Daily Deal Sites Sprouting Up Everywhere | Even In Fort Lauderdale

It seems that daily deals type sites are being launched …well daily. With good reason. Companies like Groupon and Living Social have proved that these types of businesses are quite viable. And who doesn’t like a great deal? In fact, we believe that the phenomenon is so financially promising, we’ll be promoting a daily deals site in Fort Lauderdale.

Recently, USA Today featured an article about a few new daily deal entrepreneurs. One of them was called Try IT Local and their story is nothing short of remarkable.

Ten bucks for $20 worth of boiled crawfish, po’ boys and other Cajun fare? Nearly 120 people thought that was a good deal. So did Joe Wheatley, owner of Joe’s OK Bayou, a staple here since 1995. The deal using email coupons produced $702 for the restaurant and, Wheatley hopes, some new customers.

It was another example of the fast-growing “daily deal” trend of group buying, in which restaurants, salons and other businesses offer huge discounts via email for a limited time, usually within 24 hours or so. The coupons become active only if enough people purchase them within that time, although buyers have several months to redeem them.

The dominant player in the daily deal industry is Chicago-based Groupon. But Wheatley turned to Try It Local, a Louisville-based site launched nine months ago that has spread to 19 other cities around the country, with another 36 in the pipeline.

“I was a little bit skeptical at first,” Wheatley said, because Try It Local has a smaller subscriber base than Groupon and its other main competitor, Washington-based LivingSocial. But “they proved me wrong. I was definitely happy with the results.”

Launched in July, Try It Local works much like Groupon and LivingSocial, though on a smaller scale. While Groupon runs seven deals a week and LivingSocial six days a week, Try It Local so far offers four a week in large markets, and one weekly deal in small markets.

Subscribers receive a morning email with a deep discount from a local merchant, usually at least 50 percent off. They have a day or two to buy the coupon online.

Try It Local founder Todd Earwood, 36, said there are some significant differences between his service and the others.

For one, he said, Try It Local offers merchants a bigger revenue cut. And instead of hiring salespeople to scour markets for mom-and-pop merchants, Try It Local finds participating businesses through local chambers of commerce, which then share in the money.

In addition to the 56 chambers that are participating with Try It Local or have signed a contract to do so, Earwood said, another 72 are considering it.

Earwood said his company and local chambers share the same goal: “boost local economies and support local business.” Between the merchant who offers the deal and the chamber, 80 percent of the money generated by Try It Local stays in the community where the deal originated.

Groupon typically splits revenue 50-50 with merchants, spokeswoman Julie Mossler said. LivingSocial typically takes 30 to 50 percent of revenue, depending on the deal, spokeswoman Maire Griffin said.

Earwood started Try It Local last summer here alone but soon began signing up other cities.  He declined to disclose the company’s revenue or provide specifics on a recent influx of capital from investors. But he said his staff has grown from three to 10, with plans to hire five more soon. He expects to have 30 to 50 employees by the end of the year if it stays on track, he said, performing functions like copy writing, designing deal pages and building software.

Led by Groupon, which launched in late 2008, the daily deal industry now includes more than 500 sites in the United States, said Boyan Josic, editor of Daily Deal Media, an industry research publication in Troy, Mich. By 2012, daily deal revenue is projected to be $7 billion to $8 billion, he said.

Although businesses typically get only a quarter of the coupon’s face value, the deals are appealing as a way to get new customers in the door.

Wheatley considers the deals he struck with Try It Local, and twice before that with LivingSocial, as “zero risk, zero cost” advertising. There is no fee to participate, and even after giving the websites their cut, the revenue is enough to cover his food costs, he said. Plus, many customers end up spending more than their vouchers cover.

“As a small-business owner, the last thing you want to do is pay somebody to run a coupon,” he said.

Less than 3 years old, Groupon now has more than 50 million subscribers in 500 markets worldwide, and it raised $950 million from investors in January, one month after turning down a $6 billion buyout offer from Google, according to the Chicago Tribune and New York Times.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for smaller players like Try It Local, Josic said. “This whole space is still kind of like the Wild, Wild West,” he said. “It’s a very new industry.”

Try It Local’s partnership with local chambers should give it “an implicit seal of approval” that puts businesses and consumers at ease, said Dan Hess, chief executive of Local Offer Network.

While big cities like San Francisco and San Diego have signed up, Try It Local has mostly targeted smaller markets,  including a lot that Groupon hasn’t reached, Earwood said.

“In many of these markets, we are the Groupon,” he said. Try It Local has sold $57,946 in coupons to various businesses since launching Jan. 12 in Holland, Mich., for example. Groupon, about 20 miles away in Grand Rapids, is not in Holland, which has a population of about 35,000.

“It’s been a really good program,” said Liz Hoffswell, the chamber’s vice president of marketing. “There’s really a lot of buzz around this.”

The Fort Lauderdale Daily Deals business looks equally promising and the scalability of the operation seems quite substantial. So let’s see how long the craze can continue.

Some Serious ROI Data Here! | Whiteboard Wednesday Video

Ok, yeah, I know it’s Thursday, but this data took 24 hours to cull and as such I’m a day late. But as you will see, I am certainly not a dollar short. And if you follow these principles and strategies, you won’t be either.

Now this video needs to be viewed in full screen mode so make sure you click the button in the lower right portion of the player so that you can see all of the detail.

When I sent out yesterday’s email, I got some very weird responses. Without publishing names, here is one of the most interesting:

“Too many clicks required in my opinion. 3 clicks just to get to an enter my email form. I got bored and clicked out. Hey you asked ”

Really?? I mean are we that behind in our marketing proficiency not to understand the nature of the strategy? Well it appears so. This wasn’t the only comment of this nature that I received. Sadly, the 4 that I got were all from those in the real estate field.

Hmmm…not sure what that means and since I don’t have any double rainbows over my house, I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time pondering, just what it means that Realtors don’t seem to get this.

But here’s the gist:

1. EXTREMELY targeted ad

2. NO SELLING WHATSOEVER

3. Build relationships and credibility with audience

4. Garner info and “fans” who will serve as brand ambassadors and spread your message which in turn rinses and repeats number 3 above

5. Monetize through 3rd party integration…it doesn’t get any easier thna this.

How many e-commerce stores could you build and have running on autopilot if you could run campaigns that exemplify that shown in the video?

Don’t forget to watch the video in full screen mode. Click the 3rd icon from the right in the lower right panel of the video player.

BTW, it works for just about anything if you’re willing to learn.

Are you willing to learn?

What’s The Quickest Way To Make Money Online?

The quickest way to make money online would be to charge a buck every time someone asks me that question.

Seriously, it seems that people who want to make money always want it quick. There are several ways to stock your coffers quickly. Unfortunately the best ways are illegal.

For most of us that makes those methods and strategies not all that appealing. What’s funny, is that the legitimate ways for making money aren’t all that appealing to most people either.

You see the tips and strategies for making quick and easy money online require an investment. Which usually precludes the person asking the question because they don’t actually have anything to invest.

Kind of a paradox isn’t it? Well if you’d truly like to know the quickest and easiest way to make some significant money online, I’m about to break it down for you right now.

1. Work backwards: Determine how much money you want to make / need and do a quick calculation of how many customers you need to acquire based upon a standard conversion rate. Please don’t tell me that I’ve lost you already.

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You see, let’s say you want to make $10,000.00 in the next 30 days. Let’s say you are marketing a product that NETS you $50.00. Then you would need 200 sales (200 sales x $50.00 commission or profit =$10,000.00).

Now let’s use a really crappy conversion rate of 1%, which is the ratio of how many people who will see your offer, actually buy your offer. If we use 1% then we would need 20,000 people to get to our offer page in order to convert 200 of them into sales.

Right about now is where I usually hear the big groan. Most people won’t get 20,000 people to their offer page in a year, much less than in a single month. They rely on SEO and hope for the best. Then they pound out article after article and submit them to directory after directory hoping there are enough people out there who actually give a crap about what they are selling.

Well, I would venture to say that this is how just about everyone starts out online. Including yours truly. You simply either do not have the knowledge or money to blast your way to significant earnings. If you fall into either category, keep hacking away and if you follow proven principles you may get there. You just have to stick it out until you get there.

On the other hand, if you have a few bucks to invest in your business, I’m going to show you how you can get there right away. After all, they don’t call this interwebs thing the Information Superhighway for nothing. I’m not sure about you, but when I’m on the highway, I don’t drive 55! Seems to me there was a song about that…

Sorry for the digression (Yeah…I’m that old that I still listen to 80′s hairband music.) but it’s so true. “Lock Me Up, wanted dead or alive, I can’t drive 55″ and neither should you…umm…on the Information Superhighway that is.

So how do we get 20,000 people to our offer this month? Well…we buy the traffic. We place a great ad in front of the very targeted audience that we know may be looking for the type of product that we are offering. And right now for me, that medium is Facebook ads.

Never before have I been able to specifically target potential prospects the way that I can with Facebook ads. Now this isn’t a Facebook advertising course, so I’m not even going to attempt to teach you how to implement a laser targeted campaign, but I will say that I can drive 20,000 people to an offer and I can get those 20,000 people to my offer page for about 12 cents per click.

Doing simple math you can see that my advertising is going to cost me about $2,400.00 for the month. Using my same 1% number, I’m going to hit my $10,000.00 income and less costs I’m going to net $7,600.00.

No articles, no SEO, no waiting for Google to rank my site..nope, direct and immediate income without the wait. Sort of a microwave cooking  approach to Internet marketing. Instant gratification.

But wait…you say where’s the rest of the money. Well that’s step 2.

2. Implement A Sales Funnel. You see if only 1% of the people that hit my page actually buy, then I’m missing out on 99% of the people coming to my site. I know they are targeted so why didn’t they pull their credit card out? Well there are a number of reason and I want to make sure I don’t lose them completely so that’s where the funnel part comes in.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people run ads with no attempt to “funnelize” their visitors. Are you kidding me? I’m paying good money for those clicks and I had better make sure that these people are enticed to enter my funnel. You see once inside the funnel, my conversion rates triple. That’s where the real meat is.

Here’s a free copy of the sales funnel we use for our launches and programs. Click here to download the funnel template and let me know if you have any questions.

Let me know if you recognize the irony in this with a comment. Either here…or where you’ll end up.

To be continued…

Whiteboard Wednesday’s Video – Today’s Installment: The Truth About Backlinks

In today’s installment we discuss the myth of needing thousands of backlinks to rank in Google or that obtaining backlinks is time consuming and expensive.

Hogwash! Today’s video was prompted from a Realtor acquaintance who wants to break away from selling …rather trying to sell houses.

This video should dispel the uncertainty of the whole backlinking process. I’m sure you’ll be quite surprised. And oh yeah… please excuse the Geico reference. I was just having some fun

For more free videos don’t forget to visit our Facebook Page by clicking here!

We also invite you to check out our Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program. It’s free to register and the intro videos, as this one, are free for you to watch. So please do register. You’re missing out on some really good content.

Talk to you soon!

Taco Bell Meat Isn’t Really Meat After All

We all knew this already but at 3M coming home from a night on the town do we really care? It’s the only thing open and it’s far better fare than the “belly-bombs” they serve up at 7-11.

Taco Bell’s beef has come under fire, but if only 36 percent of the “beef” is actually beef by volume, what’s the rest made of?

Ranging from cocoa powder to terms as generic as “spices,” the other 64 percent is made up of a wide range of fillers, extenders and preservatives.

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Can this be called beef at all? The Alabama law firm bringing the suit against the chain doesn’t think so.

From HuffPo:

According to the USDA, they can’t call their mixture “beef” at all. Beef is defined by the USDA as “flesh of cattle”, and ground beef is defined as:

Chopped fresh and/or frozen beef with or without seasoning and without the addition of beef fat as such, shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders.

C’mon people. I bet you think chicken McNuggets are actually chicken too! It’s fast food! We’re lucky if the brain surgeons in the drive thru line aren’t spooning their toe-nails clippings into the Fryolator.

Whiteboard Wednesday’s Video – Profiting With American Idol

So in today’s episode of Whiteboard Wednesday I fill you in on one of our real secrets. That being acting like a day trader and cashing in on popular television shows. Tonight, we go after one of our favorite targets, American Idol. 

I love the financial opportunities that certain television shows afford me. In the summer it was America’s Got Talent. and tonight, we get the money maker that is American Idol. 13 weeks of financial windfall is yours if you know how to capitalize on this opportunity.

This season’s exploitation began with a parody post that we wrote about Randy Jackson from American Idol.

Don’t worry, if you don’t know how as we tell you in this video and go in depth in an upcoming webinar.

To hear more about what you can do to increase your audience, your reach and your income, don’t forget to join us on this Friday’s free webinar.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FRIDAY’S FREE WEBINAR TODAY!

In our Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program, we show you exactly how we develop a new business online. So if you’d like to see it, or any of the videos in the series, and you have not signed up, please do so by entering your name and email below.

It’s free to register and the intro videos, as this one, are free for you to watch. So please do register. You’re missing out on some really good content.

Talk to you soon!

Comcast NBC Universal Merger Approved By FCC Today

Today, the FCC and the Justice Department gave the green light to the acquisition of the media giant NBC Universal and the cable giant Comcast.

There were the expected conditions attached to the merger, one of the biggest issues was addressed, that is getting internet service without being forced to purchase cable television at the same time.

There are over two and a half million households that will be able to receive strictly internet alone for ten dollars a month, this was the largest and most important proviso in the merger.

Hulu – NBCU was one of the co-owners of the online TV site. The merger agreement stipulates that the new Comcast can’t “exercise corporate control over or unreasonably withhold programming from Hulu.”

Regarding open internet, there is this language that is very strongly insisting on net neutrality and independence.

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“Comcast is prohibited from unreasonably discriminating in the transmission of an independent online video distributor’s legal network stream to a Comcast broadband subscriber. And Comcast must keep its 12 megabits per second service available to customers in markets where it is upgrading its networks, presumably to keep the environment for competing video providers viable.”

Comcast promised that customers of competing cable providers will continue to get access to NBC shows and that Comcast subscribers will not be shut off from other networks.

For the first time, the government waded into the realm of online video, imposing conditions to ensure that Comcast provide some Internet versions of NBC shows and movies to Web services such as YouTube, Hulu and Apple TV.

The Justice Department, which approved the deal Tuesday along with the Federal Communications Commission, said that the venture would have been rejected in its original form but that the conditions give the government the power to ensure competition in the marketplace.

“The settlement we are announcing today ensures that the transaction will not chill the nascent competition posed by online competitors – competitors that have the potential to reshape the marketplace by offering innovative online services,” said Christine Varney, head of antitrust at Justice.

Government approval removes the last obstacle to Comcast’s remarkable rise from its humble roots as a family-owned Philadelphia cable company into a global media powerhouse. The new venture will be called NBC Universal, and the deal is expected to be closed by the end of the month, Comcast said.

At least one public-interest watchdog was pleased with the government’s online video conditions. Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, said they could help pave the way for Internet distributors to break the cable industry’s “stranglehold” over the video market.

The FCC and the Justice Department are also requiring Comcast to relinquish its management rights – including board seats and shareholder control – in Hulu to ensure that it cannot interfere with the development of competing online services. Comcast will still be required to make NBC content available to Hulu, however.

Another key condition being imposed by both agencies bars Comcast from discriminating against Internet video traveling over its broadband network. Although the FCC recently adopted industry-wide “network neutrality” rules barring broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic on their systems, those regulations are likely to be challenged in court. The condition would ensure that Comcast, which has come under fire for discriminating against Internet traffic in the past, would still have to abide by the rules.

Other FCC conditions require Comcast to increase local news coverage, expand children’s programming and programming for Spanish-speaking viewers, add 10 new independent channels and provide a subsidized broadband service for low-income households. The FCC is also prohibiting Comcast from giving its own channels preferential placement in its cable system line-ups.

Comcast-NBC Universal Merger OK’d by FCC The approval comes with a number of caveats from the commission including provisions that make Comcast guarantee competitors access to its broadcast, …

Buzz Tracker Fortune What Comcast Won: “Sure, there are plenty of conditions attached to the regulatory approval of Comcast’s buying 51 percent of NBC Universal,” writes …

Comcast wins government approval to take over NBC Among other things, the government is requiring Comcast to make NBC programming available to competitors such as satellite and phone companies, …

Senator Al Franken: No joke, Comcast trying to whack Netflix “I’m hearing that Comcast is already preparing to pull NBC Universal’s programming from Netflix when it’s next up for review,” Franken said. …

Comcast wins government approval to take over NBC The government on Tuesday cleared the way for Comcast Corp., the country’s largest cable company, …

Retrans Tops TV’s Biggest Business Issues Comcast’s purchase of NBCU, which was proposed in December and approved by regulators yesterday, was on everybody’s list. But here’s why Patrick ranks it …

Whiteboard Wednesday’s Video – Today’s Installment: Knowing Your Audience

*** Please note that the video above is recorded in hi-def resolution and is designed to be played in full screen so don’t forget to click the “X” or 4 arrow icon in the lower right of the player. Also, if you have a slower connection speed, click the drop down and choose a lower resolution. ***

I surprised myself, even still suffering from a nasty cold, I am delivering to you, another Whiteboard Wednesday. I think you’ll find some very valuable insight in today’s installment.

This week’s edition speaks to the importance of knowing your audience. In fact, it also speaks to the thought that maybe you might find it necessary to in fact change the audience that you’re speaking to in order to effect the results that you seek.

We changed our focus audience and we have not looked back. The change in both the size of our audience as well as the increase of income has been nothing shor tof incredible…as you will see in the video.

To hear more about what you can do to increase your audience, your reach and your income, don’t forget to join us on this Friday’s free webinar.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FRIDAY’S FREE WEBINAR TODAY!

In our Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program, we show you exactly how we develop a new business online. So if you’d like to see it, or any of the videos in the series, and you have not signed up, please do so by entering your name and email below.

It’s free to register and the intro videos, as this one, are free for you to watch. So please do register. You’re missing out on some really good content.

Talk to you soon!

Whiteboard Wednesday : The Realities Of New Technologies And Obsolescence

Every New Year, people come out with their lame predictions for what’s going to happen. As we are now in 2011, millions more make their obligatory resolutions and in 30 days both the lame predictions and the useless resolutions are left on the side of the road like roadkill. Just sitting there rotting away.

So no predictions or resolutions here. All I want to do is kick off the new year with bright eyes and a fervor to make things happen. (i.e. make some money!!)  God willing, I know I’ll succeed. I also want to help as many of my readers and clients make as much money as possible as well.

So today, I want to kick off 2011 with a discussion about thinking progressively and being very wary of the curse of obsolescence. Why? Because I want to make sure that I and my clients are not toiling away on things that are incongruous or counterproductive to our goal of making substantial profits this year. So we need to make sure our planning has our focus in perspective.

Are you selling buggywhips? Seriously, don’t laugh. The buggywhip market was huge…back when people rode in horse drawn carriages.

I bet there were some people who sold the heck out of buggywhips back in the day. But then that darn German engineer, Karl Benz, went and screwed things up and invented the automobile and there went the buggywhip industry.

I’m sure that there were some buggywhip companies that held on until the end. They were probably pretty good at what they did as well. When their competitors went out of business they were able to garner a bigger and bigger share of the business.

I bet the best buggywhip manufacturer was the one who was on the top of the mountain…until the music stopped. Seems they stayed until the end and grew their market share right into bankruptcy.

You see, ignoring the trend line and pertinent economic signals causes intelligent people to fail.

In this Whiteboard Wednesday, I have a different kind of “lesson” for you. It’s all about new technologies, understanding the trend line and accepting functional obsolescence.

The economically accepted definition of functional obsolescence is as follows:

” degraded usefulness due to an inability to serve the user’s current needs or desires”

Sound like a business you want to be involved in? Check out this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday video. I think you’ll agree that it’s a bit different than our others. Watch this video. (if you’re at work or around the kids..ya might want to hit mute at the 2:29 mark on the video…one word slips )

Like Larry the Liquidator just said, the surest way to go broke is to keep getting a bigger share of a declining market.

So you may be wondering what does this have to do with generating a profit. Well if you watched this movie you would have seen a company that was existing upon hopes and prayers and dreams instead of facing the harsh realities of a new economy.

So my question to you is, are you working in a job or a business that you hope is going to get better? That someone is telling you might turn around…if you can just hold on a little longer? Are you working at a job or running a business where you’re trying to get a larger share of a shrinking market?

Then I, as Larry the Liquidator said, say Amen to you.

Yes, the surest way to go broke…and to stay that way, is to sell stuff to people who either can’t afford what you’re selling, don’t want what you’re selling or don’t need what you’re selling.

That’s not a market that you want to be selling to. Are you in that kind of market? It’s really easy to determine if you are.

Here’s how. Just ask yourself these 3 simple questions:

1. Can your prospect afford what you are offering? When I say afford, I mean specifically, do they have the money or can they borrow the money without great difficulty, to purchase what you’re offering?

2. Is there a growing amount of inventory. You know, are there a lot of items on the shelf with fewer people looking to buy the stuff? That old Law of supply and demand can be so unkind.

and number 3,… are you selling something that right now you have no measurable way of determining how much your prospect really needs or desires what you’re selling?

I mean we all have dealt with tire kickers, but in today’s economy, continuing to deal with tire kickers will land you in the poorhouse really fast.

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, then you might want to really re-assess your objectives in the coming year. You see as Einstein once said, continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity personified. (actually some people say that Ben Franklin said that…but you get the point)

So how do you really know what people are buying and how do you know if there are enough consumers in the market to warrant being in the market? Well like anything else, you have to perform your due diligence and train yourself for success.

Don’t leave it to chance and whatever you do, don’t let 2011 slip away from you. Now, as the new year is just beginning, it’s the perfect time for you to re-assess things and see if it’s time for you to regain control of your business and make sure that what you are doing isn’t heading you down the road to obsolescence and financial despair.

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
Jimmy Dean

Are you ready to change the direction of your sail? If so, click here and watch this video!

5 Easy Tips To Begin Making Money With Blogs

When you have a radio show, make hundreds of videos, and maintain a network of highly trafficked blogs you get a lot of questions about making money with blogs. What you may not realize is how many people are intimidated with the prospect of doing so. Making money online need not be all that hard if you follow some very simple and proven steps.

We all have heard of the paralysis of analysis but it seems to permeate throughout the make money on the Internet newbie crowd. So let’s look at some quick things you can do to begin making money with blogs.

1. Commitment: Allocate a few hours per week to developing your blog. Commit to writing at least 3 articles per week. Don’t worry about becoming the next Stephen King. Just start writing. Obviously make sure your grammar is correct and use the spellcheck often, but right now, just get used to writing.

2. Use An Egg Timer: Well, maybe not an egg timer but how about a digital clock. Realistically if you are starting a blog in something you are passionate about and know something about, it should not take you more than 10 minutes to compose 300 hundred words or so.

3. Forget PPC: Don’t even think about it. If you don’t know what PPC is then fine..all the better. Right now you need to simply concentrate on being comfortable putting finger to keyboard. The last thing you need when you get started is losing money on PPC. You’ll get frustrated and you’ll end up quitting before you start.

4. Don’t Be A Copy Cat: Nothing is worse than someone who steals someone else’s work. You’ll never progress to any degree of success by taking the easy way out and stealing someone else’s work.

5. Ignore Naysayers: I hate negativity and you should too! A lot of people will want to criticize you for beginning a new endeavor. They are going to tell you that you are wasting your time. Ignore them and keep moving towards your goal. Let nothing deter you.

So right now, I bet you’re saying to yourself, “how does this help be understand how I can be making money with blogs“?

Well, that’s not what I said at all. What I said was I had 5 tips for you to “begin” making money with blogs. You see, one has to start at the very beginning before they experience great reward.

I remember when I first began learning how to drive. I wanted to get on the road and open up. Dad had other ideas. My first lesson was to learn what the car was capable of. I had to learn the responsibility I had when I got behind the wheel. I had to learn that my license was a privilege.

So before you can begin to run hog wild wanting to make money online, learn a bit about what you’re getting into. Learn how this can be a lifelong adventure if you act responsible and hone your craft.

Check out this video. It will help explain a lot to you and its free! Can’t beat that can you?

Once you learn the basics, the next steps come much easier and you’ll learn how easy it can be to be making money with blogs.

Here Are Some Articles You May Want To Check Out: (and they are all pitch free!)

Make Money Blogging -Do you want to make money blogging? If you do – you’re not alone. More and more bloggers are finding that blogging is a profitable medium. …

How to make money with a blog -This is the kind of advice we pay $399 for with all of those “how to make money blogging experts” lol. Maybe you can start your own program …

*** Note- We design the videos to be viewed in full screen mode so make sure to click the “x” looking icon in the bottom right of the video player to watch in full screen mode ***

Whiteboard Wednesday’s Video – Today’s Installment: Making It Easy For Realtors!

Maybe I should have picked Teaching Thursday’s instead of Whiteboard Wednesday’s as I’m always tied up on something on Hump Day. But without further adieu, here’ is this week’s Whiteboard Wednesday edition.

Today we’re discussing the question we keep getting over and over again. “Barry, I like what you guys are doing, but I sell houses (or insert business here) and I know you guys are selling turkey fryers and NASCAR 2011 Video games, and Kodak Underwater cameras, but I don’t know if it will work for what I do“.

So you’re not sure how it works for real estate an other businesses eh? Well I have a quick question for you. Does today’s house buyer not have Internet access? That might be a dumb question but the same people who are buying Lady Gaga Costumes and Squinkies for their kids, might just be looking to buy a house in Fort Lauderdale, or retain a lawyer, or do just about anything else that people who live actual lives do.

You see, knowing how to successfully reach consumers transcends all space continuum’s.  Ok..I’m getting a bit deep here but we have found with great certainty, that the person looking to buy a Las Olas mansion in Fort Lauderdale is going to be pulling out the credit card for a whole lot of things.

I’m going to prove to all of the realtor naysayers that what we have been saying and what we are teaching works in any industry…if you know what you are doing and if you have the right tools and right people showing you what to do.

If you don’t want to be an affiliate marketer and you don’t want to sell products online, you still can profit substantially by learning how to use our methods to sell houses, obtain clients in need of legal help and just about any other business or service.

So let me show you how easy it would be for you to do it. Now when I say easy, it’s not quite as easy as sticking a sign in the ground and hoping that the phone rings. But it’s pretty close.

And once you do the initial work, all you have  to do is some simple maintenance a few times per week and you’ll be golden. That and making sure you answer your phone.

So let’s take a look at how what we are teaching pertains to people who have businesses and services that they want to promote to generate more leads and sales.

In our Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program, we show you exactly how we develop a new business online. In fact we’re hatching another new business today so we’ll let you peek over our shoulder on that one as well.

In any event, take a look at the video and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I’d be happy to help you out.

By the way, I used a video whiteboard because if I had used my penmanship, no one would be able to read what I was writing. Yep…it’s that bad.

Check out the free intro training videos that we released for our very popular Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program. They’re free for you to watch and won’t cost you a dime. So if you’d like to see any of the videos in the series, and you have not signed up, please do so by entering your name and email below.

It’s free to register and the intro videos, as this one, are free for you to watch. So please do register. You’re missing out on some really good content.

Talk to you soon!

Just Out | New Jobless Claims Are The Lowest In More Than Two Years.

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 34,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, the Labor Department said early Thursday.

That was well below economists’ expectations for 415,000.”This adds to the idea that the jobs picture is improving … this is another feather in the cap of the idea of recovery,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

Story continues below…

U.S. Treasury debt prices, already soft before the data, lost more ground, while the dollar pared losses against the yen. S&P stock index futures trimmed losses.

The four-week average of new jobless claims, considered a better measure of underlying labor market trends, fell 12,500 to 414,000, the lowest level since the week ending July 26, 2008.

The steady decline in claims in recent weeks likely indicates the pace of job creation picked up this month, after the Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls report showed employers added a paltry 39,000 jobs in November.

The December employment data is due on January 7, and a preliminary Reuters survey shows economists expect non-farm payrolls increased 126,000 this month, but still not enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate, which is expected to have edged down to 9.7 percent from 9.8 percent in November.

The Labor Department also reported that the number of American filing continuing claims for jobless benefits — workers who filed for more than one week — rose by 57,000 to 4,128,000 in the week ended Dec. 18, from an upwardly revised 4,071,000 in the week prior. Data reported on continuing claims lags that of initial claims by one week.

Initial Jobless Claims Take a Holiday Break The Department of Labor reported that in the week ending December 25, the advance figure for weekly jobless claims was 388000, a decrease of 34000 from the …

Global stocks drop despite upbeat US jobs data Stock markets brushed aside news that weekly US jobless claims fell to their lowest level in two and a half years Thursday as the …

Jobless Claims Drop, Stocks Stuck The Labor Department’s weekly tally of unemployment claims showed first-time filings for jobless benefits dropped to 388000, a stark decline from the prior …

Number of Weekly Jobless Claims Lowest Since Mid-2008 The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest point in nearly two and a half years, a sign that the job …

Instant view: jobless claims at lowest in more than 2 years New claims for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week to touch their lowest level in more than two years, suggesting the labor market …

US Initial Jobless Claims improve The Department of Labor released the Jobless claims report today. For the week ending on December 25th, Initial claims dropped to …

Forex – U.S. dollar broadly lower vs. major rivals after jobless data Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 416K. Meanwhile, during European afternoon trade, the greenback was down against the euro, …

Whiteboard Wednesday’s Video – Today’s Installment: Understanding Seasonality

Well as I write this it is almost Christmas. But don’t worry, if you’re reading this months later, the lesson in the video transcends the Holiday season…well at least the Christmas season that is.

Learn how that knowing what seasonality means from a retail perspective can really increase your annual revenue.

The Whiteboard Wednesday video series are going to be short 3-5 minute videos designed to answer some of the questions that we get from those of you interested in making money online.

The videos are based upon our tried and tested experience. You may hear others say differently, but this is what works for us. Like I’ve said many times, they may tell you what YOU should do but do they really tell you what THEY do? If they’re doing anything at all.

In our Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program, we show you exactly how we develop a new business online. In fact we’re hatching another new business today so we’ll let you peek over our shoulder on that one as well.

In any event, take a look at the video and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I’d be happy to help you out.

Today we’ll be releasing the next video in the Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program so if you’d like to see it, or any of the videos in the series, and you have not signed up, please do so by entering your name and email below.

It’s free to register and the intro videos, as this one, are free for you to watch. So please do register. You’re missing out on some really good content.

Talk to you soon!

Top 5 Reasons People Fail To Make Money Online?

I’m going to proffer my theory on why most people can’t seem to make a dollar online. These reasons aren’t scientific but I think after talking with what seems like thousands of people and reading a comparable amount of emails and comments, I think I can make a pretty fair assessment.

1. They’re Not Business People:Many people fail online because they would also fail offline. Running an Internet business is well…a business. If you don’t have the skills in place to run a business offline, you’re probably going to fail online. I’m not going to go into all of the attributes of being a successful entrepreneur but suffice it to say, if you’ve never managed anything or marketed anything or planned anything, you’re probably not cut out to make it online. But don’t worry, you’re still qualified to be president. (I know…that was a cheap shot. But it was way too easy.)

2. Educationally Challenged: That’s a nice way of saying that the elevator doesn’t reach all of the floors. While some very smart people do indeed fail, and while some very stupid people do indeed strike it rich, the odds of those being in the “Dumb and Dumber” crowd making it online are pretty slim. There is a lot that you have to know to operate an online business and while you don’t have to be a Svengali, you do need to have the propensity to learn what’s needed to be successful.

3. Most People Are Actionless:In this world of unemployment checkitis, you know…the affliction of depending upon the backs of others to receive money, most just aren’t prepared to actually commit to doing something. Successful people know that you “miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take“. Coulda, woulda, shoulda just doesn’t cut it. You have to bring it everyday no matter what. It’s hard to do that when you’re used to waiting for checks on the 1st and 15th or like the comfort of having someone else’s name on your checks. I read a story yesterday that somebody said it’s hard to catch fish when you don’t have any lines in the water. It’s harder yet, when you don’t even have the initiative to get in the boat.

4. Running An Online Business Isn’t Like Buying A Lottery Ticket: This may be hard to believe, but there’s no such thing as push button riches. Let me tell you right off the bat that if you think money rains down from heaven because you decide to open a website, you are sadly mistaken. Stop reading those emails about making millions on autopilot. It’s all bullshit.

There’s not one person I know who makes millions overnight on autopilot. It just isn’t true and you’re being lied to. Why? Because it’s easy to lie to you. You want the “just add water” ideology to work so you buy course after course trying to find that formula that will dump millions into your bank account so scammy marketers tell you what you want to hear. They have been trained to sell you the dream.

Hint:In order to make millions overnight selling stuff online you either have to be the one making the stuff or be extremely knowledgeable and successful selling somebody’s stuff to a lot of people. In either scenario, you don’t learn how to create that kind of business with a $35.00 course. That would make Wharton kind of obsolete.

5. Lack Of Mentorship:Think about that for a moment. When you first learn how to drive, more than likely someone showed you how. When you wanted to ride a bike, someone probably showed you how. As we all grew up and became functioning members of society we got our first jobs and more than likely there was a bit of training that went along with learning how to work the fryolator. And as adults, there’s not a major company out there that doesn’t train you how to perform the position that you’ve been hired for. Yet how come people think they can buy a $19.95 e-book from someone they don’t know and learn how to run a business online?

Heck the television show “The Apprentice” was something like 14 weeks of tasks to see if the contestants could make it. “Hell’s Kitchen” is the same way. You just didn’t see the Hell’s Kitchen contestants get a cookbook and a job as a chef did you?

You see what I’m getting at? Internet marketing, like real estate, has such a low barrier for entry that anyone with a hundred or so bucks can call themselves a “business person” without having any real training. That’s a recipe for sure failure. I’ve seen it over and over in real estate and I see it over and over in online marketing.

Takeaway: So what’s one supposed to do if they want to make money online and not just waste their time? Well the most important thing to do is to first perform some personal inventory. Do you either currently possess the entrepreneurial mindset and commitment to succeed, or if you don’t, are you willing to motivate and educate yourself to obtain those foundational attributes?

If the answer is affirmative then you’re ready to move forward. If your answer is anything but a resounding yes, then you are surely going waste your time, money and experience sure failure.

If you’re willing to do what it takes to learn then there are quite a few options for you to explore. I also can’t guarantee that you will succeed, but It’s obvious that your chances for succeeding are much greater just by having the willingness and commitment to understand that you are opening a business.

If you’d like more information on how to successfuly begin a new business online, simply enter your name and email in the form below and we’ll get you some information on the steps that you need to take. 

Now it’s up to you to take some action.

Whiteboard Wednesday’s Video – Today’s Installment: Picking The Right Amazon Product

Welcome to the first installment of “Whiteboard Wednesday’s”. Yeah, I know today is Thursday but I forgot to hit the publish button yesterday morning and I didn’t realize until today that it wasn’t live. So here it is…albeit a day late.

But I’m sure you’ll find some valuable information in this video. The Whiteboard Wednesday series are going to be short 3-5 minute videos designed to answer some of the questions that we get from those of you interested in making money online.

The videos are based upon our tried and tested experience. You may hear others say differently, but this is what works for us. Like I’ve said many times, they may tell you what YOU should do but do they really tell you what THEY do? If they’re doing anything at all.

In our Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program, we show you exactly how we develop a new business online. In fact we’re hatching another new business today so we’ll let you peek over our shoulder on that one as well.

In any event, take a look at the video and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I’d be happy to help you out.

By the way, I used a video whiteboard because if I had used my penmanship, no one would be able to read what I was writing. Yep…it’s that bad.

Tomorrow we’ll be releasing the next video in the Primary Principles Of Making Money Online program so if you’d like to see it, or any of the videos in the series, and you have not signed up, please do so by entering your name and email below.

It’s free to register and the intro videos, as this one, are free for you to watch. So please do register. You’re missing out on some really good content.

Talk to you soon!

Early New Year’s Resolution | Start A New Business Every Week

It’s not even Christmas yet but I’m giving myself a big present. Actually I’m giving myself 52 new presents. I’m making a commitment to wife and myself to start 52 new businesses next year.

My New Year’s Resolution will be to start a new business in each week of 2011. God willing and if I wake each morning to the sunrise, I know I can do it. You see, right now we have it down to pretty much of a science.

All I have to do is open Evernote and follow my now well honed plan to seek out a business to start and then in under 24 hours, I make it a reality.

Think I’m nuts? Well, I’m not lying to you. We now know that we can locate a target product and be open for business in under 24-48 hours.

Allowing for time to go on vacations (plural) and for time to go fishing and the obligatory shopping excursions with the wife, I know that we’ll comfortably be able to reach the goal of 52 new businesses for 2011.

So why am I doing this? Well the first reason must be obvious. I like to make money. The second being to show that there is no reason to sit on your duff and take 52 weeks or more of unemployment checks when you could actually be working towards making a very good living and owning your own business.

Haven’t you heard enough of the doom and gloom? Haven’t you grown tired of reading about foreclosures, bailouts, short sales, and tax breaks? I sure have. Instead of lamenting about who is or who isn’t getting a tax break and promoting wealth redistribution, how about aspiring to be a part of something special. How about wanting to have more for your family?

I don’t know about you, but I personally would rather have to worry about paying the taxes on a million bucks than wondering how to feed my family. Seems pretty simple to me.

I want to be the one people are trying to rob instead of waiting for a government check every couple of weeks. Owning your own business is quite freeing. While waiting on checks from Uncle Sam is akin to waiting for someone to shove some gruel under the door on the island prison of Chateau d’If.

So what’s this going to cost me. Well to open 52 new businesses it’s going to cost about a grand but that’s over the period of a year. Surely anyone could afford to open a new business with an investment of just $80.00 bucks per month. Heck, you could take some cash from your government checks and then in less than a year be self sufficient. Now there’s a novel idea…self-sufficiency.

Well, I am putting a big load on myself to open 52 new businesses and if you’d like to come along and learn how you can do it as well, then watch this quick video.

Watch The Full Video By Clicking Here!

What Would The Unemployment Rate Be If They Counted Real Estate Agents?

Right now there is an argument raging about extending unemployment benefits for the jobless for another 13 months. This effectively would pretty much guarantee a 9.5+% unemployment rate as what incentive would most have to find gainful employment if they could suck of the teat of Uncle Obama? Or let me rephrase that. I mean suck off the teats of those Americans who actually are working to make it.

But I think the problem is much deeper than we care to look at. Let me ask you a question. How high would the unemployment rate be if we added in real estate agents who aren’t making any sales and living way below the poverty line? What were there at last count, something like 1 million real estate agents?

Inman recently published an article that said that many real estate agents are hopelessly unemployed. Then we can add in insurance salespeople, mortgage brokers, and hundreds if not thousands of outside sales reps who also work on 100% commission.

Once you do that it’s probably really easy to come to an agreement that we are looking at a ton of “closet unemployed”.

These are people who are unemployed but actually think they have jobs. You know them, when you meet them at a child’s soccer game and you ask what they do for a living and they respond “I’m a Realtor”, or “I’m a Mortgage Broker” when actually that is secret code for “I’m unemployed”.

There will be some who read this and say I’m crazy but what would you call someone who hasn’t received a check in months? yep..they’re unemployed!

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all looking down on the gainfully unemployed. I would MUCH rather have commissioned sales people believe they actually have a job, than have them drawing unemployment checks.

However the reality of things has to sink in some times soon. Let me add a bit more reality into the mix.

U.S. home prices will decline as much as 11 percent by 2012 as weak demand and rising inventory extend the housing slump, Morgan Stanley said in a report yesterday.

Prices will be as much as 36 percent below their 2006 peak before finding a bottom, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Oliver Chang wrote. Sales will stay “depressed” through next year amid tightened lending standards, they said.

As many as 8 million homes are in some stage of default or foreclosure, known as shadow inventory, and may be offered for sale over the next five years, according to Morgan Stanley. The looming supply will combine with tight credit and questions about housing-finance regulation to reduce prices 6 percent to 11 percent from current levels, the analysts said.

We’ve been telling Realtors and homeowners about making sure they understood the term “regression analysis” but it seemed that many turned a deaf ear. Now check this out.

Zillow reported today that the drop in home values pushed more buyers underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, which will continue to drive values lower and making it harder and harder for those who are even current on their mortgage to sell. The percentage of homeowners with mortgages with  negative equity reached 23.2 percent in the third quarter, up from 21.8 percent at the end of 2009.

Now for the cherry to sit atop this great news. This one’s a real kicker!

Have you visited Google Maps recently? If you haven’t you might want to. It’s really eye-opening. Especially if you are relying on the housing market to put some presents under the tree this year.

Check out this picture:

What you’re looking at is Hell! You may not recognize it as such right now, but you will very surely see  that it is indeed Hell for those in the real estate business. What you’re looking at is a snapshot of a feature on Google Maps which outlines the sheer number of foreclosures in a particular area.

I simply chose an area of Broward County down here in South Florida and that’s what the search came back with. Go ahead and play with zip codes and neighborhoods near you.

After playing around with this you won’t have to wonder about the future of real estate. The picture will be quite clear. So here’s what I want you to do. Go to Google maps. Across the top of the map you’ll see buttons labeled “traffic”, “satellite”, etc. Click on the button labeled “more.”

Then click on “real estate.” Go to the far left-hand column and check the box that says “foreclosure” and have a gander. But make sure you’re sitting down.

You can search any neighborhood anywhere in the USA. When you pick your jaw up off of the table you’ll surely have an idea as to what we’re facing. (in case you didn’t know).

So I have a question for you. If you are struggling to make it in real estate right now. And the outlook is beyond bleak as you can see for yourself. Then why are you masquerading as being employed? Shouldn’t you be able to get a part of the next stimulus package? Wouldn’t nearly 3 years of free money seem really welcome right about now?

God, I hope it turned your stomach to think of taking a handout. I hope it made you want to wretch. That means you’re still alive and it means that no one is going to hold you down and no one is going to tell you what you can or can’t make.

If that’s how you feel then I applaude you. If that’s how you feel then you’re the kind of person who is going to help get this Country of ours turned around.

Obama Makes Free-Trade Agreement With South Korea  | New Jobs Created

In a move that would create perhaps thousands of new jobs, the Obama administration has come up with a free-trade agreement which releases Korea from the high tariffs that were previously imposed.

This comes after the visit by the president to Asia, during which he did try to make the agreement at the time. The agreement was more complex, with different items which had to be ironed out in order to make both parties amenable.

Story continues below…

For the most part, South Korea will be able to import American goods and the U.S. will be importing more of their goods, which is good for both country’s economic outlook. The agreement will make the recession take a turn for the better when it comes to fruition, by creating more jobs, and creating more venues for income, ergo more spending which stimulates the economy organically.

WASHINGTON — American negotiators have completed a free-trade agreement with South Korea that will eliminate most tariffs on exports and solidify one of the nation’s most significant alliances in Asia, the Obama administration said on Friday.

The agreement, which requires approval by the legislatures in both countries, is a first for the administration and would be the largest trade accord since the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994.

South Korea is America’s seventh-largest trading partner.

The deal comes three weeks after a negotiating team visiting South Korea failed to nail down the deal. The breakthrough, which occurred the same day the government announced an increase in the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, will expand American exports of goods by at least $10 billion a year and “support tens of thousands of jobs,” the Obama administration predicted.

Trade has been a crucial test of the White House’s ability to find common ground with Republicans after the drubbing Democrats took in the midterm elections. Friday’s announcement got important backing on Capitol Hill, where the prospects for the agreement seem good.

“This is a big win for American employers and workers,” said Representative Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican who will become chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which sets tariffs.

But Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he was “deeply disappointed” that the deal did not further reduce barriers to American beef exports, which have been a particularly volatile issue in South Korea.

The deal is technically a supplement to an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in 2007 but never finished. It was completed Friday morning, after three days of negotiations outside Washington that ended when both sides agreed in essence to give themselves more time to eliminate their tariffs on autos.

The United States will phase out its 2.5 percent tariff on imported Korean autos over five years. The 2007 version would have eliminated the tariff right away on 90 percent of Korean autos, with the remaining tariffs, on larger vehicles, phased out over three years.

Of the Detroit automakers, Ford was the most vociferous in opposing the 2007 agreement; Chrysler expressed reservations and General Motors, which owns Daewoo, the third-largest Korean automaker, stayed out of the fray. Hyundai-Kia is the No. 1 automaker in South Korea and Samsung is No. 2.

The transition period will allow the Americans to ensure that South Korea is holding up its end of the deal with regard to nontariff barriers.

“This development provides leverage to assure that Korea opens its market and provides time for our industry to root itself in the Korean marketplace,” said Representative Sander M. Levin, a Michigan Democrat and the current Ways and Means chairman, whose support is seen as crucial in swaying liberals in Congress.

The United States Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that poured tens of millions of dollars into defeating Democrats in last month’s elections, offered rare praise Friday for Mr. Obama. “This agreement will create thousands of new jobs, advance our national goal of doubling exports in five years, and demonstrates that America is once again ready to lead on trade,” its president, Thomas J. Donohue, said in a statement.

“We will do everything in our power to round up the votes,” he added.

The Ford Motor Company, which had placed full-page newspaper ads noting that the United States exported fewer than 6,000 vehicles to South Korea last year compared with nearly 500,000 that it imported, threw its support behind the agreement.

“These new provisions provide Ford greater confidence that we will be able to better serve our Korean customers,” its chief executive, Alan R. Mulally, said.

The latest round of talks was scheduled before North Korea’s recent shelling of a South Korean island, an episode that drew the two countries together and added momentum on both sides to bolster the alliance between Washington and Seoul.

“Strengthening ties with our democratic ally South Korea will not only grow the American economy, but it will also serve as a strong counterweight to China’s growing influence and aggression in the region,” said Representative Peter Roskam, an Illinois Republican and co-chairman of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have monitored the talks.

In June, Mr. Obama announced at a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 economic powers that he would try to complete modifications to the agreement by November and then submit the deal to Congress. But that deadline passed three weeks ago, casting a pall over Mr. Obama’s attendance at the G-20 summit meeting in Seoul last month.

The United States trade representative, Ron Kirk, and his Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-hoon, met Tuesday in Columbia, Md., for a two-day round of talks that extended into Thursday.

After a final meeting on Friday morning, both sides finally said an agreement was close. “It’s time now for the leaders to review this progress before we move forward,” Mr. Kirk said as the Korean negotiators returned home to brief their president, Lee Myung-bak.

In the agreement, both sides are getting more time to remove their auto tariffs.

South Korea will immediately cut its tariff on American autos to 4 percent from 8 percent, with the remainder ending over five years. Under the 2007 deal, the tariff was to end immediately.

The new agreement, the administration said, also contains other significant terms related to the auto industry:

It exempts 25,000 American-made vehicles a year from each manufacturer, from costly South Korean safety regulations that critics said were intended solely to discriminate against imports.

It gives American automakers that now have only a toehold in South Korea more leeway to comply with regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy as they expand their market share.

It gives the United States more time to phase out a 25 percent tariff on trucks and requires Korea to more quickly reduce its tariff on electric cars.

It includes a safeguard, specific to the auto industry, that would allow tariffs to be reimposed if there were a sudden, unanticipated surge in South Korean auto imports as a consequence of the agreement.

In focusing so much on autos, the Obama administration did not press as hard as Mr. Baucus, and other lawmakers from agricultural states, would have liked on access to American beef.

South Korea banned American beef imports in 2003 after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, in Washington State.

Shortly after taking office in 2008, the South Korean president moved to open the country’s market to American beef, but he was confronted with major anti-government protests and riots that threatened to bring down his government. South Korea continues to limit American imports to beef from cattle under 30 months old, a restriction that Mr. Baucus and other American officials consider unreasonable because no mad-cow disease in humans has been attributed to American beef.

The beef issue is still volatile for the South Koreans — it prompted a walkout during last month’s talks — but the economic impact of the 30-month limit is slight since consumers tend to prefer cuts from younger cattle.

Mr. Baucus’s office said he would oppose the agreement unless his concerns were addressed. Other Democrats were skeptical of the deal.

The leader of a group of lawmakers who want protections against jobs moving abroad, Representative Michael Michaud, a Maine Democrat, said, “The deal reached today, while beneficial to the auto industry, falls far short of that goal.”

The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, called the South Korea deal “a positive development” but urged progress on trade deals with Colombia and Panama negotiated by the Bush administration that have languished in Congress.

 

By Howard Schneider

Washington Post Staff Writer

Obama lauds US, South Korean trade dealObama said the free-trade deal, reached after intensive negotiations in the past few days, would boost exports to South Korea by $11 billion and support at …

South Korea trade pact could mean thousands of U.S. jobs South Korea would be required to eliminate its 10% tariff on US trucks immediately. President Barack Obama hailed the agreement as a “landmark trade deal” …

US, S. Korea, announce free trade accord US President Barack Obama Saturday said a free trade agreement with South Korea would create 70000 US jobs and increase exports by $11 billion …

U.S., South Korea reach free-trade deal – Business – World …  The US and South Korea have reached an agreement on a free-trade deal to boost American exports and create tens of thousands of US jobs in …

Support the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement  The major breakthrough Friday in free-trade talks between the U.S. and South Korea could pave the way for …

South Korea – United States Free Trade Agreement – Wikipedia, the … The Republic of Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (also known as KORUS FTA) is a trade agreement between the United States and the Republic of Korea. …

How to Trip Over New Business

How would your business and your earnings be different if you could add just one more prospect per day?  I often talk about the “Scooby Ears” tactic of prospecting when I’m speaking to various audiences. Scooby Doo was a fantastic cartoon which featured a group of teens who always stumbled upon mysteries that needed to be solved. Everywhere they went, their trusty canine, Scooby Doo, was along for the ride.

Whenever there was a clue that Scooby came across, his ears perked up and he made an inquisitive sound that I won’t even attempt to spell.

The clue could have gone unnoticed to the untrained, but Scooby’s sensory acuity not only picked up on the clue, but it often proved to be an integral key to solving whatever mystery was at hand.

The same can be true for sales and prospecting. Often times, there will be clues right under your nose that will lead you to a sale, if you use them correctly.

An audience member named John shared his “Scooby Ears” story with me after I was done speaking at his company’s convention. He recently had his car detailed at a shop named A1 Detailing. John was blown away by the amazing job that they did on his car.

When he filled out the post-detail questionnaire, he gave them rave reviews. The last question on the form read, “Can we count on you to share your experience with others, and will you recommend us to your friends?” John answered “No”.

John told me that the next morning the owner of the company called him personally to thank him for his business and his glowing review of their services. The only thing that was perplexing to the owner of the company was why John was not willing to share his experience with friends.

“When I walked into your business, I tripped over a floor mat that was buckled in the corner. I didn’t fall, but it got me thinking…” John went on to explain that he is a sales representative for a business that places floor mats in businesses. They also pick up the mats once per week for cleaning, and replace the dirty mats with clean ones.

“I noticed that you have my competitor’s mats in your shop. I will bring my car back to your business, but I’d really like to at least show you a couple of things about our rugs, and give you the opportunity to decide if they are a good choice for your business.” John explained to the owner. “If after looking at them, you wish to stay with you current company, that is fine. Just take a look at ours.”

The appointment was set, and needless to say, the detail shop not only uses the floor mats from John’s company, but they are also discovered that they could save money in the process.

There are 3 simple strategies that you can pull from this story:

1. Have your “Scooby Ears” up at all times. Listen for opportunities to show your product or service. Whether you are in real estate, banking, or sell a product; people will often share experiences with you.
2. Follow up! Not only is it essential to follow up with people when networking; it provides an opportunity for you to get together with them again, and may provide an opportunity for you to show your products or services.
3. Ask for the deal! So many people are great at creating a need, and explaining to the prospect the details of what to look for when selecting a product or service. They just forget to ask for the business. If you create demand and don’t ask for the business, you have just made a sale…for your competition.

You will notice that John did not insist that the detail shop actually do business with his company. He simply asked to show them his products. When a salesperson insists on a quid-pro-quo for business, it is usually a sign of weakness and insecurity.

No matter what the economy may be doing, or what the media may be telling you what to think; there is plenty of business out there. You just may have to literally trip over it when walking into another business!

Dave “The Shef” SheffieldTop Selling Author and Professional Speaker Dave “The Shef” Sheffield energizes audiences with his proven Recipe for Success Strategies. More than 450,000 people from 58 countries have experienced his high energy and interactive programs.

Fortune 500 companies, Financial Institutions, Major Business Trade Associations, and many others have discovered that The Shef not only motivates and inspires their audiences; he gives them tools that they can put to use right away.

The Shef has been helping various audiences Always Better Their Best since 2001. Whether he is addressing a group of 7 or 7,000 people, his custom tailored programs are a hit with all types of groups.

Dave Sheffield is an expert in leadership and motivating others to be the best they can be. For additional tips and resources visit: www.theshef.com.

Squinkies Featured On Fox News

It’s official folks. Squinkies will be a full on phenomenon this Christmas season. Fox News featured the squishy, squooshy, squashy Squinkies toy. In fact they said it was “This Year’s Gotta Have It Toy!”

Do you remember what happened with the Zhu Zhu Pets last year? Well expect the same thing this year with the Squinkies toys. I’m sure that we will surely see the inventory dwindle and the price rise on this year’s hottest Christmas gift for little girls.

Check out the video about Squinkies from Fox News below.

Squinkies – The New Hot Toy For Christmas Squinkies – The New Hot Toy For Christmas Are Squinkies the new hot toy for Christmas? It seems so. The kiddies are begging Mommie and Daddy for these tiny, adorable toys with all the accessories. In a revealing look, the toys are the latest hotness among tots. They love the size and …

Toys R Us Cyber Monday Bargains Hot toys for the holidays: Squinkies, Monster … Cyber Monday has come and right now there are a variety of bargains, available to the Cyber Monday internet buyer. There is huge competition between stores … 

Meijer Cyber Monday Ads Squinkies One Of The Hottest Toy Collection Of This Year Image Credit: Amazon According to reports, Squinkies are the cheapest toy collection for this year. It also considered as the hottest toy collection that …

Squinkies tops on this year’s wish list Squinkies This year’s hottest toy, Squinkies is shown on the bottom with the Cupcake Surprise Bake Shop, from Blip toys. Toys R Us/The Associated Press … 

Shoppers Storm Kingstowne Stores on Black Friday Have you heard of Sing-a-ma-jigs and Squinkies? Black Friday shoppers at the Kingstowne Toys “R” Us had, and they were scooping them up left and right. … 

Cyber Monday: US Shoppers eye deals from laptops to Squinkies The deals range from flat screen TVs to the popular toys called Squinkies, little figurines at the other end of the cost spectrum. …