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3 Steps To Avert Disaster When Things Go Wrong

by Paul Joseph July 14, 2011 Featured

Sometimes, no matter how carefully you plan and prepare to execute a client engagement, things just go wrong. Big things, small things, crazy things, ridiculous things. Things just go wrong. I know because ALL of the following have happened to me at some point over the last four years: An irreplaceable file was accidentally deleted by an associate An unrevised and horribly incorrect draft was sent out to 13 executives at a client site The WebEx link refused to work during a major sales presentation My server was hacked by internet terrorists and my site was replaced by a picture of a squirrel holding a gun on the day of an e-book product release I’m willing to bet that you have had experiences like this in the past. Why? Because in any business – whether you sell goods online, offer a service, or build a product – there will be things, both outside your control and within your control, that just don’t go according to plan. But savvy entrepreneurs know there are a set of simple steps that can be taken in just about any gone-wrong scenario to help get – whatever disaster has befallen – back on track. Let’s explore those steps together. Step 1: Let Common Sense Prevail The biggest mistake people make when something important goes wrong with a client is to panic.  And while panicking is often the most natural response, it is also the most counter-intuitive because panic clouds commonsense , and commonsense is usually the way to get whatever is wrong back to good. Last year, I was coordinating a coaching presentation for one of my clients. I had built the slide deck, organized the meeting, prepared their talking points, and set up a WebEx link for easy use.  Not two minutes after the presentation was supposed to start did I get a call from my client, irate because the presentation link wouldn’t connect. My first instinct was panic. My client was yelling at me, something that I had checked had failed to work, and all seemed totally lost. I put the call on hold and desperately clicked around on the WebEx website trying to figure out what had gone wrong. As I frantically tried the link over and over, only one blinding thought went through my mind: I was going to lose my client over this . Then, a surprising thing happened – a little bit of common sense peaked through my panic. I realized that what looks even more bush league than having a broken WebEx link is keeping the client on hold for ten minutes whilst trying to fix it. What made more sense was to simply send all parties on the meeting a copy of the slide deck via email, apologize for the issue, and let the meeting continue as scheduled. I took a deep breath, took the call off hold, and proceeded to compose my email. If you happen to be on the receiving end of some evil twist of fate, common sense prevailing is also a wise idea. Instead of becoming enraged or upset, it behooves you to realize that whoever you are dealing with: might not be responsible (think customer service rep, etc.) OR is responsible, but acted without malice. In either situation, you will likely need the offending party to rectify the wrong, and you catch more flies (aka: get to the bottom of your problem) with honey rather than vinegar. Step 2: Maintain The Appearance Of Calm I took dance lessons all through my childhood and early teens, and never realized that they were teaching me an important business skill: people only notice mistakes if you act like a mistake has happened. I can remember being up on the stage for the final performance of the year, staring into the dark auditorium looking for my parents during my ballet routine and feeling absolute dread crawl over me as I realized I had no idea what the next steps were. I had two choices: freeze like a deer in the headlights or improvise until I could think of what to do next. So I improvised . After a few tense seconds of moving across stage with the music, I remembered my place in the routine and burst with confidence into the final minute of performance. I finished, took my bow, and walked off stage wondering if anyone noticed my cover-up. It shocked me to realize that no one knew I had missed a chunk of choreographed steps. Lesson learned. I had the same experience ten years later when WebEx was down… after I improvised and sent a professional email with the slides attached, the meeting carried on without issue and by the end of the call, all participants – including my client – had forgotten about the link-blunder. If you’ve been dealt a bad-luck blow (think about how I felt when a well-meaning associate deleted a vital client file permanently), then maintaining calm – even if you don’t feel calm – is key for maintaining business relationships and not burning bridges in a state of upset or alarm. Step 3: Don’t Focus On Apologies, Focus On Correction There is a time for apologies, and a time for moving on. When something goes wrong with clients, many of us default into apologetic mode. We want to share how sorry we are, how embarrassed we are, how upset we are, on behalf of the outrage done to the client. The only problem is that nine times out of ten, the client doesn’t want an obsequious apology, and they certainly don’t want to hear whose fault it is – they want the problem corrected competently and to move on. If you’ve ever had someone hack into your site and replace it with pictures of violent rodents, you’ll understand that this step applies to both sides of the coin. My initial instinct was to demand apologies from every member of the server support team, until I realized that all the time I would insist they spend grovelling at my feet would be better used restoring my site. Focusing on correction, not seeking apologies, was what helped get the site restored in under ten minutes . I’ve found there are a couple of key phrases that can be used in a variety of situations to get things back to good and forward-looking when things go wrong. If you tackle their issue right off the bat with one of these, you can keep yourself from panicking, maintain the appearance of calm, and let common sense prevail: “I am sorry to hear about this, how can I help?” “Thank you for sharing that feedback, what do you see as the next steps?” “I apologize for this inconvenience, why don’t we do this instead?” Sometimes, stuff just happens. We get overworked and make mistakes , or the people we work with get overworked and make mistakes. Technology will fail . Clients will cause issues due to user error. And things that are completely impersonal to you or your work will cause disruptions , distractions , and deletions that can be critical. Such is the nature of life and the nature of the entrepreneurial path. We all need to know how to get it right when things going wrong not only for our success, but also for our peace of mind. How do you get back on track when things go wrong? Here’s to your Entrepreneur’s Journey, Nacie Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: clients, entrepreneur, internet, mind, nature, online, small-business, time, young

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Does Your Small Business Need Cash Flow? Try This…

by Paul Joseph July 1, 2011 Featured

Entrepreneurship, like most things in life, comes in different forms, shapes and sizes. Today I want to take a quick spin from the internet entrepreneur to the small brick and mortar business owner. As an internet entrepreneur myself, I sought other income opportunities outside the internet when I started making real money online . Because I am a big proponent of diversification in most aspects of life, in addition to real estate, the capital markets and private business investments, I ventured out and acquired a small business in my community back in the mid 2000s. As I worked in the business during the initial years, I realized that I needed to pump more money in and increase my working capital levels (day to day cash flow needs) if I wanted to grow and expand fast. However, as we all know money is hard to come by, especially in tougher economic times when banks just do not have the risk appetite to lend. So I went knocking on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) doorsteps. I kept knocking and no one opened. So what to do? I continued to contemplate ways the business can increase or accelerate its cash flow so that I can pump more money into its growth. Now I had other funds, but I was not willing to pump those into the business as I wanted the business to self sustain and grow itself. Small Businesses Can Offer Credit Terms To Customers Many businesses, especially as they grow, start giving out credit, or basically selling products and providing services in exchange for a promise to get paid down the road. A business does not have to do this, but you will find that in order to stay competitive and earn customer / client loyalty, a business has to compromise in this department. But how is a small business to continue to fund sales on credit and grow at the same time without having deep pockets? It simply can’t. The business either has to borrow money, or find creative ways to accelerate the cash flow collection from sales of products and services so it can reutilize the tied up cash back into the business. The Accounts Receivable Factoring Solution One option that small businesses, who sell on credit, have to accelerate cash flow is through accounts receivable factoring . The term might sound foreign to you right now, but the concept or the nature of the transaction is rather simple. Receivables factoring is essentially the selling (also called “ factoring ”) of invoices or receivables to a third part factoring company (also called the “ Factor ”) to collect the cash today. Let’s walk through a quick example: Company A (the small business) sells product X to a large Customer B for $10,000. Company A issues Customer B an invoice for $10,000 due 30 days from the sale. Instead of waiting 30 days to collect the cash, Company A finds a Factoring Company C to sell the receivable to. Company A sells the $10,000 invoice to Company C for $9,950. Company A receives $9,950 today, Company C gets to collect the $10,000 from Customer B when the invoice is due, and Customer B is not impacted by the transaction except for the fact that it now pays Company C the $10,000 it owes, rather than to Company A. Sounds good? Company A receives cash much earlier than it was due, but what about the $50 less that it had to take from Company C? Because there is no free lunch in this world, Company C charged company A $50 to front the cash and bear the risk that Customer B will not come through and pay what it owes 30 days later. This fee is called the factoring fee , or the discount factor in percentage terms. Let’s assume Company A had a built in profit of $200 on the sale of $10,000 worth of stuff. After paying Company C a factoring fee of $50, it reduced its profits to $150 ($200 minus $50). However, it was able to accelerate receipt of the cash, which it can now use to reinvest back into the business. Clear as mud? This is precisely what I did to grow my business a few years back. When I acquired the business, it had no large clients. In the course of eight months or so I was able to acquire business from a few corporate customers in the nearby area, and some large contracts with retirement homes and military units. These large clients preferred me sending an invoice to their billing department, who would then cut a check to my company’s name and send it weeks down the road. Payment terms were typically 20-30 days, with 60 days for the two corporate customers. Because the large contracts tied up a significant portion of potential “investable” cash, I chose to factor these receivables or invoices to accelerate my cash flow. Who Does It Cost To Factor Invoices? There are two main cost components to invoice factoring; the account set up fee and the ongoing discount factor or fee that is paid to the Factor each time a small business sells its receivables. Because significant time and resources are expended conducting due diligence of the small business, its customers and the quality of its receivables / invoices, the Factor charges the small business a one-time set up fee prior to buying any of its receivables. Assuming the due diligence process goes smoothly and the Factor is comfortable doing business with the small business, it will charge a factoring fee anywhere between 1-5% of the receivables that it purchases. This fee, also called the discount factor or discount fee, is charged because the Factor has to front the small business its own cash as well as bear the risk that the small business’ customer or client may not pay the invoice down the road when it’s due. Depending on going market interest rates, as you can imagine factoring can be a cheaper or more expensive option for the small business to raise capital. In many cases however, factoring is the only option when businesses are not able to secure low cost capital. A great option in my humble opinion. Who Is The Factoring Solution For? For a small business owner, factoring can accelerate the cash flow needed to procure more inventory, pay creditors sooner to take advantage of early payment discounts, grow the current business or expand into new locations. Although I am writing this article mainly from a small business owner’s perspective, the factoring solution has a broader application across various industries. For example, a personal notes receivable can be factored to expedite cash collection, which otherwise would have been collected over the course of months and years. Another example is a structured settlement awarded in an injury claim or lawsuit. The claimant, or recipient of the settlement award may opt to take a smaller lump sum payment today, rather than a cumulatively larger stream of cash flows over months and years. Why would anyone forgo a significant amount of cash flow over time for a small payment today? There may be several reasons for that, such as paying off large debts such as a mortgage, investing in a business start up or funding a child’s college education. Similarly, the factoring option is also available to lottery winners. When one wins the lottery, they are given an option of a lump sum payment upfront or an annuity paid over time. This option is essentially what factoring is at its fundamental level. Although this does not apply to my business, I do want to mention one other use of factoring. A leaner small business may view invoice factoring as a cost of doing business. Why? Because if it were not for factoring, the business has to spend time and resources on collection efforts. By factoring or selling its receivables to a third party Factor, the business is relieving itself of the responsibility to pursue payment collection, not to mention it alleviates the risk of potential customer default. This is a creative alternative use of factoring transactions. Concluding Thoughts The world of financial services and products is a broad one, and factoring is one such option available to small business owners in lieu of bank and SBA loans. I hope you found this broad but complete overview of the accounts receivable factoring process informative and helpful. If nothing else, I hope you learned something new today, something which you might find applicable to you or someone you personally know either now or down the road. Sunil Accelerating Cash Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: business, internet, nature, small-business

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Is All Publicity Good Publicity?

by Paul Joseph May 30, 2011 Featured

This is one of the great adages of all time – and arguably the mantra of many a D-grade celebrity dreaming up their 15 minutes of fame. But is it always true? I love a controversial topic and this is definitely one of them. And it is most certainly not one that has a definitive and absolute answer because everyone in the industry has a number of examples that prove their point either way. So, in order to answer the posed question, I need to first attempt to explain what I mean by the question. Publicity is by definition, information that concerns a person, group, event, or product and that is disseminated through various media to attract public notice. The emphasis, therefore, of this definition is on “ attracting public notice .” Why Attract Public Notice? Now, it goes without saying that everyone has a different reason for attracting public notice. Certainly, most of my clients (and the clients of other public relation agencies) attract public notice for themselves, their product or service to make more sales. After all, if nobody knows you are there, how can you expect them to buy from you? Businesses and individuals go about solving this problem (being unknown) by advertising and otherwise promoting the advantages of their product and service to their target audience , focusing on how it will solve their perceived problems and generally make them happier, more youthful, stronger, better looking, etc. If their target audience is convinced of the fact, then they will assumedly buy the product/service and become a regular customer. Bearing this ideal scenario in mind, it makes sense that everything a current or potential customer should learn about a company they intend to purchase from should be favorable, right? If you discovered that the product was not quality or the company was involved in unethical business practice, chances are that this would influence your decision to purchase from them. Depending on the severity of the discovery, and your personal opinion about what a quality product or service is, and what constitutes unethical or unacceptable behavior, you may choose not to buy from them for some time in the immediate future. Obviously, the factors that influence buying behavior differs from one individual to another, but most diligent companies, having done their market research, will have an idea what information they will not want their target audience privy to. Sure, we all have skeletons in our closet, but most large companies and brands are looking for their customers to think the world of them. For example, I can guarantee that most airlines will experience technical faults on their airplanes at some point or another, as is the nature of anything mechanical, but they don’t necessarily want their audience to know about every single loose screw, even if it is perfectly normal. They would rather focus on the way their seats transform into completely flat beds in first class, when it comes to topics to promote about their airline. And don’t forget, publicity includes articles in the media including newspapers , radio and TV , word of mouth , on forums and social media online , blogs , etc. Therefore, in the case of most companies and brands, the answer to the question “is all publicity good publicity” would be a resounding no. Too much publicity about foreign objects found in burgers, faulty engines causing emergency landings and unreasonable fee increases would certainly impact public perception about a company’s reputation and affect their willingness to part with their cash. Exceptions To The Rule In some cases, most or even all publicity is good publicity. The publicity may be of a less than favorable nature, but the results may end up being positive for the individual or business. When is this the case? There are some specific examples I have identified below: The expectations by the target audience toward the business/individual . For example, when the fans of a rock group or performer hear about their “idol” making comments that are derogatory towards a public issue or debate. Obviously, it really depends on the severity of the comment or the topic itself. For example, Eminem mouthing off occasionally about his ex or rival is expected by his fans, whereas allegations about Chris Brown’s treatment toward Rhiannon no doubt lost him quite a few fans. Another example is that “leaked” sex tapes including Pamela Anderson or Paris Hilton affected their public reputation very little (in a negative way), whereas Bill Clinton’s escapades would have most definitely lost him quite a few votes and arguably even his seat in office. It is acceptable for celebrities to act in a manner that is outside of the social norm (occasionally) but definitely not for a Politician. If you are not known at all, provided not all the attention is negative . If you don’t have any reputation or publicity as yet, sometimes a little bit of debatable publicity will put you on the media and/or public agenda, and they will be more open to information from you in the future. Obviously, the extent and amount of negative publicity is entirely dependent on your business and audience. If the nature of your business is such that it attracts a lot of (often dubious) attention anyway, and your audience knows and expects this . We all know not to believe everything we read in gossip magazines, and even big reputable brands like Coca-Cola will attract some negative publicity from time to time. So, while there is no definitive answer to the question, here are some pointers to keep in mind when trying to get what is hopefully more than just 15 minutes of fame: Publicity stunts can be really fun and serve to get attention in a crowded and noisy world, but be sure that any stunt and expected/possible outcomes are suited to your audience and what you would ideally like your reputation to be. Don’t ever let the negatives outweigh the positives , particularly if you are trying to place yourself in a position of authority. The best publicity is well-planned and thought-out. Don’t be sloppy with any publicity you can control. Be in charge – it’s your reputation after all. Don’t just focus on one means of publicity – consider it all. Traditional (TV, newspapers, magazines, radio), word of mouth, blogs, social media – it’s all equally important . Kerry McDuling Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: book, business, internet, media, nature, online, product, question, small-business, social

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Company Karma: How to Handle Conflicts of Interest in Business

by Paul Joseph May 20, 2011 Featured

Life presents us with conflicts of interest and ethical dilemmas all the time, does it not?  The business world is no different.  Depending on what stage your business is in, I am sure you have faced a number of challenging situations, where ethical questions come into play.  Typically, the more opportunity and money is on the line, the greater the potential for ethical violations.  This is the power of greed at work, and it should come as no surprise.  According to a recent study from Transparency International, 25% of the world’s economy runs on corruption.  So if such a Corruption & Ethics Index were developed, where would you and your business rank?  In other words, what is your company’s karma? It is hard to be objective in such matters, as research also shows that most of us rate ourselves better and more just than what we truly are.  Especially as business owners, we tend to think that others are possibly taking advantage of us, whereas our own business practices are above board.  Popular quotes like “business is business” or “nothing personal, it’s just business” allow us to conveniently distinguish between ethics in business and life outside of work.  Is this a sound way to think about ethics or just a convenient rationalization for disregarding ethics in business? Let’s look at a couple of common situations and consider the ethical issues that come into play.  There are not necessarily ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers to each scenario, especially those that involve multiple parties and complex relationships. Situation #1 – Personal Affairs on Company Time: How do you feel about employees using company time to check their social networks and talking to friends?  Consider your company’s policies in this area.  Personally, at Blueliner, we don’t have a policy that deters staff from social networking during the workday.  By the nature of us being a digital marketing agency, all of our staff has to be well-versed in social media – so blocking Facebook with a firewall wouldn’t make sense for us anyway.  Naturally, we still expect that people will focus on work during the time they’re at work.  As long as they are not excessive and continuously being distracted with personal instant messages or phone calls, I think it is fine for a little personal break here and there throughout the day. Not all business owners would agree; I know that by having these types of discussions with clients.  Business owners have every right to lay down the laws.  Some are more democratic than others when it comes to developing workplace policies.  I encourage this type of collaborative rule-making, because there are different interests at hand for everyone involved.  That’s the whole reason why we have labor negotiations, to find a balance between different interests. In this case, the primary ethics in question have to do with how employees behave once the rules are in place.  Secondarily, how do business owners and managers deal with monitoring staff and violations when they occur. Situation #2 – Former Employees Leveraging Current Staff: How about employees who leave the company, and then leverage relationships that they built during the time they were with the company?  The legal bindings aside, there are a lot of gray areas and ethically questionable scenarios to consider here.  For example, let’s say an employee leaves the company to start their own business in a similar field.  Naturally, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements (if they are in place) provide some guidance on this.  Most small businesses however don’t go to the extent of having such paperwork in place with staff. Let’s say this employee starts communicating with existing staff that he or she had worked with while at the company.  Is this a red flag for the current employee who is still with the company?  In my eyes, it is a clear ethical violation by the current employee, who may be giving away trade secrets and otherwise helping a now competitor flourish, possibly at the expense of their own company – a major conflict of interest.  A business owner can rectify the situation by firing the employee or at least giving them a stern warning.  As for the former employee, while I also believe it is an ethical violation to try and capitalize on knowledge and relationships gained while at the company, there may not be as much a business owner can do about it if such points weren’t covered by a pre-existing NDA.  I would leave that up to karma.  When the employee-turned-entrepreneur starts hiring their own staff, similar dynamics are likely to present themselves, and they will see what it is like to be on the other side of the fence. Situation #3 – Building a Side Business from Company Leads: At a basic level, most of these dynamics come down to conflicts of interest as they relate to people’s time and relationships.  Consider a high-ranking manager working for a consulting company.  The company frequently comes across business opportunities that are passed up because they are too small.  The manager, involved in sales and business development, creates a nice side business out of those discarded opportunities, having them serviced by herself, outside of work hours, and a group of outside freelancers that come in as needed.  The company’s CEO and shareholders have no knowledge of this situation.  If you were the CEO or an investor in this company, how would this make you feel?  Does it depend on whether the manager is doing a solid job or not?  How about whether they are corresponding with these “side clients” on company time?  This can be very tricky to deal with, especially if the manager is doing a good job for the company.  This kind of scenario is happening all the time, at companies of all sizes. Potential Remedies There are two sides to every coin.  How you feel about these ethical dilemmas probably depends on which side of the fence you find yourself on when they arise.  I am a big believer in the concept of karma, on both individual and organizational levels.  Everyone gets what they deserve in the end, which may not be so easy to measure, especially from a purely materialistic standpoint.  Someone may cheat and “win” in the short-term; but the price they will pay in relationship damage and other karmic consequences will be equal to or greater than their violations. I urge you to step back from time to time and look at things objectively.  This isn’t about what’s legal – it’s about what is ethical.  Unfortunately, we can no longer count on the legal field for guidance us when it comes to ethics.  While there are certainly good lawyers out there and they can help business owners protect themselves, the profession has been degraded to a practice of helping their clients get away with whatever they possibly can, with little regard for ethics.  If it’s all about maximizing profits by any means necessary, where does it leave the concepts of honor, honesty and ethics? In case you haven’t noticed, conflicts of interest and opportunities to compromise ethics increase as your business grows.  The stakes are higher.  Your moral compass will be continuously tested and refined through each conflict of interest.  It is important to be proactive not only after conflicts arise, but beforehand, when potential conflicts first present themselves.  Head problems off by convening with the parties involved and coming to terms on how such things will be handled.  Putting things in writing, with or without the help of lawyers, is always a good way to be specific about whatever is agreed in principle.  Creating and updating your company policies manual is a healthy exercise that gives business owners a chance to communicate clearly on ethical issues.  Since people generally don’t read long, ‘boring’ documents, you’ll have to come up with other ways to engage staff and ensure that they are aware of the company’s policies, as well as consequences for violating them. If you are a business owner, you are likely to feel that whatever you say goes, and employees have to get on board or get out.  To some degree, if you have that level of authority, this is true.  But what is the price for having one-sided policies?  Employees will try to get away with whatever they can, not go the extra mile for you, and always have their eyes on “the next best thing”.  Things degrade to a level where it is a purely transactional relationship, devoid of emotional bonds and low on loyalty.  Is that what you want?  If not, you have to be more objective and open-minded to employee-friendly policies. On the other hand, if you are an employee, you also have to look in the mirror on these issues.  Do not assume that your employer will keep operating profitably regardless of what you do, and try to understand that your actions can really hurt the company.  Be careful not to take advantage of the access to information and people that you are afforded by being part of the organization.  Don’t assume that just because you are not monitored and that you can get away with certain things, that it is right for you to do them. Conclusion Whether or not you have formally thought about your moral compass and how it manifests through your business decisions, it is a critical factor to your long-term success.  Your finances, professional reputation and personal relationships are all impacted by how you deal with conflicts of interest.  Practicing empathy and objectivity, by putting yourself in the shoes of all other parties in a particular business scenario, shows emotional maturity and character.  To make millions is a worthy achievement.  However, to be recognized as a trustworthy, honest professional is an even more profound and respectable feat! Arman Rousta is Founder & CEO of digital agency, Blueliner, which services start-ups and established companies such as IZOD, California Closets and Lufthansa. Read more about Arman here .

Tagged as: employees, facebook, finances, nature, power, small-business, social, words

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exploring-the-reality: In search of balanced coexistence with Nature

by Paul Joseph April 18, 2011 Featured

After a bit of meditation about our relationship with the existence around, it soon starts to amaze us as to how every organism on this planet, apart from human beings, have found a balance with surrounding environment. Every organism only consumes from the nature exactly what is required to survive. Even the organisms who hibernate during winters only store enough to go through the hibernation. Accumulation beyond what is absolutely required for co-existence with nature is absolutely a no in all plant & animal life around us. Every organism also contributes to well being of existence by performing important functions of cleaning & rejuvenating natural resources as one’s limited existence allows. This reality is in stark contrast to the great imbalance human race has created with nature. From this perspective, when I meditate on the reason for this imbalance, it is not very difficult to see. Read more… exploring-the-reality: In search of balanced coexistence with Nature

Tagged as: nature, relationship

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What I Learned From Lee McIntyre’s Instant Internet Lifestyle Workshop

by Paul Joseph March 22, 2011 Featured

Ever since I started in Internet Marketing back in January of 2008, I’ve come across a ton of Internet Marketers who teach all kinds of topics relating to growing an online business. I’ve signed up for a bunch of mailing lists and have received all kinds of info from these guys, including a bunch of Spam. At a certain point, I decided to cut most internet marketers off. I unsubscribed from a bunch of mailing lists except for four. After receiving so much overwhelming info, I decided to stick with the ones that I’ve received the most value from. Lee McIntyre was one of those guys, and I just couldn’t let him go. Why? Let’s put it this way . . . I had ONE coaching call with him when I used to run an Internet Marketing Forum . I left that coaching call with actionable info that I was able to implement and increase my income by $1,000 that same week. Does that sound crazy? It still does to me! I’ll tell you more about it later. Who Is Lee McIntyre? One of the reasons I like Lee so much is because he used to be a High School teacher, just like me. However, at one point in his teaching career, he got fed up and decided to start an online business. In a rather short period of time, he was able to start and grow an online business to the tune of $7,230.95 in just 29 days . He’s used a combination of making information products, promoting affiliate products, blogging, outsourcing and a few other tactics to grow a strong online empire. What Is Instant Internet Lifestyle? Back in August of 2010, Lee McIntyre did a live 2-day workshop in Manchester, U.K. where he taught a room-full of internet Marketers how he went from a high school teacher to growing a massive online business – one that at the time was making him over $100,000 per month and currently makes over $200,000 per month . These marketers all paid $997 to attend this workshop, and from what I’ve seen, they’ve all raved about the value they received. Lee had a professional video crew at the program and had a series of videos made that gives access to that workshop. He initially planned on selling it for $1,997, but decided to basically give it away in order to get more people exposed to his content. The program consists of 10 hours of high quality training, where he gives a proven blueprint that anyone can follow to grow a solid online business. Here are some of the concepts taught in the program: How to build a list quickly How to get your list to trust you How to get your subscribers to beg you to sell them more stuff How to become a Super Affiliate How to automate your business How to create amazing products quickly How to get a lot of traffic by having others do the work for you How to get the big guys to stop ignoring your JV requests And Much more . . . Here’s a screenshot from inside the program that shows the modules that are provided in the program: As you can see, it covers a wide variety of topics that are crucial to having a thriving online business, starting with beginner concepts all the way to more advanced topics. In addition to all of that training info, he includes a number of bonuses that he doesn’t mention. Here are some screenshots of the bonuses: Ok, that sounds like a bunch of sales talk. Let me give you my personal experience with the program. When I found out about the program, I decided I needed to check it out. The price was very low (under $20), so I really didn’t have anything to loose. I spent the next 3 days going through the content and was so amazed at how much value I had gotten for the $20 that I had to call up one of my Internet Marketing buddies on the phone to share some of the things I learned. Since then, I’ve been using it as a reference. I go back to that training every so often to see what gold nugget I can take and implement in my business to help me take my business to the next level. When it comes to Internet Marketing, the first part of the equation (in my opinion) is learning . However, the second and more important part, is taking action . Instant Internet Lifestyle provides you with a solid model of how to build an online business, but it is the action that follows that allows you to really take it to the next level. Using Lee’s strategies, I’ve been able to have my name listed as a top affiliate for a few big name internet marketers, including Lee himself. In fact, by implementing the stuff he teaches, he has sent me more affiliate payments than any other internet marketer I’ve worked with. I feel like I’ve been equipped to be able to more effectively promote products of value from what I’ve learned. I first watched the training in October of last year, and I’m still working on implementing the things I’ve learned. The step that I’m focusing on at the moment has to do with developing my own info product, and the program has taught me A LOT of what needs to be done. What I Learned Create a Low-Priced, High-value Product The first step to having a strong online business the way Lee recommends is to create a low-priced, High-value product. This is done by finding a limited group of people with a problem. A problem for which they are looking for a solution. Once you have found that group, create a product that is the solution to that particular problem . This product has to be so specific that it caters to a small subset of the population, not everyone. By doing so, it is so targeted that the people who are interested are really interested and more likely to make a purchase. The purpose of this low-priced, high-value product is to over-deliver on your promise , so that you can show your customers that they can trust you to deliver high quality content. I like to say that by doing this, you become a trusted “expert friend”. Being in that position makes it very likely that they will buy from you in the future, or take your recommendations as to products/services that can help them accomplish their goals. Develop a Strong Backend Once you have a low-priced, High-value product, the next task is to develop a strong backend. This is done by making even higher-value products that you can sell to your customers after they have made this initial purchase. Since you’ve established that you are trustworthy, and that you deliver high value in the lower priced product, they are more likely to purchase what you have to offer at higher price points. Lee has done this by creating membership sites and other products that deliver high-value. Because these higher-priced products are targeting individuals who already bought the initial product, conversion rates are significantly higher than if you are marketing to individuals who have never bought from you. Have a Follow Up Sequence that Promotes the Strong Backend How do you get your customers to purchase your higher-priced products? By letting them know that they are available and how they can help them accomplish more of their goals. This can be easily done using an autoresponder service. However, the goal of your follow up sequence is not simply to sell products. It’s to nurture a growing relationship with your subscribers. Recruit Affiliates Effectively One of the big mistakes many people make when promoting their own products is that they try to do all of the marketing themselves. Yes, it’s important to promote your stuff. However, it’s much more effective to have many people promoting for you. This can be accomplished by recruiting affiliates. This is something that many people find challenging. With all the information products out there, how do you convince a potential affiliate to become an affiliate, especially if they have a big list and get many affiliate requests? You make them an offer they can’t refuse . In other words, offer them something of value beyond just a commission. For example, in addition to a 50% commission, you can offer to make a video for them that they can use on their blog to offer value to their subscribers. You can can offer to write a series of articles that are free to use on their blog. Or, you can offer a full series of training videos specifically for their subscribers. Everyone has a price, and if you offer enough value, you’d be surprised at who will promote your product. Make your Affiliates VERY Happy If you are going to rely on affiliates to continually drive traffic to your website, you need to continually strive to make them happy. Offer them great support. Treat them like kings and queens. Increase your conversions so that they can make more and more sales. Do whatever you can to let them know that you value everything they do to promote your products and they will be more likely to promote it for you. What I Don’t Like About Instant Internet Lifestyle I have yet to find a perfect Internet Marketing product. Even the most valuable ones I’ve been a part of has had some flaws, but that’s just the nature of the beast. Firstly, I’m not a fan of the name of the program – INSTANT Internet Lifestyle . It gives the impression that if you implement the stuff you learn, you will instantly get rich. The truth is – that is far from the truth for most people. Yes, some people have taken action on the content and have had some remarkable success in a short period of time, but that is far from the norm. Like any other valid strategies, it takes time and effort. Yes, it is hard work growing an online business. But I like that you can work hard now to work less later My other problem with the program is more a personal preference. Lee is big on upsells (part of the whole “strong backend” concept). This is quite common in internet marketing, but it’s something that I don’t like to see too much of. He has some other GREAT programs that he promotes along with it, but they can be quite intimidating – especially to new internet marketers. However, when I compare those two things with the value that you receive in this program, they really don’t measure up. If you only ever buy that one product from him, and implement what he teaches, you will be ahead of the game. So How Did Lee Help Me Make $1,000 In One Week? I’m glad you asked. At the time, I was running a large forum , but was struggling to monetize it effectively. Lee introduced me to the concept of having a continuity program with little to no effort . He showed me HOW I could implement that concept to add a paid feature to my forum that could generate me monthly income. He also showed me how to set it up in an easy, and relatively stress-free way so that my members would thank me for what I was doing. Well – to make a long story short, it worked, and that made me happy . It was a simple concept, but one that I lacked the clarity to see. Lee was able to help me to see beyond what was happening in my business at the time to what needed to be done. In Summary . . . Instant Internet Lifestyle is hands down one of the best Internet Marketing products I’ve found and THE most affordable. At a price point of under $20, there is virtually no risk involved. You get a lot of actionable content from someone who knows what he’s doing and knows how to teach. When you combine those two factors, you get a very powerful combination. In the event that you don’t like it, or didn’t get as much value as you’d like to get for your $20, you can request a refund within 30 days. I highly recommend for anyone interested in learning more about building an online business to get it. Even if you never purchase any of his other programs, it’s one of those investments that you won’t regret. Download The Instant Internet Lifestyle Workshop Here Instantly yours , Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

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