SO YOU'RE A LEADER

There are many books on management and leadership, but there are only a few worth the time and effort to purchase and read – even fewer that can be considered essential reading. Two such essential books for the business leader are Leadership Is An Art and Leadership Jazz both by Max DePree.

Max Depree is (or was) CEO of a Fortune 500 multinational corporation and wrote two of the best books of their type. In Leadership Jazz, he poses a series of questions to help leaders gauge their progress. Both books are worth acquiring and referencing often.

In the chapter, “What Would Bucky Say?”, the questions posed provide a good litmus test for anyone who considers themselves a leader —

• When was the last time you called a customer or employee to say “Thank you” or “How are you doing?”
• How long has it been since you have seen the products you sell being made?
• How often do you say, “I don't know”?
• When was the last time an employee or co-worker confided in you?
• Do you have a nose for “stale air”? (A boring, mechanical work environment lacking in creativity.)
• Have you stopped hiring people better than you?
• When did you last block out three or four hours to talk with someone in a different line of work?

There are at least another dozen or so soul- searching questions that people truly concerned about leadership qualities might want to ask themselves. The books are available worldwide and offer an easy, delightful escape from the many responsibilities of leadership.

In one of the last chapters, DePree leaves us with a rather profound, yet accurate, observation– “It is important that we focus more on what we need to be than on what we need to do. In so doing, leaders do transform peoples' lives. What a daunting responsibility!”

USE E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS TO MARKET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

If you're promoting your small business on the Internet, you aren't alone. The latest surveys show that small businesses outnumber larger firms on the Internet by a margin of four to one. Corporations are advertising on the Net just like they do with other media: contact an Internet ad agency, buy banner ads, and watch results come in.

That works fine if you've got thousands of dollars to spend each month on advertising. But what if you're going it alone and your advertising allowance has to come out of the grocery money? E-zines are the answer. E-zines (short for e-mail magazines or newsletters) are quick and cheap to produce and often go to huge numbers of eager subscribers. Publishers don't have to pay for postage or printing, and the savings are passed on to advertisers in the form of extremely low ad rates.

For inexpensive Internet advertising, it's very hard to beat classified ads in e-zines. The "Business Start Page" includes Newsletter Advertising on their ADVERTISING AIDS websection. All told, there are literally thousands of e-zines, some specifically targeting your best customers.

Maximizing Your E-zine Classified.

As is the case everywhere on the Internet, your ad's first line is what makes or breaks it. Use the first line to announce your most important customer benefit. And don't forget the two most powerful words in advertising: "you" and "free." The sentence-- "You can get my FREE report"--always gets big response.

Sometimes e-zine ads bring disappointing results. If at first your ad doesn't succeed, try and try again. There's an old saying in marketing that the first ad never works. Advertising brings home the bacon when you smartly repeat your ad week after week. It takes time (sometimes as many as seven times) before your ad gets the prospect's attention.

Go One Better--Write For E-zines.

The beauty of e-mail publishing is that it works so quickly. I often write an article in the morning, send it to an e-zine in the afternoon, and see it published in a new issue by evening. Responses flood in by midnight. On the Internet, there's no wait-time while printing presses roll, trucks make their way through town, or mail waits to be sorted.

If you need marketing results fast, write an article for e-zines. Keep your article short. One or two pages is fine. Tell readers how to do something that will interest many of them. Keep sentences short, informal, and talk directly to the reader. If you don't feel comfortable with your writing skills, have a local English teacher or journalism student look over your article for you.

Also be sure to include four to six lines at the end promoting yourself, your business, your offer, and your contact information. Because you won't get paid for your article, publishers don't mind allowing you a personal plug at the end. The article makes you look like an expert in your field. Your contact info at the end urges thousands of impressed readers to contact the expert.

Put Out Your Own E-zine.

A lot has been written lately about the importance of networking to build your business. When marketing expert Leslie Speidel polled hundreds of successful entrepreneurs on what they attributed their growth to, most replied "networking!"

Nothing helps you network like your own e-mail newsletter. Your ideas and expertise along with product news and tips from customers go out to everyone you know and do business with. It's also OK to include some ads for yourself and associates. Readers don't seem to mind ads if they're packaged along with helpful articles.

People on the Internet are usually in a hurry, so keep your e-zine short. One or two articles coupled with two or three short ads may be all your e-zine needs. Keep lines short enough to fit into an e-mail browser and put a hard return at the end of each line.

For starters, you can send your e-zine out with your favorite e-mail program (a good free one is Eudora Lite--http://www.eudora.com). Later, when your subscriber list grows, you may want to upgrade to a majordomo provided, most likely, by the same company that provides your web site space.

Get subscribers by placing free ads on classified sites, ads in appropriate newsgroups, and announcing your new e-zine to firms that specialize in keeping track of various lists of subscribers. Start with liszt.com and The List of Lists (Listserv@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU). Send a description of your newsletter to: gapach97@aol.com for inclusion on the "Yoken" list. Be sure to mention your new e-mail newsletter in all your print and broadcast advertising and add a place for people to subscribe on your web site. Your subscriber list can easily grow to include a few thousand within a year. An audience that size will be a continuing source of sales, contacts, and insights.

Consider how to incorporate e-zines into your on-line marketing. Start with consistent e-zine advertising, progress to writing articles (or having them written for you), and on to publishing your own newsletter. It's currently the best marketing tool available for small businesses.

TIME & EFFICIENCY

Along with the belief that most people have that they naturally know how to think is an underlying, correlating assumption that thinking doesn't require much effort or time. While we are fortunate to live in a society that allows us to use our time efficiently in everyday living - as when we can pick up dry cleaning and a meal along the same route on our way home - we have come to expect results to be as quick as service at a fast-food restaurant. We are encouraged to use our time efficiently, but we seldom take the time to think efficiently. Confronted with real-life problems, we imagine they can be dealt with as quickly and easily as a thirty-minute sitcom would portray them to be.

As a result, many people show little interest in contemplation. The effort involved in truly thinking often takes a back seat, and they end up going in circles rather than dealing with life's various dilemmas efficiently. They wouldn't think of going on a long automobile trip without consulting a map and deciding which route to take. But in their psychosocial-spiritual journey through life, they rarely stop to think about why they're going where they're going, where they really want to go, or how best to plot out and facilitate the journey.

In this simplistic approach, we often overlook various aspects of our lives that are desperate for attention until they become full-blown crises. Or we dismiss new ideas that could further our growth simply because they do not fit within the general framework of our preconceived notions and self-concepts. An enormous amount of time is spent simply reacting. It's as if we are robots programmed to respond on cue to whatever demands the least time and attention, and disregard anything that requires putting in extra time and energy to think. We skim over the surface thoughtlessly. But we must acknowledge that thinking well is a time-consuming process. We can't expect instant results. We have to slow down a bit and take the time to contemplate, meditate, even pray. It is the only route to a more meaningful and efficient existence.

10 TIPS FOR WRITING POWERFUL ARTICLES

Webmasters and newsletter publishers are always looking for good content. Further, aside from your time investment, it's completely free advertising.

Here are 10 practical tips to ensure your articles get published and read by others.

1. Write to serve. Before writing an article, ask yourself what problem it will help others solve. Some of the more common issues people deal with revolve around a lack of something, whether it's time, money, self-confidence or just joy in life. How will your article help with these issues.

2. Grab their attention early. If possible, intend to "hook" your reader right from the get-go. Ideally, your title should be the hook. When creating the title, ask yourself if it would make you want to read the article. Your first paragraph should also serve as a hook , as well as a general introduction to the article content.

3. Write to one person only. Forget the fact your article will be read by many people and write to only one person, just like I'm doing with you now.

4. Keep the flow logical. Don't bounce around from one idea to the next. Each paragraph should logically follow the next. Although there may be different ideas expressed in each paragraph, they should dovetail off each other.

5. Use quotes to support your main idea. Quotes from famous people are a great method to reinforce your ideas. They help you make your point and add credibility to your overall message.

6. Keep your paragraphs short. Ideally, 4 - 6 lines per paragraph is what you want to shoot for. It looks and feels much more appealing to the reader to see "bite-sized" paragraphs.

7. Inspire action in your article. If your article is, in fact, intended to solve a common problem, give people practical suggestions for taking action. Remember the formula "insight + action = growth."

8. When possible, tie your message to everyday activities. A good example of this is "life is like a box of chocolates." Make it easy for your reader to relate to your ideas. That will also make it easier for your reader to apply your ideas in their life.

9. Summarize the article in the final 1 - 2 paragraphs. Briefly summarize the main points of your article, how people can take action from the information and what results they can achieve.

10. Don't forget the resource box. Provide a brief resource box following your article. It should tell a little about you, your business, how you serve others and how to contact you. Be sure to include your URL and e-mail address with an invitation to contact you or visit your site.

Using these 10 tips should help you write powerful articles that get published and read. Above all else, remember this. A writer writes. So - first - be a writer in your own mind.

SCRAP PLAN 'B'

Alexander Graham Bell said, "I shall create the telephone." Bell invented the telephone after much trial and tribulation, and in the face of much ridicule, but the point is, he didn't say, "I think I'll give it a try, and if I don't succeed in a couple of weeks, I'll do something else."

Henry Ford said, "I shall make automobiles so that they will be cheap enough for everybody to own one." He didn't say. "Well, I'll try to do it, but if I don't succeed, I'll just sell them to wealthy people."

And, Ray Kroc said, "I shall put a McDonald's hamburger stand on every street corner in America." He didn't say, "But, if it doesn't happen, I'll stay here in California and sell shoes, or something."

Now, it is accepted that mechanical things and electrical things can break down. And do! So having backup equipment, or a manual means of accomplishing what the machines normally accomplish, is to be recommended. So is backing up your computer files - we all know that little trick, although many people don't, and suffer for it when their computer goes on the blink. But, what would have happened, do you suppose, to the telephone, the automobile and McDonalds, if the aforementioned gentlemen hadn't pushed their dreams with such single-minded determination? It is all very comforting, and seemingly quite wise, to have a 'Plan B', but such 'Exit' strategies can be the death knell of dreams.

You might wonder what would have happened to one poorly educated, 65-year-old, broke and on Social Security, if he had had a 'Plan B'. Like so many in that situation, he would have certainly lived out his days in penny-pinching mediocrity.

But he decided to change his life. He didn’t wait to win the lottery. He just made a commitment to himself that nothing would stop him. And he would do it without a Plan B.

With few outside resources, he searched within himself for hidden talents, then remembered that friends and family always liked his chicken recipe. Since he had no money, he couldn’t start a restaurant, so he would have to sell his recipe in return for a share of profits.

He jumped in his old Chevy and set off to make his fortune, this 65-year-old. After approaching every restaurant in town without success, he set off to the next town. And the next.

Ask yourself this: How many rejections would you need before you quit? How many times could you hear the word 'No' before you gave up, and started working on Plan B?

Quitters never win: Winners never quit!

Although numerous doors were slammed in this man's face, after 1,532 rejections, the story goes, Colonel Sanders got a Yes, and the rest is history!

What is the true nature of success? Becoming powerful or successful, does not happen overnight. All true leaders have taken a long time and done a lot of work to get where they are. Real success has to be developed.

There are only two kinds of people in this world - those who are, and those who are not. Decide what you want to be, and be it! There is no trying, there is only doing!

Establish two principles for yourself - There shall be no Plan B. And: Failing is not an option! With that as your basis, there's nowhere to go but Up.

A JOINT VENTURE

Joint Ventures are great ways to reach new customers. For example, suppose you sell powdered fruit juices, and further suppose you have designed a print advertisement to run in some magazines shortly. If you were to turn the print ad into say 1,000 flyers, and you were then to get some samples of your juice powders - let's say a one-serving sachet - then you could partner with another company to increase sales for both of you.

Perhaps you could contact 3 or 4 companies that have the same audience, you might be able to persuade them to include the flyer and sachet in their next mailing. You will surely be confident if people try your product and venture to your website, you would have a good chance of converting each lead. You could throw in a promotion code for 10% off. This might cost you, say $5 per customer including the sachet, flyer and 10% deal. But if you have a good return buy rate, you could make this back on the initial sale, let alone repeat buys.

You could offer the companies that do this a good incentive – perhaps pay them an amount per lead, offer them advertising on your websites, newsletters etc... You could even persuade people who do trade shows to offer these on their trade tables for a one off payment. The opportunies are endless.

One mistake repeated time and time again in these sort of offerings is to make the offer of partnership unattractive. Partnership/joint venture/strategic alliance - whatever you call them - are 50/50 affairs. Offering a company or independent sales person 5% or 10% commission is insulting and counter-productive.

If you are asking another company to send your product sample to their customers, for example, you are asking this company to invite their customers to spend money on your product rather than their own. It's a non-argument to say, well the other company doesn't have the same product so we are not taking anything away. Yes, you are. Money is a finite resource. Once their customers have spent their money on your product, the customer has less money left to spend with your partner. There is always competition, even between companies that do not seem to compete.

In this case, you must set it up so that you both benefit equally - 50%. And if this exercise will bring good subsequent sales to you, you must make it so it brings good subsequent sales to your partner, too. If you will gain more benefit from follow-up sales, then give your partner a greater proportion of the first sale gains.

See Jay Abraham's example of that arthritis rub - 'Icy-Hot' I think it was called. According to Jay, he paid a radio station $4.00 for every $3.00 sale they generated because there was no back-end for the radio station and all follow-up sales went to the company.

It must be a win-win for both of companies.

Regarding Backend?

1. You want back-end (repeat) sales but you also want your partner company to have a back-end, if possible. Then you can share the front-end 50/50. If there is no back-end for them, that's when you must 'over' compensate them at the front.

2. Partner companies will be wary of losing their customers to you. Protect them by letting their customers buy your product from the partner. Partner includes your promotion in their advertising or invoice enclosure, whatever. Customer sends money to partner, partner pays you 50% of money received and provides names and addresses of buyers for you to fulfill. Now you have a list of customers for follow-up sales but the buyers are still customers of your partner and you have no access to non-buyers. This protects the integrity of your partner's relationship with their customers. You get to follow-up directly with buying customers but not non-buying customers.

What if, you may ask, a buyer wants to buy again? How can you make sure that repeat buyers don't buy through the partner?

Repeat buyers won't be able to buy through the partner if it is a limited time offer. Also, because you fulfill that first order, it makes it clear to the buyer that you are the supplier and, of course, you include a re-order form with the product for them to re-order from you.

Also, you might only sell one of your products through the partner and all other products directly on re-order. That way you can continue to allow your partner's customers to purchase that one product through him, even re-orders, knowing that every fulfillment is accompanied by a your own advertising for other products and a re-order form back to you.

If you are thinking about using a coupon with your partner's name on it, your partner must trust you. He won't know how many of his customers place an order and he has no way of *knowing* that you will honor your committment to him. But if he collects the money, and pays you 50% for you to fulfill, he is guaranted that you will fulfill the order or he can send the customer's money back. He is also guaranteed his share because he gets to handle the money.

You don't need to handle the money. As long as you get your share prior to fulfillment, you are fine. The way I have laid it out here, both of you are guaranteed and neither has to trust the other. Furthermore, in letting your partner handle the money, he gets to feel you trust him (even though there's no risk involved) and you get relieved of a certain amount of paperwork - thus, it is simpler.

Also, you can include a personalised letter with each order fulfillment saying thanks for the order and offering 10% on their next order.

The sort of objection I sometimes encounter for this arrangement is that the partner might not pay you. You would be putting all your trust in their hands, you might think, and that if you arrange to receive the money it would limit the risk for you.

But that's not true...

• Partner sends your ad to his customers.
• Customer decides to buy and sends money to partner.
• If the partner keeps all the money, you don't ship any goods. In fact, you won't even know about it. But that's not your concern. The customer gets on to the partner saying, where's my product? You are not in the loop yet. The customer doesn't even know you exist yet. The customer has received an ad for a product from the partner. If the partner doesn't deliver, the customer gets on to him.
• But the partner pays you your 50% to supply the product, which you do directly to the customer. You don't ship until you get paid. In fact, you won't know a customer exists until you get paid.
• There is no risk for anyone but the customer. Nobody has to trust anyone - except the customer who has to trust the partner, with whom he has already done business and believes to be trustworthy.

Another objection is, the customer would just be able to go and buy from the partner repeatedly.

That is true, if it was not a limited time offer. But, as I said before, if you are only partnering with another company for one of your products and are sending a full catalogue with the fulfilled order, the customer cannot buy your other products from the partner, they must buy them from you. If a customer only wants that one product and consistently buys from the partner, consider your additional cost as extremely targetted (ie. more efficient) advertising for your other products.

Every time you get your full catalogue in the hands of someone you know uses your products, that's better than sending 100 catalogues by bulk mail.

Let Loose Lawyers on Corporate Outlaws

Stopping corporations from cooking their books and having auditors bless their felonies will not be accomplished by increasing prison sentences. That’s fighting corporate fraud the way we have been fighting the war on drugs. Lots of talk but no action. We can get action by repealing the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and turn loose the class action lawyers to go after the outlaws.

Before 1995 investors could use class action lawsuits to hold responsible executives who fraudulently reported sales and book-to-bill ratios, those who delayed reporting business reverses to inflate stock prices so they could exercise favorable stock options, and auditors who looked the other way, such as in the savings and loan association rip-offs.

In 1995, a Republican Congress passed the PSLRA to limit class actions. Republicans have long opposed class action lawyers’ efforts to represent consumers and investors. Even President Bush in a Texas gubernatorial race campaigned against class action lawyers who represented investors in security fraud cases, no doubt feeling the heat from his own questionable transactions. During the Clinton administration, Republicans screamed that private attorneys prosecuting securities frauds were bringing “frivolous cases,” and that enforcement should be solely in the hands of the SEC. The Contract with America proponents told us that the greediest of Wall Street were going to voluntarily follow the law when there were no private attorneys general in sight and the market would control any excesses.

The new statute placed onerous restrictions on shareholders efforts to hold corporate crooks accountable, limited the responsibility for accountants who were guilty of fraud and required defrauded investors to describe in detail all aspects of corporate fraud before taking depositions and learning how shysters had cooked the books. Damaged investors had to be able to explain the corrupt acts of corporate officers in order to stay in court even before they had conducted a full investigation. This new U.S. public policy restrained the private enforcement of laws, knowing that a strong plaintiff’s bar of private attorneys’ previously had played a significant role in the enforcement of securities laws. Private civil enforcement of the securities laws died. The effect was to reduce the probability that crooks would be held responsible for cheating.

President Clinton foresaw the decimation of private enforcement of the securities law. He vetoed it, but a Republican Congress over-rode his veto and we have seen the results.

Never before have there been as many financial frauds perpetrated on investors worldwide. Since 1995, Enron, WorldCom, ImClone, Global Crossing Ltd., Adelphia Communications, Xerox, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Qwest cheated investors because there has been little fear of being sued. They have fabricated revenues, disguised expenses as investments and established off-balance sheet partnerships to inflate profits because the chances of being held accountable has been nil.

Investors were better off when the private securities bar could call out a posse of lawyers and bring in the desperadoes, make the shysters pay and scare would-be manipulators into being honest. Insurance companies, pension funds, unsophisticated investors, and retirees are more at risk today as a result of the PSLRA as current events have proven.

As waves of securities frauds hit the financial beach, confidence in the U.S. stock market has eroded worldwide. The dollar is approaching serious lows and soon the U.S. will have to raise interest rates to stem the tide of money leaving U.S. markets. Insurance companies, banks and a range of significant institutions have relied upon the integrity of our financial markets and the damage report is far from complete. We can increase investor confidence by insuring that wrongdoers will be under constant scrutiny and held accountable when they step out of line. It was a mistake to adopt the PSLRA and limit the private enforcement of our securities law. Repeal it now. Turn loose the class action lawyers.