Wizard's Place

Archive for April, 2010

Before he retired a friend of mine and former business partner was the market leader in a very difficult field and we talked about his success. His business activity involved, among other things, cold calls and regular follow-up visits with his clients. He was actually quite shy (as many of us are) and he would find every excuse to not make the calls he needed to make. He would stop and put a small amount of gas in his car so he would have to stop again. If his wife asked him to bring home milk, bread, and eggs, he would stop at three separate stores. ANYTHING to keep him busy and away from that part of his business that needed his attention.

He was barely getting by and he knew he needed to do more so he began forcing himself to do the various things he needed to do and to track the results of each thing. He found that there were a number of factors that went together to make an initial sale and, again, a number that lead to add-on business and renewals. He had to put out flyers, pass out business cards, mention his business to others, ask the all important sales question, “Who do you know…” and so many other things that anyone who has ever engaged in outside sales will know so well.

Anyway, the result of his tracking was that he discovered he needed to do ten things each day in order to result in enough sales to produce the income he really wanted. Just ten. Sure, he had to do the things he didn’t like but the things he did like were in the mix too. But hey, just ten! He could handle that. And, he realized, if he got the ten things over quickly he was free to do other things that he liked so that added new enthusiasm, even for those things he didn’t really want to do.

He figured out the time that would be involved and he new that he could effectively start his day at about 8 a.m. It turned out he could work in all ten things before noon — just half a day! This was getting better and better.

He wrote out a little card that said, “10 B4 12″ and put it on the dashboard of his car. Every morning he went out knowing that if he got his ten daily chores out of the way by noon he could quit for the day and enjoy life. That sounded pretty good.

Each time he felt shy about speaking to a new person he repeated to himself, “Ten before twelve!” and pushed ahead anyway. No more multiple gas station stops or going to three stores to spread things out. He embraced the job that needed doing and got it done. In a few months he was making more than he had hoped and was enjoying afternoons with his wife and more time with his kids. He became the number one producer in the nation in his field.

Social media marketing is like that. It’s a lot of little, often less than desirable, things you have to do, but there is a fixed number you need to do each day. Figure out what you need to do to move your business to the point you want it and establish your own 10 B4 12 (whatever numbers and times will work for you!) and get it done.

You will be amazed at the results!

One: A WordPress blog is easy to manage. Anyone, no matter how limited their online experience, can operate a blog with only the most basic instruction. It is easy to add new content or change existing information. Working with images is also easy. The control panel, called the Dashboard, puts everything within reach and makes it all step-by-step. Nothing difficult here!

Two: A WordPress blog is extremely user friendly. Ease of use is the holy grail of websites. WordPress blogs offer many options to present your visitors with an array of features that may be easily set up, clearly presented, and, like everything else, administered from the Dashboard. You present, and control, a structure targeted directly to the theme or concept you wish your visitors to experience.

Three: WordPress blogs receive the most exposure of any websites on the Internet. The versatility, extensive content, and continual updating, allow it to control your selected keywords in search engine results. Of course you are not the only one using a blog to your advantage so it still takes consistent application of the right stuff. WordPress blogs just make it easier.

Four: Your income potential with a monetized WordPress blog is pretty much limitless. If you have correctly targeted your blog content to attract a niche readership and you add the right offerings for them using AdSense, Amazon, and other affiliate programs, your blog can be working for you around the clock. It takes work and development over time but it is possible. Many are already doing it.

Five: A WordPress blog is affordable. The software, many pre-designed themes, and most plug-ins, are free so you can get started without much outlay. All you need is hosting space and your own domain name. You can even get started with free hosting and a sub-domain (someone else’s domain) but it is really best to start with your own if you are serious.