Have you ever wondered whatever happened to your high school sweetheart? How about your best friend who you lost contact with overtime?  If you have there is a good chance that you have tried to contact them.  Unfortunately, many individuals get married or move away.  This may make it difficult to contact those that you used to know. That is unless you join one of the most popular online social networking websites. That website is known as Classmates.

Although classmates is considered a social networking website, it is, in a way, unique from most of the others.  This is because classmates focuses on connections that were made in school, whether it be elementary school, high school, or college. Although it is encouraged that you contact those that you know from school, you are able to contact just about anyone on the website. That is one of the many features of Classmates that makes the social networking site worth joining.

The only problem that many internet users have with Classmates is the fact that it is often requires a paid membership. There is a free membership plan that is available, but you are limited with what you can do on the site. Despite the fact that you have to become a paid member to enjoy what Classmates has to offer, it is well worth it. In addition to being well worth it, the membership fee is easy to afford. Currently, there are three different levels of membership that you can sign up for, the highest being only five dollars a month.

If you are interested in seeing what Classmates has to offer, you can easily do so by visiting their online website at www.classmates.com.  Once at their main page, you will have to go through the process of selecting your school.  Once that has been done, you will then need to create a user profile. This profile is part of what will be displayed on the website; however, once you officially become a member you can add more information to your profile.

With a free membership, you can post your own profile and view profiles from other members. Viewing the profiles of other members, especially those that you went to school with, is easy.  Classmates has separated everyone into categories. These categories not only include the schools that everyone went to, but the years that they attended. This means that whether you graduated in 1970 or 2000, you should easily be able to obtain information on your classmates.

Although you can view other member profiles with a free membership, you cannot contact them. To make contact with those that you have lost touch with, you will need to become a paying member. As previously mentioned, this membership is relatively easy to afford.  Once you have become a paid member, you cannot not only contact your classmates individually, but you can also send out broadcast messages or announcements to everyone that you went to school with.  A paid membership also gives you the ability to use the message boards.

By joining Classmates, you will not only be able to make contact with your old classmates and friends, but you may also even be able to renew old friendships or make new ones.  Reconnecting with your old friends and making new ones, what could be better than that?

Every year thousands of men and women across America sign on with

direct selling firm-Tupperware, Amway, or a cosmetic

company-hoping to make money enough for new draperies, a new

davenport, or some new clothes. They sell a little merchandise to

a few relatives and close friends. Then they are through. They

quit before they give themselves a chance to learn the basics of

success in sales. “I am simply not a born salesperson,” they

often say.

 

No one is born a salesperson, any more than one is born a doctor

or born a lawyer. Sales is a profession. To be successful in any

profession one must learn not only the basic techniques, but also

how to apply those techniques. Success in sales makes use of all

the abilities one is born with, plus all those acquired through

education and experience.

 

If you are looking for a career opportunity or “extra income” to

help with the family budget, direct selling offers you

dream-fulfilling possibilities. However, you must give yourself

time to learn the techniques of sales. Ask yourself. “How long

does a doctor to be study? A lawyer to be study?”

 

WHAT IS DIRECT SELLING?

 

Direct selling is marketing a product directly to the consumer

with no middleman involved. Most reliable firms are members of

the National Association of Direct Selling

Companies. They bring to the public fine products that are

modestly priced in order to insure mass consumption.

 

Most direct selling companies furnish their representatives with

a starter kit and essential supplies below-cost prices. In many

instances the investment is under $100.

 

There is an old adage which says “Give a man a fish and you feed

him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a

lifetime.”

 

Many of them were able to change their lives for the better. They

took their families on nice vacations. They purchased a piano or

an organ and provided music lessons for their children. They

saved money for college education. They redecorated their homes,

bought needed furniture. One highly successful saleslady built a

new home.

 

The rewards of direct selling are many

 

1. You can be your own boss.

2. You can set your own hours.

3. You can own your own businesses with little or no investment.

4. You can pay yourself more than any boss would ever pay you.

5. You can give yourself regular raises as your business grows.

 

It is only fair to tell you that there are failures, too. There

are people who will not work for themselves. When working for a

boss, they rise early, are well-groomed, and get to the office on

time. However, when they are their own boss, they are still in a

bathrobe, drinking one more cup of coffee at 11:00 A.M.

 

If you can be your own boss and discipline yourself to do what

has to be done when it has to be done, direct selling offers a

most unusual earning opportunity.

 

THE TEN STEPS

 

Here are ten steps that will assure your success:

 

1. BE A GOAL SETTER. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want

to save for college education for your children? A new car? A

new home? You can have whatever you want, but you must want it

enough to do the things that have to be done to get it. Whatever

your goal, write it down and set a target date for reaching it.

Divide the time period into blocks of achievement that are

reachable. Work consistently toward accomplishing each day, each

week, each month what you set out to do. Goal-setting is a must

in every area of life. Little is ever accomplished without

definite goals.

 

2. BE A LIST MAKER. Each evening list all the things you want to

get done the following day. That gives you an organized approach

to each day. As each task is finished, mark it off your list. It

is amazing how much gets done when one works with a

“things-to-do” list. Also, have a notebook listing appointments,

potential clients, repeat clients, and referrals, and keep it

with you at all times. You will be adding to it constantly.

 

3. BE ENTHUSIASTIC. Enthusiasm is the high-octane “fuel” that

salespeople run on. Enthusiasm generates its own energy. Energy

and good health are synonymous with busy, happy people, people

who are achieving.

 

4. RECOGNIZE THAT THE MAGIC WORD IN SALES IS “ASK.” In direct

sales we don’t have to wait for business to come to us. We create

our own business by asking for it. Ask for appointments, then you

can do business. Ask for business, then you will close sales. Ask

for referrals, then you always have a full list of potential

clients. Be quietly, yet firmly aggressive.

 

5. EXPECT NO’S. Realize that no’s are not personal. In sales, as

perhaps nowhere else, the law of averages works. Every no gets

you closer to a yes. Keep track of your ratio. It will help

improve your techniques. Are you getting ten no’s to one yes? Is

your ratio five to one? Remember, the yes’s are your income. Also

remember that “no” does not necessarily mean “no.” Often a “no”

is simply a stall for more time to think. It may be a request for

more information about your product or your service. What your

client is actually buying is assurance. Assure here by your

helpful attitude and your complete honesty, that you want what is

best for her. She will most likely respect you and do business

with you.

 

6. SCHEDULE TIME WISELY. A schedule is the roadmap by which

salespeople travel. It takes the frustration out of the day. It

assures that the necessary things get done and get done on time.

Plan your work then work your plan.

 

7. BE POSITIVE IN YOUR ATTITUDE. Success in sales, as in all

areas of life is 90 percent attitude and 10 percent aptitude. All

of us must work at developing habits of constructive thinking. I

am proud to be a salesperson. Sales make the wheels of our

economy turn. Bernard Baruch, advisor to several presidents, is

quoted as saying, “If every salesperson sat down and took no

orders for twenty-four hours, it would bankrupt our country!”

Every company that manufactures any kind of product depends upon

salespeople to move that product. Without salespeople business

would be paralyzed.

 

Remember, sales is one of the highest paid of all professions.

Statistics show that good salespeople enjoy incomes far above the

average.

 

8. HAVE AN OFFICE AREA. Most direct salespeople work from their

own homes, but it is essential to have a place where you can work

in a organized and efficient manner. An office plus a strict

working schedule gives you dignity. Both are absolutely essential

for efficient operation and accurate record keeping, so important

to the success of any business.

 

9. BE INVOLVED. Most sales organization offer contests to

stimulate production. Include winning contests as part of your

business goals. Contests make your business fun as well as adding

considerable dollar value to your income.

 

10. LEARN TO HANDLE MONEY INTELLIGENTLY. A regular nine-to-five

job usually means a paycheck at the end of the second week.

Direct sales “reps” handle money constantly. Direct sales is

instant income and constant income. Therefore. it is absolutely

necessary to become an efficient money manager.

 

Deposit every penny collected from

clients into a checking account set up especially for its

business. Since bank statements show an exact record of all

monies collected, and business expenses can be verified by

canceled checks, record keeping becomes simple and accurate.

Everything except a few “petty cash” transactions can be directly

taken from bank statements.

 

Money saved regularly and put at interest, soon develops a second

income in addition to earned income. A long-term goal, which is

realistic in direct sales, is to be able to live in retirement

off the interest earned on savings.

 

Would financial security mean a lot to you? If so, ask yourself

these questions:

 

* Am I honest?

* Do I really like people?

* Am I willing to learn?

* Am I willing to work?

* Am I capable of being my own boss?

 

If your answers are yes, to find a good product

for the direct sales market, one that you like, one that fills

the need of a lot of people, and go to work for yourself! .You

can turn dreams into reality.

Regardless of how you look at it, the most important aspect of

any successful mail order business is its advertising. In fact,

mail order success is wholly dependent, and even predicated upon

good advertising.

 

First of all, you’ve got to have a dynamic, spectacular ad that

attracts the eye and grabs the interest of the people you’re

trying to sell to. Thus, unless your ad really “jumps out” at the

reader, your sales won’t live up to expectations, and your ad

money will be wasted.

 

The eye-catching appeal of your ad must start with the headline.

Use the headline to very quickly create a picture in the minds of

the reader–a vision of all their problems being solved, and

attainment of the kind of happiness they seek. If your headline

fails to catch the attention of your prospect, you cannot hope to

capture him with the remaining of the ad, because it will go

unread! So in writing your advertisement for just a little while,

so you must quickly interest him in your offer, show him how he

can get what he wants, and then cause him to send immediately for

your “solution” to his problems. Your copy must exude enthusiasm,

excitement, and a positive attitude. Don’t be afraid to use a

hard-sell approach! Say what you feel and believe about your

offer. And use common, “everyday,” but correct English.

 

Even so, you can and must remember to be honest. Don’t exaggerate

or make claims you can’t back up. Never make promises you cannot

or don’t expect, to keep. To do so could get you in trouble with

the Federal Trade and Fair Practices people.

 

Stress the benefits of your product or service. Explain to your

reader how owning a copy of your book (for instance), or

receiving your services will make his life richer, happier, and

more abundant. Don’t get involved in detailing all the money

you’ve spent developing the product or researching the

information you’re selling, or you’re selling, or your

credentials for offering it. Stress the “sizzle” and the value of

ownership.

 

It is important to involve the reader as often as possible through

the use of the word “you.” Write your copy just as if you were

speaking to and attempting to sell just ONE person. Don’t let

your ad sound as a speaker at a podium addressing a huge stadium

filled with people, but as if there were just one individual

“listening.”

 

And don’t try to be overly clever, brilliant or humorous in your

advertising. Keep your copy simple, to the point, and on target

toward selling your prospect the product or service because of

its benefits. In other words, keep it simple, but clear; at all

costs, you don’t want to confuse the reader. Just tell him

exactly what he’ll get for his money; the benefits he’ll receive;

how to go about ordering it. You don’t have to get too friendly.

In fact, becoming “folksy,” and don’t use slang expressions.

 

In writing an ad, think of yourself as a door-to-door

salesperson. You have to get the attention of the prospect

quickly, interest him in the product you’re selling, create a

desire to enjoy its benefits, and you can then close the sale.

 

Copywriting, whether for a display ad, classified ad, sales

letter or brochure, is a learned skill. It is one anyone can

master with a bit of study, practice, and perhaps some

professional guidance.

 

Your first move, then, is to study your competition, recognize

how they are selling their wares. Practice rewriting their ads

from a different point of view or from a different sales angle.

Keep a file of ads you’ve clipped from different publications in

a file of ad writing ideas. But don’t copy anyone else’s work;

just use the ad material of others to stimulate your own

creativeness.

 

Some of the “unknown facts” about advertising–and ad writing in

particular–tell us that you cannot ask for more than $3 in a

short classified type ad. Generally speaking, a $5 item will take

at least a one-inch display ad. If you’re trying to sell a $10

item, you’ll need at least a quarter page–perhaps even a half

page of copy–and $15 to $20 items require a full page. If you

are selling a really big ticket item (costing $50 or more) you’ll

need a four-page sales letter, a brochure, separate order coupon,

and return reply envelope.

 

If you’re making offers via direct mail, best to get into the

postal system with it on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, to be sure it

does not arrive on Monday, the first and busiest day of the week.

And again, unless you’re promoting a big ticket item, the quality

or color of your paper won’t have any great effect on the

response you’ll get, but the quality of your PRINTING definitely

will, so bear this in mind when you place your printing order.

 

One final point to remember: The summer months when people are

most apt to be away on vacation are usually not good months for

direct mail. But they ARE good for opportunity and advertisements

in publications often found in vacation areas, and in motels and

hotels.

 

Again, it cannot be stresses too much or often: Success in mail

order does, indeed, depend upon advertising, and as with anything

else, quality pays off in the long run. Read this report again;

study it; let it sink in. Then apply the principles outlined in

it. They have worked for others, and THEY CAN WORK FOR YOU!

When your website is ranked well in the most popular search engines, you get more visitors clicking on your site.  The more visitors you get the more business you get.  Did you know that about 20 percent to 80 percent of your visitors will find your web site through the search engines.  Studies show that most people do not look past the fourth page of results.  There was a time when you could use free submission services that would submit your website to search engines and directories.  At one time, that would actually get you ranked OK.  Nowadays, that won’t do anything for you.  You want to get ranked at LEAST on the first page of Google and Yahoo.  The better option would be to get ranked in the top 3 listings of both Google and Yahoo.  This isn’t easy. 

 

All search engines spider or crawl the Web and automatically index your web site based on their own secretive algorithms, which are constantly changing.  How do you get ranked well.  You can use pay-per-click, which is where you bid for top ranking positions under keywords of your choice.  Just make sure that the bids you make are not more than what each customer is worth to you in your site.  For ex, if your maximum bid per click is 10.00 dollars and it takes 100 visitors to make a sale, you are probably going to lose money.

 

To get high ranked, you need to have a website with fresh content and good links to other sites with high page ranking.  You could have an rss feed in your site so that the content is fresh and new articles are submitted to keep the customers interested and the search engines satisfied. 

 

Search engines are looking for fresh information, good linking, and relevance.  Keep these points in mind and set forth with that high ranked site.

There are many reasons for wanting to start your own business, and most of us get to this point.  Which one of the following applies to you?

 

1        Freedom from daily routine.

2        Doing what I want when I want.

3        Improve my living standard.

4        I want creative freedom.

5        I want to fully use my skills, knowledge and education.

6        I have a product/idea/service that people need.

7        I’ll have more time with the family.

8        I won’t have a dress code.

9        There are good tax breaks for business owners.

10    I’m a Type B person and work best alone.

11    I want to be my own boss.

12    I want to make the decisions.

 

Now granted, every one of the above is a good reason for wanting your own business.  The rub is, that not many people think the process through – step by step.  There are 7 phases to business planning.  They are:

 

1.      Investigation Phase

2.      Planning Phase

3.      Start-up Phase

4.      Operating/Monitoring Phase

5.      Problem/Challenge resolution Phases

6.      Renewal/Expansion Phase

7.      Selling, Transferring, Retirement Phase

 

We’ll cover all of the above in my next few columns as a “Business Basics” refresher, but for today let’s take number one.

 

In the Investigation Phase you take a look at yourself and also your business options.  There are careers that are suited to personality types, so the first thing you must discern is “Which personality type am I?”

 

Duty Fulfillers

            This is an introverted personality who is serious, quiet, thorough, orderly, matter-of-fact, logical, realistic, and dependable.  They take responsibility, are well organized, know what should be accomplished and work steadily toward it disregarding distractions.  They are careful calculators, and 20% of this group become accountants.

 

The Mechanics

            These are also introverts and are cool onlookers.  They are quiet, reserved, observing, and analyzing life with a detached curiosity and have unexpected flashes of original humor.  They’re usually interested in cause and effect, how and why mechanical things work, and in organizing facts using logical principles.  They usually are craftsmen, mechanics, or handymen with about 10% becoming farmers.

 

The Doers

            These people are extraverts who are good at on-the-spot problem solving, don’t worry, enjoy whatever comes along, are adaptable, tolerant, and generally conservative in values.  They tend to like mechanical things and sports, and dislike long explanations. They are best with “real” things that can be worked, handled, taken apart, or put together. About 10% of this type go into marketing or become Impresarios.

 

The Executives

            These are another extravert group and are hearty, frank, decisive, leaders in activities and usually good in anything that requires reasoning and intelligent talk, such as public speaking.  They’re usually well informed and enjoy adding to their fund of knowledge.  They may sometimes appear more positive and confident than their experience in an area warrants.  They’re sometimes called “judgers” and “thinkers” and 21% of this group become legal administrators.

 

To go into each personality type would be far too complicated, but to give you an idea of the roles that personality types could fall into look at the following list.  Beside the categories we covered in depth here are some simply broken down into Introvert or Extravert Personality.

 

Introverts choose careers that satisfy being:

1        Nurturers

2        Guardians

3        Artists

4        Scientists

5        Protectors

6        Idealists

 

Extraverts  are usually:

1        Performers

2        Visionaries

3        The Inspirers

4        Givers

5        Caregivers

 

The second part of the Investigating Phase is looking at your business options.  When choosing the business you want to start consider the following:

 

1        Do you like to work with your hands or brain, or both?

2        Does working indoors or outdoors matter?

3        Are you good at math, writing, puzzles, blueprints, installing things or fixing things?

4        What interests you? What are your hobbies?

5        Do you like to work alone or as part of a team?

6        Do you like to plan things, or go to events?

7        Do you like machines, computers?

8        Do you like to drive or operate equipment?

9        Do you like to travel, collect/display things, give/attend shows, or take pictures?

10    Are you small, large, strong?

 

Make a list of your likes and dislikes.  Keep a diary of things you do that relate to business and rate each entry from 1 to 5 based on your interest.  Then prepare a list of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and concerns.  After doing all that, you should have a list of candidate businesses that are right for you.  Then you can make a list of the “candidate businesses” and rate them from 1 to 5 based on your own chosen criteria.

 

Some criteria could be is it feasible, low in cost to establish, meets my objectives, will make money, there is a “niche” market of existing customers, or it will produce residual income to name just a few.

 

By the time you’ve accomplished all that, you should seriously consider visiting the local chapter of S.C.O.R.E. or your own mentor to use as a sounding board for your plan.  Next week, if I haven’t dissuaded you so far, we’ll cover the Planning Phase.