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Are you an individual business professional that is responsible for generating and managing your own leads? Are you FRUSTRATED with the constant “swings” in income and production? One month you are making great money, and the next month you wonder how you are going to pay the rent. You have to generate leads, manage those leads, and talk to paying prospects. It seems like a vicious circle- You market and generate leads to find prospects. You find a prospect to talk to, and then have no time to manage or generate any other incoming leads. Therefore, when you are finished with your current prospect, you have no one else to talk to! If you can relate to the few sentences above, you are not alone.

In this “new economy” marketing and lead generation is a big challenge for the individual business professional. Many Americans are not willing to spend money as “freely” as they were before. Likewise, many business professionals had to “tighten” their marketing budget and reduce lead generation spending. In addition, many of them commonly make some very BIG MISTAKES when it comes to marketing and lead generation, and that makes the difference between huge success, or giant failure. So, get ready because I’m about to reveal the 3 deadly sins that individual business professionals are currently making when it comes to marketing and lead generation in today’s economy.

A) Ineffective lead generation pieces – when creating a lead generation piece it must be comprised of several components. Two of the most important components a lead generation piece should have is a deadline and an offer. So for example if you are selling “widgets,” your ad that reads, “widgets on sale now, great prices, call today,” is not an offer. Your ad should read more like “25% off all widgets. Must call before July 25, 2010.” As an added bonus to help increase response, put what is called a secondary reason for response. For example in your ad say “be one of the first 25 people to buy widgets and get a free gift valued at $27.”

B) No follow up system- I can’t tell you the number of individuals that spend money to generate leads, and then have no idea what to say or do when a prospect responds! Furthermore, most individuals talk to the prospect once, maybe mail them once or twice, and then just give up. It might help you to know that most people do not buy anything at all until at least the 5th contact. So, the next time you consider a lead generation campaign, you might want to consider how many “follow up” steps you have to support it.

C) Spending money on brand marketing- Unless you have millions of dollars to spend (and maybe more) on “branding” your company, you might as well roll the window of your car down and start throwing out $100 bills. Your marketing and lead generation results will be the same, in that you will probably not find any “paying clients” this way. I refer to people who like to “brand “market as “marketing victims.” These are people who spend money on things like billboards, park benches, sponsorships, radio, TV, etc.

Now you know the 3 most common reasons why an individual business professionals’ marketing and lead generation campaigns do not work in today’s economy. Keeping that in mind, here are 3 things you can do right now to begin to automatically increase your income and begin to build a steady and predictable high income business.

1) Pull out all current marketing pieces and check to make sure they contain offers and deadlines. If they do not, edit the marketing pieces and put these in.

2) Decide on what it is you would like the prospect to do when they receive your marketing or lead generation piece. Do you want them to call for more information, go to a website, fill out a form, etc. For each marketing or lead generation piece you use, guide the prospect to the next step. Create 5 or 6 steps and you will have the “follow up” I described in section “B” above.

3) Review all marketing and lead generation campaigns and see if they fall into the “advertising victim” category. If they do chances are they are not producing any real results and you may want to save your money and stop them.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daryl_Spector

Do I need a business plan?

By Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Not everyone who starts and runs a business begins with a business plan, but it certainly helps to have one. If you are seeking funding from a venture capitalist, you will certainly need a comprehensive business plan that is well thought out and demonstrates sound business reasoning.

If you are approaching a banker for a loan for a start-up business, your loan officer may suggest a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, which will require a business plan. If you have an existing business and are approaching a bank for capital to expand the business, they often will not require a business plan, but they may look more favorably on your application if you have one.

Reasons for writing a business plan include:

• Support a loan application
• Raise equity funding
• Define objectives and describe programs to achieve those objectives
• Create a regular business review and course correction process
• Define a new business
• Define agreements between partners
• Set a value on a business for sale or legal purposes
• Evaluate a new product line, promotion, or expansion

What’s in a business plan?

A business plan should prove that your business will generate enough revenue to cover your expenses, but a business plan may vary depending upon whom your audience is. If you are writing a plan for your colleagues and partners, for example, to expand an existing business, then the focus of that plan may be more operational than financial. Yes, you are going to show your partners how this expansion will mean more revenues, but they are going to want to know the nuts and bolts of how this new venture is going to be implemented.

If you are writing a business plan for a bank, your bank manager will want to see that your ideas are well thought out, but the most important aspect to him or her will be your financials. Are your assumptions realistic? And will the cash flow of the business be enough to ensure that you can make the monthly payments for the loan that you have requested? If your business is making $1,000 a month and your payments are $1,200 a month, the bank is likely to turn you away.

When considering an investment opportunity, most venture capitalists look at the obvious trends and market niches. Transcending the business elements, however, the most important factor in a decision to invest in a company is the quality of the people. In real estate, the three biggest criteria are “location, location and location.” The venture capital axiom is “people, people and people.” VCs will ask, how experienced are the people that are going to run this business? Do they have knowledge of the industry? Have they started successful ventures in the past?

What makes a successful business plan?

• Presents a well thought out idea
• Contains clear and concise writing
• Has a clear and logical structure
• Illustrates management’s ability to make the business a success
• Shows profitability

Bringing it all together…

Your business plan is like your calling card, it will get you in the door where you’ll have to convince investors and loan officers that you can put your plan into action. You want your calling card to look impressive, so make sure your business plan is printed out on good quality paper, you have checked the spelling and grammar and that your numbers add up. Anyone who sees errors while reading your plan will wonder whether you are going to make similar errors in running your business.

A great business plan is the best way to show bankers, venture capitalists, and angel investors that you are worthy of financial support. Make sure that your plan is clear, focused and realistic. Then show them that you have the tools, talent and team to make it happen.

Source: bplans.com

14 Key Principles for PM Success

This web-published article by Michael Greer is an excerpt from “Chapter 6: Planning and Managing Human Performance Technology Projects,” Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1999

1. Project managers must focus on three dimensions of project success. Simply put, project success means completing all project deliverables on time, within budget, and to a level of quality that is acceptable to sponsors and stakeholders. The project manager must keep the team’s attention focused on achieving these broad goals.
2. Planning is everything — and ongoing. On one thing all PM texts and authorities agree: The single most important activity that project managers engage in is planning — detailed, systematic, team-involved plans are the only foundation for project success. And when real-world events conspire to change the plan, project managers must make a new one to reflect the changes. So planning and replanning must be a way of life for project managers.
3. Project managers must feel, and transmit to their team members, a sense of urgency. Because projects are finite endeavors with limited time, money, and other resources available, they must be kept moving toward completion. Since most team members have lots of other priorities, it’s up to the project manager to keep their attention on project deliverables and deadlines. Regular status checks, meetings, and reminders are essential.
4. Successful projects use a time-tested, proven project life cycle. We know what works. Models such as the standard ISD model and others described in this text can help ensure that professional standards and best practices are built into our project plans. Not only do these models typically support quality, they help to minimize rework. So when time or budget pressures seem to encourage taking short cuts, it’s up to the project manager to identify and defend the best project life cycle for the job.
5. All project deliverables and all project activities must be visualized and communicated in vivid detail. In short, the project manager and project team must early on create a tangible picture of the finished deliverables in the minds of everyone involved so that all effort is focused in the same direction. Avoid vague descriptions at all costs; spell it out, picture it, prototype it, and make sure everyone agrees to it.
6. Deliverables must evolve gradually, in successive approximations. It simply costs too much and risks too much time spent in rework to jump in with both feet and begin building all project deliverables. Build a little at a time, obtain incremental reviews and approvals, and maintain a controlled evolution.
7. Projects require clear approvals and sign-off by sponsors. Clear approval points, accompanied by formal sign-off by sponsors, SMEs, and other key stakeholders, should be demarcation points in the evolution of project deliverables. It’s this simple: anyone who has the power to reject or to demand revision of deliverables after they are complete must be required to examine and approve them as they are being built.
8. Project success is correlated with thorough analyses of the need for project deliverables. Our research has shown that when a project results in deliverables that are designed to meet a thoroughly documented need, then there is a greater likelihood of project success. So managers should insist that there is a documented business need for the project before they agree to consume organizational resources in completing it.
9. Project managers must fight for time to do things right. In our work with project managers we often hear this complaint: “We always seem to have time to do the project over; I just wish we had taken the time to do it right in the first place!” Projects must have available enough time to “do it right the first time.” And project managers must fight for this time by demonstrating to sponsors and top managers why it’s necessary and how time spent will result in quality deliverables.
10. Project manager responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority. It’s not enough to be held responsible for project outcomes; project managers must ask for and obtain enough authority to execute their responsibilities. Specifically, managers must have the authority to acquire and coordinate resources, request and receive SME cooperation, and make appropriate, binding decisions which have an impact on the success of the project.
11. Project sponsors and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers. Most project sponsors and stakeholders rightfully demand the authority to approve project deliverables, either wholly or in part. Along with this authority comes the responsibility to be an active participant in the early stages of the project (helping to define deliverables), to complete reviews of interim deliverables in a timely fashion (keeping the project moving), and to help expedite the project manager’s access to SMEs, members of the target audience, and essential documentation.
12. Projects typically must be sold, and resold. There are times when the project manager must function as salesperson to maintain the commitment of stakeholders and sponsors. With project plans in hand, project managers may need to periodically remind people about the business need that is being met and that their contributions are essential to help meet this need.
13. Project managers should acquire the best people they can and then do whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of their way. By acquiring the best people — the most skilled, the most experienced, the best qualified — the project manager can often compensate for too little time or money or other project constraints. Project managers should serve as an advocate for these valuable team members, helping to protect them from outside interruptions and helping them acquire the tools and working conditions necessary to apply their talents.
14. Top management must actively set priorities. In today’s leaner, self-managing organizations, it is not uncommon for project team members to be expected to play active roles on many project teams at the same time. Ultimately, there comes a time when resources are stretched to their limits and there are simply too many projects to be completed successfully. In response, some organizations have established a Project Office comprised of top managers from all departments to act as a clearinghouse for projects and project requests. The Project Office reviews the organization’s overall mission and strategies, establishes criteria for project selection and funding, monitors resource workloads, and determines which projects are of high enough priority to be approved. In this way top management provides the leadership necessary to prevent multi-project log jams. (For related information, see my online article What’s Project Portfolio Management (PPM) and Why Should Project Managers Care About It?)

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(C) Copyright 2009 from Michael Greer’s Project Management Resources web site.  The URL is http://www.michaelgreer.com.

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