Make sure you always have your planner with you just in case you need to set an appointment for a business presentation. That is what I do when I make my phone calls I take out my planner and ask my prospect what date is good for them Tuesday or Saturday at 7pm for example. You want to them that because your time is valuable and you are on a goal to earning residual income not to waste time or money.

Always call your prospect the day before or the day of the appointment to confirm their attendance. This is crucial to avoid no shows.

Set aside prep time for yourself before you go to your appointment whether it’s on the phone/internet web cast/in person. Preperation is key to success and it helps get your ideas in order before talking.

Remember to listen to your prospects needs and wants. I use the FORM method when prospecting a cold market (Family, Occupation, Recreation, Money). If you don’t know the FORM method I will be happy to explain how I do it. This method is used all the time in Network Marketing and is very effective.

Keep track of everything you do like phone calls, conversations, notes, appointments, and a journal. I do this daily because I work my business everyday and treat it with respect as a professional business. Image is everything, the right website, the right business card, the right posture, and the right outfit. Be professional all the time because this builds character and attracts prospects to you. I am not talking about wearing a tux or a business suit on outings but I recommend clean and pressed business casual attire and be comfortable.

Last but not least just be yourself and take time for yourself once your finished and celebrate!. A cup of tea/coffee/rootbeer float/ and a movie something to reward yourself for the hard work you did that day.

Once you start doing and applying this method to your daily work at home business schedule, it will prepare you for when the big bucks start to roll in and you need to organize your finances and your life.

Live, Laugh, Love

Anastacia, New Jersey

http://www.myspace.com/ahauldri

Thank you again for the link & welcome to ClickNewz

I had a man show up at my door one evening (a little after 8pm) when my husband (fiance at the time) was out of town traveling for work. The man claimed to have gotten my information from one of my clients (whose name he could not remember) and was interested in speaking to me further about coaching. After sternly explaining how I do business (AHEM! Not at my front doorstep at 8pm at night) he calmly left. Fortunately, there was little interaction with him afterwards, but the fact remained…he found out where I lived just by my name.

I’m glad that you brought this issue to light, because I have ALL of my business records/names etc under a DBA and have been VERY careful to pay extra for privacy settings where available, in an attempt to prevent what occurred that night. After this man left, I quickly went to my computer and searched my name on all major search engines…NOTHING. No addresses. No records. Nada. Knowing he got my info SOMEWHERE, I kept searching for public record sites and eventually stumbled across a site called ZabaSearch. I was blown away at the information that was on there about me. They had every single address & phone number I had since the age of 18, and even listed my DOB. The scarier thing is that for the right price, someone can pull an “Extensive Report” that allows them to see names and addresses of family members, employers and even your Social Security. Doing further research on the site I found that even celebrities and public officials aren’t safe- If they’ve ever used their real name with their home address, it’s right there for the whole world to see- for free. I think it goes without saying, how absolutely dangerous this information could be if it were in the hands of someone with ill intentions.

The good news is that you can pay a $20 opt-out fee and have all of your information removed. I didn’t choose to do this myself, since I was a month from getting married and my new name would not pull any information- However, many of my friends and family used the service, and had luck with it.

I hope this information is helpful to you and your readers, and may you always be protected from crazies who think it’s appropriate to show up at your front door!

Sierra Friend

One thing I’ve noticed about systems. If you don’t set any up, you can quickly get overwhelmed as your business grows.

It reminds me of something Dan Kennedy wrote about. He basically said no matter how much you love doing what you are doing today. Eventually you’ll grow tired of doing ____ (fill in the blank). He also advised to have systems in place to replace yourself.

Good advice.

Sorry

The 1% of course, is if you’re already KNOWN in a certain niche or 2, when you decide to play in others…..you don’t want to confuse or associate the two.

Face facts folks (now there’s a twister), with technology the way it is and certainly here it’s headed, if someone wants to find you…THEY WILL.

No debate there.

In an attempt to squelch the #1 comeback, “but why HELP them?”, is answered above. If you’re going to be in business…be in business.

Thanks for the clarification. The reason I prefer hyphenated domain names is that they are easier for a human to read and comprehend. The hyphens break up the words, making it quick to grasp the purpose of the name.

Without hyphens, the brain has to work out where the word breaks go, and this can involve a few extra mental cycles that people might not be bothered to invest.

I agree about the audio side of things though.

Ta ra
Alan

Why do you say not to use hyphenated domain names?

Actually I didnt say *not* to use hyphenated domain names. I simply suggested that you use short non-hyphenated domain names.

For a couple of reasons. They are hard to say and remember. Terrible for sharing via audio, over the phone or in person. A longer domain name is better than a hyphenated one, in my opinion.

I would also venture to guess that the domain name affects the resale value of the site as a whole. All things being equal between two sites, the one with the better domain name will bring a higher price.

Just some things to consider going forward.

Why do you say not to use hyphenated domain names? I think they’re MUCH easier to read than non-hyphenated ones.

Regarding your address, my experiences selling on eBay convinced me to get another address. I made an agreement with a local shop that I can use their address for business purposes, in return for some free computer consultancy. That way, no-one knows my home address.

As far as an alias goes, I think it depends on your business model. I’m working on a baby guide, and my gut feeling tells me that the target market (young mothers) would react better to this coming from a woman than from a man. I invented a woman, whose name is basically a play on my wife’s real name, and used that for the site. This has the bonus of protecting our privacy.

Thanks as ever for some useful and helpful info. Makes your blog one of the few I bother reading!

Ta ra
Alan

Your point on aliases, is great veteran knowledge to share.

Maria Reyes-McDavis

I just don’t want my hospitality tested any more than it is in my everyday life!

Now that I’m officially ‘testing’ a mailing list with Aweber, it seemed to be good timing to get an official address to put on the list emails.

Thanks for sharing your experience to assist others, Lynn.
Best,
Mary