Archive for April, 2007

Great Quotes To Live by!

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

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“You cannot speak that which you do not know. You cannot share that which you do not feel. You cannot translate that which you do not have. And you cannot give that which you do not possess. To give it and to share it, and for it to be effective, you first need to have it. Good communication starts with good preparation.” Jim Rohn
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1. Your Achievement Article

Three Keys to Greatness by Jim Rohn

Years ago I went into the studio and recorded a 56-minute DVD for teenagers called, “Three Keys to Greatness.” Although my focus was for teenagers, the principles I shared certainly apply to adults as well.

Recently I was asked to list these three things using one to two sentences for each. Now for your benefit here they are again.

1) Setting Goals. I call it the view of the future. Most people, including kids, will pay the price if they can see the promise of the future. So we need to help our kids see a well-defined future, so they will be motivated to pay the price today to attain the rewards of tomorrow. Goals help them do this.

2) Personal Development. Simply making consistent investments in our self-education and knowledge banks pays major dividends throughout our lives. I suggest having a minimum amount of time set aside for reading books, listening to audiocassettes, attending seminars, keeping a journal and spending time with other successful people. Charlie Tremendous Jones says you will be in five years the sum total of the books you read and the people you are around.

3) Financial Planning. I call it the 70/30 plan. After receiving your paycheck or paying yourself, simply setting aside 10% for saving, 10% for investing and 10% for giving, and over time this will guarantee financial independence for a teenager.

If a young person, or for that matter an adult, focused on doing these three simple things over a long period of time I believe they will be assured success!

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
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“By chance, you will say, but chance only favors the mind which is prepared.” Louis Pasteur

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2.Your Achievement Quotes

UNLEASHING YOUR GENIUS
“Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, whatever misfortune you may have suffered, the music of your life has not gone. It’s inside you ¾ if you listen to it, you can play it.” — Nido Qubein

“There isn’t a ruler, a yard stick or a measuring tape in the entire world long enough to compute the STRENGTH and capabilities inside you.” — Paul Meyer

“If your cup runneth over, expand your cup.” — Mark Victor Hansen

“Stop going with the flow in our life. Start your own river instead.” — Dr Phil, Phillip C. McGraw

VALUES/PRINCIPLES
“I learned about the strength you can get from a close family life. I learned to keep going, even in bad times. I learned not to despair, even when my world was falling apart. I learned that there are no free lunches. And I learned the value of hard work.” — Lee Iacocca

“The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become. That is why I wish to pay fair price for every value. If I have to pay for it or earn it, that makes something of me. If I get it for free, that makes nothing of me.” — Jim Rohn

“Personal leadership is not a singular experience. It is, rather, the ongoing process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with those most important things.” — Stephen Covey

“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” — Winston Churchill

VISION
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see…” — Henry David Thoreau

“Goals are simply a way of breaking a vision into smaller, workable units.” — Nido Qubein

“The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions.” — Alan Cohen

“Cherish your visions and your dreams. They are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” — Napoleon Hill

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“What distinguishes winners is the will to prepare to win.” Tony Jeary

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“It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” Whitney Young, Jr.

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3. Your Achievement Tips -

Life Would Be Easy… If It Weren’t for AGGRESSIVE People by Connie Podesta
The aggressive personality views life from a win/lose perspective, and they create oppositional relationships. Interactions with them become struggles for control of our personality and our life. Their weapons of choice are hurt and anger; their strategy is to make you feel bad; and their outcome is for you to change your mind, your attitude, or your behavior. But you always have a choice - and options!

Dealing with the Aggressive Person

The most important thing to remember in any personality conflict is that we cannot change anyone else. However, we can choose to change ourselves and how we react to other’s attempts to manipulate us.

When faced with aggressive behavior, we have two possible responses. First, we can assert ourselves, confront the attack (which means we avoid reacting to the emotions and sensations their tactics trigger in us), and neutralize the onslaught. This is the assertive choice.

Second, we can allow ourselves to be drawn in and manipulated and respond by using one of three non-assertive communication styles. We can give in to the attack and avoid the issue at hand (passive); we can resort to imitating the difficult behavior by being manipulative right back (aggressive); or we can attempt to get even and teach them a lesson (passive-aggressive).

As long as a difficult person is allowed to behave in an inappropriate or unacceptable way and they are rewarded for this behavior by getting their needs met they will have no incentive to change. Assertive negative feedback works!

Difficult people do not respect people who allow them to get away with their manipulations; therefore, we must give the difficult person timely feedback (assertive negative) that their behavior is not acceptable. Unfortunately, many people try to avoid confrontation because they believe a confrontation will simply escalate the already tense situation, or they believe any type of confrontation or negative feedback will not coincide with their image of a “nice person”.

Assertive negative means you must let the other person know as soon as possible, that their action, tone or behavior is not acceptable to you. It sounds mature and grown-up, functional and healthy, professional, in-control and confident; it can even sound caring and comforting.

For example, an aggressive negative response might sound like: “You are so lazy and irresponsible. How many times do I have to tell you to clean up your room?” Or “Oh fine. That’s a great idea. I’m sure our clients will really enjoy waiting 2 extra days for their order.” Or “I’m sick of dealing with you! I’ve had it!”

A more powerful, effective assertive negative response for each follows: “Son, I need you to clean your room now. I know you’ve had a lot going on after school, and it’s easy to get distracted, but this needs to be your No. 1 priority.” Or “I’m concerned that the new shipping schedule will cause a delay in getting our clients their orders on time. What can we do to make sure this doesn’t happen?” Or “I’m frustrated and tired right now, and I’m sure you are too, so we’re getting nowhere with this discussion. Let’s talk again later.”

Three important things changed:

The other person has been told that we have noticed their behavior and we feel it is not acceptable, appropriate or necessary.
There were no insults, put-downs, sarcastic statements or threats used.
We did not ignore, reward, accept or emulate their negative behavior.

Watch Out For Detours

The bottom line is that most difficult people are cowards. They really do not want to deal with anyone they think might see through the tears and threats and assertively take them on face-to-face. But aggressive people do want control. They want to get their needs met and have been taught by the rest of us that manipulation using hurt and anger usually works.

Assertiveness requires you to think about what you need to say, how you want to say it, and stick to the subject - your subject, not theirs. Be aware of detours and refuse to take them. You do not need to make excuses, defend yourself or apologize for stating your needs firmly with confidence and taking back control of your life!

Take Action!

- Think of a situation where someone has tried to detour you away from the subject. Did their technique work? Will it work next time?

- Think of an aggressive person in your life who uses hurt to get their way. How do you usually react to them? How could you be more assertive the next time you communicate with them?

- Think of an aggressive person in your life who uses anger to get their way. How do you usually react to them? How could you be more assertive the next time you communicate with them?
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“Practice is the price of mastery. Whatever you practice over and over again becomes a new habit of thought and performance.” Brian Tracy
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“One of life’s most painful moments comes when we must admit that we didn’t do our homework, that we are not prepared.” Merlin Olsen
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“Man must be prepared for every event of life, for there is nothing that is durable.” Menander of Athens
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If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail, What Would You Do Differently?

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail, What Would You Do Differently?
By Axel Henriksen

“There are eight paths to wealth - not seven, not nine, not 56 - there are only eight. All great wealth has been created by people who have focused on the particular path that suits their natural character. These people have mastered the rules of their path and progressed with unwavering clarity and certainty.” :idea:

Bill Gates has created wealth very differently to Oprah Winfrey. Warren Buffet is a Billionaire, but he has done it through a different style to Richard Branson. Some wealthy people have high profiles, some are reclusive. Some create things, some trade things, some accumulate things, some just put their name on things.

It would seem unlikely that Michael Dell could build wealth like Robbie Williams. Although both men are wealthy, they have almost nothing in common with how they created their wealth.

Share trading could be financial suicide for Anita Roddick but a fantastic idea for George Soros.

If there truly are 8 paths, which way is right for you? What strategies should you focus on and what should you avoid? Who should you role model? What types of people can most help you succeed? Who should be on your team & who should be off it?

The MyProfiling System delivers profound answers to all of these questions and more. I use this system to demonstrate that you have your own personal path to wealth… your path of least resistance.

Ask Yousrself these questions; :arrow:

Have you ever become successful and then just as quickly lost it all again?

Do you feel that there is something missing?

Why am I always stressed?

Are you passionate about some other career-hobby-interest but just never got started because?

Do feel unfulfilled in your current occupation?

What Business should I be in because my current one sucks?

You are short of Money?

You are living a second grade life?

Everything seems to overwhelm you?

You have all the money you could ever spend but something isn’t right-what is it?

MyProfile can supply you with the answers. ;-) www.MyProfile.millionairemakersinternational.com

Be Prepared to Ask

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

Be Prepared to Ask
By: Brian Tracy

If you make a perfect presentation, one that clearly explains the benefits and resolves all the doubts that a qualified prospect might have, the sale will often close all by itself, like a ripe apple dropping out of a tree into your hand. You will conclude your presentation, check to be sure that the prospect has fully understood the benefits and value to him of the offér and the prospect will say something like, “It sounds good to me, how do I get it? Will you take a check?” 8O

Don’t Count on Miracles :idea:
When you are dealing with a prospect who knows exactly what he wants and you structure your presentation so that you demonstrate to him that your product fills his needs perfectly, he can make a buying decision and invite you to wrap up the sale. But this kind of result in selling is similar to a miracle: it’s not that miracles don’t happen, it’s just that you can’t depend on them.

Be Prepared in Every Situation
You must go into every sales situation prepared for the likelihood that your prospect will have questions unanswered, concerns unresolved and objections to be overcome. Simultaneously, you must know a variety of ways to ask for the order at different points in the sales process, and you must be capable of recognizing which closing technique is most appropriate at any given time. Like a master craftsman, you need a variety of tools with which to do excellent work. The best salespeople are invariably those who are the most skilled in the fine points of bringing the sales conversation to a positive conclusion. :D

How can you apply your interpersonal skills and leverage them in a sales situation?

Build the Relationship First 8)
Your first job in the sales conversation, and throughout all of your interactions with the customer, is to build and maintain a relationship. It is to come across in a friendly way, to be warm, supportive, knowledgeable and completely focused on helping the customer to solve a problem or achieve a goal with your product or service.

Be Positive, Polite, and Persuasive
Because of the importance of trust in modern selling, you are never pushy, obnoxious or overly aggressive. You never to or say anything that can be construed as manipulative. You never attempt to influence your prospect to act contrary to his best interests. Your job is to thoroughly understand his situation and to give good recommendations that enable him to make the right buying decision.

Action Exercises
Here are two things that you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, be prepared to close the sale quickly and smoothly, and get out, when it is clear the customer is ready to buy. This is your job. Don’t hesitate.

Second, be sure that you keep your eyes on the quality of the relationship throughout. Avoid using pressure or manipulation so you can always come back again later. ;-)

But My Business IS DIFFERENT!!

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

But My Business IS DIFFERENT!!

Let’s begin with an autobiography in 5 chapters.

CHAPTER ONE

I walked down the street. There’s a huge hole in the side walk. I fall in it. It’s not my fault. It takes forever to get out.

CHAPTER TWO

I walk down the same street. There’s a huge hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in it again. I can’t believe I’m in the same hole. But it’s not my fault. It takes a long time to get out.

CHAPTER THREE

I walk down the same street. There’s a huge hole in the sidewalk. I see it. I fall in. It’s a habit. But my eyes are open. I know where I am. I admit it’s my fault. I get out immediately. 8O

CHAPTER FOUR

I walk down the same street. There’s a huge hole in the sidewalk. I WALK AROUND IT. :idea:

CHAPTER FIVE

I walk down a DIFFERENT street.

(Courtesy of Dr Herbert True, Notre Dame University and Dan Kennedy)

I’ve often make the analogy in my seminars of how an elephant is tethered to a tiny stake at a circus. Yet we know that same elephant could easily tear it out of the ground and create havoc.

You see, at a very early age, that elephant was tethered to the ground with a super heavy chain to a big immovable iron stake. He tries, and tries again and again to move it, and he strains to break free until he ultimately stops trying and accepts his fate.

Then, as a powerful fully grown elephant, he continues to believe he cannot break free as long as he sees he’s tethered to a stake in the ground beside him.

The analogy I refer to is comparing our own negative programming and the effects it has on us. After all, we’ve all run into our share of it along the way from our peers.

Money would have to be one of the biggest of all hang-ups, comments from our family or peers such as “money doesn’t grow on trees”, “do you think I’m made of money”, “Rich people rip people off” and “You need money to make money”.

Although possibly well meaning at the time, it’s this sort of negative programming that’s seen more people have more hang-ups about money than they do about sex.

In a business sense, one of the biggest hang-ups I’m confronted with is…”My Business is DIFFERENT!”

Too many entrepreneurs are circus elephants! :D

Immensely powerful, but stuck within their own limitations founded only on their own beliefs, bias and opinions.

This stuff, emotional direct response marketing, certainly can work on your business, irrespective of what business you’re in – provided you’re the RIGHT person, at the RIGHT time, hearing the RIGHT information.

I’ve never seen an exception. :P

If you choose, you can be the biggest obstacle to your success, if you allow your own ego, bias and opinions to get in the way of the truth.

Success in business is mechanical process, the stuff holding you back is your own B.S.

Committed to Multiplying Your Profits and Guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Capitalism, ;-)

Mal Emery
www.onlineofflineinformationmarketing.com

Get FREE Advertising! Get FREE Customers! Get FREE Money! Get Products!

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

Get FREE Advertising! Get FREE Customers!
Get FREE Money! Get Products!

If you work Joint Ventures, you can get something started immediately, even if you have no ideas, no products, no money, or no customers! 8O

But, Joint Ventures are not just for people who haven’t gotten into business yet!

For example, if you have money, you can Joint Venture with someone who has a product or customers, but is broke. Or, if you have a product, you can Joint Venture with someone with cash or customers and get started right away! Or, if you have customers and a product, you can Joint Venture with others to whose customers you can sell more of your product…and sell others’ products to your customers!

I have made literally a fortune doing Joint Ventures… ;-)
and now YOU can make a fortune with Joint Ventures!
www.jointventureshowtomakemillionshomestudycourse.com

Press Release Power: How to Get $Millions Worth of Advertising Oomph for Free

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Press Release Power: How to Get $Millions Worth of Advertising Oomph for Free 8O

by Barry Lenson

Here’s a marketing strategy that’s literally too good to be true, because . . .

* You can master it in an afternoon.
* It costs you nothing - literally zilch.
* It performs as well as expensive advertising.
* It is renewable, meaning that with just a little ongoing effort from you, it will keep producing good results. :P

I am talking about writing press releases. If you spend just a little time reviewing the information in this post today, you can achieve the results I describe above, or even better. Plus, you can get started today.

What You Need to Know ;-)

What are press releases? They are one or two-page written documents that you send to reporters to tell them news about your company. They could be newspaper reporters, or reporters on television or radio. They will tell your story in print or on the news - and you will get valuable coverage at no cost.

How can you learn to write press releases? You can learn the standard content and page setup by visiting corporate Websites and studying the press releases that are posted on them. Some good companies to visit are Apple Computer, General Motors and Honda. But explore the “News” or “Media” sections on other corporations’ Websites too. You will quickly see that writing a high-quality press release is doggone easy.

What kind of news should you announce in your press releases? Just about anything that will interest the media. Perhaps you are opening a new store, launching a new product, hiring a new top executive or opening a new manufacturing plant in a neighboring state. If it is news, someone will report it.

Where should you send your releases? To local newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations - and any other news-reporting organizations that make sense. Just be sure to target specific reporters, by name, who cover your industry or technology. Start making a list of those people and send your releases to them.

How should you send your releases? Print them out and send them in envelopes. Or email your releases directly to the reporters you are targeting. (Many newspaper and magazine writers give their email addresses at the bottom of the articles they write.) Include some photos (or downloadable JPEGs if you are posting your releases on your company’s site) too.

How can you make sure that your releases get picked up in the media? Be proactive. Don’t send them out and wait passively for your phone to ring. Call to follow up. Also cultivate ties with reporters who cover your industry. Invite them to your company for a tour. Or introduce yourself to them at trade shows or conferences. Face-to-face contact generates press coverage.

The stories and articles that result from your releases benefit you even more than straight advertising can, by attracting the attention of venture capitalists, potential employees, vendors - and many other people with benefits to offer. ;-)

So if you want to get a huge return from a tiny investment of time, “release yourself” - by writing press releases that trumpet the news about what you and your company are up to.

To learn more cutting-edge, cost-saving marketing strategies, be sure to Get You Own HomeStudy course Now: www.onlineofflineinformationmarketing.com

Triple Your Income from the Customers You Already Have

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Triple Your Income from the Customers You Already Have :idea:

by Michael Sexton

You probably don’t think of your customers as expenses. But if you add up all the money you spent to win their business, you will discover how costly they really are. To win them, you spent a lot of money on advertising, salespeople, a Website and other marketing initiatives too.

Customers are costly. In fact, many businesses report that it takes more than a year before a typical customer represents a profit, not an expense. 8O

What is the solution? You could go on spending money to win more customers - and you should. But you need to do something else too:

You need to generate more income from the customers you already have.

Here are some proven strategies that can get that job done - whether you are a small startup or a major corporation.

* Strategy one: Build loyalty. In other words, get your customers to buy exclusively from you, not from your competitors. If you own a coffee bar, hand out little cards that entitle your customers to a free eleventh cup of coffee after they have bought 10. Or if you are a car dealer, offer attractive predetermined trade-in prices for the new vehicles you sell, provided that your customers turn them in on the next cars they buy from you. :D
* Strategy two: Offer volume discounts to encourage your customers to buy more. If you have a landscaping company, offer a year’s service to customers who prepay for the next ten months. That sounds like you are lowering your per-month price, and you are. But the point is, you are selling at volume and boosting your cash flow.
* Strategy three: Upsell your customers to more expensive products. Airlines do it when they encourage current economy-fare customers to upgrade to first-class tickets. You can do it too. If you own a health club, for example, upsell your customers to more expensive memberships that include exclusive classes, massages and a tempting array of bundled benefits.
* Strategy four: Expand your product line. If you build swimming pools, start selling water purification systems to your current customers too. Or if you operate a martial arts school, introduce new self-defense courses for the parents of the children who already come to your school. :P

Be imaginative. Tripling the dollars you earn from each customer is an achievable goal. Apply the strategies I outline above. Stick to them. You will soon discover that even incremental income growth from each of your current customers will quickly make your profits soar.
To learn more about increasing your profits with creative marketing, be sure to investigate The Marketing Mastery Program: www.onlineofflineinformationmarketing.com

Do You Need a Professional Valuation Before Buying a Business?

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Do You Need a Professional Valuation Before Buying a Business?

by Richard Parker

For most small businesses, hiring a professional to perform a valuation is not necessary. First of all it is expensive, and more often than not, it simply does not reflect reality.

For example, I recently read a valuation on a local company handling specialized telecom components in a very restricted marketplace. This company was doing $700,000 a year in sales and netting $100,000. The valuation started off:

“The company is focused upon the B2B telephony segment which is a $42 billion industry in North America.”

I threw out the entire report after reading that one sentence. Why? How on earth can you possibly compare a $42 billion dollar industry and a $700,000 local distributor of telephone systems? 8O

So my advice, based on a lifetime of experience in buying and selling businesses, is don’t waste time or money getting a professional valuation done. Let the sellers do that if they so choose. If you want to look at a variety of scenarios, there are some very good, inexpensive software packages available that will do the same thing at a fraction of the cost. (Do an Internet search for the key term “business valuation software” and you will find them easily.)

Key Points to Remember

* Valuations are not scientifically based; they’re subjective. In other words, valuation is an art, not a science!
* Uncover how the seller established the asking price.
* Valuation is a personal formula - The real question is, what’s the business worth to YOU?
* Consider the potential return on your cash investment.
* Use a variety of methods to value a business you are considering. We explore these valuation methods in depth in my Trump University course, The Art of Buying a Business. For a quick introduction to them, be sure to read the previous post by Michael Sexton “What Is It Worth? Secret Strategies for Evaluating a Business”.

The Final Word: Never, ever buy a business just because the price is right - first and foremost, be certain that the business itself is right for you! ;-)

What Is It Worth? Secret Strategies for Evaluating a Business

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

What Is It Worth? Secret Strategies for Evaluating a Business

by Michael Sexton

Richard Parker, professor of our Art of Buying a Business course, tells me that getting a realistic estimate of a business’s value can be a much simpler process than many professional valuators would like the rest of us to believe.

The challenge for you, the buyer, is to formulate a price that will provide you with an acceptable return on your investment and also allow you to service any debt, pay yourself and build the business.

To give you an overview of how that is done, let me crack open the door of Professor Parker’s virtual classroom and give you a glimpse of the different approaches that his students learn for placing a value on the businesses they are considering. Some of these approaches work well for small businesses, as you will see - and others yield poor value estimates. For sake of discussion, we’ll use the term “small business” for ones with revenue of under $10 million.

* Asset Valuation calculates the value of all of the assets of a business. Asset-based valuations do not work well for small businesses. If a small business is “asset rich” but doesn’t make much money, how valuable is the business? Conversely, if a business has limited assets, such as computers and office equipment, but makes a ton of money, isn’t it worth more?
* Liquidation Valuation determines the value of the company’s assets if it were forced to sell all of them in a short period of time (usually less than 12 months). As with Asset Valuation, Liquidation Value might be interesting to know about, but it cannot serve to predict the profits that a business will generate for you.
* Rules Of Thumb Valuation utilizes the selling price of other “like” businesses as a multiple of cash flow or a factor of revenue. Since it is difficult to find two businesses that are exactly the same, the “Rule of Thumb” method is too general to help you know how much a particular business will earn for you.
* Owner Benefits Valuation calculates the total dollars that you can expect to extract from the business, based on what it has generated in the past. That’s another way of saying, current owner’s cash flow! It is the best method to use to value a smaller business. Of course, a smart entrepreneur can increase the income generated by a business - but it is nice to get a glimpse of how an established business is likely to perform in the weeks and months immediately after you buy it. Remember that valuation should tell you, the buyer, what you can reasonably expect to generate in your pocket.

“Above all,” Professor Parker says, “keep in mind that the ‘Asking Price’ for any business is not the purchase price. Quite often, the asking price does not even remotely represent what the business is truly worth. Naturally, a buyer’s valuation is usually quite different from what the seller believes their business is worth, because sellers are emotionally attached to their businesses. They usually factor their years of hard work into their price calculation. Unfortunately, this has no business whatsoever being in the equation.”

I am happy to share this information with you this morning. For even more, be sure to investigate Professor Richard Parker’s Art of Buying a Business course. It can put you at the controls of your own business much sooner than you expect.

Improving Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate Part 3

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

Improving Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate Part 3
By Jerry West

(Here is a continuation of a list of 20 tips to help you reduce the number of shoppers on your site that abandon their online shopping carts.)

11. Give the Visitor the Option to Call. If visitors have a problem during checkout or just feels uncomfortable using their credit card online, give them a phone number to call. Use a separate telephone number that is different from the one you use for the rest of your site. This will help you track, evaluate and understand shoppers’ needs and behaviors. While you are at it, give them a fax-order form so they can complete their order by fax if they prefer.

Recommendation from Jerry West: We have tested pop-up warnings that occur if the back button is clicked on the order page. The pop-up basically states that if they do not feel secure about giving their credit card information online, they can call … and then list the toll-free number to order. This is very effective, but make sure you use a separate phone number so you can track the customers that you gained through this measure.

12. Make it Always About Your New Customer. Make the focus of the checkout process easier for your new visitor with whom you do not yet have a relationship than for your registered customer. It is much harder to acquire a new customer than to keep selling to loyal customers. Registered customers will find a way to sign in (if they don’t already have a cookie), but don’t make the registration and log-on a barrier in the way of new visitors finding their way to check out.

Recommendation from Jerry West: I hate, hate, hate sites that make me register before buying. I usually always abandon the cart. I’m not alone. Testing shows that this process is the cause for the highest abandonment rate.

13. Add 3rd Party Reinforcement Messages. Verisign, BBB, or logos of credit cards have either greatly boosted conversions rate or kept them neutral. In other words, they never hurt. Hacker Safe certification is helping clients all across the board especially in sites with larger average order size. They claim a 15.7% average increase in orders - directly attributable to earning the HACKER SAFE certification.

Recommendation from Jerry West: Our testing doesn’t show numbers these strong (more in line with 9% increase), but that is still a number high enough that should attract your attention.

14. Present Coupon Codes Carefully. Be careful how you handle these, you don’t want to decrease your conversion rate. You might want to think carefully about where you present this option and how you label it. Coupons should add to the experience not create doubt for those who may not be shopping with a coupon.

Recommendation from Jerry West: When shoppers see “coupon code” they think they are missing on a discount and may abandon the card to search the web for one.

15. Deal with Pricing Issues Head-on. If you sell name brand products and your store is price competitive or truly provides better value, why not try a “Lower Price Match” guarantee.

16. GTC: Get the Cash. Offer more payment options and add other ways to collect the cash. You can offer visitors an option to pay by check, PayPal, or any other means you can to get the cash.

Recommendation from Jerry West: One of the worst mistakes that you can make is not giving all options - especially American Express. Many companies do not take American Express because of the high fees. I ran into this AGAIN recently. I was about to perform a transaction with a company but they didn’t take American Express. “Sorry, we don’t take that card, the fees are too high.” It was the owner who was helping me and I politely informed her that it wasn’t the extra 1% that American Express charges that she was saving on the transaction, but the $400.00 she was losing because I was turning around and walking out the door. Not taking American Express is just plain stupid. There are many business owners just like me that only carry one credit card. Don’t turn your back on them.