One Focused Hour A Week Will Almost Quadruple Your Small Business Income!

In your business, does it feel more productive, to be fulfilling the orders, or spending half a day on marketing or planning?

You see, the majority of people go into business to escape working for a boss, or the long commute to work or the 9 to 5 boredom. They want freedom, flexibility and a better income.

So, they take the incredibly gutsy move and go it on their own. They step right out of their comfort zone and they become the boss!

They are enthusiastic, because everything is new and exciting. Their mindset is in exactly the right place, and they attract the orders with their enthusiastic personalities. This could be as simple as attending a networking function, or dealing with the local printer, who knows someone that requires their services or product.

They are dedicated and everything gets done just right. The orders flow in, the business owners are happy, the suppliers are happy, now it's time to fulfill the orders.

So the mindset changes from "let's go and get some orders" to "let's get these orders filled." The conversation changes at the networking functions and the local printer, to "Wow we've got all these orders to fill" and they inadvertently stop attracting any potential orders, with what they are saying.

Eventually they get all the orders filled and realize they need new orders. So they change their mindset and off they go again. The problem is though, that every time they go back to the "let's get some orders" mindset they get less and less enthusiastic.

Why? Why do they get less enthusiastic? Because when they are fulfilling the orders they are in their comfort zone. That's what they know best and humans will always gravitate towards the comfort zone.

When they are marketing or selling, it is outside of their comfort zone. It becomes a lower priority and a task that is only completed when they have their back up against the wall.

When they first started the business their back was firmly up against the wall. There was no comfort zone. It was a case of "Get out there and get those orders" or we don't eat, basically. But, when the orders are flowing the comfort zone is the fulfilling of the orders, so the selling gets neglected.

Small businesses have an extremely high attrition rate, especially in the first 12 months of operation. Going from being comfortable one week with lots of orders, to the next, where you have to go and make new sales becomes too hard.

Sales will have huge peaks and troughs when plotted on a chart over 12 months. Emotions will be just as wild trying to deal with this, but there is a very simple solution.

No matter how insanely busy you may become, always set aside one focused hour a week for new customer attraction. Block out that hour, on the same day every week, for the next 12 months.

Treat that one hour like a prized possession, because this will be the secret to leveling out those sales and emotional peaks and troughs. This will be the secret to the longevity and success of your business.

In this hour find a place that you will not be disturbed or distracted by absolutely anything and focus intensely on attracting new customers, that's all!

This may be by producing a new ad, hiring a copywriter to produce a direct mail piece, calling 10 potential customers, writing an article for the newspaper or engaging a joint venture partner or anything else. Make it your goal to attract at least 5 new customers every week with whatever you do. Over 12 months you should have attracted at least 250 new customers which will compound because they will tell their friends.

Your total focus in that one hour should be generating new relationships and attracting customers that have never dealt with you before.

Now you are probably thinking, if I'm so busy fulfilling orders how am I going to deal with the extra orders? Well, that's where your growth comes in, that's when you hire people, sub-contract the work out or find creative ways to get the orders filled.

It puts you in a very powerful position because you get to call the shots. You decide which customers to deal with and which ones to send to your competitors. You can negotiate better discounts with your suppliers and generate more profit.

You gather momentum and it will be very hard to slow that momentum down.

It's easier not to set aside the hour, especially when you have orders coming out your ears. But if you want to survive and be successful it is critical that you have a system in place to constantly attract new customers.

And the thing is... new customer attraction can be accomplished in as little as one focused hour per week. One hour per week is the difference between having a business that plods along and having a business with highly profitable work booked for the next 12 months. A business where you get to decide which customers you want to deal with, a business that charges a premium price and a business with a far greater value.

Block out that hour in your diary now. Do it for every week for the next 12 months, no excuses because it's going to quadruple your income, guaranteed!

Why do some business owners plod along, while others effortlessly succeed?
Ian McConnell has the answers in "The Instant Profit Multiplier" an absolutely "must read" for any business owner.
FREE Details ==> http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html

Why Testimonials Are The Only Proof You've Got?

Who do you think is better at selling your product or service, you or your customer's testimonial?

If you are trying to close a $10,000 deal, would it help if the prospect could talk to a satisfied customer?

It's obvious, your satisfied customers are your best sales people, and they will outsell you by 100 times. You can say how good you are, until you are blue in the face, but a 2 minute conversation between a satisfied customer and a prospect will close the deal quickly.

Testimonials are the only proof you've got.

When you say how good you are, you're blowing your own trumpet, you're bragging, but when someone else says the same thing, it's proof, it has clout.

So if this is true, why do I see quotations, proposals and sales material being distributed without any proof? If the credibility is so much higher, when someone else says how good you are, why are quotations, proposals and sales material not laden with testimonials?

How do you market and quote?

Is your sales material and proposals laden with testimonials, like a fruit tree, with branches dragging on the ground from the weight of the fruit?

If not, then why not?

A simple strategy of collecting a testimonial from every customer, and displaying them in all your sales material, is guaranteed to immediately increase your conversions. It will magnify your credibility and will be the most read part of your sales material.

But don't get the wrong kind of testimonial.

"I would recommend XYZ Computers as they provide outstanding service. I have used them for 5 years." from Joe Bloggs (ABC Trading)

That testimonial may make you feel good, but its too general. A great testimonial should be written in a way that is focused and specific.

"I was wasting up to 10 hours a week trying to overcome computer glitches. Within 24 hours of calling XYZ Computers they had not only solved my problem but provided a solution that would prevent this from ever happening again. I paid less than $100 to solve a problem that was costing me $600 a week in down time and causing a lot of stress. If you have any doubt about using XYZ computers, just give me a call." from Ian McConnell (ProfitFitness.com) tel - 7777 7777 7777

Now that's a specific testimonial. Note the option for prospects to call. You need to convince your customers to insert their phone numbers, as it is free advertising for them. Explain to them that less than 5% of prospects will call. It will make the testimonial 10 times more powerful. However if a prospect does call, make sure you reward the customer for this, it's well worth it.

But how do you get testimonials like that? Well first you need to EARN them and then you need to ASK for them. It's ok to prompt the customer to get a more specific outcome, but be truthful and don't exaggerate.

A feedback questionnaire, that is well thought out, could not only be used to improve your service, but also parts of it could be extracted and put together to make up the testimonial, with the customers permission of course.

Testimonials are a great tool for closing sales. They remove any doubt, reduce the risk, confirm the value and smooth the way to a sale. Great testimonials will sell much more product or services than you ever could!

So if you don't have any testimonials, you need to correct this now! List your 10 best clients, call them, offer to buy them lunch and get those testimonials. And if it feels awkward to ask them, then your relationship is weak to the point that you could lose them to your competitors at any time.

Ian McConnell is the author of The Instant Profit Multiplier. This is must have information for any business owner that wants to know how to create a constant flood of customers and cash into their business. Have a look at ==> http://www.small-business-secrets.com

The Power Of An Hour

Show me a business having financial difficulties and I guarantee you they will have lost focus on sales and marketing...

Why is the focus lost?

Because the business owners don't understand sales and marketing. To them it is not quantifiable or manageable and so they don't focus on it. They look at the bottom line and if it's growing, they think that whatever they are doing is working and, if it's not growing they think something has to change. The only problem is, change what?

Sales and marketing is outside of the comfort zone for most business owners and like all humans they gravitate back to their comfort zones. They do what they know best... which is usually working in the business, which destines them for a mediocre business life.

Unfortunately the business owners that don't master sales and marketing will never succeed... it's as simple as that!!

And the thing is... marketing can be accomplished in as little as one focused hour per week. One hour per week is the difference between having a business that plods along and having a business with highly profitable work booked for the next 12 months.

If you want to make some fast, profitable changes in your life and business by focusing on critical areas for an hour then you have to read this book.
Click here for more => Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week