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Success Strategies Newsletter February 16, 2005 Business Strategies ▪ “Collect
Names, Collect Money” Statistically
speaking, it is easier and more cost effective to sell to an exiting customer
than it is to acquire a new customer.
However, it can take up to seven visits to your web site before a
potential customer actually purchases.
It is a frustrating situation.
Not all is lost however. You
will need to employ two different strategies when dealing with customer
generation. First, if you are not already doing so, always, always, always, collect customer information when they’ve made a purchase. I use Quickbooks because it already tracks my customer’s purchases. I can run a report that tells me who has spent a certain dollar figure and how many visits they’ve made. I then use this information to create a VIP customer list. I send by mail or email a note thanking them for being a loyal customer and giving them a coupon to use at their next visit. It really works well. If you personalize your mailing you will increase your response rate. I use this technique for my brick-and-mortar business as well as my online businesses. The
second thing you need to do is acquire information for visitors who may not
actually be making a purchase on their first, second, or third visit. In the online world a wonderful way to do
this is to create an opt-in list. You
can send subscribers a report or newsletter as an incentive for signing
up. Once you have created your opt-in
list you can begin to communicate with them regularly about what you are
doing, areas of interest and, of course, your product or service. To cut down on the work, use an
auto-responder. See my recent article
on using auto-responders. Personal Strategies ▪ “Make Progress" Making progress towards
completion of a goal or task is a better predictor of success than effort
alone. It is possible to work and work
and work and find that the work is not producing results. That expenditure of effort can be extremely
de-motivating. The
obvious is to work smarter not harder.
Effort is an overrated personal trait since effort without progress
may cause you to quit. Measure your
success not by effort but by progress.
Spend time thinking about more efficient ways of accomplishing your
goals. Another
method to consistent progress is incremental progress. Biting off more than we can chew can be a
source of stress and discouragement.
Taking the time to break apart tasks so that accomplishment becomes
easier, more efficient and most importantly accomplishment becomes more
certain. Life/Health Strategies ▪ “Coffee – good for you?” A study released this
week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute described the benefits
of drinking caffeinated coffee.
Drinking coffee can reduce the risk of liver cancer with only 1-2 cups
a day. Consumption of 3-4 lowers the risk even more. The study
was carried out on 90,000 in Coffee
consumption can also reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. Coffee consumption defined in the study
indicated participants had consumed 3-4 cups per day. I have to admit I am a
huge coffee drinker and now I can drink without guilt… you can too! See you at Starbucks! Money Strategies ▪ “Automatic
Millionaire" If you haven’t had a
chance to read David Bach’s book, “The Automatic Millionaire”,
you need to. The book is an easy read
and the information on compound interest alone will have you calculating your
“latte factor”. I don’t agree with Bach’s idea that we should throw out our
budgets and a few other idealistic notions.
However, for the most part the book is an excellent look at getting
rich without pain and suffering. The
great idea of automation is probably one of the smartest things you can do to
begin creating wealth. If you make
regular savings deposits and additional mortgage principle payments automatic
you will learn to live without that money and begin building wealth. The
“latte factor” works like this, figure you drink a latte a day at $3.50 (now
maybe for you its not latte but cigarettes or donuts or Big Gulps). Now at $3.50 per day you would spend $105 a
month, $1,260 a year and a latte a day for a decade costs $12,600. That means over 30 years, not adjusting for
inflation and not including interest made on the money saved you’d be at
$378,000. I’ll make my own coffee!! The book contains great
information on IRAs and what to choose along with resources for investing
your “latte” funds into mutual funds which are relatively safe. One chapter covers emergency funds, money
markets and bonds, another covers mortgages and credit cards. David Bach’s “Automatic Millionaire” is
listed on my resources page if you would like more info. Trendcast ▪ “Tea… good for
your bottom line?” Tea has become quite the
emerging trend. Tea houses are
beginning to pop-up here and there.
Starbucks has added tea as a mainstream to their menu. Tea is healthy, tea is sophisticated, and
tea is… not coffee. Ideas? Le Palais
de Thés currently has 12 shops: 4 in Paris, 5 in
the rest of France, and one in the US (Beverly Hills), one in Brussels and
one in Tokyo. This trend hasn’t gone
global yet but it is generating steam. Final Thought “Don’t wait around for other people to be
happy for you. My final thought for this week is prompted by the above quote. While I agree, I still think it helps to have support from friends and family. When I’m "done", which happens, I look to positive words from my significant other of 10 years. Success is not an isolated thing. It comes from ourselves, others and the world around us. We are constantly receiving feedback. It could be a kind word or even angry ones. It could be web site traffic or customers walking through the door. Stop, pay attention and pat yourself on the back even if its just one customer or one $5.00 sale or even if the dog just gives you a lick when you get home, it all matters. All
the best for today and tomorrow….
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