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Problems & Why They Don't Get Solved
It is possible to find about 2,050,000,000 “problems” on the internet.Often, problems do not get solved because they do not have an owner. They saunter around like orphans that are not taken care of.This could be the case when a problem is too big to address for a single owner. Today, a local newspaper reviewed the situation about the shrinking of the Greenland Glaciers. It is a problem that might cause a disaster in the end, but which (impact) is nearly invisible at the moment. It is a standard long-term versus short-term issue where the former is not often favored. Until there is no real need, no action will be undertaken. Besides that, not everybody could be convinced that the melting will indeed cause a problem.Problems that do get attention are those where the urgency is high. The Internet site of a company that goes down for example. The production process could delay because of a part that was not delivered (and previously purchased) by the purchase department. Or a constant jam in the traffic to your call center because of a lack of agents (the problem of giving stress to your agents). For this last issue the owner of the problem is the manager of the call center. Although...There are available agents in the team next door, owned by another manager. The call overflow could be routed to this neighboring team (call center), but the problem will be shifted; to another team and to another moment in time.It is not sexy to talk about problems. You should rather focus on a challenge. Either way, something needs to get solved. And that is no problem;It is possible to find 3,230,000,000 “Solutions” on the Internet.And that is another reason why problems do not always get an owner. It is much more interesting to own a solution. There are too many of them, the question is, do

or even into a puff of smoke.

The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...

Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds

Business Plans - The Rules of Forecasting, Part 2 of 2
This article completes our two-part discussion about the rules regarding forecasting that we apply in writing business plans. We share them with you in this article in the hope that you will find these rules worthy of adopting in your efforts to write business plans as well.Rule 5: Question basic assumptions.It is always a good exercise to question the basis for any assumption. You may find the basis is not defendable. You may even learn a better way to develop or present the assumption.Corollary 5A: When a forecast is developed around a specific policy or procedure, question that policy or procedure.Rule 6: Develop forecasts in the context of the entire system and properly reflects all relationships.It is important to understand that everything in the company affects everything else. For example, if you need to adjust the number of employees, you may also need to adjust the office space needed.Rule 7: The granularity (time divisions; e.g., monthly, quarterly, etc.) of the forecast must match the granularity of the system.Corollary 7A: The granularity must match the frequency of review and decision-making.It makes sense that you should review your projections whenever you review your actual operations. Most businesses are managed on a monthly basis. Therefore, their forecasts should be based on monthly numbers.Corollary 7B: Use the same granularity throughout the forecast.Changing the granularity of the forecasts often introduces errors. The longer the time period of the forecast, the more you have to rely on averages when reviewing your progress. See my arti

Apart from the major downside of the Yellow Pages, that it is nipplepiercingly expensive, it is still a bottom achingly brilliant vehicle to take your marketing message to your target audience. Well, some people think, the YP is on its way out, and I totally agree, but I believe it has a few more years of marching to do until it completely vanishes into thin air or even into a puff of smoke.
The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
Just look up the YP in any category. All the ads look exactly the same. No difference. Not a sausage. You can shift the company names between ads and you see that they all do the same thing the same way. There is no differentiation. They are like teenagers: They so desperately try to be different from everyone else that they end up looking and behaving exactly the same way as everyone else. Hm.
So, where is the problem with all those YP ads? The Book of Boredom, Yawn and Drab: Are You Making These Nine Fatal Mistakes in Your Yellow Pages Ads?
Apart from the major downside of the Yellow Pages, that it is nipplepiercingly expensive, it is still a bottomachingly brilliant vehicle to take your marketing message to your target audience. Well, some people think, the YP is on its way out, and I totally agree, but I believe it has a few more years of marching to do until it completely vanishes into thin air or even into a puff of smoke.
The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
The Importance Of Bullets In Your Sales Copy
Most people think of bullets as something that comes out of a shotgun or revolver that can potentially hurt or kill.But in copywriting, bullets are nothing more than little headlines that reveals benefits to your prospect throughout your sales copy.This doesn’t mean their presence is of little importance, in fact nothing can be further from the truth.Bullets can compel your prospect to read further into your sales copy, get him or her excited about your offer and rush to buy what you have to offer.Most great sales copy have a long list of bullets, sometimes as many as 30 to 60 bullets. The reason being that it offers your prospect a list of benefits that any one or more might be enough reason or appealing for your prospect to want to buy what you have to offer in your sales copy.Not impossible but it is highly unlikely that every single bullet in your bullet list will appeal and excite your prospect. But what having a list of bullets does is raise your chances of having some bullets that will hit your prospect and make him or her realize that if he or she gets your product for that particular benefit or benefits, it will be more than worth it.In a nutshell, different people are motivated by different reasons and benefits, so by having a list of bullets of benefits, you are actually covering all grounds.Every prospect will have different so called ‘hot buttons’ that will get him or her to want to buy what you have to offer. A particular prospect will probably read a sale copy that has a list of bullets and buy based on just one bullet.Bullets are really very strong motivators that will get your prospect to do just what you want them to do.Just like the headline for your sales copy, your bullets must convince and compel your prospect to want what you have to off
look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
Just look up the YP in any category. All the ads look exactly the same. No difference. Not a sausage. You can shift the company names between ads and you see that they all do the same thing the same way. There is no differentiation. They are like teenagers: They so desperately try to be different from everyone else that they end up looking and behaving exactly the same way as everyone else. Hm.
So, where is the problem with all those YP ads? The Book of Boredom, Yawn and Drab: Are You Making These Nine Fatal Mistakes in Your Yellow Pages Ads?
Apart from the major downside of the Yellow Pages, that it is nipplepiercingly expensive, it is still a bottomachingly brilliant vehicle to take your marketing message to your target audience. Well, some people think, the YP is on its way out, and I totally agree, but I believe it has a few more years of marching to do until it completely vanishes into thin air or even into a puff of smoke.
The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
Lions, Tigers, and Bears, OH MY! Liars, Cheaters, and Fears, OH MY!
It’s, The Walmart TV Network... look up!When my grandson had just started to talk this was one of the first things he sung. Probably because there were so many days that he came to one of the stores while I was at work or someone else in the family was at work he heard it over and over.There was a time during my employ with Walmart that I would not stand for anyone saying anything negative about the company.I would defend the company in every way possible and as sick as it seems I still do. I must still be in denial.There are many things about this “eight hundred pound gorilla” that are controversial and even though my roots go back to a family that was democrat to the bone even now I have to defend the company as far as some of it goes.At this time of my life I seriously believe in capitalism. I believe that the company was originally good and have to make exception to the rhetoric that say it is evil or bad.The company as it was founded by Sam Walton was good and I am sure if I came upon a store where the culture would still be followed that store would also be good. The problem is too many stores, too many managers and too many of the corporate officers have lost Sam’s Culture.There is no “Respect for the individual.” Sam’s culture is nothing more than propaganda in the worst form.As a Christian would follow the Ten Commandments, Walmart had its own piece of Christianity within it when Sam founded it.You didn’t have to be a Christian to appreciate working in an environment that treated you with dignity. You didn’t have to be anything other than someone who appreciated going to work in an atmosphere where your work was appreciated and you were treated with respect.Lions, tigers and bears, OH MY! Liars, cheaters and fears, OH MY!As the y
tly the same. No difference. Not a sausage. You can shift the company names between ads and you see that they all do the same thing the same way. There is no differentiation. They are like teenagers: They so desperately try to be different from everyone else that they end up looking and behaving exactly the same way as everyone else. Hm.
So, where is the problem with all those YP ads? The Book of Boredom, Yawn and Drab: Are You Making These Nine Fatal Mistakes in Your Yellow Pages Ads?
Apart from the major downside of the Yellow Pages, that it is nipplepiercingly expensive, it is still a bottomachingly brilliant vehicle to take your marketing message to your target audience. Well, some people think, the YP is on its way out, and I totally agree, but I believe it has a few more years of marching to do until it completely vanishes into thin air or even into a puff of smoke.
The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
Why Do People Use Blogs
A blog is written publication of one’s personal thoughts, articles, etc. It is basically an outlet for any writing endeavor or thought, a personal space for someone to express the written word in any manner they so choose.Blogging has become a booming new internet phenomenon for the writing community for many reasons. First of all, by definition, it offers writers freedom of speech in a published format for any viewer to read. Any thought, any emotion, any artistic piece can be posted within minutes giving a writer an immediate sense of gratification for their work. It can act as an outlet, a public diary, and promote a sense that one’s words are valuable and meaningful to viewers who often become loyal readers of some bloggers sites.Posting to a blog page also offers financial benefits. If the blogging site uses ads to promote the site, oftentimes the site will offer it’s blogger a percentage of the ad revenue. The ad revenue is generated by number of article views and clicks to the particular ad posted on the article page.Blog posting can also help people gain confidence in their writing skills. For example, if they are generating a consistent reader interest or viewer traffic to their page, this can substantially make a writer feel that his or work has potential after all. It is one thing to sit diligently, in solitude, typing away with perseverance and dedication, one’s treasured novel or poem, believing one’s work is great, but it is another when readers, people one does not know, actually take the time to read one’s work, come back and read the posts regularly, and even take the time to leave a positive comment. This can do wonders for a writer’s belief in their self and their dreams.A blogging site can also offer a platform for people who are interested in the writing field or j
You Making These Nine Fatal Mistakes in Your Yellow Pages Ads?
Apart from the major downside of the Yellow Pages, that it is nipplepiercingly expensive, it is still a bottomachingly brilliant vehicle to take your marketing message to your target audience. Well, some people think, the YP is on its way out, and I totally agree, but I believe it has a few more years of marching to do until it completely vanishes into thin air or even into a puff of smoke.
The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
Get A Grip On Your Business
Not wanting to over-simplify the whole ‘running a business thing’, but I’ve developed a list (based on my own experiences, and that of my clients and other business owners), which covers some of the things we need to know for different stages of building a business:Start-up phase:- Start a business because you want to, don’t just fall into it - Do your homework – know what you’re getting yourself into, and who else is doing it too - Do what you love – have a passion - Recognise that it’s going to be tough and be prepared - Budget for a completely different level of income (!) (that’s a lower income, not a higher one…) - Talk to people who remember setting up their own business, and learn from their advice. - Use suppliers who can meet your budget. Don’t be ‘sold’ into paying more than you want to – there will be time enough for that when your business is making plenty of money. - Know where you want to go, and don’t lose sight of that - Make sure you have plenty of capital to get you through this phase – you’ll need all of it. Keep expenses to a minimum – it will take time to start generating an income. - Depending on your financial position, join relevant networks and associations, and attend events. - Make sure they’re the same groups where you will find your target market. - Draw up a database of all your contacts and spend time getting out there and talking to people. Tell them what you’re doing, and listen to what they need. - Try to do business with people you want to do business with. This is likely to be amore effective strategy in generating referrals and building your business. - Don’t neglect the marketing fundamentals: understand what it is you can offer potential clients, understand what they need, develop a very clear value pr
or even into a puff of smoke.
The good news is that people who look you up in the Yellow Pages are very serious buyers. They need what you sell right now. So, when they contact you, you are in for a very short buying cycle. And that is a great advantage. However, this advantage comes at a price tag and a pretty high level of commitment from your end. The good news is that...
Some 97% of the Yellow Pages Ads Are Duds
Just look up the YP in any category. All the ads look exactly the same. No difference. Not a sausage. You can shift the company names between ads and you see that they all do the same thing the same way. There is no differentiation. They are like teenagers: They so desperately try to be different from everyone else that they end up looking and behaving exactly the same way as everyone else. Hm.
So, where is the problem with all those YP ads?
First Let's Look at Some YP Stats
The Yellow Pages reach 76% of the population in the average month, 57% in the average week, and 17% daily. Adults refer to the Yellow Pages almost twice per week, or approximately 19 billion times per year.
88% of these references result in contact with a purchase or an intent to purchase.
Because the Yellow Pages is a reference medium, like classified ads in newspapers, providing over 50% of new clients.
52% of potential clients either have no service provider in mind, or have multiple names in mind when they see your Yellow Pages ad. Your ad can clarify one name for them: Yours.
The average business gets $6 in profit for every $1 invested in Yellow Pages advertising. With a good ad you can even beat that. But be aware of average. When the average temperature in a hospital is normal, it can also mean that half of the patients suffer from high fever and the other half are dead. The YP is the same. Some people make huge profits on their ads, and some curse the name of the person who invented the Yellow Pages. The interesting thing is that the idiots volunteer to lose on their ads rather than hiring a Yellow Pages specialist.
The average cost of

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Added for You - Are You Making These Nine Fatal Mistakes in Your Yellow Pages Ads?

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