InputPlus

An Exciting New Developement

As most of you know by now I make my living as a Webmaster and online business developer. Which simply means I build websites and show people how to use them. This is a time consuming and very demanding task. As anyone who  has developed a decent website knows. That is why the most common answer I get to the question do you have a website is , My brother, brother in law or son is doing my sight, and hasn't completed it yet. You go to the URL and all you see is pages under construction, or a template site that looks like every other site you see on the Internet. None of these sites are ranked on Google and are very hard to find.

My base fee for a site is $600.oo with ranges as high as $2500.00 depending on what is needed. This is because of the time involved in developing a good site that is productive. Now there is another way that provides an affordable alternative Site Build It (SBI). Take a look at this video and see what I mean. Here is the URL http://videotour.sitesell.com/inputplus.html

Up Late Again

I was up early this morning looking around at the world. For me that  means the Internet. Far more reliable than Television. Much more  information. Have any of you ever tried Google world map. It is  an interesting tool. You can actually see any address or street or any  section of town anywhere in the U.S and other cities around the world.  So not only can you do business anywhere in the world ,but now you can  see where you doing business.

Where In The World Have I Been You ask

Well I have been trying to review my work habits and get more things done. For those of you who may be GTD fans you may already know where I am going. But recently I was on a flight from Long Beach Cal to Dallas Tx. There was a young man sitting across from me who seem to be a seasoned traveler. He noticed a book I was reading ( Hand book for the soul). We talked about the book for a minute and I noticed he was taking notes of some of the things I was saying. I asked him when and how he was going to use this comments and he would just smile and say they would help some people.

After being home for a day I recieved a call from Jason Womack. he told me he had used some of the things we talked about in a seminar he was doing in Ohio. At no time during the conversation on the flight or the phone call the next day did he ever mention who he worked for or what he did. When I saw his blog in which he posted some nice comments about me, I noticed it was linked to a company sight. I discovered that Jason worked for Getting Things Done author David Allen. I knew about GTD but had never really looked at it seriously as something for me. Even though I disparately needed it. You see I am one of those people who has more ideas than I know what to do with. You may already know this by the name of my company Inputplus.

Well once I understood some of the principle of GTD I saw instantly how this system was a perfect match for Inputplus and many of the practices we implement with the Inputplus format. Is the world ready I certainly am

A Good Reason To Look At Business On The Internet

Recently I saw the most confirming information for my entreprenural life style. I have observed for the last thirty years (being a Certified Licienced Social Worker) one of the most desturbing trends in the American social system. The robbing and fleesing of the American worker. But in the middle of this I also saw one the greatest oportunities for self reliance and independant wealth.

Most American miss this oportunity because they have been miss informed about business, finance ,investments and Technology. Hopefully the following program will help open your eyes. It was aired on PBS and can be found on PBS.org or click here. The program tiltle is Can You Afford To Retire.

A Valuable Internet Tool

I have been writing in this blog about how to create a powerful customer base using technology. And most of what I have had to say aplies equally to offline as well as online business models. Of course if you really want to have success with you Customer Relations Management model then you will have to be serious about customer gathering and retaining the customers you have. The Internet is very unique in this area. It is a tool that can be effectively used to both gather customers and provide them with a greater amount of cusomer sevice.  No one in business today should not be aware of how powerful the Internet can be. That's why every serious business or entreprenuer should read Make My Site Sell by Ken Evoy. It is a must read for those serious about there business.

What do you do?

What to you do? Have you heard that one before? You are in the middle of a conversation and someone ask what do you do? Well the sales and marketing part of us gets very excited at questions like this. But the human side at least if you are like I am becomes somewhat offended. Why? because who I am as a person should always be more important than what I do.  I agree with this philosophy but at some point it is O.K to tell people what you do. This is always true if you are in business or offer a service. The truth is you will have no business if no one knows what you do. I can tell you this if you work for a company and tell someone your position without telling them the company you work for. Your company would be very unhappy. How many employers would love to here a contestant on Wheel of Fortune say I work for ____________ fill in the blank company  than I work for a major whatever kind of company. So if you you work for yourself you should definitely let others know what you do. And then empress them with who you are. Why am I saying this? Because the Internet is a place where people come to find out what you do and who you are. Very few people will do business with you if all your site says is what you do. It's important for it to also say who you are.  This brings us back to another very important part of the CRM (customer relations management)process. Knowing who your client is and what he or she expects. This is the only way to build strong relationships. There are several ways to know who your client is. One of the best tools is a survey. Followed up by a personal call responding to the answers given on the survey.  This is a good way to identify your 20%

Why the last post was important

The last information given was probably the best information anyone in business could ever get. Why because time not money is your greatest resource next to people. And the advice given will provide you with the most valued people and save you a lot of time. A database filled with names is just busy work. But when you actually know the people behind the name and how they think ,your work gets easier and your time doing things like selling and customer service gets shorter. Because you know your customer gets it and doesn't mind paying for it. Now all you have to do is overdeliver and you have a customer for life. What I mean is that your customer percieves the value of your product or service and you give them more than they exspect. This all begins with knowing how they think and letting them know how you think.

Once this occurs

"click you have a bound " it's your job to maintain this bound by doing a good job. The internet and technology can help you do that.

Knowing who they are /the 20 from the 80

Trying to be all things to all people is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to attracting and keeping customers. Choosing a target market is tough. It means eliminating entire groups of people from your messages. But without focus, you risk having no meaning to anyone.

When I don't have market stats to work with, I rely on the good ol' 80/20 rule. 80% of your potential target market probably won't buy from you -- unless you've got an unlimited budget to actually be all things to all people. Let us look at who is not your customer or client.Here are a few simple questions to ask your self that can save you a lot of time.

Does the prospect get it?

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who seemed not understand a word you where saying? You are talking but they where staring blankly into space. This can happen in the virtual world as well. Your message must be clear and your prospect must understand what you are saying. And the rule of thumb is some just want get it.

Is the problem affordability?

What is the cost of your service. Who is your customer and what do they perceive the value of your service to be. Many times it is just a matter of if the prospect sees the value and benefit of what you do. And the rule of thumb is some will underatand the value just can't afford it.

Taking a second look at what you really want from Technology

The reality is that different companies and end users all require a unique solution for these technology challenges. The battle within businesses and organizations is not how much data can be collected (there is plenty of data), but rather how efficiently customer and client issues and questions can be solved, and at what cost.While tools are certainly important in building the database foundation, it's time to take a fresh look at the evolving service layer that may well be the better solution for your customers and clients

If you want to build a community around your site, ask yourself the following questions:

If you want to build a community around your site, ask yourself the following questions: * Do you have the passion for your topic that will attract others? (If you don't care about it, nobody else will, either.) * Can you attract enough people interested in the topic to form an active community? (If your target group is too small, you may not be able to gather a critical mass.) * Is your topic appropriate for group participation? (Look for real-world examples of people getting together to discuss the topic. If you don't see any, you may be in the wrong area.) * Can you make the commitment to support your community with personal attention? (Building a community requires a human, hands-on approach. You can't expect other people to do it all on their own.)