The Net’s Most Wanteds

With billions of dollars of venture capital residing down the street on Sand Hill Road, two Stanford professors are attempting to answer a fundamental question “why does it always take longer and cost more to build a hi-tech company than anyone ever expects?” For all the intellect, experience and graduate degrees in the venture capital industry, the sad truth is that 80% of venture capital investments do not pan out. While the reasons for this high attrition rate are too numerous to list here, a simple fact defines every successful investment – the company figures out how to bring in more money than it spends. The secret to solving this fundamental equation these two professors believe lies in the Sales Learning Curve.

Mark Leslie, an entrepreneur turned Stanford lecturer who took a startup company, Veritas, from nascent stages to over $1B in revenues and a recent $13.5B merger with Symantec, and Charles Holloway, the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Professor of Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business have developed a framework, that goes a long way toward answering the question “why it always takes longer and costs more?” Leslie and Holloway call this framework the Sales Learning Curve (SLC) and believe that it will prove as powerful a construct in the high tech sector as the Manufacturing Learning Curve (MLC) was to the manufacturing sector in the early (date?). Today, manufacturers wouldn’t think of running their operation without tracking the MLC because of the dramatic improvements in productivity that it offers. Similarly, Leslie and Holloway believe the SLC holds the potential to fundamentally change how high tech companies are managed and will lead to more high tech companies reaching the promised land of “positive free cashflow.” Increasing the number of cashflow positive companies should lead to greater venture capital returns, more capital being allocated to the sector by LPS, more early stage company formation, more innovation, more jobs, and increased productivity.

So what is the Sales Learning Curve?

[Note to Editor -- there are 2 graphics that were stripped out when I pasted in the article into this form]

As illustrated above, the Sales Learning Curve tracks the contribution margin per sales rep (Sales Yield) against the number of customer transactions. The shape of the curve will be different for every company and every sector but the central tenant of the SLC remains constant – the “go-to-market” phase is when companies should “Go Slow to Go Fast” (which is some advice from a Nordic skiing expert that I recently received when I asked for some tips on improving my performance prior to an upcoming race – Google the phrase and you will find that triathletes, grade school teachers, executive coaches, swimmers, and karate instructors are all well aware of the Go Slow to Go Fast benefits).

Leslie and Holloway believe the “organizational learning” that occurs as sales reps interact with customers to close initial sales is crucial to the ultimate success of the organization. The classic “go-to-market” strategy involves hiring a VP of sales once the beta product is complete and then hiring as many reps as the balance sheet will allow in order to “drive revenue and get to breakeven.” According to Leslie and Holloway, this strategy is doomed to failure because the company has failed to take the time to understand the shape of the SLC for its product in its market. Some reports generated over the last two years by Fenwick and West, a prominent Silicon Valley law firm, bear out their assertion. There is a consistent pattern of inflated B round valuations; the percentage of down rounds for C and later rounds is always greater than B rounds. As Leslie and Holloway state, “One inference from this is that both entrepreneurs and VC’s underestimate the cost and time required to move up the SLC after completion of the Beta product. VCs and entrepreneurs often assume that the company is ready to gain market traction at this stage when in fact the company is only ready to begin the SLC learning process, which like product development stages has a somewhat indeterminate duration.”

When moving from beta release to first release, Leslie and Holloway argue that only a few technically versant sales reps should be hired. These sales reps should serve as a conduit between the initial customers and the engineering team and compensated not on revenue targets but on the “organizational learnings” that are achieved. Only after enough of these “learnings” have been incorporated into subsequent releases of the product and the organization knows how to sell the product (defined as the point at which each sales rep’s contribution margin is twice their fully burdened cost) does it make sense to aggressively hire additional sales reps. Leslie and Holloway posit that the SLC is immutable and can point to numerous theoretical models and concrete examples that indicate that until you have reached this pivotal point on the SLC, the capital invested in hiring additional sales reps is simply wasted.

My firm’s principals have served as executives, investors, board members, and consultants to nearly 50 early stage companies in the technology sector – some successful (Microsoft) – some not. We have found consistently the go-to-market stage (more so than product development or market expansion) is where there is the highest degree of uncertainty and the greatest potential to burn through finite cash resources typically through a misallocation of sales & marketing resources. Needless to say, once we were exposed to the SLC, we immediately began working to develop the tools and constructs needed to apply the theory behind the SLC to the day-to-day operating reality of rapidly growing companies.

The last thing most CEOs and venture investors want to hear is “Go Slow” when they have a product that is out of beta testing. Having become intimately involved with the SLC and Leslie and Holloway’s thinking, we are firmly convinced that is precisely what companies must do whether they are a start up launching a brand new product or an established company starting a new line of business.

When companies are pushing a product out of beta, it is not unusual for a startup to have a relatively poor handle on questions such as the following:

• What is the true Customer ROI?
• Does the company have a clear segmentation and customer focus strategy?
• Has the Sales Model been clearly defined?

Most management teams feel like they have a strong grip on these topics based on a few “high touch” initial sales, the feeling that it is time to put the “pedal to the metal.” Typically, when “v1″ is shipped, it is a time of rising excitement, enthusiasm and confidence within the organization. There is also an expectation from investors that with rising expenses that management is going to push to get to breakeven in the shortest time period possible. Since revenue is only generated from sales activity which is directly related to the number of sales people in the field, there is a tremendous amount of pressure to hire and deploy reps ASAP.

Unfortunately, these sales reps are frequently deployed before the product is grounded in market reality and an effective sales and marketing process has been developed. Consequently, these sales reps are unproductive, “sales activity” never turns into revenue, and precious cash is wasted at an alarming rate.

What is the alternative? Our experience, which is echoed by the SLC, has shown that taking a much different approach to sales when introducing a new product into the market can result in far more favorable out comes. At this stage, management should focus on capturing market and customer feedback rather than strictly on generating near-term revenue. The rate at which this customer feedback is acquired and assimilated into the product is critical to a company’s ability to move up the SLC. Defining sales success in terms of the “amount of feedback collected from customers” influences the type of sales people hired at this stage as well as how they are compensated.

How does a company know the shape of its SLC and how to gauge its progress along it? A number of primary drivers of the SLC exist: readiness of the product, sales and marketing, product type, market structure and macro-economic conditions.

In tandem with the Venture Dynamics Group, we have developed a dynamic simulation model that estimates the SLC under different scenarios. The model helps entrepreneurs and investors model the shape of the SLC given a certain set of assumptions and then see the resulting impact on cash flow.

There are several actions an early stage business should take to apply the SLC framework that my firm, as well as Leslie and Holloway, are espousing. The following are some highlights:

• Identify and prioritize product, sales and marketing factors impacting the SLC
• Shore up gaps as well as exploit your strengths based on findings from broad customer contact and market experience.
• Engage in a regular process of analyzing how learning can be accelerated.
• Mobilize entire organization to engage with customers (engineering, product marketing, sales and finance)
• Staff and operate at the appropriate levels based on where you are on SLC.

The management team can then mobilize their entire organization towards learning and accelerate their path up the SLC. While some of the management team may believe that this process will slow the rate of revenue growth, it is important to remind them that this process is intended to accelerate the process by which companies reach the ultimate corporate goal, cash flow positive.

Though it can seem counterintuitive to slow down the go-go energy upon initial product delivery, a well-grounded approach that keeps the SLC principles in mind will end up being the fastest path to rapid market penetration and sales growth. This will ensure you avoid the old saying, “haste makes waste” while giving your team and investors the kind of financial return you desire.

If you would like to see a complete SLC presentation given by Mark Leslie at a recent event, go to http://altusalliance.com/ceoInfo.html.

Dave Chase is a partner with Altus Alliance, which specializes in driving revenue traction for emerging businesses. He publishes a blog entitled Chase Market Velocity that focuses on how emerging businesses can gain market traction via the Enterprise Sales Learning Curve principles espoused by Mark Leslie. Before joining Altus Alliance, Chase spent nearly 20 years in the industry with over a dozen years at Microsoft in various senior marketing and general management roles, including his role as MSN’s managing director for industry marketing and relations. In that capacity, he was responsible for MSN taking a leadership role within the Interactive Marketing industry to grow Online’s share of the overall ad market in concert with AOL, CNET, Yahoo!, Google and other market leaders. Chase played leadership roles in launching several new businesses within Microsoft including Microsoft’s entry into the enterprise software and server business which is now an $8B business. He was integral in Microsoft’s entry into Internet businesses that achieved both critical and financial success.

If you have children, you will doubtless remember saying to them, “You can do it.”

It’s what we say when our toddlers first struggle to their feet.

It’s what we say when they face their first day at school, when they first ride a bicycle, or first swim a full length of a pool.

Children face the challenges of early life with greater confidence when they are supported by the belief and support of their parents.

And it doesn’t stop at childhood. We continue to say, “You can do it” when our teens take their driving test, apply for college or dress up for that first job interview.

I recently finished reading John Le Carre’s book, The Constant Gardener. He frequently touches on the thought that adults are simply the children they once were, with all their childhood strengths and weaknesses, masquerading in grown-up bodies.

I think he’s right. As adults, at home and at work, we still crave the support and belief of those around us – our partner, our colleagues, our bosses.

When faced with a tough career challenge, it’s still reassuring to have someone put a hand on our shoulder and say, “You can do it.”

With this in mind, consider some of the copy you write on your Web site, and in your emails and newsletter.

Where you now say something like:

At Acme Trust we support local arts through our funding program.

Consider saying this:

Through Acme Trust you can successfully apply for a grant to support local arts.

Where you say:

Acme Business Intelligence software aggregates data from across the enterprise and makes it available to your managers…

Think about this:

With Acme Business Intelligence Software you can provide senior management with reports that are complete and on time.

Or instead of saying:

Acme Newsletter Builder provides dozens of ready-to-use design templates…

Say:

With Acme Newsletter Builder you can create professionally-designed newsletters in just a few minutes.

Each of these examples simply shifts the focus from the company to the customer and says, “You can do it”.

That’s stage one.

When we encourage our young children, we are also there to help and support them. Try the same with the inner children of your customers and prospects.

So stage two is to provide not only your product or service, but also the support to help your customers succeed.

Try adding a line or two like these:

Speak to one of the Acme Trust advisors and find out how to write a successful grant application.

As an Acme Business Intelligence customer, you will be allocated Acme Support Representative.

Not sure how to get started with Acme Newsletter Builder? Ask for help at any time through our Live Chat support service.

If you subscribe to that original premise that we each of us retain many of the fears and insecurities of our childhood, you now have a couple of very simple ways in which to reassure and support your customers and prospects.

Let them know that they CAN do it with your product or service. And remind them that you are right there, with all the support they need, in order to help them succeed.

About the Author

Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author and speaker. You can access all his newsletter articles on writing for the web at his www.ExcessVoice.com site. You’ll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at www.FreelanceWritingSuccess.com

Don’t blame the mirror as it shows what is in front of it. If you don’t like the size of your image you need to do something about it. Being over weight makes life ‘heavy’. Do you want to carry this extra burden for the rest of your life?

If not then we will tell you a way to get rid of it. Xenical (Orlistat) is a FDA approved drug that blocks the absorption of some of the fat that you intake as a part of the meal. This medication is used in obesity management including weight loss and weight maintenance when taken along with a low calorie low fat diet.

Xenical does not suppress appetite but inhibits fat absorption by as much as one-third. The unabsorbed extra fat is passed out of the body with bowel movements.

This drug is approved for use in children in the age group of 12-16 years. Thus you can start treating obesity at a much younger age thereby reducing complications.

This medication is usually taken with each main meal that contains fat. If you miss a meal, or if you have a meal without fat, you can skip your dose of Xenical for that meal. Each time you take Xenical, your meal should not contain more than about 30% of calories from fat. You should evenly divide your daily intake of fat, carbohydrates, and protein over three main meals a day. Consult your doctor about following a healthy eating plan.

Xenical may decrease your body’s absorption of some fat-soluble vitamins. To ensure adequate nutrition, your doctor may recommend taking a multivitamin that contains vitamins D, E, K, and beta-carotene. Take your vitamin supplement once a day, at least 2 hours before or after a dose of Xenical.

Always consult your doctor before beginning on a course of Xenical. Discuss your medical history in detail including major illnesses and use of prescription and non-prescription medicines. Under certain medical conditions your doctor may require to adjust the dosage and keep you under close monitoring during the initial phases.

Do not overdose yourself as higher doses do not necessarily mean more weight loss. If you are pregnant or breast feeding a baby, consult your doctor before taking Xenical, although there is no adverse medical evidence linking Xenical to these conditions.

Xenical may have an allergic reaction in some people and they should seek immediate medical help. Some minor side effects related to changes in bowel movement may be noticed in the initial stages. These are an indication that Xenical is at work. These symptoms are usually temporary and lessen or disappear are you continue the treatment.

Xenical is a prescription drug and can be purchased easily from online pharmacies. These pharmacies can even provide you with a legitimate prescription from their panel of registered physicians. Due to competition you can avail of great discounts when purchasing Xenical online. Secure payment methods, low prices, genuine quality medication and home delivery make online shopping a pleasant experience.

Orlistat may also be available under other brand names or generic formulations. But always insist on brand name Xenical for your needs.

Remember healthy eating is the key to your lasting health.

About the Author: Hayley Stubbs, an associated editor to eupharma.co.uk, is a contributing author to the www.eupharma.co.uk for distinct article sites/journals. Please feel free to visit www.eupharma.co.uk for more information on General Health related issues. or write to him at eupharma.co.uk@gmail.com . Any comments and /or suggestions will be highly appreciated. Please note that this article is not a substitute for medical advice.

How active are women in terms of contribution to overall social-economic changes of a country can be determined in several ways and by the use of different figures. Some of the most used figures are employment of women, their position in the system of political and social decision-making, educational level, but also “conquest” of new occupations.
Computerization is evident in all business spheres and it influenced the development of some completely new occupations like webmaster, web designer, occupations related to computer graphics creation, computer games creations and similar.In mentioned occupations , women also found their place. However, in terms of new occupations, we cannot speak always about new jobs which appear as a product of fast technological changes and the expansion of computer technology. Namely,it is about “conquest” of some existing occupations by women that were earlier reserved only for men. Among them ,dominates the interest of women about occupations in management and entrepreneurship sphere. This is been confirmed by statistical data in many countries, which show that the biggest growth of women’s work force is in these occupations during the past decade. This figure is far behind in Serbia and Yugoslavia not only compared to developed countries, but also compared to developing countries. The cause for this relatively low participation of women’s work force in these occupations and leader positions, in general, has been determined by many factors. On the first place by economic and political factors.They together influenced at general development, private business structure and the growth of employment rate in it. Consequently, this reflected on the rate of participation of women in entrepreneurial and managerial occupations in Serbia. This can support arguments with official statistical data, which show that in three-decade period ( from 1953 to 1983) the employment growth rate in private sector in Serbia was 2.2%, and according to our data even lower, 0.9%. Before the war in former Yugoslavia, in Serbia were only 23,000 employed in the private sector, of total 991,000 employed ( data according to the Republic Statistical Institute from January 1991).

According to the same source, in that moment 26,155 companies were registered in Serbia, among which 17,293 were private. In that structure, mostly were participated trading companies (7,418) and companies in financial and other services (1,519). The latest data from 2003 ,shows that there are 70,178 companies registered in Serbia. It is an increase of 44,023 compared to 1990. Additionaly, in overall structure of entrepreneurial companies, men participated with 62.2%, while women participated only with 38.8% in 2003.
To the growth of the figure of total number of registered companies, greatly contributes huge number of newly opened small companies .

The perspectives of women’s entrepreneurship in Serbia

With greater capital income in Serbia and by providing economic support to small companies, as well as with conduction of general reforms in economy and society, one can rightfully expect significant growth rate of private businesses.

In new expected conditions, women businesses will have greater contribution than before. In addition, it is neccesary to make a good base for general improvement of women` position in society. Therefore,recently forming one number of women’s organizations and their networking will make not only better connections between women, exchange experiences and knowledge, but also will create new space for employment. Besides that, we cannot forgot micro credits as a power tool for development of women’s entrepreneurial activities . It is also of the great importance for increasing self-employment of women and on the same time for reducing their unemployment.

This paper is a part of the latest book ,”Entrepreneurship-Theoretical and practical guide on all aspects for starting successful small business” ,december 2005., 308 .p.p. You can order this book directly on e mail mradovic@gmail.com .mentioned book is available as an e book (price 10$)or in hard copy version 15 USA $.

Ph.D. Mirjana Radović Marković was born in Belgrade. She gained complete expert education on the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, where she got her Ph.D. in 1987. Her scientific career started at the Economics Institute in Belgrade and continued later at the Institute of Economic Sciences, also in Belgrade. Meanwhile,she was full-time and part-time engaged as a lectutrer and professor for entrepreneurship and management at the Faculty for Management BK in Belgrade, at the Faculty Farleigh Dickinson University in the USA, Akamai University USA, Lacrosse University USA, BCCS College in Belgrade She is an author and Program Director of Master Studies in the field of Science in Entrepreneurship for Women at Akamai University in the USA, which engaged her as representative for Eastern Europe with the seat in Belgrade, Serbia. Ph.D. Mirjana Radović

Vioxx is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammagory drug (NSAID) that reduces inflammation, pain, fever, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis stiffness, and menstrual pain. However, Vioxx has been shown to cause blood clots, heart attacks, stroke, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, kidney damage and other dangerous and potentially deadly side effects.

Lawsuits are being filed against Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, for product liability. The claim is that Merck knew the dangers of Vioxx and marketed it anyway. In drug product liability lawsuits, the prosecution must prove that Merck didn’t provide for the safety of the patient and that they were harmed as a direct result from taking Vioxx and from Merck’s negligence. Sometimes drug companies that wish to avoid public scrutiny will settle outside of court, but they will sometimes lengthen the trial to force the plaintiff into agreeing to their settlement.

For patients who have thankfully not yet experienced these dangerous and potentially fatal side effects of Vioxx, you should still be careful in taking the drug and notify your doctor immediately if you notice any of these side effects:
• difficulty breathing
• swelling of the lips, tongue, gums
• abdominal pain
• bloody excrement including vomit
• nausea
• heartburn
• unusual weight gain
• unusual fatigue
• skin rash, blistering, burning, sloughing off
• jaundicing (yellowing) of skin or eyes
• flu-like symptoms
• dizziness
• diarrhea
• eye “stickiness”
• vision impairment
• effects to nail beds
• any allergic type reaction

Contact an experienced Vioxx Lawyer today.

Find information about Vioxx Side Effects associated with a major Dangerous Drug Lawfirm today at hugesettlements.

A few years ago I was at a Christmas party with my wife. She wasn’t feeling well and we went outside for some fresh air. She was sitting on top of a low wall, and she started to get up and fainted. With the assistance of some friends, we got her into the car and I drove her to a nearby hospital – where my family doctor usually worked.

We went into the Emergency Room and the E.R. physician examined her. A while later, an associate from my doctor’s office met with her. Blood work was done. It was decided that she should be kept overnight for observation. They did not have a bed due to being overcrowded, so she had to spend the night on that “very comfortable” gurney. There were three (3) other people in that room. I went home.

The next morning I went to get her and brought her some fresh clothes and her toothbrush. We had to wait for the discharge papers. They could not find anything wrong with her.

While we were waiting, a man of about 70 was brought to the Emergency Room via ambulance. He said that he had pain in his chest and it was going into his arm. He was at his doctor’s office and they called the ambulance for him. As the nurse was taking a history, he said that he was taking heart medication. When asked what kind and the dosage, the man said “I don’t know – my wife takes care of that.” Here was a man with a heart problem and he didn’t even know the name of any of his heart medication!

Rule #1 – Protect yourself at all times. You MUST be aware of what you put into your body – especially medications. If you know you eat spicy food and you get heartburn or diarrhea, but you don’t know the name of the medications that help you stay alive – you may want to rethink your plan!

If you are taking any medication, you MUST know the name of the drug, the dosage and how often you take it.

It is essential that you are aware of your medical conditions, and that you keep them well documented and available in case of an emergency. Every time you see a doctor, get a copy of the office visit note. Make a copy of all prescriptions. Record you medical information so it will be available to EMS and hospital personnel.

The treatment to the man in the hospital was delayed until the E.R. people found out what medication he was taking. They could not risk giving him something that would cause a negative reaction with his pills. If he only kept his medical records with him, the E.R. people could have started treatment immediately, and not waste precious minutes. His story ended well this time, but was it worth the chance?

Remember: You are in charge of your life – take charge – today!!!

Jim Hogan co-founded My Medical CD (http://www.MyMedicalCD.com). This life-saver contains your medical history and information on a portable CD format allowing medical staff to give you the proper treatment.

Ask yourself these questions. Would you be willing to invest less than $100 and a few hours of your time – I don’t know how many, maybe 3, or 4 at most – if the return on that investment was a measurably better understanding of what your customers wanted from you? If you could come up with a few simple, but specific things to do that would raise the impression your customers have about you a couple of notches and make them want to buy more from you, wouldn’t you do that? If you could easily find out what customers were really thinking, wouldn’t you make the effort to do it?

Sometimes it’s hard to know the “hot buttons” that customers have. They’re usually patient, or at least polite. They walk away with their expectations having been met (kind of). They might come back and purchase from you again, if they don’t have to go too far out of their way. But, perhaps you didn’t knock the ball out of the park with that last interaction and are asking yourself how you can make it better next time, or at least have a little better feeling about what your customer was thinking.

Using online surveys can give you the answers you want to the questions above. You’ll need to be willing to invest a little time and effort in the process, but it’s inexpensive, there are several good sites out there that will make the process easy, both for you and your customers, and the dividends from doing it can be huge. You’ll have much better information about what your customers think of you, how they perceive your products, service, and process, and what they want to see you do in the future.

There are many web sites for surveying customers that can do just about anything that you want them to accomplish – I’ll compare a couple of them here, but reviewing all of these sites is far beyond the scope of this article. The costs of the ones I looked at range from $19.95 a month to thousands of dollars. Some allow you to use their process free for limited surveys (although, these may be sufficient for many things.) Some have sales and customer service reps available to help you; others limit their assistance to e-mail responses to your questions. Some require a software download, while you do everything online with others. Some are just simple online survey services, while others want to sell you consulting and other services.

Two of the sites I would encourage you to look at are Survey Monkey (“Intelligent survey software for serious primates of all species”) and Zoomerang. Survey Monkey charges $19.95 a month or $200 for a one year subscription and will let you use the site free for surveys limited to 10 questions and 100 responses. They collect and display responses to your survey that can be viewed online at any time, but their customer service is limited to e-mail communications. To get a quick overview of how their process works, I’d recommend doing the following. On the Home Page, look at the Survey Example, Report Example, and the Types Of Questions that you can ask. Then log in (they require a very minimum amount of information). Finally, go to New Survey on the menu bar at the top of the home page and set up a two, or three question survey to see how it works. (It won’t cost you anything.) You’ll want to look a little further, if you decide to use the service, but this will give you a good overview and will only take ten, or fifteen minutes.

Zoomerang charges $599 per year, but has its own free version for surveys limited to 10 days and 100 responses. (When I asked, I also found you can purchase the service for 1 month for $75.) They provide reporting that is similar to Survey Monkey’s, but have telephone customer support available for customers (which, presumably is why they charge more). Similar to Survey Monkey, you can look at several examples from the Home Page, but you’ll want to log in and create a survey to really see how it works; and, again, it’s a free process and won’t take that much time.

Online surveys can help you answer a variety of different questions – the only significant limitations are your imagination in figuring out what to use them for and the number of times you can ask any group (customers, suppliers, employees, etc.) to involve themselves. What did your customers think of their last interaction with you? Will they purchase from you again? What do they want you to do for them in the future? What are their perceptions of the products, or services that you provide and the service you give them? What can you do differently to improve the customer experience they have? How do they compare you to your competitors? The list is virtually endless.

Developing the actual survey questions will probably be the most challenging part of the process; there is both art and science to this and there is a whole industry built around conducting surveys and analyzing the results. But, if you know what you want to accomplish and you’re prepared to act on the information you get, a simple, very short survey can get you what you need to have. People are not going to be willing to spend more than 10 minutes completing a survey anyway and, if you limit the survey to between 10 and 20 questions, you can obtain information that you need to have without being obtrusive and asking people to spend a lot of their time doing it.

Too often businesses rely on their “gut feel” of what customers think of them. If you mean what you inevitably say about trying to provide value to your customers, you have to ask what it means to them! The key to creating value is not what you think it means, it’s finding out how customers define it. Using online surveys is not hard to do. You will have to invest a little of your time thinking through and setting up the process, but, when you do, you’ll have a feedback channel that customers will find easy to use and that will help you take some of the steps to increase your sales and provide genuinely better service to your customers.

About The Author:

Jim Deyo is the President of Business Advisor Online, an internet based service that provides small businesses with the ideas they need to grow and the resources they require to make the right decisions. As a former Sr. Vice President with a major banking institution, Jim worked extensively with small and medium sized companies and has over 30 years experience in commercial and consumer lending, accounting, finance, marketing, and strategic planning. Visit the website at http://www.businessadvisoronline.com and sign up for a six week free trial of the service, or e-mail Jim at jimdeyo@businessadvisoronline.com.

Last time I checked, there were 25,000 response lists and 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market. Among all of these lists, you’ll find hundreds that work for fundraising appeals. Actually, you likely won’t find them. Locating the best names for your mailing is complicated and best left to an experienced list broker.

A list broker is a specialist who researches and recommends lists for you, and manages all the paperwork and other details of renting the list.

An experienced list broker:

• helps you find new lists
• identifies profitable segments on unlikely lists
• helps you create a matrix for testing your mailing against other lists
• negotiates the best prices for you with the list owner
• recommends other media (such as email) to consider testing
• makes sure the list gets to your lettershop on time
• helps you evaluate your response rates, gift income and other results
• manages invoicing for lists you rent

A Typical List Rental Transaction

1. You phone a list broker that specializes in the non-profit sector
2. You describe your organization’s mission, including what you do and who you help
3. You describe your ideal donor (such as “female, 55 years old, married, owns home, $150,000 household income, cares about animal welfare, lives in the United States and responds to direct mail fundraising appeals from animal rights organizations”)
4. You email the list broker a PDF sample of the direct mail package that you are going to mail to the list, and the list broker forwards it to the list owner
5. The list owner reviews and approves your package
6. You tell the list broker the following
1. the selects you want, if any*
2. how many names you want to order
3. when you will mail your piece
4. when you need to receive the names
5. where you want the names to be sent (your lettershop, usually)
7. The list broker prepares your list and sends it to your lettershop or service bureau
8. Your lettershop keys your reply device and other components so you can track the results of this mailing back to this list
9. You mail your package to the names on the list
10. You process each donation you receive, adding the names to your database (they are yours to keep), and flagging each new donor record to note the package and list used to acquire the donor

* A select is a process that the list broker conducts on your behalf to choose only some names from the entire list. You might ask the broker to select names from a particular zip code, for example, and only rent you those
names.

Mailing list brokers know the industry. The firms they work for have researched and tested thousands of lists. So working with a qualified mailing list broker is vital.

© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the Author” message).

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About the author
Alan Sharpe is a professional fundraising letter writer, instructor and mentor who helps non-profit organizations raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using creative fundraising letters. Learn more about his services, view free sample fundraising letters, and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.RaiserSharpe.com.

The best way to make money on the Internet is to build an opt-in email list and then promote one product after another to your list.

The purpose of your web site is to build a list. If you’re doing anything else first then you could be missing out on long term success.

Focus on building your list…and then selling the products once the people get to know, respect and trust you. Give great content to your list first, so they are rewarded for giving you their details.

Then sell to them about every fourth or fifth time you contact them.

Your web site should be telling people the benefit’s of joining your list.

Then, after someone joins it, you can take them over to the main product you want to promote.

It’s a good idea to offer a smaller value product first to your new prospects. It’s their first chance to buy from you. So you only want to show potential customers one purchasing option at a time (So they don’t get confused).

Pick a product which gives you a good amount of commission with a low cost product because the first sale is usually the most difficult.

The purpose of this first product is NOT to make a profit. That would be a bonus! The aim is to gain the customers trust and get them into a buying pattern.

The only purpose of this first product offer is to try to break even on generating leads.

Once you know the lifetime profit value of your customer then you can bank on making money from later sales.

You can place more ads to building a list and plan on profiting later. Just be clear on what your outcome is.

To make a profit later all you have to do is offer the extra products you have or find and keep finding new offers or even package products up to sell at a discount.

Remember sending out emails to your list won’t cost you any extra money so maximize your initial advertising investment by marketing to your existing
list!

As the old saying goes…Most businesses don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan!”

Look at your online business as a long term venture and plan for the future not just for the now!

Scott Wilson – Internet Business Opportunity Creator and owner of http://www.InternetSalesMentors.com and http://www.TheGoldsInHere.com

One of the keys to running a good MLM program is the ability to manage affiliates without spending too much money. Lucky for you, there are MLM software programs out there that can help. They vary in type and effectiveness, so you must look through them and determine what will work best for you. Some are literally junk and others run like a charm. Don’t hesitate to check reviews of the software and also check testimonials.

One type of MLM software that you will commonly find is stand alone software. For this type, you would pay one fee to actually own the program. Once you have installed it on your server, it is easy to get it integrated with your other systems. Generally this type of MLM software has a lot in the way of functionality and does not cost you a lot after the initial fee. On the other hand, it does need to be installed, and you may have to hire someone to do that for you. You may also find that you need more web space and thus have to upgrade your hosting service. If you are skilled enough, you will be able to install this software on your own, eliminating the extra cost.

Another type of MLM software is hosted. In this case, a third party provides the program to you. They actually host the program and then charge you to access it. The best part about this type of MLM software is that it requires no real skill. In addition, upgrades are put out on a regular basis in most cases. Also, up front cost is usually lower. On the downside, fees are there every month and often increase with volume. So it actually costs you more as you have more success.

MLM software can and should be a big part of your business plan. It can help you track your business while also increasing your customers and recruits. The key is to find the type of software and particular version that is right for you. Aside from stand alone and hosted software there are also other types that may interest you. The best thing you can do is simple investigation to find out what will work for you. Do some searches on the internet to determine what is available and what would best suit your particular situation. I prefer to use google as my search engine of choice and most of the time I get good results.

Keith Londrie II is a well known author. For more information on Identity Theft, please visit MLM Information for a wealth of information. You may also want to visit keith’s own web site at http://keithlondrie.com/