Hyundai’s car shopping tool will be great for viral marketing

Hyundai’s car shopping tool will be great for viral marketing | Ubergizmo window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '139683546053659', status : true, // check login status cookie : true, // enable cookies to allow the server to access the session xfbml : true // parse XFBML }); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); Network:Ubergizmo English, French, SpanishUberphones Subscribe to RSS Ubergizmo ReviewsMobileGamingAndroidAppleComputersGadgetsConceptsPhoto/Video |  Jobs Contact About Home > Transportation > Hyundai’s car shopping tool will be great for viral marketing Hyundai’s car shopping tool will be great for viral marketing George Wong 09/01/2011 16:02 PDT

Pretty much everybody is on Facebook right now and it looks like Hyundai is going to tap into the massive network with a new marketing tool, according to a report from CNET. According to its sources, Hyundai has plans to add four new car-buying tools to its Facebook fan page, that will let car buyers (or anybody who feels like it) crowdsource for the opinions of their friends when it comes to purchasing a new Hyundai car.

Since most people usually ask for the opinions of their friends when it comes to buying a vehicle, a car-buying app on Facebook makes a lot of sense for the car manufacturer. Users will have their friends already connected to them, and it would take a few clicks just to ask for their opinions. With the app, buyers can select their models, vehicle configuration, compare vehicles and even locate dealers. They can even customize a car and post the model to their wall to get opinions.

While the tools will make it extremely convenient for users who have difficulty making up their minds when it comes to car shopping, we think it’s an even greater viral marketing tool for Hyundai. After all, when people start seeing the Hyundai app popping up on their newsfeeds, they’ll be more inclined to check it out, especially if they’re in the process of looking for a new car. The tools may not guarantee more sales for the company but it will definitely increase its exposure by a long stretch. Hyundai’s car buying tools will be available sometime later this week.

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Are Trade Shows on the Sales Or Marketing Side of the Aisle?

I think you'll agree that most sales and marketing people have very different personalities and depending on corporate culture, management styles and direction, the important functions they direct and manage can either work together in harmony or be very challenging especially for successful trade show exhibit planning and participation.

In many corporations, the trade show exhibit program is considered, managed and budgeted as a marketing support function and usually reports to either a marketing, marketing communications or advertising manager. Trade show exhibiting joins the advertising, public relations, sales promotion and sales support departments as a marketing activity and there in lies the potential for friction and general disagreements with a sales team's needs, philosophies and performance mandate.

In his book the The Gamesman H. Maccoby, developed from his extensive research and interviews with corporate America, four types of organizational personalities: the craftsperson, the organizational person, the jungle fighter and the gamesman. His focus states that no one is purely of one type, but rather a mixture depending on the circumstances and challenges confronting each during the course of daily management responsibilities and business pressures.

The same can be said for the personalities of marketing and sales people when faced with challenges and every day business situations, however, there is a difference between the two and those dynamics often show themselves when faced with the tasks of trade show planning and successfully executing exhibit functions on the show floor.

Although the personality traits of each discipline may often blend with top management's insistence on team cooperation and focus on overall company success, in reality, each person's daily tasks and responsibilities tend to follow along department lines and philosophies. Simply stated, the marketing people do what they are directed to do and the sales people do what they directed to do.

Much of marketing's personality is based on strategic thinking and planning. Tasks often include market research, competitive analysis, product introduction program development and the design

of selected communications and advertising campaigns. Marketing communications, web development, direct mail, print advertising and public relations activities are all a part of the marketing department's mix of duties and responsibilities.

According to Robert A. Grayson, author of the book Introduction to Marketing, "Marketing is a commercial process which attends and facilitates the movement of goods and services through the economy to enlarge and satisfy consumer needs consistent with the corporation's fundamental objectives." While Grayson goes on to list most of the functions and tools of the marketing mix, he does not list the actual face to face tactical selling function which is usually confined to and the sole responsibility of the sales team.

The early development of the corporate marketing function as we know it was accomplished at Procter and Gamble when in 1879 they introduced Ivory soap to the consumer masses. It wasn't until the late 1920s that Proctor and Gamble's concept of a brand management system began to take shape. This innovative marketing organization was officially created in 1931 and was based on competing brands managed by dedicated groups of marketing people. The new system provided more specialized consumer marketing strategies for each brand and Procter & Gamble's famous brand or product management system was born and copied today by many successful corporations.

Since then, Proctor and Gamble has successfully introduced main stays in the consumer world including: Crest toothpaste, Crisco cooking oil, Head and Shoulders shampoo and Old Spice after shave lotion to name a few.

While working at Memorex, management decided to enter the audio tape business which was then dominated by 3M and they cleverly hired a team of Proctor and Gamble marketing executives to head up the new consumer audio tape division. It didn't take these experts long to develop the ingenious advertising campaign, "Is it live or Memorex? Reproduction so true it can shatter glass", at Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago and within one year commandeered almost 14 % of the world wide audio tape business away from a dazed 3M Corporation.

That innovative program was an excellent example of successful consumer marketing directed by a team of professional marketers who knew how to develop and launch a new consumer product using the science of "pull through" marketing they learned so well at Proctor and Gamble.

In contrast to the extremely successful consumer audio tape division's accomplishments against 3M, Memorex's business to business divisions who were pitted against IBM and other computer mainframe manufacturers were struggling to survive. This untenable situation provided a poignant appreciation of the unique differences between consumer and business to business marketing effectiveness.

Consumer product marketing teams, like those developed by Proctor and Gamble, are the foundation of many of today's successful corporations where consumers are driven by advertising to stocking retailers to purchase featured products. The activity of selling actually takes place in the executive offices of various retailers who are pitched to assign their valuable retail shelf space to heavily media supported new products.

Business to business marketing however, is quite different in the fact that few customer individuals are able to purchase capital products without formal authorization from their purchasing people and it often requires sales people making field sales calls to present, demonstrate, negotiate and earn a purchase order for the products they represent.

The personalities of sales and marketing people with regards to tactical trade show exhibiting are very unique and today's exhibit manager might want to better understand the differences to appreciate their individual motivations, character traits and operational styles in an effort to foster excellent working relationships between the two.

Simply stated, marketing people tend to be more strategic, conservative and long term thinkers, while sales people are often considered more tactical, short term thinkers, action oriented and impatient with concepts that don't promise deliver immediate sales results.

The selling function in many corporations is more immediate and tactical and many salespeople's personalities are different from those working in the more strategic marketing areas. Most sales people enjoy the challenge and freedom associated with their ability to earn what they're worth and often excel when matched against the competition.

Sales, however, has a major disadvantage of being judged, much like looking at the score board at a sporting event, where their sales can be viewed, measured and evaluated at almost any point in time and no matter how well they've done, their fame and fortune often only lasts as long as their last sale. "So, what have you sold for us today?" are simple words that usually send chills down a salespersons spine.

The marketing function is usually managed by strategic people who enjoy research, planning, developing and executing programs that are deemed to be well thought out and usually unfold over time; while sales are important, there are other quantitative, qualitative results and analysis that are viewed as equally important that might add to the research, development and success of future marketing programs.

I've worked on both sides of the sales and marketing aisle and found both to be challenging and rewarding. As a salesman in the field, I was motivated by learning the professional approach to successfully selling, meeting or exceeding my monthly sales targets and making as much money as I could while enjoying being responsible for managing my own time and resources.

The corporate marketing side of my experience calmed me down a bit and forced me to become more systematic and strategic and less anxious to sell more products faster. The corporate environment seemed to require me to become more sophisticated, less frantic and more professional where time was measured more in business quarters instead of weeks, months or days as was the case when I was a salesman in the field.

Also, while working in marketing, I appreciated not working in the pressure packed environment of sales and being asked by almost anyone in management, how my sales to target looked. How close I thought I'd come to making my sales numbers and/or how much business I expected to close within any given period of time.

Any sales team's performance can be judged on a daily basis, whereas marketing has more time to adjust to market trends, purchasing cycles and various product issues. This dynamic often creates an environment of discomfort among sales and marketing people and in many cases exposes the underlying tension that exists between the two just below the surface.

For me, the many lessons learned while working in the sales and marketing departments of large corporations culminated when I was asked to join OrCAD Systems Corporation, a new start up Software Company where I assumed Vice President level responsibility for both sales and marketing.

I quickly found myself required to effectively blend the strategies of marketing with the tactics of sales and did so successfully by first attempting to sell product and then using whatever results learned to better identify and utilize various additional marketing support tools to pave the way to greater sales.

OrCAD's trade shows were focused on sales and generating quality sales leads. The leads were rated cold-warm-hot and were followed up on one week following the show. Each lead card distributed had hand written notes of the exchange and the rating identified by the interviewer indicated the level of buying interest. It was also known by the field sales team members that I would call leads at random soon after the show to confirm that they were contacted and satisfied with the way they were serviced.

Contrary to OrCAD's trade show sales lead system, a client of mine first used a give-away promotion to build booth traffic and after hearing "I just wanted to win the drawing" from leads distributed after the show, the sales team didn't waste their time following up on any of that show's leads because the quality just wasn't there and the promise of making a sale didn't exist.

The trade show is a unique tactical, face to face sales event, staged for two or three days which presents an exhibitor with an entire market of suspects, prospects and customers considering the purchase of products and services. The success or failure of a company's trade show effort is usually judged by how effectively the leads were generated, followed up on and new sales booked.

The Challenge

The challenge for many trade show managers is to create and foster a cooperative planning environment where the dynamics of tactical sales and strategic marketing personalities can work together to contribute their individual talents and perspectives in reaching for new levels of trade show sales success.

Peter LoCascio Trade Show Consultants http://www.tradeshowconsultants.com

Peter LoCascio, creator of "Bridging the Gap between Trade Shows and Sales, has been an innovator in the trade show industry for over 35 years. He now consults exhibitors desirous in maximizing their trade show effectiveness through his company at: http://www.tradeshowconsultants.com

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Dramatically Increase Sales Conversion Rate Using Education Based Marketing

Is your sales conversion rate acceptable? Would you like to work smarter not harder? Then consider education based marketing instead of the traditional sales based marketing and realize your goal to increase sales.

So what is your sales conversion rate? In other words, if you receive 100 qualified leads, how many sales do you actually earn? Depending upon the industry and your own sales skills, this may range from 5% to 90%. However from my sales coaching experience, I believe the average is probably closer to 1 out of three to five.

What would happen if you could double that conversion rate? Instead of earning one sale with every 5 contacts you now have 2. For the same amount of effort, you have doubled your results. Does that make sense to you?

During the last year, I have been transitioning from sales based marketing to education based marketing. My sales style was always helpful, but I never considered myself an educator unless I was doing sales training. Now, I have embraced this more contemporary model and the results have been exciting.

The traditional way of selling evolves from a sales based marketing approach. Here is the focus is on how quickly you can make the sale. Within this approach are certain No-Nos such as Do not give anything away.

With the advent of technology and the Internet, there is a wealth of free information so the old paradigm of giving stuff away is no longer viable. Now sales professionals must out think the Internet and all that free information.

To change from the accepted and traditional sales based approach is quite easy. All you must do is take the role of trusted educator and advisor. Your goal is not to sell the product or service, but to bring value by educating the potential qualified customer. Of course, you may think this may take more time. Given that most sales are completed between the fifth and twelfth contacts, the time really is not an issue.

So what is the real issue? From my sales coaching experience, the real issue is conversions. How many contacts or leads can you convert into loyal customers? Sales Coaching Tip: If you do not know your sales conversion ratio or percentage, shame on you.

If sales conversion is the 800 pound gorilla in the room, then your sales actions should be focused on improving that percentage. By taking such directed actions, you can begin to close the gaps between leads received and sales earned.

One such action is education based marketing which is probably 180 degrees away from the traditional sales based marketing. Your role is now to educate your potential customers or even centers of influence. By demonstrating your subject matter expertise, you become the go to person when people have questions.

Since educate means to lead out, you now take the role of leading your potential customers out from where they are to where they want to be. Imagine that you are walking side by side with your customers, educating them instead of having to pull or push them to buy your products or services.

Education based marketing extends beyond the traditional research of the marketplace. Some examples of within this 21st century marketing approach include:


Articles
White Papers
Assessments

TAKE ACTION SALES COACHING TIP: Understand the difference between sales based marketing and education based marketing. Revisit your marketing growth action plan and make those course corrections now. Embrace a belief of educating your potential customers first before attempting to sell them. Watch your sales conversions skyrocket; your sales increase; and your piggy bank explode.

P.S. You may be wondering how I know this to be true? Fair question. Since providing a free professional sales profile to qualified potential customers by using a performance appraisal online assessment tool, my conversion rate has increased from 40% to 80%. My qualified potential customers are receiving a tangible product and service while experiencing the benefit of working with me as a sales coach or executive coach.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Chicago Sales Coach, helps small business owners to C Level executives to achieve their competitive advantage by leaving their comfort zone whether they are from Chicago, Indianapolis to worldwide. If you are tired of poor sales, bad attitudes and truly want to make the current year exceptional, then pick up the phone and call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching training or sales coaching strategy session to begin to quickly unlock tomorrow's solutions today.

P.S. If you would like to receive Leanne's weekly business column for free, sign up at http://www.processspecialist.com/column.htm

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What is the Difference Between Sales and Marketing?

In traditional business, marketing is what brings your prospect to your door, gets them to call, send an email or in some cases actually buy. Sales is everything that happens after the prospect has contacted you.

Traditional business is still with us though it has clearly been evolving very rapidly in recent years. Although the general definitions of sales and marketing still apply, business evolution has expanded and radically changed both concepts.

And that evolution appears to be accelerating.

The most obvious difference is the blurring of the lines between sales and marketing. Most low consideration sales involve an emotion, impulse or unmet need. The prospect or customer either buys 'on the spot' or they do not buy at all, just like the grocery store. Almost everything we buy falls into this category.

These impulse or emotional sales include items such as hot dogs, toothpaste and gasoline. In these sales the marketing and sales are all bound up into one 'presentation'. The good news is the sales process and cycle is short and sweet; the bad news is everybody in the world is competing for that same sale.

Higher consideration sales, such as cars, houses, properties, colleges, etc., still fit the more traditional divisions of sales and marketing. That is why many companies split their sales and marketing departments; their respective functions often can be separated.

Most companies set up their marketing departments to drive qualified prospects to their sales department. It is the sales department's job to assess needs, do presentations, prepare bids and contracts and of course, close the sale.

Although sales and marketing are both involved in buying a CD online or buying a timeshare condo in Akumal, the two processes are very different. Yet even these higher consideration sales are beginning to evolve. Many companies have their marketing departments identify and qualify their prospects before sending the 'lead' to the sales department.

The marketing department may be involved in a number of actual sales 'touch points' before the sales department gets the lead. The rule is form follows function and function follows results. Of course with anything humans attempt the devil is always in the details. It may seem like sales and marketing would be the same across companies in the same vertical and even horizontal industries. Not so anymore.

How a company structures their sales and marketing processes often determines their degree of success in the marketplace. Technology has now 'forced' smaller and medium sized companies to compete directly on strategy.

If everything else is equal between competitors, the one with the best strategy wins. Those companies that don't wish to compete on strategy simply don't compete.

The easiest way to determine where marketing ends and sales begins in your company is to draw a flow chart of your sales cycle. Plot out each step as your prospects find out about you, contact you, go though your sales presentation, ask questions and obtain enough information to make an informed decision. And of course buy.

If your sales process is complex and involves repeat sales, don't forget to include the follow-up on ongoing sales potential.

The important point to remember is it is not as important to create a distinction between sales and marketing as it is to develop marketing and sales strategies that work. Consequently your marketing and sales departments may be the same or they may be on opposite sides of the planet, depending on your sales cycle.

So the real answer to what is the difference between sales and marketing is ...it depends. It's relative because the answer will always be dependent on the application or sales cycle and process. How your company structures your sales and marketing functions will most likely determine whether your company succeeds and fails.

But like most things in life, the devil is always in the details...

Jack Deal is the owner of JD Deal Business Consulting, Monterey and Santa Cruz, CA. Related articles [http://www.jddeal.com] may be found at [http://www.jddeal.com/blog/marketing] and http://www.freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com

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Network Marketing Vs Direct Sales - Which is Best For Me?

Foreward

Back in 2006 I became involved in a home-based business with a health and wellness company. Over the course of 6 months, I spent $4885 on samples, monthly purchase requirements, marketing materials and so forth. During the same time period, I earned exactly $807 for my efforts.

Clearly, something was wrong. It's not as if I couldn't find customers...I had generated thousands of dollars in sales! However, I clearly was not being properly compensated for my efforts.

Through further research I discovered I had made the wrong decision about what type of business was going to suit me. It wasn't just about the products and whether or not I liked them personally. There's a lot more to it than that, and I wasn't aware of the common features of different kinds of home-based business models, and therefore was unable to make appropriate comparisons.

In fact, I didn't even know there was anything other than network marketing (also referred to as multi-level marketing, MLM, consumer direct marketing and referral marketing). I wrongly assumed that network marketing was my only option when joining a home-based business.

So, I got excited about something and I jumped in. Sadly, that is exactly what most people do. I wasted precious time, and a lot of money.

My goal with this article is to educate you about your choices, specifically in regards to the differences between a Network Marketing business model and a Direct Sales business model. I sincerely hope that you can learn which business type will best suit you, and you can avoid the same mistakes I made years ago.

Entering into the home-based business arena is serious work, and requires more than just a wish and a prayer. I hope that you will find this article useful in your research and decision making process. If you do, please let me know!

Warm wishes for your success,

Kara Jankowski

What's The Difference?

The first thing I'd like to explain is that most home business companies are direct sales companies. In other words, an independent distributor sells products directly to the consumer.

However, some direct sales companies use a network marketing business model (referred to as MLM for the remainder of this article), while others use a direct sales business model.

Here's the difference...

In any company, regardless of the product, there is a set amount of profit available for each sale that is created. The profit is what is left over after the company receives their wholesale payment for the product(s).

Some products can have a very high profit margin (up to 80% in some cases), while others have a much lower profit margin (5-20%). Regardless of the actual margin, each product has what I'll call "available profit" to be earned.

In MLM, when each and every sale is made, all of the available profit from those sales is SHARED between you and your "upline".

Your upline is the line of people who got into the business before you. For example, you were brought in by Sue who was brought in by Janet who was brought in by Michael and so on....the line of people can be hundreds or even thousands of people long. Those people are your upline, and every time you make a sale, yes, you make some money, but they actually make much more money.

Basically, when you work your business, other people gain more out of the deal than you do. Sort of sounds like being an employee again, right?

Sure, someday you could be in a position at the top of the upline and make a higher percentage of the profits, but that can take years of hard work and patience, years of sales that you've shared the profits with other people - people you don't even know - people who haven't even helped you grow your business!

With the Direct Sales business model, when a sale is made, all of the available profit from that sale goes to ONE PERSON and is not shared with an upline.

Is that a big difference? You bet. Check this out.

Let's say you make a sale, and your customer buys products valued at $1300. You earn, on average, 7% of the sale when you're getting started with an MLM company.

In this example, from that $1300 sale in an MLM business, you can make about $91. Your upline made more than that because they earn a higher percentage of your sales volume.

Let's look at the same example in a Direct Sales business with a product that offers a high profit margin.

You make a sale, and your customer buys products valued at $1300. Because only one person receives the profit, and it's not shared with a group of upline members, you keep the entire profit.

In this example, from that $1300 sale in a Direct Sales business, you can make about $1000.

Let me ask you...which would you prefer...$91 or $1,000?

I experienced this situation firsthand with my MLM business. In one of my better months, I brought in over $5000 in sales, but my paycheck was only around $200! I had worked very hard all month, only to receive a check that didn't cover my business expenses, let alone pay for groceries or other bills.

This is Reason #1 why I switched to a company with a direct sales business model. If I had made those sales numbers with a direct sales business, I could have earned about $4000.

Hmmm...I could use an extra $4,000...could you?

Please note that not all Direct Sales companies offer profit margins this high, which is another reason to do your research carefully. In general, information products or internet-based products offer a much higher profit for the marketer.

Company Performance Levels and Sales Quotas

As you may already know, in each company there are various "performance levels" you can achieve, and at each level, you can earn more money.

But did you know that in MLM businesses, there are very specific sales requirements you must reach each and every month in order to maintain your qualification at your current performance level?

In other words, in order to continue making money and be qualified at a certain level, you must have very steady sales every month. Geez, forget going on vacation or taking off some maternity time!

Requirements vary by company of course. But every company I've researched requires one or more of the following to maintain your performance level and your earning ability:

o Monthly Personal Product Purchases. Whether you personally need them or not, you must buy products each month, often costing you $100 or more. I can tell you from personal experience, this is a great way to clutter up your garage or closet!

o Sales Quotas. A quota is a required monetary value (also known as volume) of products that both you (personal volume) and your team (group volume) must sell each month in order to continue making money. The amount varies widely and could be from $2000 to $200,000 per month or more, depending upon your company and your performance level.

o Recruiting Quotas. This refers to a certain number of new distributors (not just customers) you must add to your team each month in order to receive additional income.

Again, I experienced this firsthand in my MLM business. Despite the fact that my company had consumable products, I didn't have a need to keep buying them each and every month (and neither did my customers). But, I was forced to keep buying (receive products on "autoship") to stay in the game...and then I ended up with a closet full of products I didn't need or want.

Quotas are another issue. They can be very difficult to maintain over time. What if you have a family emergency? Or you become ill and need time off? Or what if you just want to take a much deserved vacation?

I mean, that's why we want a home business in the first place, right? So we can spend more time doing what we really want to do, make great money, and not feel the pressure of having to work every single day.

When you're bound by quotas, I can tell you from personal experience that the last week of each month is absolutely gut-wrenching as you try to keep your business afloat. You end up working your business out of the fear that you'll lose what you've already built. That's no way to motivate someone. It's not fun and it doesn't end. Each month, there you are again, up against the quota.

This is Reason #2 why I switched to a company with a direct sales business model. I refuse to "prove" myself over and over, month after month meeting quotas, in order to keep my earning potential.

It can be rare, but you can find companies with no monthly product purchases and no sales or recruiting quotas. Yes, you read that right. No purchase requirements and no quotas. (In fact, I think it's illegal to require product purchases!) There's no fine print here. And, in some direct sales companies, once you qualify at a performance level, you are there FOR LIFE. Talk about liberating!

Work everyday, or take off a month. It's up to you. Now that's why I got into a home-based business!

Downlines And Motivation

In most MLM companies you are responsible for training your new distributors (your "downline") and keeping them motivated and working. Their efforts and sales will, as you may now understand, be quite important to you in reaching your monthly sales requirements.

Sure, there may be monthly meetings or rallies to get everyone excited, but that "high" lasts about two days, and then it's up to you to keep everyone motivated and working.

In MLM your paycheck relies very heavily on the sales your downline makes. So you have to continually keep your team members active. Instead of focusing on yourself and your own business efforts, you're forced to become a babysitter and a cheerleader for many other people - people who likely don't have the same work ethic or goals that you have!

Now that's not a very productive way to grow a successful business.

I found that I spent a lot of time training and encouraging people on my team, only to have them quit a month or two later. So not only had I wasted valuable hours training people who later left the business, but I took time away from building my own business.

This is Reason #3 why I switched to a direct sales business model. I don't see why, in a home-based business, I should have to cajole people into action. I'd rather take responsibility for my own income through my own efforts rather than rely on others who may or may not work as hard or as consistently.

I recommend finding a business that offers extensive training for each distributor - training that you don't have to facilitate. Of course, you should expect to act as a guide and mentor to your team, but it should not be your job to hand-hold, train each person A-Z, or babysit to make sure they are doing their business activities every day.

Most importantly, you don't want to rely on your associates to create your income each month. In this way YOU are in control, and that's exactly what I wanted when I left the employment world and decided to work for myself. You want to be in the driver's seat, right?

You may be asking yourself, what's the point of having associates when you're not making money from their activities? Well, what's real nice is that in many direct sales companies, should you choose to build a team (and that should always be your choice, not a requirement), there are incentives in place so you are well compensated if you choose to help others learn the business.

As an example, in some direct sales companies, if you choose to help someone get started and become their personal mentor (not babysitter!), as they complete the training program you can earn anywhere from $3,000 to over $20,000. Yes, you read that correctly!

Now you're probably thinking, OK that's great for you Kara, but you've been doing this for years, obviously you're at a top earning level. What about me when I first get started? How much could I possibly make by helping others?

Well here's the deal. In many direct sales companies, once you're through the training program, as I mentioned before, you can be qualified FOR LIFE at the first commission level. When you help someone else through the training program, you can earn anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 per person...and that's just the beginning! In this example I am using the scenario I mentioned above when you earn $1,000 per sale. Pretty cool huh?

So you can see, in direct sales you can be earning a great income very quickly...even without being at the top of the "upline". In fact, in direct sales companies, there really is no upline.

Samples, Inventory, Paychecks

In most MLM companies, you need to have samples for your potential customer to try in order to get interested in the product. Think these are free? Think again! You'll likely have to buy catalogues, samples, pamphlets, CDs, DVDs and other company literature to share with others.

You'll be buying these samples and marketing materials from your company directly. But if you can believe it, these samples and catalogues will not count towards your monthly personal product purchases or your sales quota. Talk about a scam!

Besides samples, you'll of course want to satisfy your customer's instant gratification needs and have inventory on hand for them to enjoy immediately. So you'll be encouraged to pre-purchase products, before you even know if you'll be able to sell them!

Then, after all those sales efforts, you have to wait for your company to pay you once a month. Let's say you have a great month. You're all excited with your progress. At month's end, you usually have to wait 2 weeks for the company to process your payment and potentially more time if they mail you a check. So you've worked your butt off for 30 days, only to have to wait another 20 days to receive your small percentage check.

Doesn't seem fair does it?

This is Reason #4 why I switched to a direct sales business model. It is quite possible in direct sales to NOT buy samples or pre-purchase and store any inventory.

Plus, in direct sales, generally the customer pays you DIRECTLY. You may have to search, but you can find companies where you make the sale, already have your commission, then send the wholesale payment to the company afterwards. This may not be typical to all companies, but if you look, you can find it!

Marketing to Friends and Family

Ugg, the dreaded "warm market". Did you know that an MLM company's main marketing focus is your friends and family?

They call it "word of mouth" marketing. But what it really should be called is embarrassing!

What this kind of marketing will get you is a reputation that you're a product pusher. Vitamins, nutrition drinks, skin care, weight loss, whatever it is...people will start to avoid you. And these aren't strangers avoiding you. These are the people that make up your life!

Everyone will see you coming and think you are trying to sell them something. Some may buy, but secretly they probably feel bad for you and are just hoping you'll stop bugging them after they bought something from you. And of course, this is all you know about marketing because that's all your MLM company taught you to do!

"Someone will join!" They'll tell you. "Just keep at it...they need multiple exposures" they'll tell you. "They'll see your success and excitement and they'll join too." WRONG!!!

That's exactly why 90% of home businesses fail...because no one is taught marketing and how to target the correct market!

Your friends and family are NOT a targeted market...and more importantly, they are a finite market.

This is Reason #5 why I switched to a direct sales business model. Some companies actually teach you how to find targeted, interested prospects, not push your business onto friends and neighbors. With this type of training, you only speak to people who have specifically asked for more information, so that you spend your time responding to inquiries, not bugging family or making cold calls.

It's the only way to build a business, and keep your dignity at the same time. Make sure you know to whom you are expected to market, and how you will be taught to market your product, or you could suffer the same fate.

Conclusion

I haven't covered every issue you can encounter with an MLM business, but these are the main ones that caused me to turn tail and run.

The way I feel about myself and my business has completely changed. Before, I felt like I was bugging people. Now, I know that I'm helping people.

Before, I felt stressed and under pressure. Now, I'm in control and the only person to answer to is myself.

My business has dignity and integrity, because I'm talking to people who have responded to an ad, and they asked me for more information. I'm not pushing my business, my products or myself on anyone.

Plus, at $1000 commission per sale I can offer people the opportunity to make some serious money quickly.

With no quotas, this kind of business allows people to live their lives and grow their business according to their schedule...not mine or the company's.

I'm thankful for the experience I had, even though it did cost me thousands of dollars. I was able to gain perspective that I can pass on to others, and I do hope this has been useful information for you.

In closing, as you conduct your research, ask yourself these questions:

o Do I want to leverage my time by marketing a product with a high profit margin, earning hundreds or thousands per sale, and keeping that profit myself...or do I want to earn pennies on the dollar and share the profit with my upline?

o Do I want to meet monthly sales and recruiting quotas in order to keep my performance/qualification level and purchase additional products each and every month...or do I want to be qualified for life, have no quotas and have no monthly product purchases?

o Do I want to continually rally my team to make sales and keep them motivated so I meet my sales quota...or do I want to be in control of my own income, plus have significant monetary incentives to guide my team through the company training process?

o Do I want to purchase samples and inventory and get paid once a month...or would I rather get paid first and immediately with no samples or inventory at all?

o Do I want to market to my friends, family and my "100 person list"...or do I want to return inquires from people who have already expressed an interest in my business and products?

I sincerely hope this report has provided you with valuable information that can assist you in choosing the best home-based business for yourself. I can't claim to say one business model is the best for everyone, because we are all unique individuals. At least after reading this article, you'll have a better understanding of your options.

If you're anything like me, you may want to take a serious look at direct sales. My research and experience taught me that with this business model you can make money in larger quantities, and in much less time. There's also a lot more flexibility, which helped me to fit a new business into my busy lifestyle.

If I can assist you in any way, don't hesitate to contact me.

Warmly,

Kara Jankowski

603-664-3553

Kara Jankowski has been a home based entrepreneur for seven years. Her passion is helping others find success at home by sharing her knowledge, experience and support. If you'd like to learn more about Kara, visit her website at http://www.FollowALeader.com If you'd like to learn more about Kara's business, visit http://www.FollowALeader.biz or call her directly at 603-664-3553.

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Sales Vs Marketing

From a view point of a persons not involved in sales or marketing , sales & marketing are considered as one function. But the deeper you go in this field you will realize how different this two functions are and how bitter these personnel can become on each other even though they serve a common purpose to the organization.

Every Sales man hates the marketing guy because "the guy in marketing sitting in the office gives him a useless leads and always ask to follow up on a non-consequential customers."

"He is not involved in the reality of the situation how the sales actually happens, all he think is that creating beautiful brochures and creating a prospect list would result in a sale."

"Sales is actually doing the hardwork of meeting people and convincing them, it requires convincing ability, good presentation skills and lot of going around and a minimal of ego."

"Listening to all the criticism for the company even though its not our fault and bearing the brunt of all people- the customers, the management, & the so called helping hand called marketing."

"Marketing is field where the people who are the bosses favourite get recruited in that position. In sales the result are in black and white..Whether you achieve the target or you have not achieved your target. The bosses are only looking at the sales figure."

hmmm...Well this is what usually goes on in the mind of sales guy and many of you who are in sales might have one of these thoughts cross their mind too.

Well lets see what does the marketing guy thinks

Marketing people think that "with proper planning and execution major sales could be achieved. "

"What makes the sales happen is

1. proper information and

2. good response and

3. a good brand image."

"Inspite of providing such a good brand the sales people are coming out with excuses of not making a sale saying that our products are priced higher, or that our service is not to the standard."

"The sales guys are not planning their visit properly, most of the time wasting their time with the existing clients sitting in their office for a cup of coffee or tea."

"They don't think the customer might not give an order now but a major deal will come through in 2- 3 months. Every time the lead is given, they half heartedly goes to the customer and respond that they don't have any requirement. So that the sales credit doesn't come to us- the marketing guys"

"They only close deals which they have generated the leads on. They expect the lead given to them to turn into sales in the first visit. Inspite of doing so much campaign and getting good leads the sales people response is always lackluster."

"They think reporting is waste of time, they don't understand the importance of database."

Hmmm.... well it can go on and on like this. ..So you see if the sales guy says go east the marketing guy would say go west or vice versa.Firms who have been able to synthesis sales & marketing function have achieved tremendous results.

Sales is the today guy, his main concern is achieving his sales target for the day or for the week or for the month. Marketing is the guy who think about the future and they way the sales would happen in the near future, the market share, the brand development, the customer. So there is bound to be conflict between the present and the future and conflicts will always exists between Sales & Marketing.

Technically speaking... most of you would know that sales is the actual process that happens when the product is bought. Sales guys are there to make more transactions possible. Marketing is the process the preceeds sales and is present after sales. The product awareness to image building so more guys come to sales is what the purpose of marketing is.

Here are some tips to get a common ground between sales & marketing so that complement each other , instead of playing a blame game.

1. Get them together, place the sitting arrangement together. Don't make the sales & marketing team sit separately

2. Conduct Monthly informal presentation by each of the department on the difficulties being faced by them or ways to improve the functioning.

3. Create a cross functional team for each product, a marketing guy, a sales guy and a technical guy to be responsible for a particular product (if possible...depends on the hierarchy and current organization structure).

4. Make the dialogue and interaction active between these two functions...Weekly review meets to be held along with marketing & sales team.

5. Tie the benefit of sales to both the teams.

To sum it up make it possible for the salesman to view the point of the marketing guy and vice versa. Many companies think training are waste of time but actually they really help in building a spirit of comradeship between each other.

Santosh Pania - A Sales & Marketing professional with more than 7 year experience in diverse industry and currently based in Dubai United Arab Emirates. You can check out the blog http://www.marketingbuff.blogspot.com

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Using Business Cards For Sales and Marketing Literature

One of the most effective means of bringing your products and services to market is your business cards. Business cards are the most effective marketing tool because they can to be carried anywhere you go. As a simple material used for campaign and advertising they carry a powerful marketing feature that persuades and keeps your clients in tact. They are used to impart important information to customers and are a very inexpensive way to promote a sales campaign. In today's market, business card printing can be printed in cheaper rates and discounted prices. By using a state of the art printing service full color business cards are discounted and have never been cheaper. Your cards can be simple yet impressive depending on the print quality, the card stock and finish chosen for advertising your business products and services.

Even though they are just a small piece of paper, a 2" x 3.5" size business card has the power to gain the attention of those receiving them. At the end of a presentation, they are the last material you give your clients or potential customers. By using a state of the art printing service full color business cards are discounted and have never be cheaper. Therefore you have to make them attractive and appealing enough for your customers to keep. There are several factors you need to consider in order to achieve this goal. The first is design. You need to have an eye catching good graphic design or artwork. Colors are important as you want to increase your chances of getting the attention of the beholder. And then, there is the important element which is the content. Your content should reflect what important information you want the reader to remember. Whether it is the vital information about your company, such as name, address, and contact information or a sales message, you need to project to your customers that you stand out from your competition.

You separate your company from others by impressing them with your design as well as the quality of your card. Be sure to chose a sturdy durable and long lasting card stock such as 14 point or the extra heavy 16 point. You want a card stock that will endure wear and tear. Many printers offer these stocks at no additional cost. Next, be sure to chose a finish that will produce a stunning and brilliant card such as a glossy UV coating or a "Wow Factor" effect such as a spot UV or use metallic colors. Chose a online printing company that will give you different options of paper, finish and Wow Factor printing effects so that your choices are widened. Using spot UV coating and metallic colored ink effects can create inexpensive yet impressive print attention getter for advertising your businesses, products and services.

With the many printing services offered online, you can significantly search the web and look for online printers offering cheap business card printing. However in choosing for your printer see to it that although cheap printing of business cards is offered, the quality of the card stock has the best weight and feel. Whether you pick a glossy UV coating or a Wow Factor special effect to add to your card, you must keep in mind that your card represents you and your company or service. To be sure, the impression you send is expressed in the quality of your business card.

There is no doubt that business cards are one of the most effective means of bringing your products and services to the market. They are among the simplest marketing tools and yet have "more bang for your buck" than any other advertising, sales or marketing literature to keep you in contact with your customers. These cards are the cheapest marketing tool that can easily reach a targeted audience, be carried and given out at trade shows, networking and meetings. They can easily be kept by your customers for future reference and use. Using a business card that stands out from the crowd can help your business to get more and faster response from the receiver.

In order to meet the goals you have for a successful business card that can be used as a sales and marketing tool, you should look for an online commercial printer that provides printing service that offers choices. In choosing the right company for your printing projects, you have to be observant enough to choose good quality, service, and product as well as a cheap price.

Doug Graves has been working in the printing industry as an expert sales and marketing executive for over 20 years. Presently head of sales and marketing, he is now also using his years of experience as a consultant and freelance writer for Color Printing Pros, a top online printing services leader. They are committed to the best valued QUALITY and SERVICE and CHEAP PRICES while providing unique Wow Factor effects so you will standout and be noticed. Check them out!

Tired of getting lost in the crowd-Want to be more than just plain plain vanilla - Add the Wow Factor to your advertising, sales and marketing color printing. For free samples and more information about the Wow factor and how to get it, go to: http://www.colorprintingpros.com.

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Professional Marketing With Literature Holders

Literature holders can be the best thing to happen to your small business since colored paper. Small businesses may find everything in its place and a place for everything is not always the case.

Customers and clients often expect to read magazines or other literature while waiting in reception areas. A doctor's office typically provides a television, music and reading material. The more people in a reception area, the more the perception indicates the high value of the product or service. By the same token, people are also observing other aspects of the business environment.

Magazines are often tossed from one area to another. Patients may put them on a chair, on a table, or the magazine may wind up on the floor. This can create the look of clutter and disorder. Not only that, someone will have to tidy up. A busy office will have people coming and going, and likely will require staff remain at their desks for service. When magazines are not grouped together in a central location or in a rack, it might be a chore to prune out very old ones. The longer a magazine is in an office, the more it will endure wear and tear.

Clients, patients or customers sitting in a reception area may have time to notice little things that mean a lot. Magazines and other material may be dog-eared, torn and smudged. Magazines that are not old may appear to be raggedy. People may decide that the state of the reception area is not up to what it should be.

A magazine display or holder is an easy method to meet the expectations of your customer or others in the reception area. They can relax not wonder. Everything will be in its place, and they can expect to engage with professionals. Customers, clients and patients should not need to hunt for something as simple as a magazine or reading material. They should not discover that an item in your office or reception area is overly worn from use.

Developing a good customer service experience can result when customers have expectations met. When expectations are met, customers can relax and enjoy themselves. They can focus on something other than little things like unmet expectations. They can focus on business. Customer service gestures can get everyone on board with business at hand, off to a productive beginning. Searching for reading material or distractions about disorder need not become part of unwanted perception.

Business cards, office newsletters, hours and other information can get a boost of professionalism by using acrylic displays. For business cards, just like magazines, people tend to want some order. People want to know that if they decide to take a business card from a stack of cards, they will not create a mess. Cards not in a holder often end up in unkept piles. People may be less likely to bother contributing to the mess by taking a business card. A person might also think unkept looking business cards or other literature are a business statement, unprofessional.

Displays also protect literature, business cards and magazines from smudging, stains, fingerprints and dust. People see print or pictures and want to reach out and touch these things at times. If something to read is on a table, chair or counter, a person may be inclined to pick it up for better reading. A piece of paper, even card stock, can be worn down and worse for wear after many people touch it. This means any information, messages or news on those reading materials may be difficult to read, and convey a less than professional, untidy message about a business.

There are a large variety of Literature Holders available online and some excellent ones at Display Stands be sure to have a good look around before making a purchase.

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Marketing in Strategic Locations: Leave Your Literature Where Your Competitors Aren't

Think about the people you help in your business. Where do they congregate, where can you find them? For instance, I work with small business owners who want to get more clients. A place this group frequently visits is bank offices to take care of financial transactions and to discuss specific issues with banking officers.

Every time I visit a bank I sit in the waiting area and read one of my brochures. When an officer is ready for me, I place my brochure on the table with all the other reading material. I figure I'm providing a service for the bank by providing materials for their customers for free. Sometimes I visit other banks and read my literature. If a banking officer approaches me, I simply tell him I'm waiting on a friend. Then I leave my literature on the table.

So, think about where your prospects gather. Can you leave a card or brochure or sales sheet?

By the way, it is very easy to track your leads with this system. When you leave a brochure or card, always write a code or department number on them, and record that information. When you are contacted by someone, you can ask about the code and determine which location it came from. Obviously this assists you in determining which locations are producing results and which are not.

This method of marketing certainly shouldn't be your only method of generating prospects. Clearly it will not produce large numbers of prospects. But it will produce results far beyond the small cost. I have gotten several calls over the years from this activity.

Consider out-of-the-ordinary places for your literature, anywhere your prospects might be. I guarantee you won't find your competitors there.

Larry Baltz runs a company called More Sales – More Profits. He works with small business owners who want to get more clients and sell more products and services. Larry is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and small business marketing expert. For his free report, “Knock-Their-Socks-Off” Promotion and Marketing, go to [http://www.moresales-moreprofits.com] for your copy.

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Advertising, Sales and Marketing Literature Turned to Gold

The ancient art of alchemy has been revived. That is right, I said alchemy. It is now possible to turn your sales and marketing literature into gold, bronze, brass and about 600 other metallic colors. The amazing thing is you can do it yourself. It is pretty easy and quite affordable.

We all need that Wow Factor to stand out and separate us from our competitors. Imagine the possibilities of using colored metallic effects on your next card, flyer or brochure. Metallic colors added to your next full color advertising, sales or marketing project would certainly attract more attention.

Colored metallic inks are not new. Their limitation used to be that they only allowed you to use one selected color which was added to the full color process. It is required custom printing and was quite expensive. Wow Factor Colored Metallics is a unique process that allows you to make and use as many metallic colors as you like. You can use gold, silver, bronze, brass and other metallic reds, greens, blues and so on.Your only limitation by your ideas and good taste. Wow Factor Metallics is new and is now even available as a gang run printing service. That means there are regular scheduled print runs available to use this technique.

What are gang runs? Gang run printing combines common jobs to be run together at the same time on the same parent sheet of paper. You only pay for the portion of the sheet you use and everybody on the run shares the cost of the make ready on the press.The beauty of a gang run job is that the turnaround times are only 5 to 7 working days. Because the printer is using a state of the art prepress and large sheet fed printing presses, the colors are brilliant and quality is exquisite.

How do you make colored metallics? The process is elegantly simple. Using Photoshop, you select the color(s) you want to make metallic, create a simple mask for those colors and then let the printer do the rest. Specific instructions and free samples of this process with a partial color chart are available through a link online which you can find at the bottom of this article in the authors box.

Only a very few state of the art printing companies have the ability to use this process. This is new cutting edge technology that significantly raises the bar for the next generation of effective sales and marketing tools. Imagine the possibilities to help you get noticed and stand out from your competition.

Advertising, sales and marketing tools are essential to many small and medium sized businesses. If well planned and executed, they can level and even tip the playing field for you. In the past, creating and using special effects for cards, brochures and flyers was only for large companies with large budgets. Now even a small company can project itself as a leader in its field and gain greater market share and better branding by creating its own unique look separating itself from the pack. By adding a Wow Factor to the marketing of your company, you can make sure you and your company get noticed.

For free samples and more information about the printing, go to: http://www.colorprintingpros.com

About The Author:

Sylvia Bronstein, started her successful career in the New York advertising scene, she has been developing effective advertising, sales and marketing literature for more than 30 years. Specializing in small and medium size businesses, she is currently using her extensive experience writing articles and working as a consultant.

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Literature Stands And Marketing Solutions For Any Need

Several businesses rely on the marketing materials they have created to be displayed. For this purpose literature stands are available for your use to show off the materials that you want to get into people's hands or sell for a profit. You have a world open to you. There are many sizes and shapes for your every need.

From small to large there is a stand for all your needs. Table stands are very popular. They can be a singular style with the capability to hold one item. These models come in varying sizes for standard 8 1/2 x 11 flyers or larger as well as sizes for brochure that are folded.

The size of stands is also functional and practical. You can find those types that are for flyers and others for folded materials such as brochures. Some are multifunctional to have a display with several materials.

In addition to table stands are larger ones that hold their own on the floor. They stand alone to accommodate several options for you to use however you need it. There are different styles with the same size slots and other with different and multifaceted slots.

There are also stands that fold up. They are good for those who need this type of product and move from one location to another. Most of these options are either one or two sided. Others are made to be stationary and swivel. These are great for corners or tighter areas to create more room for materials.

Other stands hang on walls. You can have a great time choosing the best options for your needs. Look to those who specialize in literature stands and displays. This will give you the best options for selecting just the right one for you. Show the materials you have worked so hard on to reach those who need information. Show them off in the best way possible with the stands available for your needs.

There are a extensive variety of Literature Stands available online and some excellent ones at Display Stands be sure to have a good look around before making a purchase.

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No Marketing Campaign Is Complete Without Literature Dispensers

When it comes to a marketing campaign carried out by any company it cannot be complete without the use of literature dispensers. These are useful contraptions that are used to display the printed material that needs to be distributed. A literature dispenser should display the promotional material in a way that will catch the eye of the passerby and make it easy for anyone to take a copy of the material.

Literature dispensers are available in many sizes and shapes. These devices may be mounted on the wall, placed on the floor and stand from 2 to 6 feet tall, or they can be designed to be placed on a table or counter top. They are made in a way that makes packing and transportation easy and convenient. They are so compact that even though they stand 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide they can be packed into a box smaller than a brief case.

One dispenser can be designed to display a couple of hundred copies of the printed material it is meant to. Table top models of the device can hold a few hundred copies and these are prominently displayed on counter tops in shops, cafe's and anyplace where people are bound to visit. These are easily accessible and a great help in getting the word out.

These people carry the leaflet with them and leave them at some place where someone else picks it up and reads about the product, service or event. This is a great and cost effective way to spread the word and advertise.

Wall mounted models can hold from a few dozen to a few thousand copies of the material that needs to be distributed. These devices come for dry areas and wet areas as well. The wet area models come with a contraption that protects the material from the rain and snow. Mounted on walls outside shops and malls can be a great way to advertise a business.

It is a better idea to hire the pamphlet dispensers from people in the business. Event managers, publicity professionals and shopping malls have these display racks for hire and setting them up is a matter of convenience. A business just has to send a representative out daily to set them up and stack up the racks with printed material and this phase of the publicity campaign is up and running.

There are a broad variety of Literature Dispensers available online and some excellent ones at Display Stands be sure to have a good look around before making a purchase.

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Creating "Stand-Out" Sales and Marketing Literature

Gang run printing can be the most economical way to print most of your company's advertising, sales and marketing literature. By using gang run printing you can combine your job with other similar jobs and share the cost of make ready and the press run. You only pay for the space on the press you use. Many online printers offer gang run services with reasonable turn around times and prices. This is a great way to save money if the size and quantity of your job meet the printers run requirements.

One important point to be aware of is that your ability to create advertising, sales and marketing literature that is unique and different is limited. Your odds of getting noticed are somewhat diminished when you look like everybody else. If you want your cards, brochure, flyers and books to stand out, you need to add a Wow Factor. Something extra that separates you from the crowd. Some ways to do this are by choosing a printer that includes heavy paper stocks and additional finishes to your printed order. That's the minimum requirement.

Thanks to the latest state of the art printing technology, it is now possible to go way beyond plain vanilla and use some really wonderful "Wow Factor" special effect techniques to your next gang run print job. Spot UV Coating: Adds a high gloss coating only to selected areas you want to stand out. This is a great option for giving your printed piece the "WOW FACTOR"! Spot UV highlights and focus attention to a selected area by creating a visual stimulus. It enhances the value and give the impression of importance and quality to the finished piece.

Metallic Silver Ink [http://www.colorprintingpros.com/silver_button.php]: This special ink actually has microscopic flakes of aluminum embedded in the ink to create a metallic silver effect. It creates a very unique and exciting look to distinguish you from your competition. Silver can be used in type, background or boarders. It's sure to get you noticed.

Colored Metallics [http://www.colorprintingpros.com/metallics.php]: This is an incredible new process that actually allows you to create a metallic effect to hundreds of standard colors. It is sure to give you a truly unique and exciting look.

These special techniques are only available from a very few online printing services. They truly raise the bar on what is available at reasonable costs that most companies can afford. In the coming difficult business time, this could be a solution to standing out and getting noticed. The important thing to always be aware of the fact that it does not matter how hard you work, it is how smart you work. No matter what you offer if it goes unnoticed, you've spent a lot of money and wasted much of your time. The most important consideration is not the cost but the return on investment (ROI). By using Wow Factor custom effects, you are on your way to achieving this goal.

For free samples and more information about Wow Factor printing, go to: http://www.colorprintingpros.com

About The Author:

Sylvia Bronstein, started her successful career in the New York advertising scene, she has been developing effective advertising, sales and marketing literature for more than 30 years. Specializing in small and medium size businesses, she is currently using her extensive experience writing articles and working as a consultant.

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The Portable Literature Stand - Mobile Marketing Genius

A good portable literature stand is a super way to show off your brochures and leaflets for shows, retail stores and showrooms and there are a large range of alternatives available to fit your space and portable needs.

Perhaps the most popular and eye-catching literature stands that are used today are made of a polycarbonate or acrylic pockets that are unbreakable and collapsible for easy maneuverability. They have a rock hard and clear surface, which presents the customer with a view of its contents and protects the contents from jarring. Scratch resistant and guaranteed for a long life, this is a very economical choice.

For some added style, literature racks can also be found with chrome fronts, a zigzag appearance or straight and tilted stands. Your printed material will stand out and catch the eye of any customer when presented with a bit of a classy flare. Smoked fronts and colored sides can also be found to add a touch of distinction.

Depending on the size of your brochures and how large of a selection you may have, there are a plethora of sizes of literature stands to choose from. The smallest begins with 4 pockets tiered beautifully to a large 16 pocket display of your different types of products and information available. When space is not a problem, wider units can be found that spread out an assortment of your publications for a full view of all.

Portable literature stands can be simply folded for storage when shows and presentations are not on your immediate agenda. Much more convenient that options available in the past when metal frames kept you wondering where you could place these racks until ready for use. Lightweight and compact, literature stands of today take up very little space in your storage area.

Permanent literature stands are also on the market in an updated selection of materials. Rotating wire stands are durable and movable when purchased with rollers. The solid epoxy paint coated surfaces make turning a rack an absolute breeze in browsing through the materials while protecting your literature.

Wooden literature stands are always a great choice that stand-alone or models that can be mounted on a wall for a permanent home. Oak is the preferred choice in a library or waiting room that enhances the decor of its surroundings. Pine is also a good choice and can be stained or painted to match any setting.

For those on a limited budget or are only looking to use a literature stand for one or two occasions, cardboard is always an option but not capable of taking a lot of handling and abuse. Attractive, none-the less in wood or colored tones, these stands are just right in cases where quick, inexpensive options are necessary.

Whatever your needs, there is a literature stand that can aid you in presenting your materials in a professional decorative manner. Your leaflets, brochures, pamphlets and magazines can stand out and take notice with the right amount of flare and giving you many years of longevity for future uses.

Matt Fiore is one of a team of experts available at TheShowAdvisor.com, a website dedicated in giving good quality help and advice for marketer's and business owners who intend to promote their business on the road at event's such as trade shows, exhibitions, conferences, seminars and fairs. The team also offer an online store dedicated to cost effective and simple purchasing of portable display stands and graphics such as pop up stands, banner stands, modular display stands, exhibition stands and literature stands to name just a few.

You can find a great selection of literature stands at super prices with a triple guarantee from the show store.

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Facebook Marketing Review - A Third Party Review of Using Facebook Marketing

Facebook is fast becoming the most popular website in all of internet land. Roughly more than 500 million people are registered Facebook users. Currently Facebook is the number 2 ranked website on the internet. Facebook is a worldwide phenomenon; hence as a business owner you have access to the entire world in terms of accessibility to markets. Here are some quick Facebook facts:

- 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day

- Average user has 130 friends

- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

- There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages)

- Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events

- Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month

- More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month

- More than 70 translations available on the site

- About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

- Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application

- Entrepreneurs and developers from more than 190 countries build with Facebook Platform

- People on Facebook install 20 million applications every day

- Every month, more than 250 million people engage with Facebook on external websites

- Since social plugins launched in April 2010, an average of 10,000 new websites integrate with Facebook every day

- More than 2.5 million websites have integrated with Facebook, including over 80 of com Score's U.S. Top 100 websites and over half of com Score's Global Top 100 websites

- There are more than 250 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices

- People that use Facebook on their mobile devices is twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users

- There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products

Very few people realize the powerful value of Facebook as a means to market to literally millions of people. Most people use Facebook to connect with friends and family. The most successful internet marketers out there are using the immense power of Facebook to build their business.

As a member of Facebook there are several inherent advantages which you can take advantage of. Facebook users are allowed to post notes, make groups, syndicate content with thousands of friends and add videos.

How can you use Facebook to grow your business?

Below are the steps to create a lasting and powerful marketing influence on Facebook. The four steps are:

1. Create a fun and compelling profile page

2. Create a group with your name in the title

3. Create a fan page with your picture and name

4. Add 25 targeted friends a day

Business success is all about building relationships. As such, the most important resource on Facebook is people. Therefore, one of the most important aspects of your Facebook marketing campaign is the number and type of friends you have on Facebook. There are many people with very few friends on marketing. On the other hand some people have a lot of friends but these friends are non-targeted friends. It is important to remember that you should never add no more than 5 friends within 5 minutes on Facebook in order avoid the risk of Facebook banning your account.

For your Facebook marketing strategies it is important to bear in mind that people only want to do business with people they know, like and trust. I encourage you to create a fun and compelling profile page. It is important to be as real as possible and inspiring on your profile. Make your profile attractive to others and focus on connecting with people who visit your profile.

To further increase the level of targeted friends you acquire in Facebook, you will want to join targeted groups. Join groups related to your niche or the type of audience or group of people you are seeking to target. In addition, when you begin joining these groups the other group members will begin to add you as a friend.

The third step to increasing your brand and get your Facebook marketing activities is to create a group of your own. To brand yourself as a leader online, you will want to brand yourself by placing your name in the title of the group. In addition, be sure to associate your face with your group. There are several advantages of building your personalized group on Facebook such as: unlimited number of people in your group, ability to message all your group members, and the ability to create invites for business opportunity events.

As with all other forms of marketing, the key is to position yourself as a leader in your niche. You should aim to brand yourself as subject matter expert in your particular niche. Focus on the value you would like to add to your target market which helps you to be highly responsive and enable you to proactively meet the needs of your following on Facebook.

After you've built your brand on Facebook as a leader in your niche, established good relationships with your friends and provided tons of value to your prospects, you should then seek to introduce your prospects to your business opportunity.

Kelvin Augusta is one of the top Network Marketing Coaches online, who combines a unique style of online relationship building, social media, and old school, traditional prospecting techniques to create a powerful combination of up front growth, duplication, and massive success. If you want Kelvin's formula for massive online success, visit MLM Internet Secrets

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Social Marketing Strategies to Make Facebook a Contact Cash Machine

Get clients and like-minded individuals friending you in the masses on Facebook.

Social marketing strategies via Facebook are the wave of the future for marketing on the web to your niche. The best way to attract clients and like-minded individuals on Facebook is to create a self explanatory profile using keywords, which explain what you do and what you have to offer. First impressions are so important, people know if they are interested or not in seconds and with this article you always will be attracting like-minded individuals and clients that know who you are and what you offer.

Facebook profile picture, text box and website options are the first impression with these step by step methods clients and like-minded individuals never leave guessing. Every web master knows content is king and the profiles with 2000+ friends and above always have a extensive profiles on Facebook. This is the best way to set up your Facebook profile to look like a combination of a Business card, resume' and personal biography all in the Information page. This step by step process will make you look like an interesting person that is an expert in your field attracting clients and like-minded individuals through social marketing strategies on Facebook.

1. Identify yourself on your profile picture on Facebook like a business card. The profile picture is the picture that you show to the world on Facebook and represent you as an expert. "Do" use a professional picture of a suit or a coat (business attire). "Don't" use a picture of your kid or a cartoon because this will not identify the Facebook profile. (HOT TIP) if you're a man,show a picture with a female like your wife, girlfriend or just a female friend this will show you're not on Facebook to pick up on girls, double the friend ad with a couple picture.

2. Use the text box (this is under your picture on your profile page) to explain what you do and what you are looking for. This will be seen when people add you, so if you're a web site builder for real estate you could say. (Example) I build custom websites for Real Estate Investors and Agents starting at $199 check my site out for free advice Your-website-here. Also looking for wholesale properties under 60 cents nationwide. So before they even request to add you as a friend they will know you're a website designer for real estate industry and an investor - "PERFECT". This will make you have a group of friends in your industry or your clients. (HOT TIP) you can use 236 letters-symbols in the text box and spaces don't count. Use spacing so people can read at a glance (less is more).

3. For maximum social marketing exposure, Show all your websites, twitter accounts, linked in, YouTube channels etc. on your profile page on Facebook for social marketing exposure. I see more websites never seen because they just don't know how to show them and it's easy as 2 clicks. Click info box on your profile page next to the wall box find the area that says CONTACT INFORMATION click edit. Add all web and social marketing sites in the WEBSITE box like this:

Your Blog

Your Business Website

Your Linked In

your-twitter-name-here

youtube.com/user/your channel

your facebook fan page

Then just click save. (HOT TIP) This is where everyone misses out go to the information box on the left of the profile page above were your friends pictures are shown click the pencil on the top right of the INFORMATION box and check the website box then your website will appear. (HOT TIP) use as many as you have because everyone will have a preference to follow like some love twitter and some love YouTube etc so give them an option.

4.Social Marketing is best when you show you're a real person instead of a stiff business man, web 2.0 is all about the social. So in the INFO BOX get extensive and show your interest from books, hobbies to education this gives options for commonalities with new friends, we do businesses with people we like and know. If you open your Facebook Info Box it would be easy to go back and forth line by line so you don't miss anything. Remember, the information you enter in this section is used as keywords when people do searches on Facebook.

* Basic Information

a. Sex: male or female (they better know by the picture - no business logo for your picture)

b. Birthday: You only have to show the day not year in the options

c. Home Town: Great to see where you came from

d. Current City: Where you live now

e. Relationship Status: Looking For: always check networking, leave dating out of your business if you're single then best to leave it blank. If your married great put it in, it shows stability. I also don't add (my family) because it's too personal. (HOT TIP) I would recommend if your spouse or brother was your partner in business then show them, by entering a name they will give you the option to add from your friends that are in your Facebook and this will give a link on the profile page to your partner's Facebook profile.

f. Politics and Religion: I leave blank just because you can close some doors with certain views but if you feel compelled to put yours in then great. Especially fill it in if your niche is religion or politics because searches on Facebook will find you.

*Personal Information

a. Activities: Put all your activities in using the drop down menu when you have an option, this will allow all Facebook members to find you searching the activities, the same goes for all the boxes in the personal info.

b. Interest: This is a great area to state every business interest; they will be searched on Facebook for example: Home Loans, Mortgage Reduction Programs if an individual wants to search for these then they should be found on the on Facebook and they will add you as a friend because they have commonalities or they are interested in the subject.

c. Favorite Music: Show what you like but you might be searched and added as a fan of a group and that might not be your area of expertise you want to attract, so limit entries.

d. Favorite TV Shows: You can get category specific like if you're an investor maybe "Flip that House".

e. Favorite Movies: I just put generalities like comedies, action or romance. Specifics keep you in searches on Facebook because if you put Star Trek then you might have Trekkies finding you, so unless you're running Trekkie conventions or have Spock ears on now and then leave it out.

f. Favorite Books: This is a great opportunity to show your niche with books in your subject like "Rich Dad Poor Dad" if you're an investor.

g. Favorite Quotations: Use some good one's in your field if you need some help, (HOT TIP) Search Google "quotations in your niche".

h. About Me: This is the best place to tell all about yourself and your passion for your niche. Spend some good time putting together a great paragraph and then let someone who knows you edit it for you. This may be uncomfortable, but it is very effective. Use spaces if you have more then 2 sentences because it's easier to read, because Facebook text is in small writing.

*Contact Information

a. Emails: I use a secondary email, because I attract friends that are interested in what I do, I never have been spammed and have only had great emails with real inquiries (this is the power of social marketing strategies). Also Facebook has a security lock that doesn't let you paste and copy emails from the profile. Use the lock drag down to choose who see's the email, you can see this to the right; I recommend and use only friends.

b. IM Screen Name(s): I leave blank, I can chat right on Facebook and if I need to give one I can through an email.

c. Mobil: I use a second line and only get real calls from real clients "Cool" and use only friends on the setting.

d. Address: I leave blank but if you had a brick and mortar store front put it in.

e. Websites: Add Business sites, social Marketing like Twitter, Linked In, Your Personal Facebook Fan pages and Blogs.

*Education and Work

a. College: Add all your colleges your alumni will find you and do business with you and seldom will a rivalry college sway a customer.

b. High School: Add your school

c. Employer: This is sometimes the only way to find out what someone does on Facebook and this is why all that I showed you has painted a picture of who you are and what you do even before you get here. If you own your own business put it in or your employer.

d. Position: CEO Etc.

e. Time Period: When you started at or created the company

f. Location: The location especially if you have a store front

g. Description: Add everything your company does or you personally do also.

5. Groups and Pages - I will get extensive in future post (HOT TIP) so subscribe to mikeb360 the blog post will get thousands of niche clients and partners coming to you using my methods. But for now just add some groups and fan pages in your niche it will show your true interest.

In summary, setting up your Facebook profile is very important to get like-minded individuals and clients that you want to attract as well as keep away the ones that you are not going to add to your contacts on Facebook. Take time to go line for line and use this as a reference guide. In a future post I will show the power of the largest picture data base in the world on Facebook and how to make it work to your advantage and many more topics to optimize your Facebook Contact Cash Machine.

Social marketing to bring clients and like minded individuals to you in the masses check out the blog post for more info and subscribe to http://mikeb360.com

Michael Brandt is a real estate professional helping people for 15 years. Giving options that home owners and commercial owners that thought they had no options negotiating loans to reasonable payments and lowering principle http://familygroupfinancialusa.com. Helping investors put all the pieces together and creating wealth that will last for generations. Giving back is the goal with healing centers non-profit nationwide.

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