Managing Performance – Don’t Let Slackers Bring Down Your

As a manager, it is your job to ensure that the work gets done effectively. Coaching and discipline are unpleasant tasks. However, it must be a part of your everyday job duties. Here are some common mistakes managers make in handling poor performers.

Ignore the problem.

Count on peer pressure to correct sub-standard performance. This rarely works and the staff grumbles about the ineffective way the issue is being dealt with.

Have a group meeting.

Instead of dealing directly with the problem employee, a meeting of the work group is held and standards of performance are repeated with the hope that the slacker will get the hint. This is a waste of time for your “A” players and the slacker rarely gets the hint.

Transfer the slacker.

When the slacker applies for a job in another department, the supervisor gives the employee rave reviews about their work habits. When the transfer is made,

Why You Buy, Part Two

More of the findings of the recent studies in behavioral economics:

Webers Law

A change of stimulus is more emotional and motivational, according to the base: Most subjects tested would drive across town to save $10 on a $20 item, for example, but not to save $10 on a $500 item. The lesson for sales people? If you won’t lose a sale on a thousand-dollar couch over $10, sell the other benefits of the couch in your sales pitch.

Familiarity Fallacy

Economic choices are often made due to familiarity, even when the choice is clearly worse (“But I always shop there!”). This bit of research shows the need to get a customer used to coming to your business. If they are comfortable, they won’t expect or demand the best deal.

Anchoring

In tests, mentioning the year 220 A.D., versus 1600 A.D., resulted in earlier guesses when people were asked for the birth date of Ghengis Khan. This was true even when the comment was in no way related to Khan. This tendency to “anchor” was found in the economic realm as well. Mention $300 as the value of an item, and subsequent negotiation or discussion will revolve around that.

The implications are obvious, and are being studied. It seems an item should be worth a certain amount to a particular customer, but humans are never so logical in valuing things. Why can you get $99 for an e-book online that has roughly the same content as a $10 book in the bookstore? Is it partly due to the “$500 value” thrown out there for the book and “bonuses.” It makes $99 seem cheap, doesn’t it?

There are reasons people buy that go beyond any of the reasons given. Rationalization seems to rule over rational thought. I’ll cover more of the research into behavioral economics in part three.

Steve Gillman has been studying every aspect of money for thirty years. You can find more interesting and useful information on his website; http://www.UnusualWaysToMakeMoney.com

MLM Recruiting- The Top 10 MLM Prospecting Tactics for Success

You gotta have people to talk to in MLM Prospecting!

INFERNO Secret:

You drive by more people in a week than you could possibly recruit in a year!

So – here is the question:

Do you have enough folks to talk to?

If not – READ ON!!!!

These tactics are what we have found to be extremely effective in creating leads and consistent people to call on. There are hundreds of ways to Prospect. These are just a few to get you started and on your way. Take one which appeals to you and start immediately.

1) ‘People that care about you.’

A warm or hot market is a great place to start. But ask yourself a question:

Who really cares about my success and future? Start there and ask for their help.

You will be surprised how caring and emotions can be of benefit to you. If they do care about you, they will listen to you and try to help.

2) ‘People you truly care about.’

Who do you truly care about and want to see have a great life? Start there. Your compassion and caring will come through and impact in a positive way.

People liked to be thought of, and this is a way to make that happen, and also to show your feelings towards their future and Life.

3) ‘People that you know that care about the same things. ‘

Who has a commonality with you in caring for the same things? Maybe in a club or church, or an association. You have already established that you have something in common that matters to you both. And your business would be a great way to expand that relationship.

4) ‘Follow your Dollar.’

Who do you do business with? Who do you give money to on a regular basis?

Whether it is shopping or getting something repaired or simply paying to have something done, that is who you want to target. Who did you buy your car from? Who sells you your clothing and groceries?

Follow your dollar. There is a gold mine there in contacts and potential sales. They may be hesitant about joining you , but ask for referrals. They owe them to you

5)’The Goldmine on your desk.’

Most folks have some form of a Rolodex or card case on their desk, or in their planner. But most have a listing of who they have gathered cards from. Even in their palm pilot. Most Business owners have a great Rolodex but less than 10% of the cards produce revenue for them.

Turn your Roledex or their Rolodex into a Goldmine that produces a secondary revenue source for them, by contacting the cards in the rolodex, and talk to them. That alone will increase the value of their contacts or your contacts.

What percentage of your rolodex is currently producing you any type of revenue source?

2%? 5%?

If there was a way to increase that to 15-20% – would you want to know about it?’ Great question!

6) ‘Referrals.’

This business is not for everyone. But everyone knows someone, who it could be for.

Ask for referrals. And it really depends on how you ask, that determines the response. Say, “Obviously this isn’t for you, but if you were me, who would be the first 2 people you would call to share this with?” And then call them. Say “Hello Mary? My name is Doug, and I promised Tom I would give you a call to share an idea he thought you would enjoy.”

7) ‘Business owners you know or someone else knows them.’

Business owners, especially small business owners are always looking for ways to increase value to their employees, and to increase the bottom line to their company. A lot of business owners have found Network Marketing to be a great secondary profit center for their business. And they all have associations they belong to with other business owners. A good way to prospect them is to ask for their advice on Marketing and their help in marketing your products. Don’t forget the Goldmine on their desk, their Rolodex.

8)’Stay at Home moms.’

One of the fastest growing sectors in MLM is the stay at home mom. Many women professionals are starting to leave their jobs and careers to spend time with their family. Their values seem to be changing, and with that comes a great opportunity to help them reclaim the income they lost. And they already have proven themselves to be an asset in the workforce.

And over 70% of all networkers, are women.

9) ‘Chamber of Commerce.’

Every city has a Chamber of Commerce. And most members are all business minded which means a goldmine for sales and referrals, and even some distributors. Join your chamber or at least attend some functions and get a listing of members.

And here is an INFERNO Secret to recruit: Establish a relationship with som members, and ask for their help. And don’t be afraid to refer business to them.

10) ‘Civic/Charitable organizations.’

Join a Civic group to first, make a difference in your city, not just to network. And become known as a go getter and helper, and as you do these things, ask for people’s referrals. And there may be a time somewhere down the line you could let them try your products. But understand – FIRST make a difference in the group, and then you will have a better chance of making a difference with them with your business.

INFERNO Secret:

Become a Master Networker. Get a book or tape on Networking that explains how to do it. The secret is not who you know, but WHO KNOWS YOU.

Networking is an art. And if you Master it, you will never run out of leads or folks who want to help you.

Networking is about bringing value to others FIRST, then let them bring value to you.

Blessings.

Doug Firebaugh

PassionFire Intl

doug@powerfire.com

© 2005/ PFI All rights reserved

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. He spent 13 years fulltime in MLM and the last 7 years traveling the world training and speaking. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subcription to his MLM Success HEAT training letter at:
http:/http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_4.html

doug@powerfire.com

Profiles Of Three Successful MLM Companies

Looking at MLM companies, you will find some of the largest and most successful companies in America. The following is a sample of the largest MLM companies and a brief description of their history. If you are considering starting your own MLM business, one of these companies might be the one you are looking at closely.

Amway

Among MLM companies, Amway is considered to be an innovator. Part of the Alticor group, Amway had sales of over $6 billion in 2004. Its world headquarters is located in Ada, Michigan, where over 300 scientists continually research new products and ways to improve existing ones. Founded over 40 years ago by Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel, Amway is known for their sales meetings and the excitement they generate. They offer more than 450 products ranging from vitamins to household cleaners. Amway distributors do not have to purchase any products for inventory and Amway will buy back any unused, resaleable products from their business associates.

Pampered Chef

Many MLM companies are jealous of the success of the Pampered Chef.
Doris Christopher started the company when she realized that there was a need for quality kitchen tools. Today, the Pampered Chef is a worldwide operation with more than 70,000 independent Kitchen Consultants. Their cooking demonstrations have become extremely popular and are key to their success. Meetings are causal while the Kitchen Consultant uses the products to make a fresh treat for the guests. Also, they have been successful in raising money for needy causes. Pampered Chef has collected more than $7 million since 1991 to fight world hunger.

Mary Kay

Mary Kay, Inc. is one of the most successful MLM companies. As a direct seller of skin care and cosmetics, they have achieved worldwide sales of nearly $1.8 billion. Founded in 1963, Mary Kay beauty consultants have been advising women on the secrets to beauty and health. Their home beauty consulting sessions have been the standard in the MLM industry.

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Defining Moment

Do you know your audiences? I mean really know them. I’ve just been working on a project for a client to help him position his financial planning business and to determine who his key audiences are.


Creating a Power Plan

Part of the power plan is making sure you have all the necessary contact information within a company. It is one thing to have the CEO’s information, as he is the decision-maker, but it is quite another to have the information on others that you may be working with directly. You will not likely work directly with the CEO on any project or product purchase; you will be referred to the appropriate person. The information you gather on others should be the same as the information you gathered on the CEO. You will need to know the personality type to give you that inside edge, and also how much influence they have on the decision to make a purchase; you may find that these other contacts have an authorized spending limit following a set of guidelines.

You want to make sure you target the correct person once the decision is made. These contacts will often have an inside edge on up-and-coming projects where you might be of use. They may even get additional funds in order to buy from you. I had a client that was limited to $10,000 on any purchase order, and my services for the quarter were to be $32,000. Instead of having to fill out the paper work and get additional approvals, he simply made four separate contracts for me, each with their own start dates, milestones, and project completion time. It worked well for him as he did not need additional approval to continue the project, and it also worked for me as I was paid in a shorter time frame than otherwise.

Having a person in the company at the right level for approving projects and purchases will make a difference between making the sale and knocking on the next door. You need to form a close relationship with that person and make sure they are completely satisfied with your work.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

Niche Marketing Nuggets – Picking the Gold from the Internet Mine

Building an Internet business based on a specific niche is not only good sound business it’s smart.

What is a niche?

Boiled down, a niche is a specific area of interest people have.
An example of a niche would be remote control cars.

People go crazy for them. They have complete web sites with:

1. Articles

2. Email newsletters

3. Forums

4. Part suppliers

5. Companies who sell popular remote control cars

I could go on and on, the point is, this is a niche market that is both popular and offers a variety of ways to earn income.

Three Steps to Internet Income

1. Find a niche people are interested in.

This part is where research will pay off. Visit Google.com, type in a key phrase, for example, “remote control cars” remembering to add the quotes too.

Look to the right hand side at the Adwords section. How many ads do you see?

If you see 5-8 this will show you people are spending money to advertise within this niche. This is the first clue this niche is popular.

Now look at the number of pages matching your keywords. If the number is large, say 1,000,000 for example, this means you might want to narrow your key phrase down to something a little more targeted.

Like, “remote control car racing.”

Important: You will still offer a product or service targeted toward remote control cars. The reason you narrow it down is to eliminate competition.

2. Identify a target product or service that will help solve a problem or give them a desired benefit.

This step can become tedious and mundane. However, if you adhere to this rule of thumb you should do fine.

Rule of thumb: If you can earn at least 25% of the gross sales price for the product avoid it.

You can do a search for resale rights on products within the niche you are searching for. Most of the time you’ll find a few if not more.

3. Find out where they are and sell it to them.

This is the easy part. Yes, I said easy.

(a) Forums. Forums are a great starting point.

(b) Related web sites. Joint venture your information product with a site that sells tires for example.

(c) Email newsletters. Type in “remote control cars” and visit the web sites listed. Most of them offer email newsletters to their visitors. Find their rates and place your ad.

Granted this is the simplified explanation of this process but it can be repeated with any niche on earth.

Now that you have your feet wet…

…what are you waiting for?

Get out there and find a niche and profit from it!

Jason Mann is a freelance writer and netpreneur who specializes in building businesses based on specific niche markets. For a free report about niche marketing visit his website at: http://nichemarketing.majorprofitmargins.info

What is Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is the last place a person in serious debt can turn. This is where you end up when you have exhausted all of your other options when trying to pay off the debts that you owe. When you file for bankruptcy your debts will be dissolved by splitting up your assets among those owed. Which creditors get what is not up to you, it is up to a trustee and they make these important decisions by priority of the debts. Whether you are in individual filing for bankruptcy or if you are a business filing you may or may not get to keep your home or business, much of this depends on the state that you live in and the type of bankruptcy that you choose to file for. If you file for bankruptcy your debt could be resolved regardless of whether your debts have been paid in full or not.

Bankruptcy courts keep an eye on all bankruptcy proceedings in order to make sure that everything is followed to the letter. This is a delicate process and it needs to go as smoothly as possible. When you have filed for bankruptcy you will be dealing with the United States Bankruptcy Courts system. You will also be dealing with United States Trustees. They are the ones that will decide where your various assets go and to whom. It is their job to administer to and supervise all of the bankruptcy proceedings.

The most common type of bankruptcy is Chapter 7. When you file for Chapter 7 you are going to have to liquidate most of your assets in order to pay off your creditors. Any amount that is not paid is written off as a loss on the part of your creditors. The trustee will collect all of your assets and they will proceed to sell them and dispense the profits accordingly. All other Chapters of bankruptcy involve the restructuring of your loans. You will find better and more efficient ways to pay off your loans quickly, anywhere from 3 to 5 years. You will be able to keep working and using your income to pay some of your debts when you file for these other chapters.

When you have filed for bankruptcy your creditors do not have that many options. They can dispute a Chapter 13 filing and in fact this does sometimes happen, when it does the person filing may have to change over to Chapter 7. When you are in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings you cannot transfer over any of your assets in order to avoid having to sell them off to pay creditors. If you are going to be filing for bankruptcy you need to first make sure that you understand the finer points as you are going to have a lot on the line.

#1 Loans USA is a leading loan lender in the country. We have a loan for you at the best rates including refinancing of current loans. Click here now for your construction, new home loans, mortgage rates. Visit us at http://www.1LoansUSA.com

Free Work At Home Jobs Can Be Found

Free work at home computer jobs are being more and more plentiful. Estimates say that approximately 40 million people work at home in some capacity. Many free work at home jobs are computer jobs with the Internet becoming such an important part of our everyday life. Starting a home computer business will enter you in the ever-expanding e-commerce universe. Business to-business sales over the Internet will account for $2.7 trillion for the year 2004. With such growth, no wonder more and more people are considering starting a work at home computer job.

There are free work at home jobs that use every talent imaginable.

Here are some free work at home jobs that you may wish to check into: consumer opinions, data entry, freelance artists, legal assistant, medical transcription, translators, and web surfers.

Free work at home jobs are now available in significant numbers. Many new opportunities have opened up for people to work at home and take care of their families in the process. Most free work at home jobs are not highly technical jobs that require expensive training. Common skills such as sewing, writing, and teaching can be the start of a home business. With a free work at home job you control your hours. You can work full or part time, whenever you want.

You must be careful when selecting a free work at home job. There are many companies that seek to rip off their customers and offer high hopes and little else. Some companies will say their jobs come at no cost to you but in reality they are out to con you out of your money. Be wise and contact the Better Business Bureau or the Small Business Administration for advice on selecting a free work at home job.

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7 Tools to Prevent Identity Theft Fraud

Identity theft fraud in America has reached epidemic proportions having surpassed 27 million cases and increasing every year.

The banks are taking identity theft fraud very seriously and have taken substantial measures to protect your identity and your accounts against scammers.

They have implemented a password protection for online transactions. When you use your online services, keep your secret password protected so only you know what it is.

All online bank transactions are now encrypted which converts your information into a secure code, protecting you against would be hackers.

To protect yourself here are a few more things you should know about preventing identity fraud :

1. Never give out information such as checking and credit card numbers or your Social Security number to anyone you do not know.

2. Notify your bank immediately if you lose or have your checks stolen. They can be flagged with a fraud notice to block payment.

3. Don’t give the PIN number on your ATM card to anyone and never write the number down and keep in your wallet. Always take your ATM receipts with you after a transaction.

4. Shred any financial papers you receive before disposing of them. This includes any solicitation notices that you may receive for any credit cards or mail from other financial institutions.

5. If you don’t receive a regular monthly bill, call the company to find out why.

6. Check out the bills you do receive to make sure all the transactions are legitimate. If there is anything suspicious call the company immediately to stop any fraud from going any further.

7. Check your credit report at least once a year to make sure the information is correct.

In December 2004 the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was put into effect and one provision requires that the three major credit reporting agencies are to provide consumers with a free copy of their own credit report.

Another provision to help fight identity theft is the National Fraud Alert System. This allows consumers who reasonably suspect they have been a victim of identity theft can place an alert on their credit files. This alert will tell potential creditors that they must proceed with caution when granting credit.

Scammers can get the information they need to assume your identity from a variety of sources. They range from stealing your wallet to digging in your trash. They may approach you in person, by telephone or on the Internet.

The sources of information about you are so numerous that you cannot totally prevent the theft of your identity. But identity theft fraud can be minimized by just becoming aware of the possibilities.

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