nice!

Small Business Marketing Strategy #6: Ask to be interviewed or to interview an expert.

Interviews are easy to set up. They increase your credibility, widen your exposure and raise your expert status, whether you're the expert giving the interview or conducting the interview. Choose someone you respect. Call to ask for the interview (you'll be surprised how often you'll hear "yes".) Then record the interview and offer it as a mp3 file on your website.

My business coaching challenge: make a stand for doing ONE small business marketing strategy each day, and then integrate your action into your daily routine.

This is how you'll go from being busy to becoming successful… with a lot more time to enjoy!

About Author: Would you like to learn more simple ways entrepreneurs can develop a money consciousness to quickly move away from "dollars-for-hours work" and create more money, time, and freedom in their businesses? Check out my web site, http://www.KendallSummerHawk.com, for free articles, free resources and to sign up for my free audio mini-seminar "7 Quick and Simple Tips to Brand, Package and Price Your Services for More Money, Time and Freedom in Your Business.' Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, small business, marketing

It is a fact that all large companies use a marketing system to successfully market their products and services. They follow the marketing system because they know it works and as a small business, marketing your product or service you can also discover the secrets and be even more successful. The secrets of the marketing system will save you time and money and will allow you to focus on retaining your key customers, rather than always looking for new customers which you know costs your business a lot more.

As a small business you will have a system you follow to produce your product or service for your customers and by following each step of the system it makes your business run smoothly. The secrets of big business marketing do not mean you have to have a large marketing budget; in fact you can use the marketing system with any size marketing budget.

The 4 steps of the big business marketing system are:

Step 1- Review Your Market and Business This simply means you need to know what is happening in your market, whether it is growing or declining, are there seasonality factors etc. Understanding your key point of difference to your competitors is crucial so you can take advantage of their weaknesses and defend against their strengths. Knowing what your customers think, feel and how they behave towards your product or service mean it will be easier to retain them as long term customers. Finally having a good understanding of your business's results in sales and previous marketing activities will mean that you can focus on areas that have worked for you. Big businesses do this review and analysis throughout the year so they can be more proactive with the marketing of their products and services.

Step 2 – Develop a Marketing Plan Each Year Without a simple and practical marketing plan, as the saying goes it is like sailing a boat without a rudder. In other words if you do not know what you want to achieve for your small business each year how will you know if you have been successful. What is more, you could be wasting your money and time on marketing tactics that just do not achieve anything and in a worst case lose you customers. By completing step 1 you will have a lot of information that makes it very easy to develop a marketing plan.

Step 3 – Implement Your Marketing Plan This means implementing the marketing tactics you have selected in your marketing plan, which allows you to be more proactive throughout the year as they are pre-planned.

Step 4 – Track Your Results This is an important step because you must know what is working for your business and want is not working. By tracking your sales results and your marketing activities on a regular basis means that you can be proactive with your marketing throughout the year. Also the key learnings you gain will assist you with future business decisions and of course will make developing a marketing plan for the next year so much easier.

Four easy steps to follow throughout the year are the secrets of the big business marketing system and as it has worked for them over decades it can work for your small business as well.

About Author: Susan Oakes and and her business partner Bronwen Ryan are experienced marketers who developed and now sell M4B Marketing Software which enables small businesses to review, develop, implement and track their marketing plans and projects. Visit http://www.m4b.com.au and view the demo Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, small business, marketing

I've been working on the same strategy for the past three years now and I believe that despite so many tactics emerging in the industry, I can still rely on it to get me the leads I need to grow my business.

So what is this marketing strategy? I'm basically using database marketing to reach out to as many target customers as I can.

Database marketing may not be considered as one of those glamorous and brilliant strategies in the marketing industry, but it sure does work steadily to help me achieve the growth I need. Whether you're a small-time entrepreneur, a Fortune 500 company, or even a freelance professional, database marketing can work for you.

Whether it's simple or more complex, database marketing can be developed to help you maintain a precise database of information of your current customers and prospective clients.

So how do you do that? Some business owners who have been successfully using database marketing as their strategy find it effective to send out a reminder every year to their current roster of customers. They mail out brochures and flyers to more active clients more than once, and they even place personal calls to their most loyal subjects – with the purpose of making their business recognized and retained in their clients' minds.

Here's how you can effectively optimize your database marketing strategy to help you grow your business:

1 – Database marketing works effectively with repeat marketing. This means that you use your funds to market your products and services to your best and loyal customers on a regular and repeat basis.

Send out brochures, catalogs, flyers, and even your postcards to your current clients just to remind them that you're still around. You can also use database marketing to introduce new products and provide them with special discounts and freebies for repeat business.

2 – Experiment with new target customers. Even if you put most of your resources in keeping your relationship with your current customers, don't forget to leave a little to generate new leads. You still need new customers to maintain your success even if you already have more than enough in your current database. More customers mean higher profits.

3 – Mix and match your marketing tools. You don't need to stick with just one marketing vehicle to make your database marketing work. Direct mail may be your best bet when it comes to database marketing; but you still have many promotional tools that you can use that will surely have a positive effect on your business growth.

And don't be afraid to mix and match your marketing vehicles. As they say, two heads are better than one, so does two marketing vehicles combined can work better in reaching out to your target audience.

About Author: Janice Jenkins is a writer for a marketing company in Chicago, IL. Mostly into marketing research, Janice started writing articles early 2007 to impart her knowledge to individuals new to the marketing industry. Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, marketing

What is another word for unemployed? Consultant.

Lately, I have noticed a great many commercials on various media wanting me to give them money for them to teach me how to_________. You fill in the blank for any variety of topics. Buy stocks, buy distressed property, be successful on eBay, be successful on Amazon, make $10,000 per day or how to retire at age 30. I particularly love this one because I am way passed 30.

I know that these type of things have been around for decades. I guess I only recently began to pay attention to them. Not because they interest me in a positive way, rather they all seem to have the same message. "Give me your money and I will show you how to ________. " There is that fill in the blank thing again.

This type of selling bothers me. It bothers me from the perspective that once they started teaching they lost touch with their customers, their products and their industry. There is no way that these experts can truly stay on top of their topic unless they continue to practice what they preach on a daily basis.

On top of that, if what they were teaching was so great, made so much money and gave them the lifestyle they wanted then what are they doing teaching you? The simple fact is they make more money telling you how they did it than they did actually doing it. If that weren't true they wouldn't be telling, they would still be doing.

I went to one of these seminars this week. A friend of mine asked me to attend as he was sponsoring the event and wanted to have enough attendees to not be embarrassed by a weak turnout. That in itself should have been warning enough, but I went anyway. The seminar was entitled something like, "Why People Fail in the Copier Business and How to Fix it."

The content of the seminar did mention copiers. It did mention items that tied the goal of the seminar to the copier industry. However, make no mistake. The purpose of the seminar was to sell the audience on paying the presenter to teach them how to sell using his proven sales techniques.

During the seminar my mind began to wander. Questions came into my mind that centered around, if his techniques were so good why isn't HE selling copiers? The notes he kept referring to were torn, tattered and a bit ragged. Obviously, he had used them before. I wondered, how many times had he taught this copier selling course or were these his notes for every group that was lured into his classroom?

He had a permanent office in a nice office building. There wasn't a copier in sight but he had lots of sales materials scattered about for us to buy and invest in. If this presenter knew much more than how to make a copy I would have been shocked.

The next day I got a call asking me to come back so that the presenter could see if his sales training might be something that I was interested in. It was actually funny to me that he proceeded with his closes on me even after I told him that I wasn't in the copier business. Amazingly enough, his techniques would work in every industry, including mine.

Therefore, I came up with a list of 10 things we should ask before investing money in any system, products and theories.

10. Are You Ready to Hear What They Have to Say

Is every consultant out to get you? No. I am not saying that. However, you do need to understand what they are truly selling to see if you have a fit. For instance, don't pay to learn how to invest unless you have a good chunk of money you can afford to loose.

Do you truly have the time that is going to be required to complete the training and to then put into action the things you have learned?

Do you have an open mind and want to change your current situation? If you were already doing things right would you need to hear that from a consultant or seminar? If you are not ready to make a lifestyle change then you should not attempt to learn a new method of doing something.

9. Do You Need What They Have

What are they offering that you need? With a little preparation could you teach the class? How experienced are you on the topic? Is the information timely and relevant to current business trends?

Don't get involved in something that will not benefit you long-term. Consider the time you are going to have to invest to learn what they are teaching. From my experience you will spend at least 2/3 of your time learning and 1/3 doing.

8. Is this the Only Source for this Information

Can you get this information from some other source? The Internet is a wealth of information. Have you searched the article directories for free sources of information.

Today, there are plenty of Blogs and other free sources of information on more topics than we can include here. I am very confident that you can find plenty of good information on your topic for free.

7. Do they Believe in their Information Enough to use it Daily

Are they still using their information on a regular basis or is selling this information the bulk of their income? If they are selling you a "system" on stocks or investment property how much did they make last week, month and year using their system?

A word of caution here – too many people will answer this with top line revenue instead of bottom line profit. I am not interested in selling for the sake of selling. I want to know what they made after paying all the fees, buying the products and paying the freight in and out.

6. How Much and How Long

What is your ROI (Return on Investment) and how long will it take to recover what you spent? If it sounds too good to be true… You know the rest. Don't forget to include your time in the investment/spend column. Your time is the most valuable asset you have. How you choose to spend it matters and should be included in this calculation.

The length of time to determine a reasonable ROI is strictly up to you. If you are looking for a quick hit with a fast ROI then you are the perfect candidate for these seminars. They are looking for you! There are any number of get-rich-quick systems available and they will gladly assist you in parting from your money.

However, if you are patient, methodical and practical in your approach it is not unreasonable for your ROI to take up to 18 months and be a lasting stream of income.

5. Is There a Guarantee

Do they offer a money back guarantee? This is a good indication of how much they believe in their own product. If it works then they should have no problem making this offer. Is the guarantee conditional or unconditional. I know a computer company that has a "Money Back Software Guarantee" where they will refund the cost of the software you purchased within 30 days but has no return policy for the computer hardware you bought. The software is the smallest portion of the sale and is the only portion that is refundable.

4. Is There Ongoing Support

Do they offer follow-up resources? Do they offer continued consulting and answers to questions beyond the purchase? How long?

Do they offer a Blog for support, E-mail support, live support or all three?

You are going to have questions after you give them your money. How are you going to get those answers.

3. References and Referrals

I love the line from one of the Santa Clause movies staring Tim Allen. He is trying to explain to his niece that it isn't so odd to have a reindeer. Lots of people have reindeer. She comes back at him with, "Really? Name 3."

You are going to hear how lots of people have been successful using whatever they are selling. Really? Name 3.

Get references. Make them name names and get phone numbers. Take the time to contact these references and quiz them on the program being sold. Ask the questions listed above and see if you hear anything that you like.

Go onto the Internet. Use the major search engines to find information on the program or system being sold. You will probably find information for and against the product. Read as much of both and see what makes sense to you.

2. How Long is the Offer Good For

Limited time offers are fine. They have been around sales and marketing forever. I am not taking issue with this type of offer.

Giving you time to think things over, talk to your spouse or gather your thoughts is not a problem for a legitimate operation. I had a person once who said that they wanted to pray about it. Heck, I even have a friend who was in the car business who once had someone tell him that they had to go pray about the car purchase. When the salesperson told his manager the manager got on the public address system and said in a booming voice, "This is God. Buy the car." My friend no longer works there.

If they tell you that if you walk out the door the deal is off, then don't walk out the door. Run! Get away from them as fast as you can and don't look back.

1. They are not Invested in your Success

I may have saved the most important thing for last. These consultants, teachers and purveyors of practical knowledge truly are not invested in your success. Whether you use their materials or not is truly of no concern to them. They probably already have enough references for people to call. Your success is not what they are selling.

While I am sure that they believe in what they are selling what do you think they would say to someone a year down the road if they called and said that they had not been successful using their system? How much sympathy would they have?

They are selling and people are buying information from them. Nothing more. Remember that at all times. It is now and always will be up to you to make it happen. Just because you have the knowledge does not make you successful. You have to take action, put your knowledge to good use and you have to have the staying power to make it through the tough times. For there will be tough times.

About Author: Nathan Lewis has over 25 years of experience applying technology to solve complex small business problems. Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, human resource

Investors, customers, and even your own staff will all ask the same question: How is your company different from the competition?

The truth is many companies have a limited number of characteristics that differentiate them from their competitors. This fact often leads to the popular, although misinformed, advice that "it is best to avoid competition".

In reality, competition is a great indicator that a business venture can succeed.

Seeing that competition exists shows the following points:

- The public is ready to accept the product/service - Others have tried, and have been successful - There is a healthy amount of paying customers

This article explains how to make the best of a competitive market and Stand Out from the Competition!

Read Their Mail

Don't get carried away with this point, there are plenty of laws in place protecting the privacy of a company's incoming mail. There is, however, nothing wrong with learning about the competition using publicly available information. Newsletters, advertisements, and websites are a few popular places to find messaging from the competition.

If you're feeling ambitious, and budgets aren't a concern, you could even launch a full scale competitive intelligence research campaign.

The main point to remember is that the most important component of a competitor's marketing strategy is their message.

Regardless of what product or service you sell, taking the time to ensure that a competitor's message is never confused with your own will set you up for success. Listening to what the competition is saying is the best way to do this.

Take a look around and note where competitors conduct their advertising, write down their central selling points, and keep a tally of keywords that are used.

If there are newsletters available, sign up for them.

If there are surveys to respond to, fill them out.

The newsletters will keep you "in the know" regarding new campaign launches and the surveys will provide a unique glimpse into what the competition wants to know (and may help you learn where the competition would like to go).

The "10 Foot Poll" Policy

Drawing a hard line in the sand is something that I will rarely recommend. This being said, when it comes to branding and messaging, every company should draw a hard line in the sand by deciding that their business will always operate differently, and communicate differently, from the competition.

Avoid keywords used by competitors and avoid replicating their selling points (in a nutshell list all the words a phrases that can be used to describe the competition and do what it takes to avoid using them; "don't even touch 'em with a 10 foot poll"). The last thing advertisements should be used for is reminding potential customers that there are competitors out there with a similar product or service.

Many companies make the mistake of replicating language used by the competition to show that they are knowledgeable and experienced in their industry of choice. It is true that replicating the language used by competitors will make a company look and sound like they belong in their industry of choice however; there is no benefit in blending in with a competitive crowd.

Be Different from the Competition

The most powerful action I see many companies taking is making a declaration.

Count the number of times you've heard a company declare that they are innovative, or better than brand "b". Ask around to see what effects these declarations had on people's purchase decision. To save some time I'll give you the answer; the effect is hardly noticeable.

The most powerful action these companies take is barely noticed by their customers or staff! To truly make a powerful statement a company must be different from the competition. Being different from the competition makes writing advertizing messages a breeze; and it makes competitors stew with envy.

Don't declare "innovation", be innovative.

Don't claim "quality", be a company that plans and tracks quality down to the smallest detail.

Actions will continue to speak louder than words and companies making bold declarations will soon be forgotten. Be remembered for taking action, not claiming action!

Push the Limits and Ignore the Boundaries

Successful companies push limits. Look at what Research in Motion (RIM) did to the cell phone, or what The Real World did to tried tested and true television formats.

RIM didn't look at how they were limited; they took a step forward and did what they needed to do to fill a need. The Real World tried something interesting, and it worked.

Pushing limits is not a difficult task. Consider the last time you were given a response of:

"No, it can't be done"

Imagine what would have happened if you responded with

"why?"

And then probed further with "what if…?"

Or "is it possible to…?"

Personally, I'm told "no" all the time. Usually a response of "no" or "it can't be done" is how people choose to express the words "I don't know". Life is full of uncertainties but it is surprising how easy it is to find someone who will tell you, with absolute certainty, that something cannot be done.

Decide what you will do differently and get moving on it!

About Author: Noah Marconi, Director of Business Development, Upright Business Services (http://www.uprightservices.com/). Through his work Noah Marconi pushes businesses to their maximum potential. Whether it's identifying unnecessary operating costs or taking a professional approach to website development, Noah gets businesses working on what truly matters! Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, marketing

Like it or not, it is inevitable we resort to self-evaluation at this time of year. This is true of your business as well as personal life. Was the year we are leaving successful? Will next one be? Will we get that book written finally? Start that new business or add a new product or service to the one we have? Renovate the house? Take charge of our finances? No matter, how successful we were this year, we still want next year to be even better. So what can we do?

Here are my top 10:

1. Evaluate the year gone by. What did you accomplish? What were your disappointments?

2. Take a hard look at the lessons you learned. Life is a series of lessons and many tend to repeat themselves– unless we see them clearly enough to change our ways.

3. Write down your vision for the coming year. Where do you want to be at this time next year? Writing it down is key. You will be amazed at the impact this will have.

4. Check in with yourself on your mission (what you are here for) if you have one. Are you living it? Does it need revision. Do you need to create one because you have to admit you've been letting life unfold without thinking about it?

5. Write down your top 10 values. Narrow it down by using the "Sophie's Choice" method– painful but very helpful. E.g. If you could have "fame" but not "fortune," which would you choose?

6. Think about either the roles (professional, personal, community) or the areas of your life (career, finance, health) or business (new business development, thought leader, sales). Make sure to include ones that care for your own well-being (self-manager).

7. Set goals for each of the areas. make sure they are consistent with your values, mission and vision and that you truly intend to pursue them. Write them down on 4 x 6 cards (I like to use different colors) — one per role and list the action steps you will take for each by month.

8. If you are truly committed, take your monthly goals and break them down to weekly ones. Then write them in your calendar. Look at your goals regularly. You will make progress no matter what but if you pay attention, you will really succeed.

9. Take care of yourself. Pushing alone won't get you where you want to go. To maintain balance, make sure the self-manager is giving you periodic breaks. Remember to take time throughout the year to review where you are. Are you on the right path? Do you need to tweak your plan?

10. Avoid doing it alone. Find a partner and co-coach. Keep each other honest and committed or consider a professional coach– particularly if you have BEHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).

All of the above can be applied to business teams, project teams and other organizations as well. Groups are as likely to get off track as individuals and less likely to think about themselves in an organized way. When projects break down, people tend to hide, avoid or blame and defend. A process like this can help turn unproductive meetings where there is a lot of talking but no change, into more productive ones. Again, professional help may be useful if your team has significant issues.

Think through the 10 tips on your own. At least you will get more clarity on the problem.

Last, although this is the most natural time of year to think about these tips, you can use them at any time.

About Author: Marilyn Edelson, president of OnTrack Coaching & Consulting (http://www.ontrackcoaching.com) and principal and co-founder of IT Decisions Coaching, LLC (http://www.itdecisionscoaching.com) is an master certified executive and leadership coach and a Best Year Yet program leader. Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, management, business productivity