- Part 2

Website eBay Listing Review - Webcore

May 2nd, 2009

Each month I’m going to review a website or eBay listing from someone in our community. There’s always room for improvement even if your site is already successful, so if you’d like me to take a look and suggest some tweaks for free, send an email to this address: customerservicezone@gmail.com – don’t forget to include your name and the name of your website! This is also a great opportunity to promote your site for free, to others in our community.

This eBay listing review is from Webcore design, who offer logo design services on eBay.

This is how the main part of the listing looks…

I’m very impressed with this overall.

Firstly, at a glance it’s a nice clean, uncluttered layout, clearly professional without being overly slick or corporate.

The testimonial speech bubbles on the left hand side are a very useful idea and they work well in providing third party credibility and independent endorsements.

The sample images are also great – that’s exactly what people want to see when they’re considering a company to design a new logo.

The 100% satisfaction guarantee seal is also a great idea. Seemingly small details like that can cause a noticeable increase in the conversion from viewers to buyers.

You won’t be able to see the colors in the image, but the overall theme of pale green is consistently used, which makes it easy on the eye – it’s not a rainbow of colors, which tends to be harsh to look at.

So what can be improved?

Well firstly, the listing needs a headline. The first piece of text the reader sees is:

‘Basic Logo Design Package’

That’s not a benefit statement, nor is it exciting. Much better would be something like this:

“Let us Design the Perfect Logo for Your Business in 48 Hours or Less, or We’ll Refund You in Full”

See how much more powerful and persuasive that is? So those first words are critical in winning a customer over.

The other big mistake is in the word choice of ‘basic’. No one wants basic anything these days. Basic sounds plain, dull, boring, and uninspiring. So calling it the ‘basic logo design package’ is a mistake. Instead, use something like ‘Premium’, ‘Exclusive’ or words that convey a benefit.

Overall, a very nice design.

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The BIG Lesson of the Month - Look Within To Solve Your Talent Shortage

April 29th, 2009

If you’re starting to feel the pinch of the so-called “talent shortage,” you’re not alone. Consider these facts:

40 percent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the shortage of skilled workers will exceed 10 million by 2010

At any given time, 75 percent of American employees are looking for a new job, say the Society of Human Resource Management

45 percent of workers say they want to change jobs every three to five years

In light of these facts, smart managers realize they need to retain people on staff in order to keep the company running. So while under better circumstances they might move along those “less spectacular” performers, they know that in a tight talent market, the key is to effectively work with what you have.

Fortunately, you can take steps to help the people on your team do better and perform to expectations. After all, hiring someone is costly (both in time and money), and any turnover has a potentially negative impact on the company. Following is a process that will help you work with your current staff and gain the competitive advantage in doing so.

Step One: Take a look at yourself

Look at how you’re evaluating your team. Many managers who work under, or who have been influenced by, command and control hierarchies live with the belief that you should rank your employees and cut those at the bottom.

Ranking may be valuable when people do identical jobs in an identical environment, such as in call centers or sales organizations with territories that have no uniqueness, but the fact is that such environments count for only a minority of the workplace population. Most people work in organizations where teams tackle diverse challenges with diverse solutions. Therefore, when managers rank people, their perception of each individual is often blurred by a lack of clear criteria or the potential to play favorites.

Getting great performance from your team is about working with individuals. Therefore, you need to look at each individual on staff and ask yourself, “Is this person doing what I expect of him or her?” Then clarify what your expectations are for someone. If that person isn’t meeting your expectations, how are you communicating your expectations? Often, managers communicate a lot with their best players, but when it comes to the marginal performers, they communicate less often and in a less meaningful way.

It’s been said that we hire people for what they are and fire them for who they are. That is we hire someone because he is a Harvard graduate who worked at the top advertising agency in NYC, but we fire him because he was a dishonest jerk who didn’t respect people. Therefore, most of our dissatisfaction is not with what people are but with who they are. And when we deal with the “who” side of the equation, we often find that the dissatisfaction stems from a general lack of communication of expectations from the manager, not the employee. In other words, we’ve set the job specs but we’ve failed to talk about how we expect our people to treat each other and our customers.

Step Two: Take a look at them

Are the people on your team committed or compliant? Here’s the difference: You give Person A and Person B each a package to deliver to a key prospect. Person A takes the package to the prospect’s office, leaves it with the receptionist, and then heads back to work. Person B takes the package to the prospect’s office, waits in the lobby to meet the prospect personally, and spends time talking with the prospect to answer any additional questions. Person A is compliant—she did what she was told (delivered the package to the prospect’s office) and nothing more. Person B is committed—she did what she was told, and then went a step further to win big for the company.

So again, are the people on your team committed or compliant?

If someone on your team is committed and still not performing to your expectations, then you need to talk with the person and learn where his or her commitment is. Is it to the team? To you? To the company? To personal success? Maybe he’s committed to the team but not to the company. If so, you need to show him how what he’s doing impacts the team. Understand what each employee is committed to and communicate your expectations in relation to that individual commitment.

If someone on your team is merely compliant, then you need to uncover why. Is the mindset temporary due to some challenges at home? Is it a lack of passion for the work? Are his or her motivations misaligned?

If you can’t move someone toward commitment, then that’s the first person you have to consider firing. Realize, though, that firing can be mutually beneficial—and needs to be in a tight talent market. The fact is that it can take several months to find a replacement. Therefore, it’s better to tell that person, “You’re not enjoying your job, and it’s obvious this isn’t a good fit. So let’s agree that we’re on a path here for me to find someone to replace you and for you to find employment elsewhere. As long as you commit to doing your daily work during this time, I’m committed to figuring this out with you.” Managers who take this approach find that it works out well. The employee who isn’t a fit appreciates the honesty and the time to find new work. The company appreciates having the coverage it needs to meet deadlines and goals. The key is being honest, communicating openly, and building trust to make it all work.

Step Three: Develop a new plan

Finally, for each employee, you need to create a plan that will help that person move forward to the level of performance desired. Your plan needs to include the following:

Communication: Communication is the pathway to trust. Therefore, you need to find ways to communicate more frequently so your team trusts you and wants to perform for you. To do so, hold regular mini-meetings that emphasize face-to-face interaction. So many workers don’t personally interact with their boss anymore. They communicate solely by email, even though the boss is just down the hall. Remember, as Zig Ziglar so profoundly said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Communication equals caring.

Expectations: What do you expect of your employees? Is it realistic? Does the team member have the time or skills to meet that expectation? What can you do to support the employee and prioritize the expectations?

Motivations: What’s the reward to the employee for meeting the expectation? For some, the reward may be the satisfaction of a job well done, while for others the reward may be something tangible, such as a bonus or time off with pay. In order to motivate people, help them see value in their work by explaining how the project impacts the company or the industry.

Assistance: How can you help your staff? Maybe it means being a mentor or taking a piece of the workload. Maybe it’s just guiding the group. If you have a low-performing employee, then you need to actively coach that person to be more successful.

Maximize the Talent You Have

Realize that this process isn’t a one-time quick-fix. You’ll need to invest the time in these steps on a regular basis in order to see results. When you do, not only will you gain a much deeper understanding of your team, but you will also find some surprises. Some of your lost “causes” will take on new value, and for those who don’t, you’ll experience a lot less stress as you move them along, knowing that you gave it your all. In a market this tight you can be assured your competitors are facing the same issues; getting this right can give you a real competitive advantage.

About the Author:

Vince Thompson is a former executive for AOL and the principal at Middleshift, a consulting company focused on creating revenue for Internet businesses by empowering those in the middle and super-serving customers. His clients include Break.com, StarStyle.com and Napster. His book, “Ignited: Managers, Light up Your Career for More Power, More Purpose and More Success” will be available from Pearson’s FT Press in March of 2007. For more information on Vince’s book or consulting, please contact: www.beignited.com.

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23 More Proven Stress Reducers

April 26th, 2009

I’m sure these will help you calm down when you’re feeling tense and stressed…

1. Do something that will improve your appearance. Looking better can help you feel better.

2. Schedule a realistic day. Avoid the tendency to schedule back-to-back appointments; allow time between appointments for a breathing spell.

3. Become more flexible. Some things are worth not doing perfectly and some issues are fine to compromise upon.

4. Eliminate destructive self-talk: “I’m too old to. . .,” “I’m too fat to. . .,” etc.

5. Use your weekend time for a change of pace. If your work week is slow and patterned, make sure there is action and time for spontaneity built into your weekends. If your work week is fast-paced and full of people and deadlines, seek peace and solitude during your days off. Feel as if you aren’t accomplishing anything at work? Tackle a job on the weekend which you can finish to your satisfaction.

6. “Worry about the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.” That’s another way of saying: take care of the todays as best you can and the yesterdays and the tomorrows will take care of themselves.

7. Do one thing at a time. When you are with someone, be with that person and with no one or nothing else. When you are busy with a project, concentrate on doing that project and forget about everything else you have to do.

8. Allow yourself time - everyday - for privacy, quiet, and introspection.

9. If an especially unpleasant task faces you, do it early in the day and get it over with, then the rest of your day will be free of anxiety.

10. Learn to delegate responsibility to capable others.

11. Don’t forget to take a lunch break. Try to get away from your desk or work area in body and mind, even if it’s just for 15 or 20 minutes.

12. Forget about counting to 10. Count to 1,000 before doing something or saying anything that could make matters worse.

13. Have a forgiving view of events and people. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world.

14. Have an optimistic view of the world. Believe that most people are doing the best they can.

15. When feeling stressed, most people tend to breathe short, shallow breaths. When you breathe like this, stale air is not expelled, oxidation of the tissues is incomplete, and muscle tension frequently results. Check your breathing throughout the day, and before, during, and after high-pressure situations. If you find your stomach muscles knotted and your breathing is shallow, relax all your muscles and take several deep, slow breaths.

16. Writing your thoughts and feelings down (in a journal, or on paper to be thrown away) can help you clarify things and can give you a renewed perspective.

17. Try the following yoga technique whenever you feel the need to relax. Inhale deeply through your nose to the count of eight. Then, with lips puckered, exhale very slowly through your mouth to the count of 16, or for as long as you can. Concentrate on the long sighing sound and feel the tension dissolve. Repeat 10 times.

18. Inoculate yourself against a feared event. Example: before speaking in public, take time to go over every part of the experience in your mind. Imagine what you’ll wear, what the audience will look like, how you will present your talk, what the questions will be and how you will answer them, etc. Visualize the experience the way you would have it be. You’ll likely find that when the time comes to make the actual presentation, it will be “old hat” and much of your anxiety will have fled.

19. When the stress of having to get a job done gets in the way of getting the job done, diversion - a voluntary change in activity and/or environment - may be just what you need.

20. Talk it out. Discussing your problems with a trusted friend can help clear your mind of confusion so you can concentrate on problem solving.

21. One of the most obvious ways to avoid unnecessary stress is to select an environment (work, home, leisure) which is in line with your personal needs and desires. If you hate desk jobs, don’t accept a job which requires that you sit at a desk all day. If you hate to talk politics, don’t associate with people who love to talk politics, etc.

22. Learn to live one day at a time.

23. Every day, do something you really enjoy.

24. Add an ounce of love to everything you do.

25. Take a hot bath or shower (or a cool one in summertime) to relieve tension.

26. Do something for somebody else.

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Profit from Personalization

April 23rd, 2009

I’m sure you’re familiar with VistaPrint, the online printing company, right? They’re very popular, and they’re also expert marketers.

A few days ago the following email popped into my inbox:

They did something that very few businesses do. They personalized it for me. How? By including an image of a business card that I’ve previously had printed by VistaPrint.

Think about how valuable this is. When a customer can SEE how the product will look like even before it’s been created, that’s very persuasive. It’s one thing to offer business cards, it’s quite another to offer the business cards shown, because they’re mine!

I’m not sure what technology they’re using to do this (let me know if you know), but I’m sure it can’t be too difficult.

There’s absolutely no question that this simple strategy, a simple tweak, will increase sales dramatically because it speaks more directly to the customer.

You can and should profit from personalization!

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Offer Premium Priced Products or Services

April 20th, 2009

Luci and I just came back from a cruise around New England and Canada. We started out in New York City, then visited Boston, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. We went with NCL, our favorite cruise line for their less formal, (but high quality) style.

There were some fascinating ports of call, and I couldn’t help but pick up on lots of marketing lessons along the way, so I’m featuring some of those in a special episode of ‘Help! My Business Sucks’ that goes out on Wednesday 29^th October. You can view it at www.HelpMyBusiness.com – episode 28.

We were by far the youngest couple on the ship which was pretty funny because, while most of the guests (average age 67 and I’m not kidding) were sound asleep, we would go to dinner! The staff got to know us and looked after us very well as a result. Wandering around the ship at 10:30pm, you could hear a pin drop! Try doing that on a Carnival ship to Mexico or the Caribbean! You’re lucky if you get ANY sleep on board those routes!

One of the things I didn’t mention in the episode is how NCL offers a premium price option for shore excursions (fancy word for ‘tours’). They didn’t always do that, so it’s interesting to see that they’ve learned that there are passengers who are only too willing to pay a substantial premium for an exclusive
experience. For example, a typical shore excursion runs around $60 - $200 depending on what it is. The premium priced opportunities were at least $1000, and even up to $3500 for some trips. They included limo transportation, sometimes a helicopter side trip, fancy meals, and so on.

Personally, I couldn’t justify the extra cost, but plenty of people did, because all the premium tours sold out.

So get over any preconceptions you might have about offering high priced options in your business. You are not your customer!

As long as you offer suitable value for the price you charge, you will have many happy customers who only want the best.

“You are not your customer.”

If you haven’t read Dan Kennedy’s new book, ‘Marketing to the Affluent’ I highly recommend it. I think it’s one of his best works and it’s a must read if you plan to offer products or services to that audience. They think differently, and they act differently, so don’t believe that you understand them – you don’t, as Dan’s book proves. He offers many practical suggestions on specifically how to talk to them, how to deal with them, and how to keep them happy.

It’s worth a reminder that usually the profit margins are considerably higher in selling products and services to the affluent. Also, you don’t need to sell as many to make the same profit. In other words, if you have to sell 20 widgets to make $5000, you might make that in just one transaction to an affluent audience.

Also, they tend to be easier customers to deal with. As a generalization, they complain less, they’re friendlier, and they don’t penny pinch. BUT, they do expect to be treated well, and they also expect you to deliver what you claim. NEVER promise something you can’t deliver to the affluent, they’ll be very unhappy about that, and rightly so!

Oh, and if you haven’t cruised before…try it!

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Discover Auctiva

April 17th, 2009

Auctiva is eBay’s largest 3^rd party developer. The company provides a range of services for eBay sellers. These include:

Scrolling gallery

Listing creation tools

Scheduling & relisting

Free image hosting

What you might found surprising is that all of this is completely FREE!

Not all these features are right for the renegade online seller, but there’s a few that are well worth looking at.

For example, the scrolling gallery is really cool. It’s a fun user feature that allows you to cross-promote other items – buyers can vew ALL your items without having to leave the listing. It’s really easy to setup, too.

The next feature on offer that I recommend are the listing templates. There are more than 1500 to choose from, and many of them are really good - not cheesy or tacky, which is so important. Here’s an example…

The image hosting service, again free, allows you to include up to 24 photos per listing! Auctiva doesn’t delete images you’ve uploaded, and you’ll save yourself a bundle compared to the charges you’d rack up using eBay’s hosting!

When you create a new account with Auctiva, they will import all of your active listings, all of your closed listings from the past 30 days, and up to five of your most recent listings into your saved listings. This import process makes it easy to use the service right away.

If you’re wondering how they can offer all this for free (I did), they have earn commission on shipping insurance, and they also have a number of add-on services like Sellathon.com (which is excellent by the way), and custom design services.

Open a free account at www.Auctiva.com

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15 More eBay Quick Tips You Must Know - 3

April 14th, 2009

You told me you like these quick tips, so I’m going to keep ‘em coming for you. This is a great page to read when you’ve only got a couple of spare minutes…1) Generally speaking, the longer the description, the better. Most descriptions are far too short.

2) Learn and use the eBay ‘lingo.’ There’s a lot of terminology that’s unique to the eBay community, such as BIN, NIB, NR, second chance offer, and so on. By not knowing the language, you identify yourself as a newbie, or an ‘outsider.’

3) Convey a positive attitude in your listings. Many sellers have lots of rules and regulations that put buyers off. Don’t follow that example! Be positive and make the buyer happy to deal with you.

4) Use templates. Most eBay sellers manually type up each listing – that’s a lot of work. Design a standard template layout with all the basics included, and use that as a basis for all future listings. Just don’t use one of those awful, tacky, gaudy templates.

5) Put a thin yellow border around your gallery image. Yellow is the color that gets noticed more than any other color, so this trick will help you to get your search result clicked on before others!

6) Use the ‘completed items’ advanced search option before listing an item. This will enable you to see any similar products that sold in the last 30 days, as well as what they sold for (or if they didn’t sell).

7) Make full use of the 52 characters available to you in the title. Most sellers don’t use anywhere near the number of characters that they should be using.

8) Use the subtitle to sell. In other words, think of it as a headline and call to action. Most people use the title to sell, but that’s wrong.

9) Be accurate with your description. Don’t use hype or wild claims that would be impossible to prove. Buyers often don’t mind if an item has flaws or imperfections as long as they’re told in advance. Honesty is the best policy.

10) Learn from other sellers who are doing well. There’s little point reinventing the wheel to get to a point where other sellers are already at! Analyze successful listings to discover the elements that successful sellers are including.

11) Don’t forget to include common spelling variations in your titles. Get inside the head of buyers to think what they’d search for, including any potential mis-spellings.

12) NEVER USE ALL CAPS. ONLINE IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING AT THE BUYER! Many sellers over use this technique, but it’s just irritating.

13) Emphasize the First Letter Of Each Word In the Title (Like This), except for little words like and, of, the and, or, etc. This Is A Common Marketing technique. It makes the title stand out.

14) Convey your personality in your listings. Don’t try and be like a faceless corporation. eBay buyers are a community that like to relate to the seller. Be friendly, be natural, and don’t be afraid to show your true personality (as long as your true personality is not offensive!)

15) Match the style of your listing to the target audience. If you’re selling electronic gadgets then you need to speak to that audience in a way that they understand. By contrast, if you were selling scrapbooking kits or supplies, its likely that the buyers are mostly housewives, so that requires a completely different style of delivery.

To use another example, if you were selling high end expensive bow-ties, that would likely be a discerning client, who expects to be treated respectfully and more formally than average. Get the idea?

Review these tips regularly like a checklist.

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26 Proven Stress Reducers

April 11th, 2009

Everyone experiences stress from time to time, so I hope you find these tips helpful for minimizing the negative effects of stress…

1. Get up fifteen minutes earlier in the morning. The inevitable morning mishaps will be less stressful.

2. Prepare for the morning the evening before. Set the breakfast table, make lunches, put out the clothes you plan to wear, etc.

3. Don’t rely on your memory. Write down appointment times, when to pick up the laundry, when library books are due, etc.

4. Do nothing which, after being done, leads you to tell a lie.

5. Make duplicates of all keys. Bury a house key in a secret spot in the garden and carry a duplicate car key in your wallet, apart from your key ring.

6. Practice preventive maintenance. Your car, appliances, home, and relationships will be less likely to break down/fall apart “at the worst possible moment.”

7. Be prepared to wait. A paperback can make a wait in a post office line almost pleasant.

8. Procrastination is stressful. Whatever you want to do tomorrow, do today; whatever you want to do today, do it now.

9. Plan ahead. Don’t let the gas tank get below one-quarter full; keep a well-stocked “emergency shelf” of home staples; don’t wait until you’re down to your last bus token or postage stamp to buy more; etc.

10. Don’t put up with something that doesn’t work right. If your alarm clock, wallet, shoe laces, windshield wipers - whatever- are a constant aggravation, get them fixed or get new ones.

11. Allow 15 minutes of extra time to get to appointments. Plan to arrive at an airport one hour before domestic departures.

12. Eliminate (or restrict) the amount of caffeine in your diet.

13. Always set up contingency plans, “just in case.” (”If for some reason either of us is delayed, here’s what we’ll do. . .” kind of thing. Or, “If we get split up in the shopping center, here’s where we’ll meet.”)

14. Relax your standards. The world will not end if the grass doesn’t get mowed this weekend.

15. Pollyanna-Power! For every one thing that goes wrong, there are probably 10 or 50 or 100 blessings. Count ‘em!

16. Ask questions. Taking a few moments to repeat back directions, what someone expects of you, etc., can save hours. (The old “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get,” idea.)

17. Say “No!” Saying “no” to extra projects, social activities, and invitations you know you don’t have the time or energy for takes practice, self-respect, and a belief that everyone, everyday, needs quiet time to relax and be alone.

18. Unplug your phone. Want to take a long bath, meditate, sleep, or read without interruption? Drum up the courage to temporarily disconnect. (The possibility of there being a terrible emergency in the next hour or so is almost nil.) Or use an answering machine.

19. Turn “needs” into preferences. Our basic physical needs translate into food, water, and keeping warm. Everything else is a preference. Don’t get attached to preferences.

20. Simplify, simplify, simplify. . .

21. Make friends with non-worriers. Nothing can get you into the habit of worrying faster than associating with chronic worrywarts.

22. Get up and stretch periodically if your job requires that you sit for extended periods.

23. Wear earplugs. If you need to find quiet at home, pop in some earplugs.

24. Get enough sleep. If necessary, use an alarm clock to remind you to go to bed.

25. Create order out of chaos. Organize your home and workspace so that you always know exactly where things are. Put things away where they belong and you won’t have to go through the stress of losing things.

26. When feeling stressed, most people tend to breathe short, shallow breaths. When you breathe like this, stale air is not expelled, oxidation of the tissues is incomplete, and muscle tension frequently results. Check your breathing throughout the day, and before, during, and after high-pressure situations. If you find your stomach muscles knotted and your breathing is shallow, relax all your muscles and take several deep, slow breaths.

How do you feel now?

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Website / eBay Listing Review - HamptonHorseFarm.com

April 8th, 2009

This website review is www.HamptonHorseFarm.com

Overall, this site looks pretty good. My suggestions are fairly minor because the site is fairly well designed and constructed.

The first point to mention are the links at the top of the page: Home, About Us, Gallery, and Links. When you move your mouse over them, they turn blue and are underlined. That change of color simply doesn’t look good, it’s odd because it doesn’t fit with the site design.

Change the links so that they turn a different shade of green as you move your mouse over, and remove the underline too.message.

Secondly, on the left hand side you have ‘favorite images’. Whose favorite images? Yours? If so, I would remove that phrase, it’s unnecessary and distracting. If they are user submitted photos, say that to make it clear.

The next point to note is that the home page doesn’t make it clear what the benefit to the reader is by hanging around.

It simply says, ‘A Home and It’s History’. Unless someone went to the site specifically to learn about that, it’s unlikely they’d stick around because that’s not compelling enough.

Instead, try and place a compelling headline in that space, some wording that conveys a powerful benefit.

Add a contact us page. Right now, it’s very difficult to find out how someone should reach you. Include your name, email address, phone number, and fax.

You might consider making the images on the left hand side clickable so that they open up in a gallery. You’ve done something similar with the gallery page.

Your tags look good, but you could probably add more keywords to them. The home page title tag simply says, ‘Hampton Horse Farm’. You could easily add other keywords into that phrase to help your SEO status.

As a general comment, I think you would benefit by increasing the content on all pages across the site – it’s a little sparse right now.

Overall, nice job. Well done.

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The BIG Lesson of the Month - 9 Steps for Bringing Your Info Product to Market Faster

April 5th, 2009

Creating an information product can be like bringing a child into the world. When it comes out, you want it to be perfect and liked by everyone. But unlike childbirth, which happens on a fixed timetable, the launch of an information product can be delayed for a number of reasons. Change in direction, perfectionism and loss of motivation, are just a few things that can derail the development and launch of your information product.

Here are 9 tips for staying on course and bringing your information product to market in a timely fashion:

1. Take one giant step backwards by writing down your goals. Not your goals for the information product, but your goals for life and business. Creating an information product should be just one piece of a bigger picture. By crystallizing your goals in writing, you’ll know how your product contributes to the big picture. When writing, make your goals as specific as possible. Also, list any challenges that you’ll need to overcome, as well as the benefits of achieving your goals.
Once you have a clear idea of the benefits, visualize them often, as if you’ve already reached them. This will condition your mind to accept them as attainable and help block the self-sabotage mechanisms that sometimes hold us back.

2. Set a launch date for your information product and make it public. By committing to a date, you are entering into a contract with yourself to deliver the goods. And once you have the launch date, create the mini-deadlines that you’ll have to maintain along the way. This timetable will serve as your roadmap and the deadlines will minimize the “tinkering factor” (spending 50% of your time perfecting 5% of the product).

3. Form a mastermind group of 2 to 5 other entrepreneurs with similar interests and needs. Mastermind groups are terrific for exchanging best practices and resources, but their greatest value is as an “accountability partnership”. Ask your mastermind partners to keep you on course by challenging you when they see a deviation from your original plans. If done in a positive and constructive manner, this will provide balance to rationalizations that you may have formulated. The best place to find mastermind partners is at information marketing seminars, as nearly everyone in the room has a product in development and can use this kind of support.

4. Listen to audio. You can advance your education by listening to audio from information marketing experts on CD or via MP3 player. Many experts offer free content via their newsletters, press releases and podcasts, and most of them offer audio programs for purchase. In the past year I’ve listened to over 250 hour of audio via my MP3 player by turning my “dead time”, the time I spend doing chores and running errands, into listening and learning time. Not only do I learn information marketing strategies better and faster through audio, but it also helps me stay inspired and motivated because people I respect are talking in my ear every day.

It’s like having a staff of coaches and mentors “on call”.

6. Take action every day. Generating and maintaining momentum is critical to bringing a product to market, but you may be challenged because you already have a full-time job and a family that needs your attention.

Even if it’s just for 15 minutes, do something every day that will move your product development forward.

7. Get unstuck. When you hit a wall, brainstorm, pick the best solution available and move on. Here’s simple brainstorming technique for generating quick and useful solutions.

Take a sheet a paper and at the top write down, “How might I _____ ”. In the blank after “I”, fill in the desired outcome. For example, “How might I build a list of 1,000 in 30 days?” Make your goal as specific as possible. Now, begin generating ideas.

At this point don’t censor yourself, as quantity, not quality is important. Once you’ve created a list of potential solutions, select a few that you think have potential and treat them as their own problem to be solved.

For example, let’s say an idea you selected is “Google Adwords”, but you don’t have any experience creating Adwords. Simply restart the exercise by writing down “How might I learn Google Adwords to build a list of 1,000 in the next 30-days”.

Now your solution list might have things like “buy a book”, “hire a consultant”, and “take on online course”. Now ask the question, “How might a find a consultant to teach me Google Adwords?” By now you get the idea. By deploying the “How might I ____” technique you can drill down to find solutions faster and better than you would otherwise.

8. Make a list of skills and knowledge that you’ll need to bring your product to market. Then create a plan to how to acquire some of knowledge and skills that you are lacking. I say “some” because it would be a mistake for you to attempt to master every element that goes into product creation and marketing. Instead, create a second plan for how you will outsource some of the steps that require a large time investment to learn and master. Creating and outsourcing plan may require some additional time for researching and asking for vendor referrals, but in the long run this strategy will save you time and allow you to earn more money, faster.

9. Create an environment of productivity and positive energy. First, discuss your project only with people who are supportive and understand you goals, and don’t let those who don’t appreciate or “get” what you’re doing bring you down. Second, minimize distractions. Start by turning off the TV. In fact, consider disconnecting the TV altogether. I did and not only did my productivity improve, but my sleeping pattern and communication with family members improved as well. Third, exercise and eat right. By doing so you’ll have more energy and stamina, which allows you to get more out of your productive hours.

About The Author: Dan Safkow is an entrepreneur and information marketer specializing in portable media education. His properties include:

www.MarketingMindshare.com, an audio membership club for information and Internet Marketers, and www.LogoYourAudio.com, a service that provides custom branded and preloaded MP3 players.

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