From the Editor: In this issue, you’ll learn about your special membership benefits with Century Bank Card Services in an article written by Bret Ferrante. If you are still working for a company while building your own consulting practice, Bob Bly’s tips on how to make yourself more valuable to your employer should be useful. And we follow up with Ilise Benun on more practical tips on handling the “silent response” of clients or prospects. Special thanks to this month’s contributing consultants. An exclusive benefit for members of the American Consultants League: Century Bankcard Service Credit Card Processing The American Consultants League has negotiated a preferred credit card acceptance program exclusively for its membership. Your business can now benefit from the purchasing power of the entire association and take advantage of the coast saving and support all of our credit card processing needs. Customer Service: Century Bankcard Service (CBS) is committed to providing costumer service that will bring trust to our partnership. A 24/7 terminal and technical support help desk is on call at any time to assist your members with any technical issues. An additional Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00 pm statement & costumer service center is also available for batch transaction research as well as account changes and corrects. With Century Bankcard you will save $$ on credit card processing. Setting up a new account at your store, office, or your home, is now easy. Century Bank will provide you with electronic terminals, software products or telephones. Additional Internet services include website -secure shopping carts, credit card acceptance forms and more. Century Bankcard has a number of different marketing materials we can custom create for ACL members. Some of these materials can be viewed from the following link: http://www.centurybankcard.com/century03/comarketing.asp Attracting new members is also vital to the growth of many trade associations. Century Bankcard recognizes this fact and has the experience and industry know how that is necessary to establish an effective and successful program for ACL members. ACL Member Rates: Referral Partner Rates & Fees 1.79% - Swiped Rate 2.35% - Non-Swipe Rate $0.25 - Transaction Fee $10.00 - Statement Fee $15.00 - Minimum Monthly Discount If you have any questions about the program or the marketing opportunities, please contact: Bret Ferrante Century Bankcard Services 9420 Topanga Canyon Boulevard Suite Are You Taking Advantage of the "Business Within Your Business"? By Bob Bly Your first business is your main one -- the one you know you are in. Your second business is the one you automatically qualify to be in as a result of the knowledge you have to possess in order to deliver your main product or service. You can tap into that "hidden profit center" and make it a second, lucrative business by becoming a consultant. The first business of a personal trainer, for example, is to help clients lose weight and get fit. In order to do that, he has to know a lot about exercise and nutrition. In other words, he has the skills to, for a handsome consulting fee, show local corporations how to manage and run an effective wellness program for their employees. While he might be able to charge his training clients no more than $50 to $70 an hour, a corporate client might pay him $10,000 for just a couple of days of his time. Big companies have deeper pockets than individuals who are paying for their own training -- and the benefits of a program like this to a company (increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, etc.) can be enormous. Let's look at another example. The first business of a chiropractor is to treat patients. But in addition to knowing how to improve health through spinal adjustments, he also knows how to run a medical practice. And, if he is successful, there are plenty of other chiropractors who would pay him handsome consulting fees to share his proven, practice-building techniques with them. Take a look at your business or job. Do you know something that others want to know? Of course, you do. Well, don't let that knowledge go to waste. Share it with others by giving speeches, running seminars and workshops, producing information products, and providing one-on-one private consultations. Here are the steps you need to take to convert your knowledge into a lucrative second income: 1. Identify the skill or expertise you have that others would be willing to pay for. 2. Identify your audience. Will you market your services to individuals or businesses? If to businesses, what kind? Local or national? Small companies or large corporations? 3. Decide how you will deliver your information to those clients. Will you teach public seminars? Conduct on-site training classes for corporate employees? Coach individuals over the Internet? Have private consulting sessions with CEOs in person or over the phone? 4. Figure out how you will market your new consulting business. By word of mouth? By using search engines to drive traffic to your website? By networking at Chamber of Commerce meetings? 5. Decide how much you will charge. You'll discover what the market will bear as you progress. But what should you ask for when you're just starting out? Fees vary, but $1,000 a day is a safe starting point for many beginning consultants. (Experienced consultants can earn two to four times that amount.) Bob Bly is the editor of Mailbox Millionaire, ETR's program to help you start your own successful direct-mail business. For information, click on: http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/700SCBMO/W700E201 Part 2: A Few Interesting Ideas On What The Silence Means By Ilise Benun Last month, I submitted an article on dealing with SILENCE whether from a client or prospect. We received lots of comments and questions about this subject. So I decided to divide the article into two parts, hoping our readers would find useful information (and potential resources) in these responses. Part 1 compiles the practical tips people offered on how to deal with the silence that is inevitable when you are marketing anything. Part 2 is a bit more philosophical, and offers some really clear insights (and often opposing points of view) on the meaning we give to the silence. If you missed the first part: 20 Tips on Silence, check our archives at: http://65.88.90.60/_pages/library.html I am grateful to all who contributed their ideas. *** “We too often excuse everything by saying we're too busy, but people in business today seem to be too overwhelmed and comfortable to justify their lack of response, especially when they asked you and showed excitement and interest...no? Sometimes, I wonder if our passivity makes people behave in this socially acceptable fashion that we all dislike...?” Carlos casas / ribbit.inc “As a fine artist, I run into this issue all the time. How much is enough, when is too much? Self-promotion is indeed an art in itself. When I'm enthusiastic about a project I expect that enthusiasm to be catching. When it isn't, at least immediately, it can be like running into a wall. But I keep in mind what a very experienced woman I know said; that three times was her limit. After that it's nagging." Bonnie Russell-Lee *** “The line between pestering and smart marketing is crossed when the would-be marketer (or pest) does not listen, or tune into, the client.” Susan Mathews, Stillwater Studio http://www.stillwater-studio.com *** “I am very grateful for the business contacts that do not give up if I am not reached the first time. I am often too busy to respond right away or out of town- and, yes, my spam filter is sometimes over-zealous! I think any amount of follow up is acceptable as long as the client/prospect is given an easy option to request it be stopped.” Misty Kriskovich, CIC, Hobson Insurance *** “I figure it takes a potential customer at least 8 or 9 no’s before I'll acknowledge this person does not want to work with me. If I let myself be blown off by the first no, I'm out of business.” Arthur Kaye Concepts in Staffing The American Consultant's League
Consulting Tips Newsletter
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--Henry David Thoreau
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