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Announcing a Breakthrough in Bad Credit Loans
All of those negative messages you hear about bad credit and mortgages! I’m talking here about how it is commonly believed that if you have bad credit it’s virtually impossible to get a home loan, and if you do happen to get a home loan, then the interest rate will be so high it will be a feat in itself just meeting the repayments. In Australia, every Tom, Dick and Harry will tell you that bad credit is bad news when it comes to your prospects for a home loan, however, there is has been a breakthrough in the bad credit mortgage industry. To date, nobody has been brave enough to reveal it – until now!The Breakthrough in Bad Credit Loans Forget those negative messages you no doubt have been inundated with, compliments of the media, big lenders and the majority of mortgage brokers! As a bad credit mortgage expert, I can honestly say that the negative messages are false. Here is a summary of the bad credit loan breakthrough:• A mortgage is possible with bad credit: If you are suffering from the symptoms of bad credit (defaults, writs, repossessions, bankruptcies, judgements, etc), you can get a mortgage. The major lenders and most mortgage brokers will say you cannot, because they can’t help you. In their eyes, you’re too difficult to help. These guys simply want to nail the quickest, easiest sale and with bad credit, more running around is needed on their part to secure the loan that best suits your needs. A mortgage is possible with bad credit, because I secure them all the time and so do other good brokers who specialise in the area of

d that direct mail gives the highest return per dollar, and is guaranteed to reach all who you target -- if your mail piece is cost effective and your mailing list is accurate. Your choices for direct mail are letters, brochures or postcards. Letters are most likely to be considered junk-mail and will be unopened, and brochures can be expensive to produce. Therefore, the most cost effective direct mail piece is a postcard. Postcards are non-invasive, quickly read, easily saved or carried to work, and are economical. Whether or not the cards are read, they display your logo on both sides; therefore, repetitively sending postcards instills name recognition.

Your postcard should state the customer satisfaction guarantee, services you offer, insurances carried, your website address, and phone numbers. You can have an advertising firm create a postcard for you, or save money by using the pre-formatted cards from MaidDocs.

Send your customers and dormant customers a marketing piece at least twice each year. During months that business is slow, offer discounts on deep cleaning services for your current customers. Spring cleaning and pre-holiday specials are the best vehicles to renew business with dormant customers and to reach new prospects.

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The mos

How to Protect Yourself if Your House Value Drops, or Your Income is Lost - Part 1
If you haven’t heard of Yale economist, Robert Shiller, hold on to your hat, because you will…and soon. He is the author of the runaway bestseller, Irrational Exuberance, which showed how breakthroughs in technology always seem to result in bubbles in the stock market. Then unfortunately, these bubbles are usually followed by catastrophes. How many people do you know who lost part or all of their job or retirement nest egg in the dot bomb market of the late nineties? Shiller has recently written another book, The New Financial Order. This is a scary one, since it follows the path of “globalization” and how it is threatening the livelihoods and assets of the ordinary person on the street.Let me explain: the two biggest assets most folks have these days, are their homes and their incomes derived from working. These are even now under siege. How do you protect yourself? If you lose your job, or your clients lose theirs, and they can’t pay you anymore to consult to them, how do you make that tuition, insurance and mortgage payments? And what if the value of your most valuable asset -- your residence -- starts to go south? How will you feel, paying mortgage payments on a house that is worth a lot less than you are paying for it… for thirty years? Imagine what life was like before home fire insurance. We didn’t always have it, you know. If your house burned down, that was IT.Professor Shiller’s plan is to invent, develop and then deliver financial “hedging” products that will protect you against the loss of y

Avoid Ineffective Advertising

Let’s examine the target market for a house cleaning business. The majority of your prospective customers will be upper-middle class, middle age professionals who do not have the time to clean, but do have the financial resources to hire a cleaning company. Other prospects will fall into either the 30 – 40 age group with younger children at home, or the 60 – 80 age group. They are looking for a professionally run cleaning business which guarantees customer satisfaction, and stands behind that guarantee.

How do you advertise to such a broad age group? TV, Newspapers, Radio? Unfortunately, there is such a great variance in interests that it is impossible to reach all prospects with just one of these media. Therefore, an ongoing marketing strategy that incorporates all media sources is optimal.

By keeping your company continuously in front of the consumer you become known to them. When they receive your direct mail piece, notice your car signs in their neighborhood, see your TV ads, find you in the yellow pages and on the internet, you’ve hit all the bases. Chances are you’ll be the first company they consider when they need a cleaning service.

Branding

A “brand” is the memory created through a person's collective experience of a company, product or service. Therefore, your logo; verbal and written promises; physical appearance of cleaning technicians, cleanliness of cars and equipment; customer testimonials -- both verbal and written; and finally the personal experience in each home and on the phone “brands” your company image into the public’s mind. Every experience you provide must be consistent with the image you want to create. Branding is marketing, and marketing includes every aspect of public contact.

Timing

In order for your marketing to succeed your prospects must be exposed to it when they’re in a receptive frame of mind. You wouldn’t want your direct mail pieces to be delivered Monday through Thursday because some prospects are busy thinking about work and time management issues. Friday and Saturday are the days which your direct mail piece will have a more likely chance of being read.

Similarly, placing a newspaper ad in the Business section would be less likely to attract the attention you desire -- your ads should be placed in the Home and Garden section to be read at a time that your prospects are focused on their home. Follow this same principle if you use local TV advertising by running your ads during programs which are geared toward upper-income viewers, at a time that they are relaxed and focused on home life, i.e. food, home, or travel shows.

Television

Television is by far the most expensive form of marketing. Also, it provides the least amount of qualified leads. If you are determined to produce a TV commercial do some research first: Contact all of your local TV stations and ask for samples of commercials they have produced for local companies. Be aware that the stations will not send sample tapes without first determining if you are a valid prospect – you will have to meet with advertising salespeople. Set aside at least two hours each for the appointments and related phone calls from sales people. After you have met with a few salespeople you will know if your budget can handle TV advertising.

If you decide to continue with this venue ask each salesperson for samples of commercials their stations have produced, you may have to insist that this is a preliminary step to their gaining your business. When you view the commercials, note the names of the companies which are service oriented – then call each one and inquire about the results of their TV ad campaign. Ask the following questions:

• Were your ads run during programs that were geared toward upper income viewers?

• Were you certain that your ads did indeed run as scheduled, or were they “bumped” by higher dollar advertisers?

• If your ads were “bumped” from your desired spot, did the station run them during inappropriate programs and charge you anyway?

• After the commercial ran, did qualified prospects call for estimates?

• What was the ratio of qualified vs. unqualified prospects?

• Were the results worth the amount you spent on this form of advertising?

• What marketing vehicle have you found to be the most effective?

Be certain your contract states that if your ad is bumped from it’s spot you will NOT be charged if it is moved to programming you have not pre-approved. Be forewarned that your salesperson has no idea what is going on with your ad, and has no control over it once it has been sent to the lineup personnel. If at the last minute your ad is bumped, it may become a filler ad at 2am on a court-TV rerun.

Finally, record the time slots you have pre-approved so that you can determine if your advertising budget has been working for you or against you. If your ad did not run as specified in your contract, you have proof – use it! Call the salesperson, and if necessary speak to the station manager in order to have the ad run during appropriate programming – and if your contact states such, do not pay for ads which were not properly run.

Direct Mail

We have found that direct mail gives the highest return per dollar, and is guaranteed to reach all who you target -- if your mail piece is cost effective and your mailing list is accurate. Your choices for direct mail are letters, brochures or postcards. Letters are most likely to be considered junk-mail and will be unopened, and brochures can be expensive to produce. Therefore, the most cost effective direct mail piece is a postcard. Postcards are non-invasive, quickly read, easily saved or carried to work, and are economical. Whether or not the cards are read, they display your logo on both sides; therefore, repetitively sending postcards instills name recognition.

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The most

How to Gain Business Management Success through the Law of Karma
The idea of Karma is nothing new. It has even played a special role in the social life of people. Karma has often been described as a negative energy that will ultimately attach to anyone who has done wrong to his fellow beings. It is, however, a misunderstood concept. People must fully realize the significance of karma to make it work for them.For instance, did you know that Karma is not just a negative mantra that you can blame your mishaps on, Karma is, in fact, a positive energy that means any energy you release ultimately returns to you in one form or another. For example, if you release positive energy, it will come back to you in the form of positive energy or positive event as well.One thing this means is that you have to think happy thoughts if you want to be happy in life. Another way of looking at this philosophy is to wish for the success of other people so that you may be successful in what you do as well.Anyone who knows how to use karma to his advantage can apply the rules to gain business success. If you want to succeed in managing your business endeavor, always be sincere in dealing with your customers. Always aim to give them the best products and services that you can offer.If you honestly deal with your customers, you will reap the rewards later because the positive energy you released will come back to you in the form of business success. Think of it as planting goodwill and then sowing the benefits in the form of more business and profit. This is also practical, since people like to deal with honest and fair busine

product or service. Therefore, your logo; verbal and written promises; physical appearance of cleaning technicians, cleanliness of cars and equipment; customer testimonials -- both verbal and written; and finally the personal experience in each home and on the phone “brands” your company image into the public’s mind. Every experience you provide must be consistent with the image you want to create. Branding is marketing, and marketing includes every aspect of public contact.

Timing

Television

• Were your ads run during programs that were geared toward upper income viewers?

• Were you certain that your ads did indeed run as scheduled, or were they “bumped” by higher dollar advertisers?

• If your ads were “bumped” from your desired spot, did the station run them during inappropriate programs and charge you anyway?

• After the commercial ran, did qualified prospects call for estimates?

• What was the ratio of qualified vs. unqualified prospects?

• Were the results worth the amount you spent on this form of advertising?

• What marketing vehicle have you found to be the most effective?

Direct Mail

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The mos

Private Carrier Exxon-Mobil On The Up and Up
Exxon Mobil is an industry leader in each of its central business divisions and as a company owns a vast array of propriety technologies. But did you know Exxon-Mobil was a strong Private Carrier? Exxon Mobil leads the industry on research and development spending at around $600 million a year. Exxon Mobil has been granted over 10,000 patents over the past ten years. With these patented advancements, Exxon Mobil is constantly aiming to increase productivity of its assets and employees as well as advance the industry and comfort of human society. One example is Exxon Mobil’s chemical division, which is constantly creating new catalysts so that fuel burns cleaner and more efficiently.As a private carrier, Exxon Mobil conducts business in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world. It is composed of four major divisions: Technology, Chemical, Exploration & Production, and Refining & Marketing. The upstream business spans 40 countries, representing the world’s largest and richest producer of oil and gas. This portfolio includes long-term production in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, the Caspian Sea, and Africa. These proved reserves are the highest in the industry among non-governmental companies.This puts Exxon Mobil in an excellent position to increase production and expand, and there are many locations that have been discovered and not yet developed. Resource rich areas such as West Africa, Qatar, and Russia guarantee that Exxon Mobil is rising beyond the top, with the start-up of over 30 new projects proj

e life, i.e. food, home, or travel shows.

Television

• Were your ads run during programs that were geared toward upper income viewers?

• Were you certain that your ads did indeed run as scheduled, or were they “bumped” by higher dollar advertisers?

• If your ads were “bumped” from your desired spot, did the station run them during inappropriate programs and charge you anyway?

• After the commercial ran, did qualified prospects call for estimates?

• What was the ratio of qualified vs. unqualified prospects?

• Were the results worth the amount you spent on this form of advertising?

• What marketing vehicle have you found to be the most effective?

Direct Mail

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The mos

Big Blow Up Gorillas for Adverting Your Store
Perhaps you have seen the catalogs or talk to a company that rents giant blowup guerrillas that you can use to help advertise your store. But does it really makes sense to put a big blow up guerrilla in front of your store to make people look and get their attention? In some cases it does, but consider if you will that the guerrilla needs to wear a sign on his chest that says; Big Sale!Why you ask? Well because otherwise you confuse your customer; sure they know something big is going on over at your store because there's this giant blowup guerrilla there, but they have no clue as to what is going on. And unless you tell them you are confusing them and you are diluting your potential.Don't get me wrong; big giant blowup guerrillas in front of your store will bring in more customers, but it also needs to be well-thought-out as well. Often you will see, giant waving, blow up stick figures or miniature blimps flying over head of a business, but they do not say anything on them or the blimp is flying so high, you cannot read what it says.The only thing that you know is that there is some sort of activity going on over at that store. Sure that is a good thing, but the advertiser has left no significant good reason to go over there and check it out. If you are going to have a giant big blow up guerrilla in front of your store then make it count for something. Please consider this in 2006.

vertisers?

• If your ads were “bumped” from your desired spot, did the station run them during inappropriate programs and charge you anyway?

• After the commercial ran, did qualified prospects call for estimates?

• What was the ratio of qualified vs. unqualified prospects?

• Were the results worth the amount you spent on this form of advertising?

• What marketing vehicle have you found to be the most effective?

Direct Mail

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The mos

Liquid Aqua Promotional Keyrings
The only problem with creating promotional keyrings for your customers is that even a very nice keyring is unlikely to spend a lot of time out of your customer’s pockets or purses. The keyrings could be the most stylish keyring in the world, but since it can perform its function quietly and without fuss, it is not often thought of and others are not exposed to your logo, slogan, or company name.If you want to change that, then all you have to do is invest in Liquid Aqua keyrings for your customers. These keyrings are printed on the outside, and the clear plastic encases a blend of colored oil and gel that do not mix. This means that the colors of the oils float around in the gel in small beads or one large bead depending on whether you shake it up. These keyrings are fun to look at, fun to own, and are great entertainment for kids and adults alike.Liquid Aqua keyrings look classy and fascinating and can provide almost anyone with simple fun just by shaking or moving the keyring about. Customers with children can pass off their keyring to the little ones and enjoy a few quiet moments as the kids entertain themselves with the oil and gel suspension. Even better, these keyrings are solidly welded to ensure that the Liquid Aqua does not leak and ruin clothing or bags, making them durable as well as fun.Liquid Aqua keyrings are great for enticing your customers to take their keys out and show off the fun item in their pockets, and others will be frequently exposed to your logo and company information as they keyring is passed to them for a tu

Direct mail lists are available through a number of sources. The most economical lists we have found are the “City Search” discs offered by Hill-Donnelly. Telephone assistance is provided by Hill-Donnelly to teach you how to extract information from the discs and save it as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Other lists are available through many sources which you can locate on the internet. Also, most companies offer the information pre-sorted onto mailing labels, ready to peel-and-stick.

Visit your local post office and purchase a First Class pre-paid mailing permit. The USPS representative will provide instructions on how to set up the permit block. When your postcards are printed you simply count out the number to be mailed, and then deliver them to the bulk-mail representative at your local post office. This saves time (no applying stamps by hand) and looks more professional.

Door-Knockers

Door-knockers are marketing pieces that are pre-cut to hang on a door knob. Although they are inexpensive to produce, paying your employees to deliver them can be costly. Also, there is the chance that they will toss the door-knockers out and add delivery hours to their timesheet. Therefore, door knockers are not a cost effective means of advertising unless you plan to deliver them yourself, or have an effective tracking method for delivery.

Internet

Local service companies are often listed for free on community pages. Find them all and present them with your information. Many offer online submission forms – but if you need to call and personally ask to be listed, it is well worth the effort. Include your logo, website and email addresses in each listing.

Having your own website is desirable. Depending upon the area you are servicing, a percentage of your business will come directly from prospects surfing the web for cleaning service companies. Other prospects may receive a marketing piece or find your ad in the yellow pages, and visit the website before calling. Prospects who call but don’t book a service should be directed to the website as a means to reiterate your phone conversation and to view customer testimonials.

You should be able to find a local web developer in the yellow pages, or better yet, ask other small business owners for a reference. Once you have a few candidates ask them for the addresses of websites which they have developed. Log on to these sites and visit all of the pages to ascertain whether the design and visitor generated forms give an impression that is compatible with the branding you want for your company. When you determine which designs match your needs, send an e-mail to the business owners asking if they are satisfied with the knowledge and service provided by the webmaster.

Yellow Pages

Many prospects will search the yellow pages for service companies. Some will look you up in the yellow pages when they receive a direct mail piece – just to verify that you are a legitimate company. Most of the information which is on your postcard should be listed in the yellow pages ad. If this is cost prohibitive, then simply state “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and always list your website address.

When considering the type of ads to place, remember that your ad must stand out from the competition. Research all of your local phone books and notice which ads catch your eye. A good bet is a “knock-out” ad with at least 2 colors. The “knock-out” removes the yellow background and leaves a crisp, attention grabbing white field among all the yellow ads. For a lesser cost you may list your company in the yellow pages free listing column with a knock-out and color. Make this ad a minimum of four 4 lines, with color.

Be certain to call your local yellow pages to ascertain their deadlines for placing ads in the next edition. It would be a shame to miss this marketing vehicle and have to wait a full year to be listed.

White Pages

Yellow knock-outs can be incorporated into your white pages listing. Make this ad a minimum of four 4 lines, and add color if you can afford it. Remember to list your website address here also.

Newspapers

Newspapers are the second most used form of advertising for small businesses, following directly after the Yellow Pages. Your ads should be placed in Home and Garden section to be read at a time that your prospects are focused on their home. Of course Sunday is the ultimate day to advertise, but also the most expensive. Also, most papers publish special sections that may run only once per month or several times per year – budget extra advertising dollars to run your ad in all home or leisure specials.

Double check all written information from the sales department to assure that your ads will be run in the proper sections. Insist on viewing a “proof” of the ad and having a final approval before publishing. Keep in mind that you must accommodate the newspaper’s schedule – if you do not provide feedback in a timely manner your ad will either miss the print or it will proceed without your approval.

Finally -- read the paper to be certain that your ad was properly printed and placed. If the paper made an error, you should insist on a reprint in the next comparable edition.

Measuring Success

You can measure the success of your m

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In the tough economy that we're currently facing, it can be quite difficult to find a job that suits your skills and pays well. It's important to take advantage of every opportunity that you can to boost your employability, and in this article, we'll mention some tips at how to get yourself the job that you deserve.

Performance metrics need to be tracked diligently. Setting up a profit and loss type statement is an excellent way to track your performance metrics.

Marketing secret #1: people buy you before they buy your product or service. Find a way to give something of value to others and you're well on your way to business and personal success and satisfaction.

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