Sometimes the most important part of earning a lot of money is knowing that you can keep it.

This is something I have been looking at this week after getting a suitable kick up the backside from some good friends. It is one thing to say I want to earn £100 every day but if I spend £101 daily then really I'm losing out.

Part of the skill of earning is to run a trim budget. I can hear you yawning almost as fast as I did but wait with me here. Getting that picture together of what I spend and when verse what I have coming in means that I can see when the best times to spend are. Better yet I know months in advance when they will be. It means I can grant myself the freedom to enjoy what I have.

Do I do that right now?

I try to. I know what my income is and what my outgoings are but could I have an even firmer grasp?

Possibly.

By Jo Connelly

So you have a brand new batch of beautifully printed business cards. You've worked on the design, perfected your branding and feel sure that they put across you and your business in a striking and memorable way. Now it's all about getting them to people so that they can do their work.

The way you present your business cards to people can say as much about you as do the cards themselves so it makes sense to think about how and when you give them to people. Are you going to hand them out to everyone you meet however briefly, or reserve them for those you are interested in following up with after you've had an engaging conversation?

Whichever strategy you decide to follow, bear in mind these few simple tips to make sure your cards have the best chance of making the right impression.

» Keep reading Business Cards - 5 Presentation Tips

By Caryn Kopp

Over the last year I've heard several stories about lost sales opportunities. Many occurred as a direct result of post-trade show oversights that could have been avoided. It happens too often. Join me by shaking your head as you read the story below. Then, vow to follow the strategies provided so you can clean up on trade show sales opportunities!

A company I know sent 3 people to a trade show in January. All 3 people flew, stayed 3 nights, went to nice meals and entertained prospective clients. They uncovered several high volume prospect opportunities, one of which included a large potential program with Disney. Upon their return to the office they were faced with the typical backlog of work, urgent client requests and calls which needed to be returned... yesterday. Digging out from under took priority over follow up. You can guess what happened. The first follow up... a group of letters (snail mail)... went out in April (3 months later). The second follow up, a group of phone calls occurred in July. The seller finally reached the Disney decision maker live in August and the conversation went like this:

Decision Maker: Oh, I do remember you. Too bad we didn't connect sooner. We decided to move forward with the program. We chose a vendor and are finalizing the contract now. We plan to roll out within the next 6 weeks.

Salesperson (also now known as Sad Person): There are many benefits we provide, we would still appreciate the opportunity to come in and talk with you. Can we set a time for that?

Decision Maker: I'm sorry but as I said we are finalizing the contract now. I'll call you if something changes.

You may think following up is obvious. You may think this story is a fluke. But the reality is this occurs commonly enough that I had a hard time choosing which story like this to include in the article. To ensure it doesn't happen to you, follow these strategies:

» Keep reading No Sale Left Unturned: Clean Up At Trade Shows With 3 Overlooked Sales Strategies

By Brooklyn Dicent

You are about to learn one of the most powerful secrets of the selling game. If you have been struggling with closing deals, landing better clients and getting paid what you are worth then continue reading.

When I was 15 years old I wanted to buy lots of things. My needs however, had nothing to do with common teen things like clothes. I wanted to buy the latest small business magazine, motivational tapes, and books by Tony Robbins. I was a budding entrepreGEEK! I loved reading about how to make money. When I say I loved, I really mean I was obsessed. I got tired of asking my parents for money. I dreamed of starting a business. I just didn't know what it would be. Since I listened to so many motivational tapes I had learned to fix an idea in my mind and let my brain do the rest.

One day while at the checkout counter at our local supermarket it hit me like a ton of bricks. There it was! There was my goldmine of an opportunity. Along the wall was a sign announcing a shampooer machine that could clean carpets like a dream for $12 bucks a day rental! My brain did the math and I let my fingers do the walking.

I ran home grabbed the white pages, a notebook, a pencil, the TV dinner tray, and our dial up phone. That's right, remember those? That old banana color phone that had a 100K foot cord that ran from the kitchen to the next door neighbor's yard. I set up shop in our shed (I told you those cords are crazy long!) and there I started my first business.

I was going to shampoo carpets around town for $10 dollars a room. The white pages were full of prospects. I started dialing everyone in my exchange. After a few "no thank you" I got my first yes, then another, and another! I was in BUSINESS!! Only entrepreneurs get this euphoric feeling of closing a sale. I booked enough clients that week that I earned $300!!!

All summer I kept this going. I was going to houses I had only seen in magazines. I could not believe how kind and caring may clients were. I really started to LOVE them. One of my clients was an insurance salesman. He said, "You know what? You really know how to sell. When I talked to you on the phone, I actually thought you were much older. Can I give you some advice?" "Yes please anything, I'm all ears" I said.

» Keep reading How to Sell Effortlessly

Today's guest writer, Keith A Griffiths, talks about a subject very close to my own heart - that of SEO and the snake oil salesman that abound in this market sector.

SEO has to be one of the most misunderstood and worst sectors in business today in relation to taking money from businesses or individuals for paid services and under delivering on results.

"There are good quality SEO firms out there that can help businesses; an SEOs bottom line comes into question with SMEs, thus driving smaller businesses into the realms of the sector that should be regulated,' in my opinion'."

If SEO firms where regulated and told they could only trade under a strict set of conditions, then this would start to give confidence back to business owners that they are dealing with qualified businesses, the SEO sector is filled with unskilled and unqualified individuals that under deliver.

How many times have I listened to businesses tell me they don't know what they are paying for, or businesses that pay just to get there keywords onto page one of Google, other related search engines or websites just to find they are not making any money or converting their visitors.

It really does upset me to find businesses that are not given actual documented strategies, they are given print screen diagrams of keywords from there analytical programs.

It's a fact there is a huge % of businesses that don't make any money from having a website. So what can people do, what is it that an SEO can do that other qualified business owners cannot do?

Your goal is to be on page one of Google for your selected terms or on the front of a high traffic website, 'that's it'. As long as you have great services or products you can make a huge amount of money online.

This is achievable through structured planning, but focus on the how, not on the need, ask yourself if you're on page one will this help you achieve your goal, and what is your long term strategy?

If you reach page one for your targeted terms, do you think people will use your services, 'would you?'.

How do you deal with your prospects? Who are your prospects? How much time do you spend on understanding your market?

What I am suggesting here is that SEO has been diluted into something which it is not, and business owners need to start to understand how to run their businesses.

» Keep reading Isn't It Time the SEO Sector Was Regulated by the FSA?

Back when I got into blogging it was all about the launch but was this wrong?

There were so many "big" blogs about blogging and all of them had the same wisdom - "launch right". Where are these blogs now? As far as I can see they were sold,closed or slipped into obscurity. Some of them hit the subscriber count they wanted and switched to a paid content model.

There are a few, however, that continue to this day (well, problogger anyway) and as far as I can tell the long term survivors did not have a big splash start. They started slow and grow steadily. Eventually they out grew the best peek of the fast starters.

Seth Godin wrote recently: The problem with a great launch strategy is it just might sabotage your real goal, which is a project that lasts. The risk of changing your product or service so that it launches well is that you may end up changing it into something that doesn't hold up. Which is pretty much what the fast start bloggers have found.

A strong start is not always the best strategy.

Yesterday guest writer Eddie Velez suggested that only a member of a niche could successfully reach that niche today I ask if he was right.

Eddie Velez told us that as a Christian he was the only designer that satisfied a church group's design needs. Eddie told us this was because he was promoting something he believed in.

Certainly Seth Godin and other luminaries tell us that we should work on something that we are passionate about. Back in 2007 to 2008 the idea that you could fake it until you make it was new and fresh. The idea was that you could work in an area you were not passionate about and fake that passion until it became real. Fake being a success until you really were that success.

Would Eddie Velez's method work then?

» Keep reading Should I fake it 'til I make it?

By Eddie Velez

Eddie Velez looks at the topic of believing in what you are selling and what it takes to succeed. Read what he has to say then tell me if you agree. (Please note spelling in this article is american English and as is).

Why you need a Christian Marketer for a Christian Message!

I remember a time when there was mainly one kind of doctor - a general practitioner. He or she would be the family doctor that took care of all needs. Fast forward 30 years, there are ear, nose and throat specialist; endocrinologists, gynecologists, podiatrists and so on. Marketing is the same. There is no such thing as a "one-size fits all" marketer. If you want to promote a book, you need someone who understands book marketing; a movie, movie marketing; medical field requires a medical marketing specialist, and Christian marketing needs a Christian.

Now, if you're a marketer reading this, your first reaction may be, "You holier than thou, sanctimonious... " which proves my point. This is not to put down any marketer who may be very professional and experienced, being good at several difference specialties; but quite frankly, you cannot give what you don't have.

» Keep reading Can You Promote What You Don't Believe?

By Richard Brody

Many who ascend to leadership often come to office heralding the need for changes to be made. However, it is incumbent upon true leaders not merely to realize, understand and discuss the need for change, but rather to be the actual vehicle of the change they are imploring. One is only a real leader when he embraces the needs, but then also actually leads the charge to make the changes that he so obviously identifies.

Denis Waitley put it this way, "There are two primary choices in life: accept conditions as they are or accept the responsibilities for doing them." Obviously, therefore, there is a significant difference about merely rhetorically discussing change, and actually developing a plan, and leading the way to implement those changes.

» Keep reading Leaders Are Vehicles Of Change

Yesterday's post about winning the lottery was, of course, a joke.

I've been a bit worried that people might take it seriously. After all the lottery is a tax on people that cannot do maths.

I will be writing a lot more soon. Stay tuned.