Steve Pohlit – Page 14

The 5 Finger Plan For Outrageous Business Profits

The 5 Pillars of A Successful Business

What happens when you apply the 80:20 rule to the activities required for any business to operate?

Extraordinary Profits

A Positive, Low Stress Working Environment

Continual Increases In Revenue and Profits At A Rate That Far Outpaces Your Competition

How do you achieve these goals? Well just take a look at how most companies are run and don’t do what they do. People in most companies spend the majority of their time on activities that have little or no impact on building revenue and profits. Let’s review the components of how to solve this.

First there are only five (5) areas of business that need your attention. Hold out your hand and look at your fingers and thumb – 5. Now follow with me on this because I am not in a room with you to reinforce the point. Hold out your hand and assign each of the (5) pillars as follows:

1.Sales – thumb
2.Gross Margin – index finger
3.Expenses – your “flip em” finger
4.Working Capital – next finger
5.Employees – pinky

80% of your time as an owner or CEO should be spent on these 5 pillars and 80% of the 80% should be spent on Sales and Gross Margin – the first two. When you spend the majority of your time on marketing the right balance of products and services that bring you optimum sales volume and gross margin, you can expect:

Recruiting and retaining the best people is easy,
Liquidity is abundant, and
If any area of expense begins to be out of balance, it doesn’t hurt much while you are bringing it back in line.

Recently I met with a friend who has a professional service that has a healthy price point. Consider the economy is reported to be as week as it has been in 10 years, I asked him if he was feeling any impact. He told his next opening was two months out. Then he hired my company to bring him more targeted prospects. He has alway had a marketing focus the entire 15 years I have known him and he business does well every year. Repeat he has a continual focus on the marketing funnel and is working it all the time.

Spend 80% of your time on Sales and Gross Margin. An alternative is to have a credible firm drive targeted prospects to your business.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

Email Steve to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits. Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing, Internet Marketing and Direct Response Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high.

FREE Report:

How To Increase Business Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less

The WSJ Advises Pres. Obama on Using The Strategic Petroleum Reserve

By LIAM DENNING writing for The Wall Street Journal

“Unlike some of the other black holes into which Washington pours money these days, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s value is grasped easily. If needed, it could replace about 44% of daily U.S. oil imports for more than five months.”

In summary, Pres. Obama is considering tapping this reserve to stabilize gasoline prices. Liam correctly points out in this article that the use of SPR for managing prices can easily have an effect that is opposite of what is intended.

My comments on this are brief:

Great article Liam!

The operative phrase is “Strategic Petroleum Reserve” The strategy is to protect the best interests of the country in the event of a very unusual emergency. Fluctuating market prices do not fall within that definition.

So now what do you think?

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

FREE Report:

How To Increase Business Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less

Mastermind Series Part 2: The “Must Have” For A Successful Business

Every business development article, course, seminar, podcast, video that is on the topic of how to succeed in business starts with this advice:

Define your target audience
Confirm they want what you have to offer
Be certain they have the money to buy what you have to offer

Following that, a meaningful portion of the material proceeds to tell you how to implement those three steps. The remainder of the material then tells you how to attract your target audience to buy from you and how to make a profit doing all of that.

The reason all the training starts with those points is because they are foundation principles. While they are important, there are two attributes that are even more important than the three I have listed. As I considered both it became obvious that the second is impossible without the first being in place. That one has been addressed in detail in a previous article titled: Your Level of Business Success is Linked to One Thing. That on thing is that you must be in alignment with the work you are doing. This article expands on that with additional ideas from Napoleon Hill.

Alignment is not passion. Passion is often temporary. Passion is easy to observe when the business is performing as planned and particularly evident when the business is performing better than planned. Passion often disappears when the routine sets in. In particularly difficult situations, passion can reverse into anger or depression. When you are in alignment with the purpose of your business, you have an awareness understanding and acceptance of business events and cycles. You also have an awareness, understanding and acceptance of life situations not always being that which you prefer.

That knowing results in you staying the course when others may give up. That knowing results in you being confident in the outcome and being able to demonstrate leadership in all situations. That knowing results in you being in harmony with those close to you, employees and others serving your business regardless of the situations.

In that short paragraph I listed the more common categories of people that we connect with to accomplish anything in business. At the heart of any business that flourishes for an extended period of time is a Master Mind. Napolean Hill points out that: “Harmony is the nucleus around which the state of mind known as Master Mind must be developed. Without this element of harmony there can be no Master Mind, a truth that cannot be repeated too often.”

In review, a Master Mind is at the heart of every business that successfully progresses for and extended period of time. Harmony is the key ingredient of the Master Mind. When harmony fades the Master Mind is ended. Being in alignment with the purpose of your business starts by having a clear definition of your own purpose. Then you are in a position to evaluate any business or opportunity and know if you are in alignment with it.

Napoleon Hill writes about harmony being present in every successful relationship whether that be business or personal. Now you have insight as to what is the foundation of harmony.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

PS For the first article Titled Mastermind Is Not an Option Please Click Here

FREE Report:

How To Increase Business Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less

Mastermind Series Part 2: The "Must Have" For A Successful Business

Every business development article, course, seminar, podcast, video that is on the topic of how to succeed in business starts with this advice:

Define your target audience
Confirm they want what you have to offer
Be certain they have the money to buy what you have to offer

Napoleon Hill writes about harmony being present in every successful relationship whether that be business or personal. Now you have insight as to what is the foundation of harmony.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

PS For the first article Titled Mastermind Is Not an Option Please Click Here

FREE Report:

How To Increase Business Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less

Marketing Is All About Traffic and Conversion

If you are in a for profit business you must have a continual stream of customers that buy what you offer. If you don’t have that working nothing else matters. Given that, what is your priority? Correct…Marketing!!

There are only three ways to increase revenue:

1. Sell more products or services to an existing customer

2. Sell the same amount of products or services to a customer at a higher price

3. Add more customers

When anyone visits your business that is traffic. When anyone who visits buys your offer that is conversion.

Recently, article posted here have been highlighting social media marketing for business. That arena is increasingly being used to generate traffic. I have helped many companies implement marketing programs that use a combination of tools including: a blog, a website, pay per click advertising, email marketing and more. These are all tools that work when used properly.

The landscape is changing with droves of people pouring into sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more. There are many people who claim to know why social media sites have become so popular but the reasons don’t matter. The facts are that there are huge numbers of people entering these sites and others like them for the first time each week.

Open up a Twitter account at Twitter.com and use the search feature at the bottom of the page and type in the keyword phrase social media. Then begin to click on profiles and discover how many people are referring to themselves as a social media expert.

Key Point: If your primary intent is to do business, having a growing network of connected people on Twitter or anywhere else for that matter means nothing if they are not buying your offer. You have traffic but they are moving on by and the conversion piece of the formula is missing. So when someone calls themselves an expert ask them to show you the profitable business they have developed using social media. Don’t be surprised at the lack of response.

We started from scratch and developed two businesses that are profitable and cash flow positive using only social media. Social media we used includes a blog for each business, and a network we grew on several of the larger social media sites.

There was a lot of work involved in doing this. I know because I did a lot of it and so did my business partner. Brian Campbell is the strategist on the detailed steps needed for this to work. Does this mean we are experts? It means we really have a lot of skills, and now systems, for building meaningful market share in important niche markets.

My Top Two Recommendations for Businesses Wanting To Improve The Effectiveness of Their Marketing

1. Building a contact data base is key. Effectively communicate with that list. This is not new and remains a foundation principle. It is still an alien concept for most companies.

2. Have a find tuned marketing plan, budget and return on investment monitoring in place and reviewed weekly and for some actions, daily. All activity must be focused on building traffic and converting that traffic.

Closing Comments:

The social media landscape is hot and getting hotter. But there are also other proven business development tools including pay per click, email marketing, print media, electronic advertising, trade shows and more. Each must be evaluated and tested in terms of benefit to your business. You can invest your time and that of your employees or outsource a lot of this. If you want fast results, outsource. If you do, again migrate based on priorities and test.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

Email Steve to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits. Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing, Internet Marketing and Direct Response Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high.

FREE Report:

How To Increase Business Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less

Why Social Media Is Important

Let’s look at what people think about most of the time.

We think about doing our work so we make money or in increasing numbers we think about finding work so we make money.

We think about our relationships. Our thoughts may be how loving that relationship is or possibly how troubled we are.

We think about taking care of basic tasks like, eating and taking care of things related to how we live.

In summary, whatever you dominant thoughts, dreams, goals, including your business goals…you are able to connect with others using the powerful tools of social media. Most of the social media sites are free to use. However, your most precious commodity is your time. Start or continue your adventure in social media with a clear definition of what you want to accomplish.

Manifest Mastermind, the business I started in 2008 was marketed entirely using social media marketing. You can attract more people to your business or area of interest using social media.

Your Next Steps:

Follow me on Twitter and I will follow you http://twitter.com/SMediaSource

Sending you energy of peace, happiness, prosperity

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit

Steve is the Founder of Manifest Mastermind which now includes training on using social media. The Social Media Source is a resource site for growing your network on line to help you achieve your goals in the areas of financial prosperity, health and relationships. Friend Connect Central is you social media hub…the place for connecting your blog or website to the world.

Steve is also the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate.

FREE Reports:

7 Steps To Manifesting Your Dreams

How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term

How To Use Social Media Site Twitter To Find A Job

This is a great article on How To Find A Job Using Twitter. With the current environment I wanted my list to be aware of it: The complete article is published at: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/money/taking-your-job-hunt-to-twitter.html

It’s All About the Hashtags

There are three hashtags that can come in handy to someone on a search for a new job. Keeping an eye on #rtjobs, #jobangels and #jobs can give you a look at who’s looking to actively recruit on Twitter. Even recruiters from companies like AT&T have started postingjob listings, often labeling them with #jobs. While #jobs may be the most obvious tag, there’s a reason behind both #jobangels and #rtjobs tag.

JobAngels is a Twitter account dedicated to helping individuals get back to work. Through retweets and reply messages, a number of Twitter users direct JobAngels’ attention to mentions of job listings on Twitter. Those listings are then broadcast to JobAngels’ 700+ followers on Twitter. Using the #jobangels tag provides another layer of tracking, for both individuals passing jobs along to JobAngels, as well as letting them listen in on another layer of the discussion about jobs that are available.

For the most part, #rtjobs seems quite similar to #jobangels. But rather than having one central Twitter account bringing job opportunities together, #rtjobs relies more on Twitter users including the appropriate hashtag in their messages. One Twitter user, Aaron Brazell, has created a site to help organize all the information labeled with #rtjobs. The site is based on the Twitter API, the #rtjobs site brings all #rtjobs tweets together in one place and makes them searchable. It makes using all the information flowing through Twitter that much easier to use — and it can be a much faster way to search through tweets to find a job opportunity than any other approach. You can even follow it through an RSS feeder if you aren’t so inclined to rely on Twitter.

Running a Search or Two

Click Here http://www.lifehack.org/articles/money/taking-your-job-hunt-to-twitter.html

Ask Your Network

Click Here: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/money/taking-your-job-hunt-to-twitter.html

Twitter is a Tool

Click Here : http://www.lifehack.org/articles/money/taking-your-job-hunt-to-twitter.html

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

Steve is the Co-Founder of Manifest Mastermind and President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. FREE Reports:

How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term

7 Steps To Manifesting Your Dreams

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

Social Media Blueprint

A panel discussion of Social Media experts formed at a recent JV Alert conference addressed a question on the business of Social Media. A key point made is that Social Media is a tool.

That excellent reminder serves as the starting point for this summary on How To Use Social Media to Start and Grow a Business. Social Media is a general term for community based Internet sites with the biggest ones being Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and very fast growing ones like Twitter and LinkedIn.

Generally, my first response with a question like “how should I use Social Media?” is “what is it that you want”. My business Manifest Mastermind guides everyone in our free course as well as paying members to begin with a clear definition of what it is that you want and then they are asked why.

Applying this to Social Media and using my own experience as an example, my initial goal was to understand the primary options for Social Media sites. My conclusion was that I could spend my time for entertainment or for developing business. Very soon I further clarified Social Media for me which was that I wanted to know if Social Media was a valid tool for building a profitable business.

Social proof that Social Media is an effective tool for building a business is Manifest Mastermind. The time line from business idea to business launch was four months. This actually could have been shorter if we would have been able to allocate more financial resources to it. We spent a lot of professional time and very little cash in developing this business.

When possible I would advise others to outsource more but we proved that a business could be successfuly launced with very little money.

Social Media Blueprint:

This is a top level summary of the Social Media Blueprint I recommend. This is based on my actual experience with Manifest Mastermind:

1. Have a clear definition of what you want and why. Are you using Social Media for business or pleasure? If you intend to use Social Media sites for developing business there will and should be pleasure because Social Media is about developing relationships with people interested in who you are and what you are doing.

2. Identify what Social Media sites are best for your business. Actually this is fairly easy with the top three sites for business being Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. There are an ever increasing list of social media sites. Start with the ones that have the market. LinkedIn is growing fast and can be another one that is important for you going forward.

3. Form relationships with those most likely interested in that what you are doing. I am sure you have heard the advice to define your target market. This is no different. How do you find your market on Social Media sites? There are several ways. A primary one is doing research on: who is talking about your business topic (Twitter); who is joining groups related to your business (Facebook); and, who is adding video content related to your business (YouTube). I advise a filtering approach. Invite people into your world and then invite them into a network focused on your niche business.

4. Ultimately you must capture those with an interest into your own list. We use traditional Internet Marketing guidance on bringing people to our list and then offering value to demonstate why they benefit from spending money with us.

Next Steps:

Manifest Mastermind’s business purpose is to help others create their own success stories. Success stories happen in the areas where people are clearly focused on a prioritized list of their own dreams. Dreams fall into three main categories: financial, health and relationships. They are never mutually exclusive. Our guidance is based on The Law of Attraction and the Mastermind Principle. Guidance is developed with experts advising us on particular topics.

We are expanding our reach in Social Media and we are soon launching our small group mastermind program. Every business model on line and off is based on one foundation principle: traffic and conversion. We are extending our traffic building model beyond Social Media. However, Social Media remains an integral part of our business development strategy.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
The Profit Expert

How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term

7 Steps To Manifesting Your Dreams

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

Job Loss, 7-Eleven Layoffs, Incentive Compensation

Today another announcement regarding layoffs. This one in particular caught my attention for several reasons. First 7-Eleven’s press release disclosed it was cutting 10% of it’s non-store staff. It also disclosed it was suspending certain benefit contributions and it’s incentive compensation program.

Before continuing, please note I am not in any way associated with 7-Eleven. If I were the content would have been different.

In general, anytime I read about infrastructure layoffs, the ones at the support level, or enterprise level as it it sometimes called, I question, how these positions were justified in the first place. Every support position should be essential for the business and in retail there is trememdous leverage. Consequently I wonder what management was thinking when they allowed staff to grow by 200 extra people.

I wonder what percentage of the annual payroll cost was cut. That number is not necessarily and most likely not 10%. The operative question is what is 7-Eleven’s, or any company’s support structure cost target, as a percentage of projected related revenue? The related question is how is that going to be calibrated given revenues that could very well be lower than projected? At what point are support structure costs fixed given the size of the customer base? What is the strategy for increasing customer loyalty and revenue?

These and other related questions don’t seem to be answered in press releases or related public disclosures very well. They should be for public companies and any private companies where they are benefiting from community tax incentives while such insanity continues.

Now that I am warmed up, let’s look at the point on incentive compensation. I don’t know how a company can take away a properly structured incentive compensation program. In fact, the reverse of this decision should be implemented. Nearly everyone in the business should be on a pay for perfomance program. Incentive compensaton should be the catalyst for …well profitable performance.

In summary, the principle is you are in business to make a profit and and people who work in the business should be rewarded for their contribution to that profit performance. With some exceptions, everyone’s compensation can be tied to performance. In my experience with hundreds of companies, this is a hot topic that gets nods of approval and gets dropped like a hot potato as soon as possible. Why is that? Everyone feels they want the guaranteed income. As we have seen… there are no guranatees.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
www.StevePohlit.com
www.ManifestMastermind.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Don’t miss my FREE Report: How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term

This report may be freely distributed without restrictions with the original content including this resource box remaining unchanged. Author: Steve Pohlit, Business Consulting Services, Executive Coaching, please visit www.stevepohlit.com

Business and Economic Mastermind Offers Solutions

I have been intently studying Mastermind Power as it is a major component of a business I launched recently. The following story seems to be about how a mastermind generated the ideas that brought the US out of the Depression in the 1930’s. It is far more than that story. See if you don’t agree.

I have read Think and Grow Rich and I am still reading it. I am paying more attention to it than ever. I didn’t know that Napoleon Hill was asked by the President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the country in crisis.

Is the United States and world economy in a crisis? I think the mood is negative and that is my concern. Notice Napoleon Hill says that he wrote Think and Grow Rich to keep is mind positive with chaos all around him.

History can have great lessons if we pay attention. Key lesson, form you mastermind group. If you need a place to start you are welcome at Manifest Mastermind.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
www.ManifestMastermind.com
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

Building Business Profits Linking To A Major Event

Major events offer an opportunity to capture traffic searching on the keywords for the event. Caution: there needs to be credible link to the event or you could develop negative goodwill with the campaign.

In this example the business is Manifest Mastermind which teaches the principles of focused intent, imaging results, using a mastermind group and in general all the principles of The Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction’s popularity increased significantly with the release of the movie The Secret and the book by the same name.

In this example, we were testing the idea of drawing the parallels to President Obama’s successful campaign and inauguration. We knew the inauguration would be a very popular search term. We choose YouTube video as the network for a short video clip. Our goal was to measure our opt ins during the two day test. The two days included the day of the inauguration and the day before.

Our results exceeded our expectations with opt in rates more than double our projections for the test period.

Manifest Mastermind is using video throughout the sales cycle and I highly recommend your business adopt this business building technique.

You are invited to experience Manifest Mastermind’s free course 7 Steps To Manifesting Your Dreams. Click Here

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

Your Level of Business Success Is Directly Linked To One Thing

When asked: what is the number one key success factor for business success? The responses often are:

A hungrey market with money
Cash
An effective business plan
Management control system
Experienced leadership
etc.

There are many factors that contribute to a thriving business over time. I have led business consulting clients through all the primary steps necessary to operate a successful business. Even after sometimes many months of work with very clear guidance, I have observed intelligent, experienced business people miss the profit mark and in some cases destroy what should be a successful business.

Personally, I have experienced successes and failures. Successes were not always sustained and failures were swift. In evaluating my own experiences and those of many other companies where I have had direct contact as an auditor with Arthur Andersen, CFO of several very large companies, business consultant to companies ranging from small to large or as an entrepreneur, I discovered the key.

This key is present in every success story and absent in most failures. This key is the part of the reason for the idea of Manifest Mastermind . Together with my business partner Manifest Mastermind was launched a week ago. The first step we guide members to completing in the Manifest Mastermind process is having a clear definintion of what you want. I know a lot of life coaches and consultants start with that. Keep reading.

Most people when asked what they want start with a list that includes, more money, a new car, better home, financial freedom, improved relationships, vibrant health and so on. But when challenged as to why they want the things they describe, the list sometimes changes. On the topic of money, business people think in terms of revenue and profit milestones. I have started nearly every consulting engagement with establishing a clear definition of the revenue and profit goals for the next year. But there is more to it.

While I am certainly not ignoring monetary and other metrics, I have expanded my focus on what it is the business leadership really wants. Here is the key that I feel is most important:

Are you in alignment with the purpose of your business?

If your goal is money, you may realize your goal and not be happy. So what is the point of the money? Or maybe your goal is money but the demands weakens your health. So what’s the point of the money? It is very clear that money, relationships and health are all interrelated. If one is out of balance the other suffers. Alignment is the key.

Do you know anyone who really does not like their job? They are making money but how is their life and what effect does this have on their health and those around them? What effect does this have on their spouse, partner, children?

Do you know anyone who is not making money and struggling financially? That is a tough situation and most people in that situation have a single minded purpose which is to make money without regard to how happy they will be when the money is flowing. If they pursue just the money then often end up in the same pattern.

If you are in a less than successful pattern, it is wise to move out of that pattern. It starts with awareness, definition of purpose and associating with like minded people and masterminding for goal achievement. That is what I have found to be true for me and others joining the Manifest Mastermind process.

You are invited to our free course and most welcome. Click Here

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

Valuable Job Search Guide Found on Mashable.com

In doing research for my current business development project which will demonstrate the power of social media I discovered what seems to be a really cool tip for those looking for a job. I found this tip on the very popular blog Mashable and here it is from Eric Pender

I have actually used Google Reader to help me find job leads.

I go to Craigslist and perform a query in the jobs section for specific keywords that target the kinds of jobs I’m looking for (I search for search engine optimization jobs, but you can really use this for anything). Then, I take the URL that comes from my search query and plug it into Google Reader. Anytime that a new job posting comes up for that keyword, it comes into my reader feed. When I was looking for jobs and saw an interesting listing come across my feed, I was the first one to apply for it. This strategy landed me many calls, and one of them ended up resulting in my current place of employment.

To Follow The Business Development Project Using Social Media connect with the following:

On Facebook
http://steve.facebook.com
http://groups.to/manifest

On Twitter
http://twitter.com/stevepohlit
http://twitter.com/manifestmmind

Interesting facts: 500 new friends were added to our Facebook group in 4 days. 0-1,000 followers were added on Twitter in 4 days.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

Retail Industry News: The Sky Is Falling

Another article today in the Wall Street Journal and I am sure there are many other headlines as well about the state of the retail industry right now with retail companies dumping inventory at deep discount pricing, concerns about liquidity and credit not being available for doing deals (mergers and acquisitions)

I am not denying the specific examples cited in these stories. Circuit City is real, Pilgrim’s Pride is real and I am sure there are other bankruptcy filings today in the private sector. The real issues is leadership mindset.

I published the following comment in the Wall Street Journal today in response to an article “Retail Faces A Long Season of Stress” My response is relevant for all companies and entrepreneurs regardless of the industry:
—————————-
Many companies have developed their culture to focus on building a positive value added relationship with their customers and prospective customers. These businesses will feel much less of an impact of a global economic softening than others. Some will thrive. The operative phrase is cultural change.

Regarding credit markets and consolidation in the industry, credit constraints are real. However, it is also true there is capital available and if a deal makes strategic sense, it can get done.

Our most immediate challenge is mindset. We are tested in our ability to look for opportunities and solutions when media focuses on every possible negative story. Those who succeed with a consistent mindset that they can move forward successfully, will do so.

There are countless examples throughout history, including the depression era, of people moving forward and not being stuck. Mindset is a choice for each of us and is not a result of external events.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

Social Networking: Response To WSJ Marketing In The World of The Web

Tom and Michael’s article “Marketing In The World of The Web” is excellent work pointing to the changing landscape of retail marketing. The high rate of growth for the social networking sites is surprising many. Naturally strategies to recognize these trends are in the experimental phase.

My own research into social networking was launched by becoming very active on a number of sites. My experience has been very enlightening. The guidance I offer as a result of this experience is actually very similar to when the Internet was in its infancy: “Make best use of the tools that become available. Continually test to determine which applications work best for your business. The primary goal as it relates to building revenue is to continually strengthen positive relationships with your customers and prospective customers. Use technology to assist in achieving that objective. Relationships are key as they will confirm what you are doing right and what you can be doing better.”

Social networking appears to be great resource for building relationships. Ultimately a social networking strategy needs to be linked to the point of purchase. If you are largely selling on line you should have an aggressive program to build a strong social network. This recommendation becomes progressively stronger when your on line customer base is international. I recommend one of your most experienced and talented marketing professionals be in charge with the sole objective of linking your social networking strategy to the goal of further achieving the customer relationship objective. There is a huge integration opportunity.

Harley Davidson was mentioned in the article. Harley is a great brand. They will and should continue to strengthen the brand. Their opportunity is to build a tighter connection with their dealers in the marketplace from the eyes of the customer and potential customer. The social networking value in this example is generally solidified within a market and ultimately by the dealer. Again another integration opportunity with strong customer and prospective customer relationships being the goal.

So the landscape is changing but I don’t think the underlying fundamentals are. Develop customer loyalty and those customers are your most significant asset with your prospective customer. Communication is key in executing that strategy. Social networking makes it that much easier to communicate.

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

Circuit City Files For Chapter 11 My Comments Reported in the WSJ

(Please Note: the best course of action is to take bold steps before have to file for Chapter 11 or worse a dissolution. I am experienced with crisis management, turnaround management and bankruptcy. Contact Me if you are worried about your business.)

Chapter 11 comes with a great cost including, legal, accounting and filing fees. The most significant cost is often the distraction of management’s attention from the core processes of the business. This filing raises more questions than it answers. The effectiveness of the company’s infrastructure in identifying and correcting the real reasons for losses should be under microscopic scrutiny.

Retail is won or lost one transaction at a time. It looks like Circuit City has a no profit pattern. It seems like this pattern is the core issue that should be resolved during this opportunity for reorganization. If not, the Chapter 11 reorganization will likely move to dissolution.

Ultimately, secured lenders will be fine. Vendors will be paid for new deliveries but are at great risk of not being paid in full for invoices related to deliveries prior to the filing. Landlords of closed locations can now begin to plan on what to do with that space as lease payments will be terminated during the Chapter 11 process. Other leases are likely to be renegotiated. Of course, there are large numbers of people who are now not working just as the holiday season is near for them and their families.

There is very little sunlight shining through with this picture. The glimmer of opportunity is for a structural reorganization to be defined and implemented that strengthens the core business. Should that occur, the purpose of Chapter 11 will have been fulfilled.

Steve Pohlit
http://stevepohlit.com
727-587-7871

How To Implement A Business Marketing, CRM or Customer Relationship Management Campaign With An Immediate ROI

Please comment below if you find this information valuable.

Business marketing to customers, to prospective customers and to other businesses. The online marketing venues are excellent. However, f you are targeting companies, remember those company owners and managers are not online reading your marketing articles and marketing messages by email. Unless, of course, they know and respect you.

Understanding this I stepped up my idea to test a “door opening” offer. I high value added offer that most companies can afford. In developing a “door opening” offer for my consulting practice I discovered an excellent source of business contact information for my campaign. My campaign objectives are:

1. To mail a letter that will motivate a business owner to call me for an appointment. The letter is just being mailed and I will report on my actual results vs target in a later post.
2. The “door opener” I am promoting is described in reasonable detail at http://b2cmarketing.biz This link will not be in the initial control letter.
3. Since my goal is a physical appointment, I am targeting companies within a three mile area of my office. I thought there was maybe 200 or so in the revenue range I was specifying.
4. I heard the contact information was in the public records. After searching for quite some time, I lost patience and went to a suggested lead source.
5. I was amazed to find the contact information, sorted as I specified, was readily available and surprisingly affordable.

Watch this video for how I found and proceeded to create the database of contacts for my initial campaign.

There are several reasons why I am providing this detail for interested viewers:

1. I welcome referrals for all my consulting services including this program which is described at http://b2cmarketing.biz This is part of the marketing of my consulting practice.
2. I do what I teach. This is a blog, there is a video in this blog post and I am syndicating this article on the social networking sites as well as several article syndication sites. This article which is also a blog post will be sent to my subscriber list. All of these techniques I teach business clients. I am now moving to a “do it for you” offer since many of the recommended tactics with Internet tools are not being implemented by traditional businesses.
3. It is important to note that while I am marketing business consulting services, under that umbrella is a huge list of services including: email marketing, direct mail campaigns, website design, SEO, blog development and management, video marketing, Internet marketing campaigns, social media marketing, business modeling, cost management, systems evaluation, refinancing, mergers and acquisitions, organizational development and more. Yes there is more but they all come under one business goal…Optimize Profit. I am an expert at optimizing business profit and the more people trust those words the better business will be – their business and mine.

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

WordPress Blogging Is A Foundation Marketing Tool: Backup Your Content

There are four foundation tools every business should be using as part of their marketeing strategy. These are listed on my site www.stevepohlit.com I have also written detailed articles about these foundation tools. For example Click Here for an article on how blogs and video help your internet site search engine ranking. You sould be subscribed to Steve Reports for tons of information I publish that will help your business grow profitable revenue.

For your convenience the foundation tools are:

A currently updated website, keyword optimized and with contact information capture script with linked to an autoresponder.
A blog that is regularly updated with relevant information and links to your website. You blog should also have contact information capture script linked to your autoresponder. Register at http://bloggingforprofits.biz for free instuctional videos on how to do this. Here is my introductory video on Blogging For Profits again for your convenience
Use short videos that you produce, topic and keyword specific that you post to your blog. Select ones should be posted to your website. Register at http://youtubemastery.net for more than 20 videos that teach you how to do this for free.
Enhance the relationships with your customers and prospect list with email communication. Use off line actions including; meetings, phone calls, post cards and letters. This is why you want to capture the contact information of visitors to your website and blog.

Of course there is more and that is covered in the marketing module of my business consulting practice. My contact information follows this article.

BACKUP YOUR CONTENT

By now most people are aware of how to backup websites and most autoresponder companies provide an easy to use download feature for you customer database. My preferred autoresponder service is Aweber Click Here

It seems most people are not thinking about all the content they add to their blogs and the backup of a blog is differenet than a website. WordPress Blogs, and I believe most other formats, run by adding your content to a database. WordPress based blogs all use MySQL database technology. Sounds “Twilight Zone” but it isn’t except for you are not able to simply backup your files like you are able to do with a website. You must backup the database.

Sounds scary? It isn’t. Watch the video I prepared on this topic and I suggest you believe me when I say: “if I can do this …you can do this”. Of couse if you don’t want to do any of this and have someone do it for you, I am ready to help. For the video on how to back up you WordPress Blog Please Click Here.

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

How Is Your Business: Read The Amazing Answers

During a trip to my hometown Johnstown, Pa I had the opportunity to ask quite a few people how they were doing economically. I was anticipating more than a few doom and gloom stories.

I learned about a company that makes specialized lighting systems for coal mines that has doubled in size from 40 employees to 80 in less than four years. Plus they are still hiring. New lighting technology has created a new market: coal mines that have closed. Really cool!

I met an engineer for bridge systems in the Pittsburgh market whose main concern was being so busy. He was actually hoping for to be able to take some time off soon. Then there was the guy who couldn’t say much about his work. In fact he couldn’t say anything because he works under an oath of silence in a place near Washington D.C.

Nearly everyone I talked to was upbeat and busy with their jobs. Consistently I meet business owners who tell me their business is bad. This trip was no exception. In every case except one, what is really bad is their mindset or attitude. Each doom and gloom story is attached to a business that has huge opportunities for profitable growth. But the owners don’t think so. When the owners don’t think so the results reflect what the owners think. I encourage every business owner I meet to get started with easy to implement, economical marketing. My recommendation is a four step:

1. Install or update the business website with visitor contact capture on every page.
2. Activate a blog with relevant content fed to syndication sites. Each item of information has back links and contact information capture form tied to an auto responder.
3. Use video for topical content structured with benefits and a call to action. Syndicate the videos, add them to the blog and select ones to the web site.
4.Using email marketing, and other action steps, get closer to existing customers and develop relationships with prospects.

While my marketing module is comprehensive the above 4 steps are integral to the module and will result in noticeable improvements to your business. Implementing most of these four steps takes very little cash but does require some time. The choice is spend your time on rational marketing or you can sit around and complain.

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.

The Secret To Business Profit Optimization

The Profit Optimization Formula Is No Secret – It Is Just Largely Ignored:

The companies most profitable, using profit before tax as a percentage of revenue as the measurement, are those the provide the most value to their customers.

Consider Google: Google just reported a growth in profits exceeding 30% during an economic period many describe as tumultuous. Nearly all of this profit comes from their Adwords product – targeted advertising. Why is Adwords successful? Because Google’s clients see a positive return on investment. A positive return on investment is value.

Now Consider Yahoo – no longer today’s idol in terms of business profit performance. Nothing is forever. In every instance, where there is a business that is very profitable, regardless of it’s size, it is providing value to their customers better than their competitors that is key. Remember that value is always defined by the customer. So if your goal is to build very profitable revenue then you must continually focus on the value your customer wants and over deliver.

In summary – the higher the value delivered, the higher the profits. Your entire business should be focused on how to deliver more value.

This is why the first step of the marketing module that is part of my build business profits consulting process addresses how a company is taking care of their current customers. The most valuable customer is the one you already have. When that program is in place then you begin focusing on growth.

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,
The Profit Expert
www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

PS. My doors are open for new clients and referrals are well compensated.