Pay It Forward - Always Do More For Others Than You Do For Yourself - ISSUE 32 - 3/22/12

We live in a very selfish society where most people want everything done for them but aren't willing to do the same for others. Don't get me wrong, there are still people out there doing more for others than they do for themselves, but they are a dying breed. It is my intention to spread the word and help people understand why this behavior is such a disease, not only for our country, but for the entire world.

I believe the core issue at hand is that people are far too consumed with money and material possesions. Too many people work their entire lives to survive because of the mountains of debt they have acquired to try to keep up with the Jones'.

First of all, it's impossible for everyone to be rich. Our financial system would crumble. Second of all, very few people will ever become financially rich. Why not spend your time focusing on helping other people, making a difference in their lives, and becoming rich with happiness?

I also believe that many people are miserable because they aren't getting off their couches and making an effort to do something nice for other people. In their minds, they aren't going to do something for anyone else unless someone else does something nice for them first. With this mindset, it's never going to happen. It's up to them and you to start the chain reaction.

I can honestly say that I was just as guilty of selfish behavior, just as much as the next person. I always wanted everything done for me and would never go out of my way to make people feel good. I didn't like the results. I never felt good about myself and I always felt like the victim.

After coming to the realization that I needed to look into the mirror and change my mindset and behavior, I began to look at the world through a different set of eyes. I began helping other people with little things and asking or demanding less of others and my feelings instantly began to change for the better. I started not only feeling better about myself, but my whole life was flipped right-side-up.

I learned a few years back through a movie called Pay It Forward that the more I do for others, the more people will look up to me and be willing to go out of their way to better my life and the lives of others. Being a better person can be quite infectious.

I believe that at the core of the human soul, people are inherently good. They are just not taught at a young age to give and share more than to take and to be selfish.

If you're wondering where you should start, it's simple. Pay it Forward Experience | Innovation of the Human Mindset. This is a website and a cause dedicated to changing other people's lives. The Pay It Forward mindset is to do something nice for a stranger for no apparent reason and instead of letting them pay you back, you tell them to do something nice for someone else.

If everyone spent just five minutes per day doing something nice for someone else, we would all live in a world full of happy people and very little distrust and crime. There would be no separation from the haves and have-nots because everyone would have enough. We would all be equals as human beings.

Official Twitter of Pay It Forward - President, Charley Johnson - @charleypif - #payitforward

Preparing to Approach a New Client And The Meeting Structure Cycle - ISSUE 31 - 3/19/12

All-too-often people think they can fly by the seat of their pants and succeed in life, but that is the furthest from the truth, especially in business. As a business owner, you are constantly being judged by everyone who knows about you and/or your business. They are looking from every direction to decide whether they like you and/or would like to do business with you. This can be quite a challenge for many people.

The number one most important (yet most ignored) aspect of gaining new business is being prepared. In some cases, preparation may only take 5 minutes of your time. In other cases, you may have to spend hours preparing for a client. There isn't a specific amount of time you must spend; it depends on the situation. However, the rule of thumb is to be enough prepared that you know all the concerns and objections your potential client may bring up and to be able to overcome them with ease.

For obvious reasons, the best place for you to start looking is the Internet. You can find a wealth of information about most businesses and business people on the Internet. You should not only get to know the company you are looking to gain business with, but you should also learn as much as possible about the individual you will pitch to. Start by doing a Google search for the company and then move onto a Google search of the individual.

After you have invested the necessary amount of time gaining information and an understanding of the dynamics of your potential client, you must organize all this information to be able to present. Overcoming your client's objections before they even arise will not only prove to your potential client that you are well prepared, but it will also improve your chances of closing the sale and to 'Wow' them enough that they may become your best client and biggest promoter of you and your company. Most people don't realize how far a little preparation can actually go.

Call/Meeting Structure Cycle

• Preparation
  • Who are their competitors?
  • What do they use their website for?
• Fact Find
  • What are the interests and hobbies of the individual you are pitching to?
  • Find opportunities for your client to benefit from
• Pitch
  • Preparing the pitch
  • Presenting this to your client
• Objection Handling
  • Negotiation phase to resolve objections
• Close the Sale
• Back to Preparation and Repeat Cycle

How To Maximize Your Online Advertising Efforts With Google on a Shoestring Budget - ISSUE 30 - 3/13/12

The world now belongs to the small business owner but most small business owners don't have much money to grow their business. Getting into debt to fund your business before you have a steady flow of income is not only a bad idea, it's down right foolish. Don't get yourself in the hole before you even have a chance for success. Spend your money wisely and on a tight budget that you can fully afford on your current level of income.

Although it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, you can still steadily grow your business on a shoestring budget utilizing Google AdWords. One of the main reasons Google has been so successful is because they have focused much of their efforts on the small business owner marketing on a budget. If you haven't spent much time with Google AdWords, you may not be familiar with some of its key features which will allow you to fully customize your advertising campaign.

LOCATIONS

Location targeting allows you to funnel your audience by physical location, including territories, regions, cities, and custom areas. For example, if you are a business owner doing business in San Antonio, Texas and you only want to target people in the Greater San Antonio Area, you will be able to do such.

You may want to reach as many people as possible, but i's highly recommended that you focus your efforts locally in the beginning stages of growing your business even if local means the country you reside in. Every country has different laws, regulations, and even cultural differences. You may waste a lot of money targeting other countries because most people prefer to do business with people they know, trust, and can relate to.

LANGUAGES

A language barrier may mean the difference between a sale and no-sale. Even though Google has the ability to translate websites on your behalf, you must still communicate with your clients whether in person, over the phone, or through email. If you don't specify the languages you are able to communicate in, you may waste a lot of money on people who don't understand the message you are trying to convey.

One nice thing about the language setting is that people are all over the world speaking similar languages and when combined with the Location setting, you can target people from just about any Continent.

NETWORKS AND DEVICES

People have many options to surf the web, gather information, and stay connected. Depending on the type of business you have, you may want to focus your efforts on desktop and laptop computers, or you may want to extend your reach to include mobile devices with full Internet browsers, or both.

Google has the ability to advertise on their search engine, all their free products (Gmail, Blogger, etc.), websites, video games, applications, YouTube, and more. It's up to you to determine which of these will provide the best Return on Investment or Branding exposure for your business.

BIDDING OPTION

You may not realize this, but every time someone does a Google search there is an auction for the keywords based off relevance and amount willing to pay. Obviously, there are phrases and keywords that have a very high popularity, and sometimes the less obvious are the best options. You have the ability to control automatic bidding or manual maximum Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bidding. Both of these options, your bid is the amount your willing to pay for a click on your ad. Your bidding option, along with your budget, is one of the ways you control the cost of your ad campaign.

BUDGET

This is the amount you want to spend on your AdWords account. You are able to specify a daily budget so that your AdWords campaign will never exceed this amount. You have the ability to have the system use up your daily budget as quickly as possible or spread it out evenly throughout the day. If you reach your daily budget too early in the day, it's like closing your doors for business early in the day so the latter choice is the best choice for people with smaller budgets.

AD SCHEDULING

With this setting you are able to tell the system which hours of the day and which days of the week you would like your ads to run. Oftentimes the best hours in the day are during the early afternoon Monday through Friday. Deciding which dates and times you run your ads mostly depends on the nature of your business and when people will be looking for you.

AD ROTATION

If you have multiple campaigns running, you don't want all the ads displaying at the same time so this setting lets you customize when the different ads will appear in relation to one another within the specified ad group. The system will automatically favor the ads that have a higher CTR and Quality Score.

FREQUENCY CAPPING

Lastly, within the Google Display Network only, you have the ability to limit the number of times your ads appear to a unique user. As time progresses, it will be very smart to show your message to an individual more than once because it builds your brand and trust between you and the consumer. However, when you are on a tight budget, you must maximize every situation.

What is The Google Display Network & Why Must You Be On It - ISSUE 29 - 3/5/12

The Google Display Network (GDN) is the largest network in the world with millions of ad impressions daily, reaching over 81% of global online users, with an average of 30 ad exposures per person. The GDN also targets a range of sites, across over 60 different individual categories. This means that no matter who you are, or what industry you are in, people are looking for what you have to sell. The number one challenge is putting yourself in front of those people when they are ready to buy what you are selling.

Major players are maximizing this form of advertising and integrating it into their marketing strategies. In fact, the Senior Director of Hilton Worldwide, Dustin Bomar says, "Google's Display Network allows us to reach multiple customer segments at scale and it will continue to be a foundational piece of our online marketing." (View Hilton's Ad)

When you advertise on the Google Network, you aren't just advertising on Google's Search Engine. You are actually advertising on over 1 million websites around the world. I'm sure you have noticed those pesky little ads on websites that say 'AdChoices' on the bottom. There are text, picture, and video ads. Those are all ads designed by Google and they are meant to help the user search for more relevant information pertaining to the website you are visiting at that time. It's mind boggling that most people avoid clicking on those links.

All the Google products are legitimate. They have worked very hard to make your web experience as easy and effortless as possible so don't be afraid to click on their ads on websites. They aren't going to hurt you. Instead, they will benefit you. However, once you become a Google Affiliate and begin to include these ads on your websites, you must never entice or coerce people to click on those ads because it's considered fraud by Google and you will be banned from the program for life. Google also works very hard to maintain the integrity of the program.

BENEFITS OF THE GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK

• Inventory Opportunities
  • Largest advertising network
  • Diverse typology and size of sites
• Formats flexibility
  • Wide range of targeting options
  • Pricing models flexibility
• Audience advertising and user behavior
  • Targeting demo/psychographics
  • Generate product awareness
  • Capture web users during Internet navigation
• Display
  • Strategic opportunities
  • Wide range of display formats and tools
  • Proven synergy between display and search
• ROI control
  • Smart pricing
  • Direct response effectiveness
  • Several features to control costs

Learn more about the Google Display Network