How to Get Better Leads with Your Business Cards

by: Robb Beltran


You may have a million dollars to spend on buying and rehabbing houses, but if nobody knows who you are or where you work or what you do it's all for nothing. A business card is your mini-billboard; remember that.

The easiest and cheapest way to generate leads are business cards. It's amazing how many so-called investors and realtors have told me they don't have one. After years of hitting the pavement and spending money on expensive marketing tools and campaigns here are a few cheap marketing ideas that continually keep the phone and Internet mailbox busy. You may laugh at some, but if they work for you, you can laugh yourself to the bank. I know I do.

It all begins with your business card.

Get some cards now! You need two kinds of cards. One of the cards will be for face to face meetings with clients, bankers attorneys etc...the other will be printed up for the sole purpose of mass distribution. Make sure you use both sides for both card examples. Once someone drops your card and it ends up face down it does you absolutely no good. Give someone a reason to pick it up.

The front should include your logo, company name, web address, phone number and fax. The back should include what you do, how you do it and why they should call you. Example: "We buy Houses Cash! We will have a cash offer in front of you in 48 hours or less. Stop foreclosure, save your credit." Make sure to include your phone number and web address again.

Face to face cards will be used for meetings with clients, bankers attorneys etc... These cards should be professionally made and brightly colored. Make sure to include your logo, company name, web address, phone number and fax.

The mass distribution one can be professionally made as well, but I can print 20 cards a page with my laser printer and run 100 out in a matter of minutes that will get the same message across. Try to keep the colors the same and most of the entire message. These cards you will literally drop or place everywhere.

The number one location to leave your card and where I literally receive the most calls from is the men’s room at the courthouse. Laugh out loud, but every time you are there doing research or appearing at eviction court you should leave one on every urinal and inside every stall and bench. Think about who goes to court. Motivated sellers going through, probate, divorce, bankruptcy, landlords getting beat up in eviction court and so on. You may laugh, but it gets results.

The rest of these locations and tips should be obvious, but if they're not, get to it because you are missing an opportunity.

Before you hit it though make sure to get yourself some tacks. Sometimes there are areas that don't have any then you may be out of luck. Ready?

Restaurants- Every time you eat out leave one at the table with your tip. Leave one in the fish bowl for a free meal and one at the cashier’s podium. Remember you're printing these for almost nothing and you never know who will pick it up. At fast food restaurants leave one above the trash bin inside or at the soft drink station.

Banks- Leave a card in the waiting area and the counter where you balance your checkbook.

Post Office- Leave a card on the counter where you fill out all the post office forms.

Offices: Lawyers, Doctors, dentists etc... Leave a card in the waiting area by the magazines. Give them something to want to read.

Bulletin Boards- Hit every gas and sip, grocery store and laundry mat in your town that has a bulletin board. Make it a weekly thing to check if it or they are still up.

If you want to buy houses for profit you have to buy from motivated sellers. The only way to capitalize on this is by having motivated sellers calling you more often than you are calling them. Less work for more profit equals more marketing.


About The Author
Robb Beltran is an active real estate investor and publisher of the Real Estate Info Network. The Real Estate Info Network promotes real estate education through real estate seminars, e-books and real estate investing courses.

http://www.realestateinfonetwork.com
http://www.belstarproperties.com

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Catch a Gideon Launched

Catch a Gideon is up on it's new domain! Check it out at www.catchAGideon.com.

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The Key to Wealth: Don’t Work Alone

by: Matt Bacak


What is happening in the business world today? Will the job you have now always be available or are you at risk of being laid off at any time? The world today has seen many corporate mergers and fallouts. Relying on a company pension or retirement fund has become a thing of the past. Company layoffs and downsizing has become commonplace. The only thing you can truly count on now is yourself.

The corporate world was different in the past. Employees would work for the same company their entire life. A retirement fund would be available when they retired. You found a job and you were set for life. This is no longer the case. The corporate world has intense control over your life. They can lay you off at any time. They make your decisions for you.

With the proper knowledge and tools, you can step out of the corporate world and control your own life. You can become a millionaire. Does this seem impossible? Well, it’s not. Take the statistic that 2,740 new millionaires are created each day! These millionaires built their own wealth and didn’t find it in the corporate world. Did you know that the number of Lottery millionaires + number of Lawsuit millionaires + Entertainment millionaires + Sports millionaires = less than 1% of all millionaires? Surprising, isn’t it?

In addition, 80% of millionaires have little or no education. These millionaires understand how to structure their business to create wealth. They didn’t learn this information in the standard school system. They learned it from mentors, coaches, and successful millionaires.

Anyone can become part of this millionaires club if you know what to do. It is vital to understand that to create wealth you must not work alone. Two heads are better then one. Following are three reasons why you shouldn’t attempt to build wealth on your own.

Don’t Work Alone Reason #1: Direction

You need guidance otherwise you will waste both time and money. Think about it. You might work for a year using a system that you think will be successful. When in fact the system you are using is obsolete, inefficient, and won’t yield you profits. Therefore, you need to find a mentor or coach to guide you through the process.

Don’t Work Alone Reason #2: Support and Friendships

Working with others to build wealth pushes you higher. You will definitely encounter people who tell you that building wealth is impossible and you can’t do it. You need the support and friendships of like minded people to overcome these negative opinions. Remember, it’s your duty and right to make building wealth your passion.

Don’t Work Alone Reason #3: Come together with brain power.

Working with others can give you new ideas. For example, you can find someone with a different business or service and combine your complementary services together. Also working with people who are more successful then you are can drive and motivate you to accomplish more.

So what are you waiting for? Act now and find a mentor or coach to help you succeed.


About The Author
Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine's e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.promotingtips.com or http://www.powerfulpromoter.com.

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Your Business May Benefit From A Point of Sale System

by: Morgan Hamilton


Probably the most energetic and enterprising individuals live in the United States. So many Americans nowadays invest their savings with the hope that they will start a lucrative small business. They do it with hope and passion, powerfully attracted by the world of small business. Statistics show that in 2004 in the USA there were 24.7 million small businesses. What is more important is that for the last ten years, small businesses have supplied around 60-80 percent of the new jobs in the country. Before you decide to start a retail business, rent a space, or buy inventory, you should develop a business plan. For this purpose, you may have to spend some time researching on the advantages of a point of sale system.

You will find out that on the market there are different versions of a point of sale system. However, probably the most approachable and easy point of sale system is the one that Microsoft offers. This point of sale system is based on the Windows framework. That is what makes this point of sale system approachable as most of us have grown up using Windows.

POS system is the abbreviation, which is usually used to refer to a retail point of sale system. A point of sale system helps small business, as well as large businesses, to rationalize their daily activities. A point of sale system can make even a large project easier to realize. A point of sale system will allow you to manage large databases in order to make your business more profitable. Some years ago, retailers used 10-digit registers, plug-in calculators, and carbon copy credit card receipts. This time is gone. Now, it is the age of point of sale system.

The contemporary point of sale system makes no difference with the regular personal computer. Point of sale system has every function that a desktop computer has and more. With a point of sale system, a businessperson will be able to ring up transactions, make payments, and manage inventory and print reports. Sales can be sorted and showed by day, by product, by cashier and by the hour. You can easily print labels for shelves, and price tags for products. Databases can be sorted like clients’ databases, department databases, item databases, and supplier databases. Even purchases can be tracked.

The point of sale system can be networked so that everyone will be able to share ideas, send messages and so on. In addition, if you wish receipts, labels and calendars can be designed. When you need them, summary sales reports, detailed sales reports and regional sales reports can be printed. Contemporary retail business is almost impossible without a retail point of sale system. It is hard for me even to imagine what business was when point of sale system does not exist.

Any operation nowadays will be very difficult to perform without a point of sale system. A point of sale system will save you all the paper work you are obliged to do. No matter if you are managing one store, ten stores, or one hundred you cannot miss to take a point of sale system.


About The Author
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning sales. Get more information by visiting http://www.salesandcommerce.com/sales/sales--commerce/your-business-may-benefit-from-a-point-of-sale-system.html.

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What Makes You An Expert Anyway?

by: Kristie Tamsevicius


A few months ago, my husband wanted to learn more about using real estate to build our wealth. So, he hopped on our computer, visited web sites, looked at discussion boards, and scanned newsletters to see who the real experts were. After asking around and doing some research, he was impressed with William Bronchick and John T. Reed's for their advice and strategies. On the other hand, while there is a lot of hype about Robert Kiyosaki, when it came right down to it, people said his information was mostly inspirational and lacked practical strategies. So after getting a better sense of who the real experts were, he was off to get some books and start building our family fortune.

Have you bought any good books lately? If so, what inspired you to buy the book? Chances are that you didn't just browse around in a bookstore and buy a book on the spot. I'll bet that there were a lot of exposures that went into you deciding to make that purchase. You may have read about the book in a newsletter. Perhaps you saw the author on a television show. Much of our decision purchases come down to one decision: does the author have real credibility?

The same is when speaker's bureaus and corporations want to hire speakers. Let's face it, meeting planners want to look good.

Budgets are tight. They want an expert who delivers measurable results.

No one will risk hiring you unless you have a proven reputation and the credentials to back it up.

This puts authors and speakers in a defensive position. With so many consultants, authors, and speakers claiming to be gurus, how can you prove that you are the expert you say you are?

Here are three ways to you showcase your expertise and be irresistible.

=> METRICS: Personal brand metrics provide a yardstick from which prospects can measure your experience and expertise. Examples of metrics include the number of years of experience you have, number of interviews done, number of books sold, and other items. These numbers add instant credibility to your bio, media platform and other marketing materials.

=> ROI: A listing of results achieved for clients shows that what you preach brings measurable results for real people. You can feature work with one of your clients in a case study with before and after results. By showing that you have made a $10,000 difference to their bottom line, helped them realize a 25% increase in sales, or tripled their web site traffic, anyone can see that you deliver proven results.

=> TESTIMONIALS. While people may doubt when we toot our own horn, they will readily believe a heartfelt recommendation. Collect and showcase testimonials from customers you have worked with, people who have read your book, and audience members who have seen you speak.

Letters from radio show hosts will position you as a good guest in the eyes of producers. Glowing words of praise from people who hired you to speak can go a long way to show potential decision makers that deliver one heck of a presentation. Post book reviews from the media on your web site. Or why not use your customer's own spoken word as a recording on your web site?


About The Author
Kristie Tamsevicius turns entrepreneurs into the lavishly paid, in-demand experts in their field. Learn how to attract customers & gain visibility while successfully promoting your business online with our FREE report "Web Branding Secrets" at http://www.brandingonthenet.com/branding1.htm.

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Click Flipping 101

by: Jamie Clarkson


What is "Click Flipping?" Click flipping is a term coined to describe taking website visits and turning them into serious money. Specifically, click flipping involves promoting services that use "cost per action" or "CPA" payment methods. "CPA networks" usually refer to services that broker sending leads to companies, which may pay $10, $20 or even much more per lead. Some click flippers use a lead capture page that asks the visitors to enter their names and email addresses, and sometimes their phone numbers and snailmail addresses as well. Once entered, the visitor goes to the company's website, and the click flipper gets paid for the lead. Insurance companies, home lenders and mortgage companies, even online casinos, all pay for leads. CPA network companies will sometimes provide a website for the person promoting them, but other times they require the click flipper to already have a website.

A click flipper can earn very big money if he or she can get enough traffic to his or her site or sites. One of the main ways recommended for driving traffic to click flipping sites is "pay per click" or "PPC," which refers to the ads you see all over websites. The major companies that offer PPC are Google, Yahoo and MSN, but there are others as well. Using PPC profitably can be tricky, so it's best to start off slowly, learning as much as possible before throwing yourself into a big campaign, unless you already have a big advertising budget. But, most people trying to make money at click flipping probably aren't going to have a budget like that, so, like any other business, they will need to go through a learning curve before making any real profit. There are certain experts and products that can really help a person learn how to use PPC advertising effectively.

The exciting thing about click flipping is that it combines the best features of the net, such as little overhead, no product to carry, no customer service and no selling. Since all you need to do with CPA companies based on pay per lead is to get people to fill out their names and other information, you don't have to convince anyone to put out any money. It usually takes some time to discover your niche, something that makes you excited enough to go through the learning process in order to stick to it long enough to figure it all out, but it can be very rewarding. Click flipping is considered one of the true "autopilot" businesses online today.


About The Author
Jamie Clarkson has been online since 1995. For more information on Click Flipping please visit http://www.supermarketingaffiliates.com/clickflipping.html.

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People Management And Organisational Performance – Is Bullying Productive?

by: Mark O'Sullivan

Is high performance achieved through sympathetic management, or discipline and fear? This question was first put in the 1920s, and has made repeated appearances in managerial literature - indeed, most of those who have done a management training course will have heard of Likert’s ‘System 4’ or McGregor’s ‘Theory Y’. For a long time, however, it was a matter of personal conviction which option you went for, despite repeated attempts by the human relations and related schools of management to demonstrate that the rigid discipline approach had negative effects.

Recently, however, the CIPD has been sponsoring serious research in Britain (mainly by David Guest of KCL and John Purcell of Bath) to try and nail this evasive problem down. And results so far are promising. The direction of travel was first indicated in the DTI’s Workplace Employment Relations Survey in the late 1990s, which echoed US experience in finding a link between a package of HR practices (e.g. performance appraisal, training, job enrichment, communication) and performance. But this operated as a ‘black box’. Though the existence of a link was clear, it was not possible to infer what exactly it was. Subsequent work, published in 2003, began to isolate strategic vision, job design and first-line manager quality as key factors. Further study is now under way to support these conclusions, seeking to bottom out some of the more difficult areas of the earlier research, such as application across employment sectors, reliability of findings, and what is meant by “good performance”.

There is still some distance to go. In addition, there seems to be a bit too much bias on HR rather than line management (perhaps understandable in a CIPD programme study), and one potentially important question has not yet been addressed at all – why managers who claim to understand the importance of participative management will often in fact, despite using all the right language, behave quite differently in their managerial actions. But the work being done is definitely on the right lines, and is helping us to bring within reach the long-sought goal of the happy and productive worker. There are already indications, for example, that even very rigid, standardised rules and policies can be perceived by staff as positive when delivered and interpreted by supportive first-line managers. If findings of this sort can be fully established and generalised, and also disseminated through the managerial community, there is a chance that British management may at last move from being among the least satisfactory to among the most effective in the world.


About The Author
Mark O'Sullivan writes for IMS Interim Executives, an international S-Cat approved interim management provider. Visit http://www.ims.uk.com for interim management, change and turnaround consultancy, for project management visit http://www.ims.uk.com/project-management.asp.

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