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One of my MagicMethod students sent me an email and asked me what the bare-bones-minimum was she could get by with starting out as a new telephone name sourcer. I replied: A desk w/ a light for middle of the night telephone bank wrangling A phone with 2-3 lines and Call Block on it A fax A computer Access to an information service like Hoovers Those are the bare-bone requirements you?ll need to get started.
She then asked me what money she could expect to make. I told her I could not answer that question for her ? the number was totally tied to how fast she could build a Book of Business. I explained how it was for me in the early days and how I did it.
I think she went away partially satisfied.
But I?ve been thinking about this last part - the "how to build a business" part and I?ve long since held, and I still hold, the opinion that you will get as much out of your business as you put into it. And I?m not necessarily talking dollars. More on Monday. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
Maureen Sharib Telephone Name Sourcer/MagicMethod Trainer 513 899 9628 TechTrak.com, Inc. maureen at techtrak.com http://www.techtrak.com
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Tightrope: Better start that website Hello Gladys, I still haven't put up a website yet. I have a bricks and mortar business selling sporting goods. So far my sales are pretty good. Is there any real value to have a website if business is good otherwise? ~ M.V.
If you are still in doubt about the value of having a website for your small business, you may be missing out on a great marketing and sales opportunity.
For many companies, the meaning of the Internet implies an interest in finding customers in Zaire instead of their local community. There are still some who think a website should get millions of hits each month to be worthwhile. I disagree. In fact, earlier this year I did a series of webcasts for a national bank. They invested a lot of money into each webcast that is posted on their website. When I asked how many folks they though would see the program they estimated that about 500 viewers would see the program immediately. If you think about it, if only 20% of the 500 become new small business customers and generate $1 million in revenue annually and deposit in that particular bank, the bank's webcast investment will have more than paid off.
More here. ************ Attend the MagicMethod Phone Sourcing All Day Seminar in Miami, FL on September 4 at the Shane Center sponsored by Confisa International Group. Email bob@techtrak.com for registration form or call him at 513 899 9628. Seats are $$292.50 and INCLUDE lunch AND a three month subscription to the seminal "Magic in the Method" telephone names sourcing course.
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Blogging?s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool Although small businesses with blogs are still a distinct minority, blogging can be a low-cost way to market and boost a small company?s brand.
Whole story here. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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Best Types of Blogs, Groups, Forums...?
What is the best type of Blog, Group or Forum to use? BlogSpot / WordPress / MyBlog, Yahoo / Google / Plaxo Groups or Ning, etc? LinkedIn forum discussion here. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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Google Unveils Tools to Set Up Web Sites Google, already the world's most popular spot for finding Web sites, is aiming to become the go-to place for creating Web sites too.
The Mountain View-based company is taking its first step toward that goal Thursday with the debut of a free service designed for high-tech neophytes looking for a simple way to share information with other people working in the same company or attending the same class in school.
With only a few clicks, just about anyone will be able to quickly set up and update a Web site featuring wide an array of material, including pictures, calendars and video from Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOG)'s YouTube subsidiary, said Dave Girouard, general manager of the division overseeing the new application. Story here. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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Blog or Bleed Q: It seems that blogging is here to stay, wouldn't you say? I have been told that it makes sense for a small business to blog, but I don't really get what it would do for my business. Do you? ? Shelly
A: No, blogging is not going away anytime soon. And I can't say I'm not surprised, because I am. When blogging first made its way into our consciousness a few years ago, I was as skeptical as they come. Was I really heard to remark, "It's the CB radio of our time!" Yes, I was. What I get now about blogging is that it is a way to communicate with the world in ways that were unheard of only a few years ago. It is a chance to loosen the 'ol tie and create a more personal, interactive, human communication with your customers, vendors, employees and other people.
Benefits to creating a blog: Blogs build a sense of community They allow you to plug products and services They boost your search engine optimization (SEO) Blogs help make you an authority Blogs give you valuable feedback
To make the most of your blog: Be frank Be conversational Be insightful
Whole article here. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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FREE To Be Me Penelope Trunk (she?s going to be speaking at ERE?s Spring Expo in San Diego ? DO NOT miss her!) wrote an astonishing piece Sunday on her blog ? it was called ?How to be more interesting to other people?
I know many people are interested in this concept.
In it, she says, ?The interesting part of writing is not the part of the piece where you know exactly where it?s going. The interesting part is when you get to an unplanned moment in a paragraph and you surprise yourself by what you write next. It?s the moment of uncertainty, when you have to look inside yourself to keep going, and pull out something you didn?t know you had before?Most people are scared to get there. That?s why most people do not appear to be as interesting as they really are.?
I thought this concept might be helpful for those of you thinking that this advice to ?get a group, get a blog, get a website? in this string was just too daunting in its command. Alan Alda said, ?You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition, what you?ll discover will be wonderful. What you?ll discover is yourself.? I think Penelope is keying into a universal concept that we all can learn from ? that when we embrace our frailties we become sweeter (Helen Keller). We become human ? we become believable. And when we?re believable we possess the power to effect change in the world. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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For those of you interested in website optimizing: Website Optimisation for Beginners (Or Seven Steps to Website Heaven)by Bob Francis HERE ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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Get a Group, Get a Blog, Get a Website Sourcing on a Shoestring Get a Website Part IV Before I begin on why it?s important to have a website, let me tell you this. During this series I?ve received some rebuttal comments that I should be revealing the TRUE DOLLAR COST of what these recommendations (get a group, get a blog, get a website) will cost to implement.
I do think that those who want to start a sourcing business need to know that if they are going to build a blog, a website and manage a group, they will have to shell out money. You will not be working in an agency where these things are taken care of. First, to have a professional construct a good website for you, you are going to need to spend $400. You can spend less but do you really want a crappy looking website that is unprofessional? You will or should spend at least $500 to Search Engine Optimize your site. You do want people to come to your site, don't you? Same applies to a blog. You can go to blogspot and get a free blog but no one will read it unless it is SEOptimized. That's another $300- $500. Unless you can find a group to join or your library has Hoovers, getting Hoovers will cost you over $2,000+.You have spent approximately $3,200 now. Now you have to email potential new clients and work your tail off for the next year to build your business.
I agree?that expectations need to be set correctly. A solid business plan and cashflow analysis are as important in this endeavor as with any business. I am growing my business model from Organization Development & Talent Acquisition Consulting to a Sourcing Business model. As I am now employed for a global company and traveling worldwide, I have partnered with several colleagues and we are retooling my website (I do my own) and pricing structure to provide only sourcing. We have recently requested to be listed in the New Sourcers Book that Maureen has started for 2008?
The first and most important expectation anyone should have in this business is the expectation that, when confronted with sourcing work, you will be able to complete it successfully.
All the business plans and cashflow analyses in the world won't mean squat if you don't know how to names source, and, to tell the truth, once you get busy you won't have time to worry about cash flow analyses and business plans - they will take care of themselves. Believe me.
Here's what you do: Spend all your time working. THAT way, you won?t have time to spend any of the hard-won money you?re making. It will accumulate. Once you have a pile of it, spend it how you see fit. If you're working the hours that name sourcing demands, you won't have the time (or energy) to spend any of it.
For those of you who are interested, though, in CASH FLOW theory: For a solid checklist of how to handle the money that comes in, read (or reread) ?Small-Business Cash Flow: What to Do with Every Dollar That Comes In,? by Jeffrey Moses. The article can be found on the Web site of the National Federation of Independent Business, an advocacy organization representing small and independent businesses. These are among his suggestions: Put part of every deposit into your retirement account. Create a fund dedicated to estimated taxes. Create another fund to handle payroll, to make record keeping simpler. Finally, Mr. Moses suggests that every item of the checklist ?be coordinated with your overall business plan.? This, he said, ?will keep your cash flow aligned with business goals. The more strictly you can adhere to your master cash-flow checklist, the more efficient your business will be.?
I still think the best thing, though, is to just work all the time, at least in the beginning of any enterprise. When the time comes, there will be no shortages of places to spend your money. Europe will be there tomorrow and it might just be cheaper than it is today.
If you're active blogging and posting in your groups (both can be free to start) your search engine optimization will mostly take care of itself. I pretty much "own" the top spots (and lots of them) for anything having to do with name sourcing or phone sourcing and I haven't spent a cent to marketers to get these placements.
Sure, I encourage you to get Hoovers, but there are alternatives that will deliver some of what Hoovers does. Check out your local library - there are resources there! And yes, you can access it online if you have a library card. And, here's a secret. You can request they purchase different materials. They will purchase some, and not others - probably depends on time of year/their budget levels. How about requesting they purchase MagicMethod? Find out when their budget starts - that way they may be more likely to spend like drunken pirates, if you can imagine a librarian as a drunken pirate! Now wouldn?t THAT be a hoot?
;)
Now, the discussion about websites.
My husband put together a website in the beginning and basically it's the same one we have today with a few minor tweaks and a few content additions. It's pretty rudimentary (in fact, some might say "crappy looking") but it's a testament that even a simple and mostly cheap website works! Take a look at it here. People come to our website in spite of the fact that it's not filled with bells and whistles. Some have even commented positively on the thing?s "simplicity"!
I saw a post on the web once, in response to why it was important to have a website that said: "If people don't find your business on the Web, they will certainly find a Web site of one of your competitors."
That just about sums it up for me so why wouldn?t I have a website? It?s been a few years now that more homes have internet access than have cable TV and I know for sure that well-funded, well-equipped businesses use the Internet extensively today for email and to gather information. To me, my website works when I am not working. I kind of think of it as a Girl Friday, or a branch office ? it answers questions, provides sales and lead generation, and, in general does a fine job of servicing customers during the few hours I am not answering my phone. By the way, it is my opinion that answering your phone is the #1 most important aspect in building, and running, a business.
Your website can be like an extra employee on duty working for you 24/7 with no overtime pay, no EEOC issues and, best of all (and the #1 reason people sell their businesses!) no complaining; all this compounded by huge dollar savings! This employee can do almost all your customer service operations, can be the cashier, the salesman, the catalog; can set appointments in a calendar, make contact with highly-targeted (categorizing and prioritizing) leads, and can facilitate communications with current clients in a format that you control! Can that last be said about most employees? No, it cannot.
This is woefully important: The content of a website is more important than how it looks. Sure, the glitz might satisfy my eye?s sweet tooth but the meat and potatoes satisfy my hunger for information. Whoever authors and edits your website must be eminently competent and the person?s skill who architects the information that goes on your website is almost as critically important. Fluff and misspellings do you no service. Many websites fall beneath these exacting standards and suffer as a result. Don?t make this mistake.
There are zillions of pages splashed across the pages of the Internet about the hows, whys and whats of websites. Read some of them if you?re not convinced. I think you may well soon be.
Let me say again what I say so often - nothing starts overnight. All things begin small, most starting out slowly and building over time. I am proof of that. Yes, it will take years of dedication (a few) before you are recognized as a "brand", maybe even a leader in your sphere. It will take thousands, no, let me correct that, tens of thousands of messages to get your message across. There?s a testament on Sourcers Unleashed about how effective a simple email campaign can be: Honestly, those e-mails work. I remember seeing one of your posts ages ago that you generated work that way, and during a slow time, I tried it.....I sent out 8 emails introducing myself to people I thought would be hiring managers, and I immediately got two new clients and job orders from it! Just last week I heard from another I'd reached out to of that 8, who gave me two senior orders and then a third this week. So, right now, I have six active searches going just from that initial email. Oh, and I also got a candidate too...turns out one of those potential hiring managers of the 8 is looking, and he may be a candidate for one of these new searches.
This business takes elbow grease - lots of it and most are not willing to expend that - that's what sets you apart. That's the real "secret sauce" to success. That's the true advantage you have and it doesn?t have to cost a cent!
The first rebuttal said it best: the thing you have to do is "work your tail off for the next year to build your business". I couldn?t have said it better, except that I would delete "the next year" and warn that in order to be a success as a names sourcer you just plain and simple have to work your tail off all the time. If you do as I?ve suggested, get a group, get a blog and get a website, your efforts will be multiplied exponentially!
I hope you have enjoyed this series and I welcome your comments. If you?d prefer to send them to me directly, please email them to me at maureen at namesourcer.com (replace the ?at? with @).
Good luck! ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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As the head of your company, you're ideally positioned to lead an informal debate on the current issues that face small business owners and entrepreneurs in your market. So why not pen your thoughts with a CEO blog or company blog that's visible to your customers, clients, and others who might become inspired by your entrepreneurial wisdom?
Blogs are gaining more and more traction in the business world. Experts believe the trend will continue, and that companies should at least monitor blogs to gain knowledge about what's being said about their products and services. And if you have the time and inclination to launch your own blog, the result could be increased business visibility, excited audiences, and added revenue.
Following are 10 things to consider before launching your own company blog. 1. Determine what you have to offer. 2. Decide if your blog will be a marketing tool. 3. Define your editorial vision. 4. Consider the content. 5. Share your thought leadership. 6. Be a credible source. 7. Decide who will be the writer. 8. Choose your partnerships wisely. 9. Learn how to engage your readers. 10. Know what matters to your readers.
There are three main hosted blogging services: Blogger, Typepad, and a hosted version of Wordpress. Read the whole article here. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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I received an email from one of my MagicMethod students in response to this series I am currently running about how to develop a sourcing business, "Get a Group, Get a Blog, Get a Website?. The points made are good ones and I want to second what this person is saying ? this is NOT an overnight affair. It takes time, LOTS OF TIME, to develop a successful sourcing business.
?Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes years of hard work to become an overnight success." ~ Diana Rankin QUOTE on my NameSourcer blog
Maureen, If I start a blog today using a template and write a few articles, people aren?t going to read it today, tomorrow or next month. Same applies to a website. And starting a group and attracting a sizable audience doesn?t happen overnight. You need to work with professionals to search engine optimize your web material so people can find you, so you get traffic. At least that is what my friends in internet marketing tell me and what they do. You are such a big brand, you are known throughout the industry. People find you because of your hard work, writing and your notoriety. (I like the "notoriety? comment ? don't you? Sounds kinda? scandalous, doesn?t it?) You have expert status. It has taken you years to achieve this. This is something your students, including ME, will not achieve for a very long time. You have years on us and that is why business comes to you. For the rest of us, to do it right, we have to pay professionals or work with friends if we are lucky to help us get our message across. I thought that needed to be made clear. If you think I am wrong, I am all ears. Sincerely, Frustrated MagicMethod student
I told him I agreed with him completely. He then wrote:
You make it sound very easy. I am always interested when consultants, teachers, business people tell their audience to do this, to do that. There is never mention of how much it will truly cost, the kind of business advice you are going to need, the professional help you most likely will need to tap into. I mean there is a cheap website you can build yourself that will look very cheap and there is one that is going to cost you if done properly by a professional. One costs fifty bucks, the other runs well into the hundreds and sometimes thousands. And Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn?t cheap either. Most people fail because they aren?t told of the specific tools they need and what is truly involved in terms of hours and technology to put together a successful blog and an optimized website, for example. I suspect if you were to do this?you would lose your audience. So, with that in mind, I can understand why you make it sound so easy. (Oh, he doesn?t know me (yet) very well!) You write, ??if you have tenacity, the kind you have to have to be a good sourcer, your blog can emerge as one of the thought leaders in our industry today?.
This exchange was followed by a lengthy telephone conversation in which we discussed alot of things - theory of life kinda' stuff in addition to me setting out specific instructions (just two) on a "To Do" list to be accomplished today. This person admitted feeling a might bit overwhelmed by all the things I was suggesting to do in the series. I realized that my student felt like everything had to be done AT ONCE. Nothing can be done all "at once". St. Francis Assisi said, "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
This is true in names sourcing today. Start by doing what needs to be done. If you need to develop a customer list, begin by marketing your services. I've spoken about this many times before; one way is to start with a simple message to a simple (manageable) audience - maybe an email list, maybe a discussion forum where you can plant your availability, maybe a hard copy mailer.
Nothing happens overnight. Things start small. You will learn as you go. When you do get names sourcing work, throw your body and soul into that because it's THAT that needs to be excellent. THAT is what your efforts are all about anyway, right? Your product must be flawless, your delivery timely and your accuracy on point.
When I first started names sourcing, MAYBE I did $20,000 the first year. Maybe. Then it doubled, and doubled, and doubled, and doubled again! Then planes hit buildings in New York City and my business cut back to half. Things got slow. You know what I did? I went back to the basics - I sent an e-mailer out, I discovered ERE and started to write on the boards. I learned things - I met new people - they took me to new places; places I never dreamed I'd go. I read, I studied, I worked, I offered help where I could, I found my voice and, just as importantly, I let people help me - a greater gift than you know. You know what? Things got better. You have to learn to deal with these things, regroup and continue, no matter what Life is handing you. You have two choices - you can either get better, or you can get bitter. I choose to get better.
I don't worry that I will lose my audience because I tell you everything my student pointed out is true. Have I ever promised you a rose garden? You have two choices - you can either get better, or you can get bitter. What are you going to do? ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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Sourcing on a Shoestring Get a Blog Part III
Blogs are another great way to establish a presence in a community ? on a blog, if it?s your own, you can ?blog? to your heart?s content ?til the cows come home, if you so choose. The question begs to ask, ?What time DO the cows come home, anyway?? so it?s not ill-advised to keep your blog posts snappy and succinct.
Many people blame poor writing skills as the reason they don?t communicate openly with the world. If that be the case, blogging (or any kind of writing!) will improve your writing skills, no doubt about it. Writing, like art, like anything, is a practice, not, for most of us, as some believe, a God-given talent. Like telephone names sourcing you have to practice, and practice, and practice to improve. Look at it as a life-long learning opportunity ? not as a ?If I can?t write something Shakespearean right out of the box I don?t want to participate.? That?s not fair to the rest of us! We?re interested in what you have to say ? we?re very interested!
Blogging also allows us to ?aggregate? several things ? it becomes a sort of ?file box? for our thoughts, things that interest us and our emotions. This last can be tricky ? developing a reporter?s mindset helps in keeping the blow out of your remarks. Try to develop an ?observe and report? style that will yield the least amount of trouble in the long run, in my opine. However, if controversy and pot stirring are your things, blogs are great ways to stick your tongue out without calling down the wrath of whatever organization might be hosting, say, a group (which has different rules ? see the "Get a Group" - second posting in this series) that they?ve seen fit to appoint you head of. There are rules in our society and blogging is developing its own set - a few unwritten rules regarding blog etiquette follow and elaboration on them may be found here. Don't Write Anything You Wouldn't Want the Whole World to Know Always Get Permission Quote with Attribution Be Sure of Your Facts Respond to Comment: Be Nice Design Your Blog with Others in Mind Allow for Subscribers
Anyhoo, that?s my advice on blogs ? get one today ? hundreds of others are (every day!) and make sure you tend it (as you should be your group) like a garden. Most of those blogging today won?t be this time next year so if you have tenacity, the kind you need to be a good sourcer, your blog can emerge as one of the thought leaders in our industry today! ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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Get a Group Many people think that moderating groups is a waste of valuable time and energy. I heartily disagree. Here on ERE we have 142 different groups broken by three categories: Topics & Interests Industries & Occupations Geographic Regions
Anyone is free to start a group and I suggest you pick something that interests you and set up a group around it ? it?s a great way to catch the attention of and encourage conversation by ERE?s membership and it?s also a great way to expose your own ideas and strategies to the group at large. But be forewarned. A group is a responsibility and like any responsibility, demands some time and energy be spent on its behalf. It doesn?t have to be a lot of time but it does have to be constant and caretaking. In addition to my writing, I am always on the lookout for interesting related articles I can post pieces of with links to the group - "glinks" I guess you could call them. I find being an ?editor? of sorts to my groups very rewarding. It is also very challenging. I have several groups here on ERE and they don?t all get the same attention all the time but they all get some attention over time.
One of the challenges of being a Group Moderator is the temptation to exert control. In general, I do not believe in censorship (unless it is foul-mouthed/really disruptive/grossly discourteous or just ridiculously off-base to the group?s interests, it rides unaccosted) and sometimes posts will show up in your group that you just know are going to kick off a firestorm. Be prepared to take some heat when things heat up. It goes with the territory - try not to get emotionally involved.
The fact of the matter is that the spirit of any group rightfully belongs to the members of the group ? not to the group moderator, or to any one or few member(s). I don?t know who said it; I?ve seen it attributed to Aristotle, but it is true that ?the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?. Everyone has their favorite groups that they watch and sometimes participate in. But the fact of the matter is that ?the group? is a culmination of many personalities and it?s not just the personalities who all ?think the same? that make a group interesting and robust. It?s also the naysayer, and the rogue, the doubting Thomas and the Silly Sara that contribute to a group's personality. Warts and all, I value the members of my groups and welcome their contributions, though occasionally some cause me to wince. At those times I try to remember the old adage that adversity is supposed to help us see ourselves more clearly. Paths with no obstacles don?t usually lead anywhere and that?s not where I?m particularly interested in going.
So get yourself a group ? here on ERE, maybe over on Yahoo, maybe on Google. But get yourself one, and put some time and energy into it. It can be a great business development tool. ****** Do something today you don't think you can do.
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