Steve Pohlit – Page 32

"That's Not Good!!" Very Important Information For Business Owners, Internet Marketers and Small Business Owners

Situation Room:

Revenues nearly doubled in one year to more than $14 million. Profits hardly moved from the previous year which and those profits barely broke $0. When I reviewed this information with the founder of the business, he looked me directly and sternly in the eye and said “That’s Not Good!” We then went onto discuss the changes being implemented to posture the company for making money.

Today

Are those changes working? Too early to tell because I know from experience many companies never continue following what they are taught. They revert to the “way they have done business in the past.”

I am a business development consultant. I am not a permanent fixture in companies I help. I have a long list of companies that are successful. I have a shorter list of companies that are not. What is the difference?

Commitment!! If I show you “How To Increase Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less” and that happens, you are happy. When I tell you what we just did must continue each day, week and month, you begin to think about what you have to do to make that happen and some people conclude they do not want to do that work. They would rather settle for mediocrity.

The Solution

It is harder to continue losing money than it is to make money. Think about it. When you are losing money, you not only have the work to do but you also have the draining worries associated with losing money. How do you think I know that? The solution is to make up your mind to be prosperous.

Now assuming you are losing money or not making the money you want, how do you change that? The companies I work with follow a proven program for success. How do I know? It has taken quite a bit of time and experience to identify the fundamentals of running a business that everyone can follow each day. Part of the experience was finding the people who run successful companies.

If you are using the Internet as part of your marketing strategy, who are you following. Right up front: don’t follow me except when it comes to blogs then read my Blogging for Profit Series – it will help you. So who should you follow? I pay attention to people who are obviously successful. When I met John Reese and had my picture taken with him outside his Lamborghini I knew he had achieved a measure of success and was delighted to have that opportunity of meeting him. He was gracious is very focused on sharing what works for him. John understands there are not limits to the amount of money in the world and if John Reese makes $20 or $200 or $2000 million, there are still millions and even more you can make. I highly recommend John’s material.

In 1990. I was in Aspen Colorado at a three day summit for people running companies owned by an investment firm. The hosts of that meeting were two brothers whose net worth was at least multiple billions of dollars (yes that is a B). The learning curve for me at that time was fast and furious. I learned very successful people have a very clear definition of their business, the direction of their business and profit goals are clearly defined and the support structure necessary to achieve their business goals is soundly in place.

To The Point

Today at the start of every consulting project I reach agreement with the owners and management team on the definition of their business and the near term revenue and profit goals. We then move onto growth rates and setting the procedures and processes in place for achieving those goals.

This process is provided to everyone interested in the complimentary mini-course How To Increase Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less (Register Here). This course is as relevant for internet marketers as it is for billion dollar companies.

It all starts with a clear definition of what you want and what you are prepared to do. Once you decide, follow a proven roadmap. Do you think it is coincidence this blog is named “Roadmap To Extraordinary Profits”? By the way, over time certain of the tools and techniques used in achieving extraordinary profits are refined. Like you I pay close attention to the tools and techniques developed by experts to help your business. I frequently mention the people who continue to help me with their training. The experts on my list are there because they help me based on my interests and my intent on using what I learn for myself and clients.

For those who say their business is Internet marketing I say your business has to be more clearly defined. Ed Dale is applying “the buy em and flip em model” for web sites and has evolved from a number of business models. I think Ed has a clear definition of his business but I can’t define it. Brad Fallon has a very traditional business model with search engine optimization as the engine. Frank Kern who may be an idiot savant, has a clear business model of monetizing small niche markets. Dan Kennedy is a copywriter and direct response marketing guru. Bill Glazer is an information marketer. Dan and Bill also run the college of direct response marketing through their newsletters, seminars and information products. Ken McCarthy is an educator. His System Seminar teaches people. Ken spends some of his time and resources on non-direct teaching but he loves to teach and does a great job doing so. I could go on but you get the point. Look at any person that you view as success and generally what business they are in is clear. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Have a clear definition of your business and a clear measurable goal for your business. Then measure the progress frequently.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of measuring progress frequently . I develop a key factors report for every company I work with that tracks progress. For example in a retail business we track sales and gross margin trends. In the contracting industry we track flow of requests to bid and make sure bids submitted and ultimately the work completed tracks with the gross margin goals. In those industries and all others where I do work we always have an annual plan of revenue, margin and profit. Again this is detailed in the currently free course How To Increase Profits by 30% or More in 90 Days or Less

Avoid thinking tools are your business. The Internet, SEO, direct response marketing, copywriting, niche marketing, video, podcasts, autoresponders co-registration, infomercials, and more are tools. Recognize these are tools and continually ask yourself what are the tools that will really help your business the most. Then as others point out so well, what are the activities that need your skills and which ones should be outsourced.

Allot of times I write for my own benefit meaning it crystallizes my own thinking and in order to write about a topic you need to have a level of experience with the subject matter. This article for example originated because I have not personally focused on a clear definition of my own business and I have not completed a clear financial plan with action steps for myself. I am now doing this and I am optimistic this will be my best year ever (and I have had some really good years.)

I wish you prosperous health, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now designs and implements processes with large and small companies that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. The latest successful on line and off line marketing techniques are part of the processes that are implemented. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The business then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant If you want to learn how to use a blog to build your business then register for the the free mini-course “Blogging for Profits” at Steve Reports.

Blogging for Profits Supplemental Issue – RSS vs. Email

(This is a terrific article by Lynette Chandler that I found on Internet Marketing Newswatch (my homepage and it should be yours/). Read it now! Steve Pohlit

RSS versus Email

by Lynette Chandler

All right, I admit it. I’m writing this in an emotionally charged situation. And no this is not about which is best, who is right and not doing one thing that will kill your business overnight. Actually this came about quite by accident when a friend asked about an article claiming that Email is doomed, RSS is the replacement and if a fellow marketer and I would agree.

You should know that I am not selling any type of RSS related products. The reason you should know this is so you know my thoughts on RSS and the technology is not based on something that I can gain from, it is my real opinion based on my business experience. I also simply love email marketing, it’s been very good to me. Email marketing has helped me build my income, no doubt, and I wouldn’t be without if for anything. So what’s this article all about?

Most people miss the point on RSS. RSS is not only capable of delivering newsletters or updates. An important point to always keep in mind is that email is not the same as RSS and RSS is not email, thinking they are will do a great injustice to how they can potentially be used. RSS offers many capabilities that just aren’t leveraged. FedEx got it right when they started to offer parcel tracking via RSS.

Now you want to know what to do with RSS without dealing with a newsletter, right?

1. Syndicate

An article can be published in many different newspapers in many places all at the same time, ever wonder how this is possible? A radio show can be distributed nationally or globally, ever wonder how as well? It’s because of syndication. When an article, radio show or your content is syndicated it automatically and instantly shows up in the format that has been determined, without you having to do anything else.

So in short, how would you like it if every time you published a new article, the article appears on a bunch of other people’s websites immediately? No more article submissions, no more hoping an article will be picked up.

2.Affiliate support

Quit making your affiliates copy and paste codes. If you had a way to instantly update your affiliate’s websites when you had new specials, an event or something new to add to your product would you like that? Well, RSS can do that.

3.Research

Let’s face it; we are all too busy to do research yes to stay on top of our industry or niches, we need to be up to date. On the latest news and happenings, what other people are discussing, what people are saying they want. You can create RSS feeds on anything that will alert you anytime something you want to know about in your niche comes up. Let the technology to the leg work for you and spend less time on your computer.

I hope from this article you’ve thought about doing more than just comparing email to RSS and starting thinking about the potential of this great technology. If you need more ideas and thoughts about how to use RSS visit my site and pick up the newsletter I offer on marketing technology. You’ll get straight talk and easy to understand tips and ideas to help you make the most of it. Don’t ever stop publishing your newsletter either.

About This Author

Lynette Chandler helps entrepreneurs recognize and apply the power of technology to their marketing. Discover how web conferencing can work for your business today at http://www.webconferencingworks.com

These and many more Internet Marketing article, news and resources can be found at www.site-reference.com

________________________________________________________
Article courtesy of Steve Pohlit

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. The latest successful on line and off line marketing techniques are part of the processes that are implemented. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant Did you read this at one of my blogs like Steve Reports? If you want to learn how to use a blog to build your business then register for the the free mini-course “Blogging for Profits” at Steve Reports.

P.S Derek encourages readers to use his material on their websites and blogs. This is very smart viral marketing. Subscribe to his newsletters and use the material that fits with your business strategy.

Derek Gehl Details Strategies To Turbo Charge Your Business: This Is Material Is Highly Recommended

Steve Pohlit Introduction: Derek is the CEO of The Internet Marketing Center. I have purchased and studied the original and updated versions of Internet Marketing Secrets by Corey Rudl, one of the most successful Internet Marketers ever until his unfortunate race car crash. Derek is now leading and growing what Corey Started.

Three years ago I was

Marketing Tips Newsletter
January 9, 2007 — Issue 137

===============================================

Hi Steve,

This issue includes…

1) “Turbo-Charge Your Business with These Top 5 Cutting-Edge Strategies…
And Make 2007 Your Most Successful Year EVER”

2) “Inside the Internet Entrepreneur Club Forum”

3) “Get FREE Tickets to My Exclusive Two-Day ‘Wealth-Building Workshop’ Coming Soon to YOUR City!”

4) “Free Content for Your Web Site or E-zine”

5) “Visit Our Newsletter Archives”

6) “Visit Derek’s Blog!”

7) “Tell Us What You Think!”

For those of you who prefer the HTML version of our
newsletter, you can still read it in this format at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

==================== FEATURE EDITORIAL ====================

1) “Turbo-Charge Your Business with These Top 5 Cutting-Edge Strategies…
And Make 2007 Your Most Successful Year EVER”

==========================================================

Happy New Year! Now that all the holiday celebrations are over, it’s time to take stock of the major online developments that happened last year, so you can start off 2007 on the best possible foot!

In this newsletter, I’m going to review the five hottest strategies I told you about in 2006, so you can put them to work for your business — and get the leap on your less ‘Net-savvy competitors!

Specifically I’m going to show you how to:

* Seed the Web with articles that will drive swarms of eager buyers to your website

* Segment your list to laser-target your subscribers and generate tons more sales

* Create “win-win” business relationships to increase your profits without a ton of work

* Establish your expertise to instill confidence and encourage sales from new visitors and existing customers

* Network your way to top search engine placement

So let’s jump right in and take a look at how you can rev up your business for the year ahead…

======================================================

Top Strategy #1: Write articles that will increase your website traffic by 100%
— OR MORE!

======================================================

Writing short, targeted articles and distributing them to the far corners of the Web is an incredibly effective way to boost your rankings in the search engines, increase your website traffic, and establish your credibility!

And best of all, it’s EASY!

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Use Wordtracker (www.WordTracker.com) to build a list of keywords related to your business. Ideally your keywords will have a good number of people searching for them, but not too many sites optimized for them.

(For more about using Wordtracker, check out my two-part blog post at http://blog.MarketingTips.com/derek.)

2. Write a SHORT, informative article (no more than 400 words!) for each of your top keywords. The keyword you are highlighting should appear in the title and in the first 90 characters of your article. And it can’t hurt to plug it into the last paragraph as well.

3. Write a short, credibility-building “About the Author” blurb that you can tag onto the end of your articles — and make sure you include a link back to your website.

4. Submit your articles to directory sites with a high Google PageRank. You can find a list of the top directories in Issue 129 of “Marketing Tips” at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

5. Repeat weekly or monthly for best results!

For more information about this traffic-generation strategy, check out Issue 129 of my newsletter at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

======================================================

Top Strategy #2: Segment your list to laser-target your customers’ desires…
and increase your revenue by up to 781%!

======================================================

Segmenting your opt-in list simply means dividing your subscribers and customers into smaller, more focused groups, according to factors such as:

* Whether they’ve bought something from you
* Which products they’ve bought
* What their specified interests are
* Where they live
* Their age group
* And so on

You then create different mailout promotions for each group that specifically targets their particular needs.

By following this strategy, you’re guaranteed to see better results with your promotions. In fact, a study from Jupiter Research found that business owners who segmented their lists according to what customers bought, where they clicked on the website, and other collected information improved their conversion rates by up to 355% — and increased their revenues by an amazing 781%!

However, the study found that only 11% of marketers actually use this kind of data to segment their list! That means if you start segmenting your list, you’ll get a definite edge on your competitors.

Here’s how you can put this proven technique to work for your business:

1. Sort your current opt-in list into highly focused segments — such as customers who have purchased specific products from you before, subscribers who have never purchased, new subscribers, or any other segments you can create based on the information you have about your existing opt-in list.

2. Then create different mailout promotions for each segment of your list, so that you target them with highly personalized messages that speak directly to their wants and needs.

The sooner you start segmenting your list, the sooner you can start enjoying increased conversion rates and profits! For more information about this strategy, check out Issue 134 of my newsletter at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

======================================================

Top Strategy #3: Create profitable strategic alliances to unleash a FLOOD of
new profits for your business!

======================================================

With the right business partner, you can put your products in front of new customers and get fresh new products to sell to your existing customers. You can expand your reach AND boost your profits — talk about a “win-win” situation!

In business, these kinds of partnerships are called strategic alliances or joint ventures.

And the great thing is, strategic alliances are ESPECIALLY effective for online businesses.

So do a bit of research and find a partner who’s right for you — and then hit them with an offer they can’t refuse!

Here’s how to start:

1. Look for potential partners by using the search engines. Check out any businesses that are trying to sell something to the same market as yours — something complementary but not competitive.

2. Use the Alexa toolbar (www.Alexa.com) to give potential partners the “once-over.” (Look for a good traffic ranking in particular.)

3. Create joint venture proposals tailored to your list of potential partners, and make sure you include details about how they will benefit from the relationship.

4. Contact potential partners personally — with a phone call or face-to-face meeting.

5. Be sure to look for offline partners, too!

Many established businesses have been able to expand their product offerings, skills, and expertise through profitable alliances. With this plan — so will you!

To learn more about how to make strategic alliances work for your business, check out Issue 128 of “Marketing Tips” at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

======================================================

Top Strategy #4: Use testimonials to establish your credibility and win over
potential customers

======================================================

Never underestimate the power of a good testimonial! Posting reviews and comments from satisfied customers on your website is a terrific way to increase your credibility in the eyes of visitors and encourage sales from first-time buyers.

An effective testimonial can convince your reader that your product really DOES do exactly what you promise — especially if you run a small business and don’t yet have a widespread reputation.

Here’s how to gather quality testimonials and benefit from them immediately:

1. If you already have some positive feedback from clients, ask their permission to include their comments on your site. Try to choose testimonials that are packed full of concrete benefits that tell your customers exactly what they can expect to gain from purchasing your product or service.

Every testimonial should also have a first name, last name, and location — they help prove the recommendations are coming from real people.

2. To encourage new testimonials, add a link to your site attached to a form that allows customers to give you their vote of confidence. For example, “Click here to tell us what you think!”

3. Create an autoresponder that contacts your buyers after they’ve purchased your product to ask them how they’re enjoying it.

4. When customers send you glowing praise in a letter or email, contact them and ask for permission to add it to your site.

5. If you don’t have any testimonials yet, offer your product free of charge to a group of customers in exchange for their thoughts on the product.

Once you’ve accumulated some good testimonials, include them on your site:

* Put your best testimonials on your homepage.
* Insert some testimonials in the middle of your salescopy.
* Create a page on your site that features only testimonials.
* Put testimonials on each page of your website.

It’s that simple!

For more information about increasing your credibility with testimonials, check out Issue 119 of “Marketing Tips” at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

======================================================

Top Strategy #5: “Socialize” your way to improved search engine placement

======================================================

Social media and networking sites such as MySpace (www.MySpace.com), Flickr (www.Flickr.com), and Digg (www.Digg.com) are some of the fastest-growing sites on the Web today… and they’re also a great way to improve your site’s search engine placement!

That’s because these sites all have high Google PageRank numbers — which means that if you can get links on these sites that point to your site, you’ll be able to improve your search engine rankings DRAMATICALLY!

Here’s how to get started:

1. Check out a few different social media sites to get an idea of what they’re all about. For a list of the top sites, check out my blog at:

http://blog.MarketingTips.com/derek

2. Choose one or two sites that interest you and start participating in discussions and posting your new content. Just remember, these are social sites — so be sociable, not “salesy.”

3. Create a profile of yourself to include with your posts — and make sure it contains a link back to your site.

4. Create some content to post on the sites you are interested in — such as a short article, list, or entertaining video — and then give it a snappy, attention-grabbing headline.

Here are some content ideas to get you started:

o Compile an entertaining or informative list related to your industry.

o Take existing content from a newsletter or blog and re-purpose it for social media sites.

o Create a funny compilation video.

o Post an interactive product demonstration.

5. Tag your submissions with keywords that describe your content. This will maximize the chances that other site members will find you and add you to their favorites — boosting your popularity and the number of people who view your content!

6. Invite all your friends to go online and vote for your links.

For more information about how you can “socialize” your way to better search engine placement, check out Issue 131 of “Marketing Tips” at:

www.MarketingTips.com/newsletters

======================================================

Final thoughts

======================================================

By now your mind should be full of possibilities for how your business can profit in the year ahead…

All you have to do to make it happen is to take ACTION with the steps outlined for each strategy. Consider this your roadmap to greater levels of Internet prosperity:

* Attract droves of highly-targeted traffic to your site by writing short, targeted articles that can be picked up by other web owners and spread to the far reaches of the ‘Net.

* Maximize your mailout profits by segmenting your subscriber list into highly targeted groups and giving each group exactly what they desire.

* Dramatically increase your income by finding business partners who will help you reach new markets and expand your product offerings.

* Encourage first-time sales by using credibility-boosting testimonials… and make sure you place them on your site where they will have the greatest impact.

* And don’t forget to take time to visit the ‘Net’s most popular social networking and media sites and socialize your way to improved search engine placement!

Once you start implementing these top 5 strategies, I guarantee you’ll see HUGE results with your business. And I’d love to hear about them!

Here’s to making 2007 your most profitable year ever!

________________________________________________

Information courtesy of Steve Pohlit

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Blogging For Profits Issue # 17 Use FeedBurner To Boost Blog Popularity

Feedburner (www.feedburner.com ) is a great tool for optimizing and publicizing your blog. FeedBurner is free. The first step is simply to register for an account. The second step can be taken when you have an active blog.

Once you have a blog and FeedBurner account then you can activate Feedburner for your blog. You will activate FeedBurner by simply using the box on the front page of FeedBurner that is available after you log into your account and enter the URL of your blog.

This next sentence could save you allot of time and aggravation. Sometimes just entering the URL of your blog does not always result in FeedBurner recognizing your blog. To help with this issue simply enter in /feed after your URL and that should solve the problem. For example this blog has the URL http://www.stevereports.com When “burning my feed” with FeedBurner I enter http://www.stevereports.com/feed/

When FeedBurner recognizes your blog you are ready to take advantage of a number of their services. Each feature offered by FeedBurner must be activated before it will work. For now here are the first two features I recommend you activate as soon as you activate your account and you have a blog in place:

1. Click on The Publicize tab and activate “Pingshot”. This will notify a number of services every time you have an update to your blog. I know you are already including active links in you blog posts so when you add a new post to your blog, Pingshot reminds a number of RSS readers to pick up that new content.

2. Under the same tab select Chicklet Chooser and there you will find a selection of icons that can be used for visitors to click on so they can add your blog to their RSS Feed Reader. If you look close to the top right hand side of this blog’s main page you will see my orange icon. This is the icon I picked from FeedBurner. Once selected, FeedBurner gives you the html code to use on your blog. Simply copy this code then go to your blog admin area and click on presentation. Then choose template editor select sidebar and paste the code into the side bar where you want the icon. Note about the only mistake you can make here is entering the code in the wrong place. If that happens, go back and cut and paste the code into a different location. Remember to click save after making any edits to your sidebar and you are done — for now.

More features by FeedBurner will be discussed in a later issue. Now take a few minutes and register your blog with FeedBurner and get started.

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

P.S. If you have read and kept the entire series of Blogging For Profits then you know why I strongly advise everyone to use a distinct domain or subdomain for your blog. I also recommend developing your blog with WordPress. I only use subdomains for my blogs when they are links to a specific theme, which is usually a niche theme. You can see an example of this at www.getoiled.com

I also recommend using a hosting where you have website manager, Fantastico for setting up blogs and a distinct C-Panel for each of your domains. Having been in the Internet service provider business, I can tell you I am hosting 36 domains, have room for many more and I pay $24.95 per month. I am very pleased with my hosing company Host Gator. You can pay less but I donâ€™t recommend it. Now back to Feedburner.

The Key Was Found That Unlocks The Secret Vault With The Report On What 2007 Business Development Predictions Will Come True. Here Is The Report!

20% of the people having a goal of making money on line in 2007 will make money on line in 2007. 20% – 40% of those will make enough money to consider it their full time work.

Frank Kern will be more even more blond by the end of 2007.

80% of the people on line today trying to make money will not make any money on line in 2007.

The rate of business failures in 2007 will accelerate. 80% of those failures could be avoided with the experienced guidance.

Ken McCarthy and Ken McArthur will continue to rank the highest in the group of people offering the best seminar training.

The rate of new business starts will increase. Those starts will be added fuel for the rate of failure.

2-5% of the people on line in 2006 will make 90-95% of the profit on line in 2007.

President Bush will not be re-elected.

Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer will send out a big box next year to their customers wishing them the very best Christmas ever. In the box will be at least 10 opportunities to spend money on one or more of their in-house study programs or seminars. Read the Christmas card first of course. (Did you receive one of their cards in 2006. Was it just me thinking their mailing was tacky at best? ) Do not ignore Dan and Bill’s training unless you are netting more than $10 million a year from continuity programs.

There will be no more than 4 new players in 2007 that will achieve public recognition of being an Internet guru. Five currently recognizable gurus will leave to find off line jobs to pay their bills.

More people will figure out how to use Blogs and Social Networking sites to effectively market their business. 5% of these people will develop courses to teach use these skills. 20% of the courses will have valuable content. 5% of those not publishing courses will be making the most money and we will never know who they are.

Next year the number of people you don’t personally know who will send you emails wishing you everything you ever dreamed of during the holiday season will triple.

The burst in the housing bubble is over and the housing market will be on a steady incline throughout 2007.

90% of the people buying new programs, memberships and training will not use any of what they purchased and learned.

Google Adsense is not dead and there will be a surge in people telling you how much money they are making with adsense.

There will be an increasing number of public companies that will go private as they are tired of the cost of complying with SEC and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Website buying and selling will accelerate. Ed Dale’s latest training topic is in front of the curve.

Direct mail will be used more by the top 5% of the Internet Marketers in 2007 as they recognize that a people still like paper and ink. 20% of the remaining 95% will try direct mail and wonder why it doesn’t work for them. None of the 95% pay close attention to Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazier.

John Reese says that long sales letters are on the decline and using a combination of Camtasia, live video clips and sales copy on your sales page will be most effective. John is right. Actually John is nearly always right and will continue to be so in 2007. Why is that? He tests and validates before he opens his mouth. If you don’t read his month report you are not serious about making money on line. (Frank Kern is nearly always right even with blonde hair.)

The gap between those building wealth and those not increasing net worth will widen in 2007. Those not building wealth will blame those who do with even louder voices and will want the government to step in. Those building wealth want the reinforcement of our country’s constitutional principles which basically says we have the right to build our business and build wealth and who we help is our choice not a government mandate. People still don’t get the fact that jobs are created and more money flows into the federal and state tax accounts when we let people who know how to build business do just that. Those not getting this point will continue to increase in 2007.

Portal Feeder will win the Grammy for the longest running program to have people pay for the development of a new version that should have been offered when the original version was offered but was not, and still is not over a year later. The Grammy will be awarded for best supporting actors in a major film that has not been released. By the way I love the PF team.

More people will recognize that all of this is a game and will turn increasing levels of attention and energy to the purpose and quality of human game. (Read Bob Scheinfeldâ€™s Busting Lose From The Money Game)

Stomper Net will emerge as the best “I wish I were in that group” program. However, 80% of the people in Stomper Net will not take any action on what they have learned.

The best overall teacher of business success principles in 2007 will be Steve Pohlit, followed by John Reese. (Hey it is my blog!)

If 2007 is a great New Year for you it is because you have accepted the responsibility to make that happen and not because me or anyone else says Happy New Year to you.

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Best Buy’s Results Only Work Environment Deserves High Marks. Here’s Why

Huge cuts in turnover.
Huge increases in productivity.

Those are the results reported by the departments of Best Buy that have focused on having people achieve work milestones rather than caring where the employees are when they get the work done. Many hardly ever show up for work.

The focus is on results and for many of the tasks needed completed at the home offices of Best Buy and now they are not.

With the change, employees love working for Best Buy. How do they know? Well when high turnover rates plummet to near 0 that is a pretty good indicator.

I can’t tell you how many times I have counseled CEO’s and Presidents moaning about otherwise outstanding employees not being able to consistently get to work at a prescribed time.My advice always is have clear definition of what needs to be done and when and then leave them alone.

Best Buy’s new rules are:
Don’t waste my time.
Don’t waste your time.
Don’t waste the company’s money.

Good rules!

Does the ultimate flexible schedule work for everyone? Well there are a few jobs where I have not figured it out. For example, I am writing this 40,000 feet in the air and I don’t think airlines can operate with pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and airport support showing up when they feel like it or not at all.

If you have abused your lifestyle and are scheduled for bypass surgery at 7AM in the morning, I don’t think you want to be prepped and then find your doctor decided to sleep in or go play golf.

Buying food at a grocery store or restaurant could be a challenge if the place is not open because people who operate those stores decide to go fishing.

But maybe there is more flexibiliy than what we think. What if there were an extra number of people employed and the staff worked it out. For example: Hey Judy I don’t feel like working this evening could you help me out? Judy says sure and the staffing for the restaurant is fine. The employees worked it out. Now if you are a store manager and you want some coverage the day after Thanksgiving, maybe your thinking is not in sync with the goal.

Before you start with the “but we cannot afford any extra staff” argument I ask you what does your turnover cost you?

I was in a long line at an “Oh My God” fast food restaurant (OK it was Burger King where they suck me in with their purported Angus steak burger that I like – hey Warren Buffet and Bill Gates like the value meal so back off.) To the point! The line was long and since I frequent this particular Burger King while working with a client near there, I cannot help it but I simply ask – what the hell is wrong here? The answer is always the same. This location like a multitude of other locations just like it pay their employees near minimum wage, their turnover is about 3000% a year and their lost sales are about $2,000 per day. By the way that is three quarters of a million dollars. I estimate one location leaves about $200,000 of profit on the table because of turnover and lost sales. I am I right – absolutely.

So Best Buy understand the cost of turnover and they apparently understand the importance of no comprise to achieving defined performance goals. I hope Best Buy continues to have huge success with this program. My only question is from a competitve advantage point of view, I have no idea why they let this program be published by Business Week and others. I would have advised leaving their competitor in a bigger cloud of dust before acknowledging the success of this program.

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

Best Buy's Results Only Work Environment Deserves High Marks. Here's Why

Best Buy’s Results Only Work Environment Deserves High Marks. Here’s Why

The focus is on results and for many of the tasks needed completed at the home offices of Best Buy and now they are not.

With the change, employees love working for Best Buy. How do they know? Well when high turnover rates plummet to near 0 that is a pretty good indicator.

Best Buy’s new rules are:
Don’t waste my time.
Don’t waste your time.
Don’t waste the company’s money.

Good rules!

If you have abused your lifestyle and are scheduled for bypass surgery at 7AM in the morning, I don’t think you want to be prepped and then find your doctor decided to sleep in or go play golf.

Buying food at a grocery store or restaurant could be a challenge if the place is not open because people who operate those stores decide to go fishing.

Before you start with the “but we cannot afford any extra staff” argument I ask you what does your turnover cost you?

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

Pohlit Advises Gurus Wanting To Take Their Business To The Next Level

John Reese announced his plan for income.com He openly discussed his life of opposite extremes. On one side he has all or most of the material possessions that have been his life’s dream. On the other side, he clearly struggles to enjoy life and details the stress of determining which projects and opportunities should receive his attention each morning.

Ken McArthur issues an email to his list discussing this month’s project which is thinking. Ken outlines the issue he and nearly every on line guru is thinking about. What is the next step?

I have operated at the executive level of companies with revenues ranging from $3 million to $1.6 billion. One company I purchased with a partner had annual revenues of $50 million. One of my consulting clients started with one store and today has sales exceeding $12 billion dollars. Currently I spend most of my professional time continuing to work with companies of all sizes helping them achieve their businsess performance potential. These experiences lead to a clear understanding of what is required to take any business to a new and better level of performance.

Before that outline I have to warn you that what you are about to read is considered by most to be frightening. It is frightening not because of what is disclosed but what is required. Here it is!

1. Define what business you are in. I have seen examples recently of well known people deciding to change their business focus. There is nothing wrong with that if there is a clear definition of the business model along with a transition plan from the current model to the new one. Part of that plan must include a backup plan of keeping the engine running in the vehicle that funds the business now until the new engine starts. The new plan should start like the old one didn’t which is with a clear definition of revenue and profit goals.

2. Once defined, there are four (4) A Priority Functional Areas that need to be addressed whether you do it yourself, outsource them or hire staff. In order of importance:

A. Closed Loop Management Information System. This is a process of accounting for the actual performance vs. plan of all key components of your business. Notice this is listed first. Also notice in order for this to work, there needs to be a measurable plan in place at the right level of detail.

B. Business Development or The Engine. This starts with a plan that defines what it is you are marketing, to whom and how you are going to reach them. It also defines the resources required to implement that plan and track variances from plan.

C. Infrastructure Leadership and Accountability. At the infrastructure level of every successful business you will find highly skilled and dedicated people who know what they are expected to do and are rewarded consistently for doing it. They are part of the team and are not independent contractors.

D. An Absolute Fixation on Achieving Revenue and Profit Targets and Optimizing Liquidity (cash).

Currently it takes an average of six months working with a well established company several days every week to get them back on track by teaching them how to achieve the above four foundation pillars. Even when a company goes through that process, 80% of them fail to continue what they learned within one year. The remaining 20% go on to achieve results that place them in the top 10% of their industry. Why do 80% fail? Alot of what is involved in operating a world class business involves following a disciplined management process which is not an attribute ingrained in most entrepreneurs.

Can an entrepreneurial based business that has achieved a notable measure of success go to the next level?

Absolutely!

It all depends on their willingness and commitment to implementing a disciplined approach to running their business. Look at Yahoo, Ebay, Google and many other successful enterprises. These are companies starting with an idea. At some point behind the curtain you will find an executive and executive team who rationalized the business model and maximized the value of that model.

Of all the on line experts I pay attention to, there is only one other person who consistently demonstrates the skills needed to guide those wanting to go to the next level. I define the next level as a currently successful business with revenues of at least $5 million and net profit before tax of 10%. (If your net before tax is less than 10% then you need another consulting toolbox – the “fix it toolkit”).

Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world selling everything that everyone else sells. Wal-Mart, Target, and others make it easy and economical for alot of people to buy what they want. Studying the information products, marketing tools and more that are being offered during the tail end of 2006 you find a lot of similarities. It will be interesting to see in the next couple of years what gurus successfully re-engineer their business model to deliver what the entrepreneurial and small business communities really need to achieve their respective business and personal goals. Ones that do, will be at the next level and will have more fun doing it.

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

How Your Internet and Offline Marketing Costs Can Be Cut Drastically!!

I am not advising anyone to take any action based on anything written here. If you have any questions do not ask this CPA. Do not go to Ask The Consultant and send me questions. If you have questions, contact a qualified adviser on this topic.

Now having said that….

Are you in any programs that charge a monthly fee where you use their software as part of that program? Have you attended any conferences this year or seminars? Have you purchased any books, CD’s, DVD’s, rights to download PLR articles and other material?

Did you know the US tax law allows you to deduct expenses incurred for operating a business? Did you know your business does not have to be incorporated to take advantage of these deductions? Did you know that Section 179 of the US tax code allows you to deduct the cost of property purchased a business up to $100,000 and the list of eligible property for that deduction includes off the shelf software.

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

Steve Pohlit Opens Ask The Consultant

I am pleased to announce the opening of Ask The Consultant There is no charge, you don’t have to register and I will answer all business development and Internet Marketing related questions usually within 48 hours.

This sevice is offered in response to survey’s showing most people are hesitant to contact a consultant for many reasons including:

Fear they cannot afford it.
Consultants “Wind Your Watch To Tell You What Time It Is”
Cannot find the right person.
Do not know consultants are very interested in being helpful.
Think a consultant needs to be in their market for the project to work.

These and many other myths associated with using a consultant will be addressed and published at Ask The Consultant Please note this is a new service and I have taken one of my traditional sites and I am migrating it to the Ask The Consultant model. This is a work in progress

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

Blogging For Profits Resource: Automate Submission Of Blog Entries To Blog and RSS Directories

Jason Lewis sent me an email on this plug in for Firefox. Thank you Jason!
Steve Pohlit

Submitting your blog or RSS feed to directories is a great way to
get free exposure and back links, to help drive traffic to your
sites.

Trouble is; this takes time and is quite a boring process to go
through, especially if you have a number of different websites.

If you’d like to speed up and automate this task, you should check
out my latest blog post, where you can find out about a handy free
tool to automate a lot of this for you. No catches or anything to
buy.

Here’s a direct link to my blog post:

http://www.businessbrainwaves.com/adtrackz/go.php?c=submitemnow

Blogging For Business Profits Issue# 16: The Practical Reasons For Selecting A Reliable Host and Using The WordPress Blog Platform For Your Blogs

The following will give you an idea of what is involved in backing up and moving websites and blogs. Once you get that picture you will have a greater appreciation for my recommendation as to what hosting company you select.

Moving a web site from one server to another for most sites is generally not a major problem. Here are the steps:

1. Update the backup of your site on your hard drive. This is done by logging into the server that hosts your site with an ftp client. There are plenty of free ftp clients. I use Core FTP Lite and it works very well. Once you log in, the files that make up your site normally stored under public_html can be copied from the server to your hard drive. Then you are done.

2. Once updated the next step is to update the dns information of the domain name you are transferring. This is done through the company you used to register your domain. You will need the DNS information of the new server that will host your site. This is obtained from the new company that is hosting your site.

(If your are getting blurry eyed at this point and have no idea what I am talking about, I can assure you it is worth your time to learn these steps to protect your sites. I can also assure you there is likly to be a time when you will want to move your sites. Finally, this was all greek to me not that long ago and if I can learn it, so can you.)

3. Once the DNS is updated with your domain registering agent, it is now time for the scary part which is to delete the domain account with your previous hosting company and then immediately set up the domain on the server of your new hosting company. As part of the set up process you will need to have the user log in name and password in order to upload your saved site with your FTP client.

4. With your domain now set up on your new hosting company’s server, you are now ready to upload your saved site from your hard drive and test your site to make sure all is working well.

This work can be outsourced but I highly recommend you learn and do this yourself a few times before outsourcing it. Also if you do outsource this task, make sure you have the DNS record information and administrative user ID and password information. Once the third party is finished transferring your site you should change the log in information.

We just covered transferring a domain which is relatively easy in comparison to transferring a blog. Blogs on a WordPress platform log entries into a database. In order to move a blog you have to copy the data base and reload the data base onto the new hosting company. But before you do that the domain has to be prepped to receive the WordPress database and files. There are detailed instructions on how to do this in the Moving section of http://www.tamba2.org.uk/wordpress The guidelines are easy to follow but like anything else you have to do it a few times before the fear factor goes away. At this point I have succeeded in backing up my data bases. In fact I use a WordPress Backup plug-in but have never tested restoring a blog. I will be doing that shortly.

PLEASE NOTE: BACK-UP AND RECOVERY OF BLOGS HOSTED BY BLOGGER MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE. IF YOU USE BLOGGER, PLEASE WRITE ALL YOUR POSTS USING A TEXT EDITOR OR WORD AND SAVE THEM ON YOUR HARD DRIVE.

Big Bonus Tip

You generally do not have to worry much about any of this if you select the right hosting company to begin with and the right account with that hosting company. I continue to recommend the Host Gator Reseller Account for $24.95 per month. You will have a separate CPanel interface with that type of account and if you do not know what CPanel is when you do you will appreciate those features for each domain you have. By the way you can host a lot of domains for that one price.

Be Well and Prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Register for The Blogging for Business Profits Series At Steve Reports and while you are there you are invited to register to have all posts to Steveâ€™s blog delivered right to your email.

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of How To Increase Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting StevePohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

Ken McCarthy Writes About Blogs For Business

What about blogs?

Are they worth the effort? Or are they
just a fad for folks with too much time
on their hands?

I was a blog-skeptic until Internet pioneer
Dave Taylor sold me on them.

If sharing information is part of your
sales process (and it’s part of EVERY
sales process no matter what you’re
selling), then publishing a blog deserves
a serious look no matter what business
you’re in.

Here’s why:

A well done blog can be a traffic magnet.

Unlike e-mails, blog posts persist
and are findable on search engines.

Dave found this out with his blog
“Ask Dave Taylor” when valuable traffic
about PSP (the Sony Playstation)
started flooding his highly regarded
technology blog because of some
posts he made.

There are even ways to profit from
blogging without starting a blog of
your own…

First, the right blog can be a peerless
source of great information in your field.

Finding the good ones in your niche and
reading them regularly is a great way to
make sure you’re on the edge of the curve,
not flattened by it.

Second, OPB (other people’s blogs) can
be a source of traffic for you.

I’m not talking about the weasels who
sp@m people’s blogs with junk posts (known
as “splogging.”)

Here’s the secret:

Don’t just read the best blogs in your
niche. Figure out how you can do business
with the people who run them. The good
ones have traffic and influence you can
tap into.

Many bloggers sell advertising and blog
ads can be a low cost, highly targeted buy.
As always, know your numbers and track.

You can also volunteer to write for specific
blogs – with a link to your site as
“pay.” For example, I just enjoyed a week
as the guest host on the blog for the
International Association of Online Communicators.

There are probably opportunities like this
in your market.

As Dave Taylor points out, search engines –
especially Google – love good blogs and having
your name and web address spread all over
the blogosphere in an authentic way is a
very good thing for long term search ranking.

Find the great blogs in your market
and start making new friends today.

How do you find the best blogs on the
Internet? That’s the easy part.

I’ve just found a super resource here:

http://kenmccarthy.com/blog/?p=71

Ken

Ken’s Blog Post Courtesy of Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Register for The Blogging for Business Profits Series At Steve Reports and while you are there you are invited to register to have all posts to Steveâ€™s blog delivered right to your email.

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of How To Increase Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting StevePohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

John Reese Exposes The Truth of Multiple Sources of Income and Steve Pohlit Reveals How Johnâ€™s Advice Works Off Line

I have been a subscriber of The Reese Report since it’s first issue. John offers sound advice on building on line based businesses including web sites that attract traffic that buys what you have to sell. John is one in a small group of people I have paid close attention too and who have helped me learn and bring value to my business development clients. I always recommend The Reese Report.

John has just released a video commentary that encourages you to focus on one targeted market as your primary source of income. If you are in business or want to be you should listen to his message. Click Here to watch this video. It is about 10 minutes and worth it.

Most of my work is with traditional offline businesses. This year I have worked with several contractors and retailers. In the past I have worked with manufacturing companies, trucking companies, companies operating multiple restaurants, drug stores, convenient stores and more. In each case a primary focus of my work with those companies has been A, B, C management. A, B, C management is simply defining those customers that represent 80% or more of your current and future income and the critical path tasks required to build and serve those customers profitably.

Not every project achieves the goals set out at the start. The single biggest reason a company optimizes performance and profits over time is that they consistently stay focused and execute on the A priority tasks that result in meeting and exceeding the expectations of their customers. The kind of focus John Reese is advocating in his video.

If A,B,C Management is the formula for success then why do companies hire a business development consultant? Good question and here is one example that illustrates the answer. Currently I am working with a very qualified and bright group of people in charge of developing and running their business. They know they are working hard and should be making more money. They also know what they should be doing and are not. They hired me to help them change the way they work. This company like every business I have worked with already has a full agenda when I walk in the door. The are finding the direction provided by the consulting process helps them modify their work to focus on what will make the biggest positive differences in their business long term. In the first week they agreed to several major actions that they have been procrastinating on for quite some time.

I am preparing a special report that addresses the key questions every business should ask when considering if they need a consultant and how to proceed in hiring one. In the meantime if you have questions you are encouraged to contact me by email or phone. All my contact information can be found at http://www.stevepohlit.com or in my resource box below.

Be well and prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.

Worth More Than Any Amount of Money

I was very fortunate indeed when I was referred to Steve by an associate of mine who had dramatically increased his revenue through the Business Plan that Steve had developed.

Before meeting Steve I knew that the key to advertising my Laser Hair Removal Clinic
would be via a website – but I had no concept of how to promote this – In addition, my computer skills, understanding of computer terminology and function were virtually nil. What is the benefit of a website if no one can find it?

Within a month of being introduced to Steve my Website was appearing #1 when doing a search for Laser Hair Removal. Being one of the most commonly offered services in the medical field, there is an enormous amount of competition and therefore to achieve a #1 ranking was not something I considered even remotely feasible. My Website had not been appearing on any search engines prior to Steve’s management.

Steve has been incredibly understanding and patient of my computer illiteracy. Every question I have asked has been answered with precise logic and detail. Every email I have sent has been responded to quickly and efficiently. I am astounded by his knowledge of advertising and promotional skills – my Laser Hair Removal Clinic would not be operating today if it were not for Steve Pohlit.

I would like to conclude by saying that in addition to Steves unequaled advertising skills he possesses personal qualities which are very rarely observed in today’s world. He is a person of the greatest integrity – his first and only concern is to improve your business –
your success is his success.

Jessie Tehranchi CDT

Thank you Jess! You are a joy to work with.

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults personally with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly.