Saturday, March 10, 2007

Getting the Most Return from Your Sales Time Investment (ROI)

by: Joe Leech


Let's face it: you are probably working for far less than you need to. And the sad thing is, you may not even be aware of it or the options you have! As of now, we're going to change that for you, and possibly share with you not only a thought but a vehicle that can change your financial life.

We are going to show you how to get much more out of your sales time investment.

This probably applies more to the part time, home based business person than the professional...but we have seen, met, and talked with professionals who really are under- valuing their return on time investment. I know.. we are using that "time investment" word alot all ready. But you MUST consider it just as you do a cash or money investment.

In fact, it's even more important because once spent or invested, you can't ever get that particular moment or minute back. It's gone. You can always invest more money, but you only have so much irreplaceable time. Your sales time investment is one of the most precious ones you can ever make.

As we look at business models, we find on one end, the model that proposes high volume but low profit per sale.

Walmart has certainly shown this works, and many, many, many supermarkets work this same way. It will work if you have the ability to create large volumes of sales. The question is: Do you. If you are a individual sales rep or a small business, just how much of an opportunity do you have to create really large volumes. The appeal to the small business person is to do this by creating some type of a multi-level (also and probably incorrectly referred to as a pyramid) sales organization. In the ideal world, IF you can do this, you can create volume. But this could take years to accomplish, and still never guarantee any income or security because (1)The company behind it could go out of business, be taken over.. or any number of things, (2) The pay plan could change, or (3) The group suddenly dissolve, particularly if or when a heavy hitter or group leader decides to switch to another business and takes his distributors or sales force with him. Did you make a good sales time investment if you chose this model?

Of course you still have the ability to sell the product or service yourself, but (1) Can you do volume, and (2) Is the profit per personal sale worth your time?

The second business model, at the other end of the spectrum, is one that provides a relatively high profit or earning per sale. Sometimes we think of real estate people and car sales people in this category, as well as sales people of specialized capital equipment. But that's not the majority of us.

The downside here is that if we are thinking about selling a high ticket/high profit item, we have to ask (1) Is there a large market and prospect base? and if we are thinking in terms of an ability for a part time person--possibly a "stay at home mom", can this high ticket, high profit product or service be first mastered in terms of the technology, and second, is the customer prospect base readily accessible?

In most cases, the answer to those two questions is "no, not available".

But if it is or was, then here's a fact that can be virtually carved in stone:

IT TAKES NO MORE TIME OR SKILLS TO SELL THE HIGH PROFIT PACKAGE THAN IT DOES TO SELL THE MASS PRODUCT WITH ONLY PENNIES OR DIMES IN PROFIT!

Think about that! This is ALL relative to your sales time investment, and once more: It's the MOST IMPORTANT investment y ou have to make.

Ask yourself: "Am I working for pennies or dimes when instead with the right vehicle I could be working for dollars?"

If the answer is yes, and this is so true of particularly home based business entrepreneurs who are involved in sale of nutritional supplements, skin care, fad gadgets, etc., then ask yourself, "Am I doing this because I want to earn a nice income, and do it as quickly as possible... or am I kidding myself about that goal and I just want to get products wholesale or discounted and have some fun?"

Nothing wrong with that, by the way, if you have an hones assessment of what you are doing and why.

But..... If your goal is in the area of $4000-$5000 a month or more, and you also don't want to spend all your waking hours "working your business", then it's time to change.

As your article writer, I can tell you this is an article written from the school of hard knocks and one that really had us so emotionally involved with the businesses. Rah rah rah; recognition, pins, etc. Amway. Free Life. Primerica.

Herbal Life. Been there, done that. Made some money? Yes, but far, far, far less than in other options. And that's just the part time side of things we did to supplement our "real" job. Made some money, but had no security, and worked for far less than we could have been doing. Plus we just sold our time for money there. No residual income.. but that's the subject for another article.

We hope this has helped you focus some thinking and our resource block will point you to one tool that will let you change your life.

Monday, March 5, 2007

STARTING A BUSINESS

by: Vernon Anthony Johnson


Many people today are looking to own and run their own business. To do that they mainly have three main choices.

1. Buy a franchise
2. Start from scratch to develop there own type of business.
3. Buy an existing business.

When talking about capital to start or buy a conventional business we are not talking peanuts here; all these types of businesses will most likely require a substantial sum, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They will usually require staff so suitable computer expertise for accounts and wagers and also people skills in the workplace are required. There are always some problems with staff which can cause difficulties.

In a conventional business you will require premises. If you have bought an existing business then probably rates and maintenance are your two main expenses with the existing building bought with the business. If you need to rent a premise then you may require a refit for your purposes which may cost tens of thousands of dollars. This would depend on the type of business which may require certain expensive machine or electronic devices which could be various and very expensive. Then you would need computers and office furniture in varying quantities. All quite expensive items. However you look at it there are considerable costs involved when starting a business some of which will be ongoing. i.e. interest on the loan, staff wages and rent etc.

If it comes to the worst and it all goes belly up look at what you might lose? The equity which was used to finance the loan - most likely the property you live in because you couldn’t pay off the bank overdraft. The fixtures and fittings which you purchased which now would be of use to you and any equipment you purchased which may have to be sold invariably at a loss.

So you sold everything to try and pay off your debt but that wasn’t enough so you have to leave the home you loved and look for rented accommodation. Then many years later you might crawl back to where you were before the time of the crash. The statistics for new conventional type business success are not good.

In a conventional business if you need advice you usually have to pay for it although with a franchise some is available free. With a franchise I understand it does not usually include business mentoring. So if it’s new to you, you may have to pay for that help. In MLM home based business with a good company the marketing help comes as part of the deal.

Why you may ask?

Well because the MLM I am recommending is structured so that the person who does the recruiting also helps the people they recruit. In making them successful they all financially benefit. This team building is the essence of success in MLM marketing and people who have done this for a few years reap large rewards without having taken a huge gamble to raise equity.

So if we look an MLM business which costs less than $2000 initially and potentially enables you to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a few years down the track why wouldn’t that be much more attractive to you than risking your house?

There is the company which excels in all respects and is ideal for MLM people:

? It is debt free
? Publicly listed on the NASDAQ
? Achieved 1.5 billion turnover in the first five years
? Is a global business operating in ten countries and six more 2007.
? Ranked number 5 in the 200 Best Small companies by FORBES in the US.

If we summarise the benefits then we are talking about a business which:

1. Does not require a large amount of capital
2. Does not require you to hold stock.
3. Does not require staff.
4. Does not require you to rent or buy expensive premises because you can work from home perhaps from one room set aside as your office.
5. Enables you to make an income relative to your efforts which could be in the six figure bracket after a few years.
6. Does not confine you to office hours - you can work at a time convenient to you and your family.
7. Will still function once established without loss of income if you decide to take a long holiday.

Why then would anyone wanting to start a business not want to take the least expensive option?

The MLM choice comes without all the financial risk and headaches.

You can have the same earning potential as the conventional business with total support as part of the deal.

For more information, contact Vernon Johnson

11/134 Hill Road, Runcorn, Brisbane 4113 Australia, biohealth@aapt.net.au

2. Does not require you to hold stock.
3. Does not require staff.
4. Does not require you to rent or buy expensive premises because you can work from home perhaps from one room set aside as your office.
5. Enables you to make an income relative to your efforts which could be in the six figure bracket after a few years.
6. Does not confine you to office hours - you can work at a time convenient to you and your family.
7. Will still function once established without loss of income if you decide to take a long holiday.

Why then would anyone wanting to start a business not want to take the least expensive option?

The MLM choice comes without all the financial risk and headaches.

You can have the same earning potential as the conventional business with total support as part of the deal.

For more information, contact Vernon Johnson
11/134 Hill Road, Runcorn, Brisbane 4113 Australia, biohealth@aapt.net.au

About The Author
Vernon Anthony Johnson

Former electronic engineer, professional actor. Interested in making movies and making money from home business.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Ensuring A Profitable Home Based Business Opportunity

If you would like to be one of many who has found a home based business opportunity and become successful with it, then hard work is going to be needed to achieve this goal. A home business opportunity is quite popular now for various reasons. Some people need a home business to help them supplement the income received from there regular job, while others need the home based business as a way for them to keep busy as they might not have another job.

There are many different and numerous types of home based business opportunity for people to become involved in. They range for medical transcription services, to selling cosmetics and toiletries. Each opportunity is unique and suitable for just the right kind of person. There are a number of people or companies who will try to convince you there home business opportunity is perfect for you, when in fact, it might not be. It is up to you to weed through all of the different opportunities to find one that will make you successful. The question, which now arises, is how to ensure that when you have started your home business opportunity that is a profitable one?

You should be aware that a profitable home based business must first start with the correct home based opportunity. Most people choose a home business opportunity, which is quite popular, and everyone knows about. However, the problem, which arises with this, is, without realizing it, the market has already become saturated with many people selling the same product. In this way, your chances of having a profitable home business will diminish due to over availability of the product. On the other hand, choosing a home business opportunity that no one has ever heard of is too risky if this is your first time working with a home based business opportunity. Just because a product or concept might be new, there is no guarantee that it will sell. Therefore you run the risk of not making a profit at all with your home based business opportunity.

In order to ensure you are on your way with a profitable home based business opportunity, everyone thinking about working at home, should think about the amount of money necessary in starting a business. Each different type of home based business opportunity will require various amounts of time and finance dedicated to the job to make it work. For you business to be profitable, it is necessary to first plan out how much will initially be invested into it. A new startup business can quickly drain a bank account if a business plan is not initially drawn up. Therefore, to ensure you business is a profitable one, spend time budgeting out your much money will be allocated for each aspect of the business, and stick to this business plan without spending carelessly.

When first starting a home based business opportunity, a lot of hours are necessary in order to make the business as profitable as possible. This would initially include time spent away from family and friends growing your business to a stable level. Therefore, to ensure your business is profitable, the hours spent away from loved ones must be factored in.

After considering the amount of money and time which is needed to make your home based business opportunity profitable, the most important advice would be to start marketing your business as much as possible. There are many forms of business marketing available such as word of mouth, business cards, brochures and flyers, or ads in the newspaper. Yet whatever type of marketing you choose to adopt, be consistent with it. With more people becoming aware of your business, and telling their friends about it, the more profitable your business will be.

by: Leonard Bartholomew