ProBizTips Newsletter
** ISSUE #314 **

Tuesday, July 26th, 2005

A Word From Diane

ProBizTips Mid-Sponsors

ProBizTips Feature Article
Tracking & Troubleshooting for Increased Sales

ProBizTips Business Tidbit
10 Magic-Like Ways To Multiply Your Orders

ProBizTips Guest Article
10 Mistakes That Reduce Profitability

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Hey!

Good Day to you and I hope your day is going well so far! :)

Welcome to all our new subscribers this week and I hope you grow to love us as so many have... we couldn't do this without you!

=======** ON A PERSONAL NOTE **=======

It's been SOOOOO hot here -- unbelievably hot. It was 102 degrees with a heat index of 110 over the weekend! Can you believe we *still* played golf?! We're either incredibly addicted or very stupid -- or maybe a little of both... :D

More about what's going on with me...
http://www.DianeHughes.net

====** FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE **====

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Without further ado -- sit back, relax and enjoy today's issue!

Your Friend,

Diane Hughes
ProBizTips Weekly

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Tracking & Troubleshooting for Increased Sales
by Diane Hughes

So many times, online business owners are confused about where their sales come from. They think they are helpless after a visitor arrives at their site. Nothing could be further from the truth!

In fact, as the site owner, you are extremely powerful. With just a little tracking and troubleshooting, you can dramatically improve both your site visitors' experience and your overall profits.

TRACKING

Knowing where your visitors are coming from gives you a lot of ideas. While the site stats that come with most hosting packages are OK, there is a lot of room for improvements in most cases. Between hits, clicks, unique visitors, and page views who really knows just how many people end up at your site and from where?

Once you understand which ads, banners, or PPC search engine lists pull better, you are able to spend your advertising funds more effectively.

ACTION STEPS:

1. Track Your Ads

Spend a little time investigating tracking services. ProBizTrack (my own service) is affordable and effective. It will give you a start. Even if you choose to go with a service besides mine, use something to help you know for sure which ads are pulling and which are just wasting your money.

If you think tracking services are too expensive, you can still track results semi-effectively. Use coding at the end of your links. By placing "?code" (without the quotes) at the end of your domain name, you create a unique page. This page will be visible in your Web site stats. For example, if you are advertising in The Best Ezine, you can use the URL of http://www.mydomainname.com?best to track visits to your page.

2. Become Your Own Affiliate

Another idea for those who sell electronic products via ClickBank (or other services) is to sign up as your own affiliate under several "nicknames." Then you can use your various affiliate IDs in ads. NOTE: You will have to pay your affiliate program’s fee on any sales made through the affiliate links, but you’ll get some good information in exchange.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Once you have narrowed down where your visitors are coming from and which ads are pulling best, you’ll want to be sure visitors have a good buying experience when they reach your site.

You know your site. You are familiar with which pages link to what and how the shopping cart works. First-time visitors will have no clue! Don’t assume your site is a breeze to navigate. Pay attention to elements like:

• ease of navigation,
• shopping cart application, and
• location of “help” buttons & links.

Make every effort to give your shoppers a simple and quick way to buy from you.

ACTION STEPS:

1. Conduct A Survey

Conduct a survey of your visitors. Find out if they were able to locate what they were looking for. Ask how their experience with your payment gateway went. Question how their contact with customer service was. One simple way to do this is to create a survey using Survey Monkey. They offer some simple and free survey tools. Just load up your questions and post the link on your site. (To get the best results, you’ll want to offer a gift or the chance to register in a drawing to thank visitors for taking the time to participate.)

2. Ask

Ask a few people who have never been to your site to take it for a test drive. Make sure these folks know they should give their honest opinions. Sugarcoating problems might boost your ego, but it certainly won’t boost your sales.

By taking a little time to give due attention to how your visitors make their way to your site and what happens once they arrive, you’ll stand a much better shot at increasing your profits. While it may take a while to gather the information you need, this short-term sacrifice will reap some hefty long-term benefits.

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Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com

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10 Magic-Like Ways To Multiply Your Orders

1. Use reward programs to keep people revisiting your web site and buying your products. You could reward gifts or discounts for revisiting or buying.

2. Publish e-zines for other web sites to increase your traffic. You could do it at no charge and in return just ask for a sponsor ad in each issue.

3. Trade endorsement ads with other e-zines. They pull more hits and sales than just trading classified ads because it gives your ad instant credibility.

4. Test your ad copy before you start taking orders. Tell your visitors to e-mail you if they want to be notified when you launch a new product.

5. Get your visitors excited about your product by letting them know how excited you are about it. Tell them why you're excited and use exclamation points.

6. Use incentives to gain referrals if you don't have an affiliate program. Tell people when they refer customers you will award them with free products.

7. Tell your visitors the reason why you're having a sale so they don't think your products are cheap. It could be a holiday/seasonal sale or clearance sale.

8. Stay away from overloading your web site with high tech gadgets. They can create a slow loading web page and distract people away from your offer.

9. Cut out words, phrases, and paragraphs in your ad copy that aren't selling or supporting your product. This will stop people from getting bored with your ad.

10. Keep people at your web site as long as possible. Allow them to download free ebooks, sign-up for contests, use free online services, etc.

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Larry Dotson Is Just Plain NUTS!
http://probiztips.com/go/larrysdeal

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10 Mistakes That Reduce Profitability
by Rachna Jain

In my professional experience as a sales and marketing coach/consultant, I've had the opportunity to work with a number of small business owners on various issues related to sales and marketing. The owners who are struggling to keep their businesses afloat tend to engage in some, or all, of the following mistakes that reduce profitability.

Mistake #1: They fail to market or market inconsistently. Once you have committed to owning and running a business you must be equally committed to marketing and selling the products and services of that business. It is difficult, if not impossible, to stay and remain profitable without a commitment to ongoing concerted marketing.

Solution: Market all the time, every time.

Mistake #2: They hesitate to "ask for the sale". Rather than seeming pushy or obnoxious they let profit-producing opportunities pass them by. They worry more about what someone thinks of them than they do about bringing more money into their business. If you find it difficult to "ask for the sale", you can be sure that you're not bringing in as much money as you could be.

Solution: Practice asking for the sale.

Mistake #3: They don't ask for help or assistance in the aspects of the business where they most need it. Most business owners possess strengths in a particular area but whether by necessity or ignorance they often end up working in areas that aren't part of their strengths. When business is not going as it should they delay or procrastinate in asking for help. Each day that goes by with your business running at less than maximum efficiency means dollars lost from your pocket.

Solution: Get expert advice from an attorney, accountant, or other service professional before you really need it.

Mistake #4: They don't follow up with past customers. It is usually much easier to reactivate a former customer than it is to attract a new one. If you are not following up with past customers on a regular basis you are reducing your profitability potential.

Solution: Develop and implement a regular method for customer follow up.

Mistake #5: They don't take regular stock of their expenses. Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven't completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.

Solution: At least once per quarter review expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate.

Mistake #6: They spend large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expect business to pour in without any additional effort. Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. Brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials rather than marketing directly you will be less profitable than you could be.

Solution: Take those glossy brochures and hand them out directly to people at the next possible opportunity.

Mistake #7: They spend a significant amount of time in low-return activities (as measured by dollars and personal satisfaction). If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people you are reducing your profitability.

Solution: Track your time and figure out how much you're making per hour. Hire an assistant if you are spending the bulk of your time in administrative work.

Mistake #8: They charge less than they desire. This challenge seems to arise especially for consultants, coaches and solo entrepreneurs who sell services. It is often tempting to accept less money than you need - so you get "some money" rather than "no money". After time, working for too little can leave you exhausted and resentful and it takes a deep cut out of your profitability.

Solution: Commit that, at the next opportunity, you will ask for full fee. And then do it.

Mistake #9: They make infrequent or no use of technology which could save them time and effort. As a business owner, you have a fixed amount of time and energy within which you must maximize your profits. Technology can help you do this in the form of autoresponders, voicemail, wireless internet connections, speech recognition software and the like. All of these tools are designed to save you time and effort. If you are not making consistent use of technology in your business you are likely not as profitable as you could be.

Solution: Look for ways that you can make your business processes more efficient by using inexpensive technology.

Mistake #10: They adhere to outdated business models or plans. If you do not stay up with the trends in your business you will notice a steady decline in your profitability.

Solution: Attend meetings and conferences that will keep you on target with your market. Implement new means of doing business and update your business plan at least every couple of years.

If you are serious about improving your business' profitability, start by implementing the suggested solutions to these ten common mistakes. Together, these solutions will help you make more money and have more fun in your business. Try them and see.

---------------------------------

Dr. Rachna D. Jain is a sales and marketing coach,
author, consultant and speaker. Sign up for her free
email newsletter, "Sales & Marketing Secrets"
sams-subscribe@salesandmarketingcoach.com
To learn more or to contact Dr. Jain directly,
please visit http://www.SalesandMarketingCoach.com.

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