Why Regular Bill Checking is Essential for Your Safety

Bill checking is definitely not much fun. But failing to scrutinize the detail of your bills can lead to untold misery.

That’s because monthly bills and account statements are often the first indication you’ve been scammed or of other problems that could turn out to be costly.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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Technology Delivers New Hacking and Key Copying Threats

Hacking, a word few of us encountered until fairly recently, unless you’re a jungle explorer or horse-rider - has suddenly become part of our everyday language.

A few weeks ago, we were reading about how a Russian gang had stolen more than a billion email addresses by hacking individual and organizational computer systems.

(By the way, change all your important passwords because of this.)

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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Which Card is Safest? Debit or Credit?

Which card is safest to use?   Debit or credit - in a world where personal financial information seems less secure than ever?

Barely a week seems to pass without news of a hack attack on retailers and other companies that access the records of customers, including card details.

And then there are the everyday risks of card number theft we all face, from stolen wallets through skimming devices to spyware-infested PCs.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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SUCCESSFUL MARKETING RECIPES NEED GOOD INGREDIENTS

Many of the marketing struggles I see self-employed professionals experience have one thing in common. The professional is trying to copy a marketing recipe they've seen others use, but they are missing a key ingredient. The result is like trying to make a sandwich without bread.

Let's look at three different examples of marketing recipes gone wrong. In each case, an essential ingredient for success was missing or inadequate.

Recipe #1: Attract Clients Online

Sonia wanted to build her accounting business by bringing small business clients to her website. She created an attractive site with some useful content, started a blog, and used Facebook ads and Google AdWords to attract more traffic.

The number of people visiting Sonia's website increased, and she did land some new clients, but none of them had found her online. She was still getting clients the same way she always had -- by referral. Meanwhile, she was spending more than she could afford on ads, and still didn't have enough business.

Missing Ingredient? 

In Sonia's case, what was missing was a mailing list. She had no mechanism to capture the people who visited her site and follow up with them over time. What Sonia needed was to give her blog readers and site visitors a way to become subscribers. Then she could mail them periodically, and build their awareness of her services and their trust in her expertise.

Recipe #2: Cold Calling

Brian was trying to find clients who needing his technical writing skills by cold calling. He had identified a number of companies that were likely to need the type of instructional materials he specialized in. He was calling each one to introduce himself and tell them about his capabilities. But no one wanted to have a conversation with him.

Missing Ingredient? 

Brian was lacking an effective telemarketing script. He was selling himself as a solution without finding out anything about what his prospects actually needed. Instead, Brian needed to develop a series of questions he could ask his prospects to determine what their needs were so that he could propose specific solutions. He also needed to research his prospects more, so that he could customize his script for each call.

Recipe #3: Networking at Events

Maureen was attending local networking events to get clients for her web design business. She had tried all sorts of events, from Chamber of Commerce mixers to women's professional groups to industry association meetings. She was meeting lots of people, but producing almost nothing in the way of business.

Missing Ingredient? 

Maureen had neglected to define a market niche for herself. She was visiting dozens of different groups because she didn't know where her clients were likely to be. When she introduced herself, nothing made her stand out from any other web designer. Without a defined target market or clear specialty, Maureen didn't know where she fit, and neither did the people she met. When they needed a web designer, they had no reason to remember Maureen.

Do you suspect your marketing might be missing a crucial ingredient? Start by asking yourself the question "why aren't I..." or "why can't I..." and fill in the blank with whatever you're trying to accomplish with your marketing.

Sonia asked herself "why aren't my website visitors turning into clients?" Brian asked "why aren't the people I'm calling interested in speaking to me?" Maureen asked "why can't I find clients at the events I'm attending?" Their answers led each one of them to discover what their marketing was missing.

For your marketing recipes to be successful, the right ingredients are essential. Don't keep trying to make a sandwich without bread.

Copyright © 2014, C.J. Hayden

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New Wave of ATM Scams Heads for U.S.

A new wave of ATM scams is on its way to the U.S. from Europe, while our own home-grown criminals also have a new set of cash-machine tricks up their sleeves.

As we’ve previously reported in ATM Theft: 8 Tips to Protect Yourself From the 5 Most Common ATM Scams, by far the most common scam is the use of skimming devices, which are placed over ATM card slots.

These can read data on the card’s magnetic stripe, while a carefully concealed camera records the user’s Personal Identification Number (PIN).

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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Urban Legends from Mississippi, Missouri and Montana

A three-legged woman, a Robin Hood-style hold-up by Jesse James and the supposed arrest of Ronald McDonald — we’ve got them all in our latest collection of urban legends.

This week, we continue our alphabetical state-by-state tour of the U.S. with visits to Mississippi, Missouri and Montana.

As usual, we encountered a whole stack of hauntings and UFO sightings, several of which — like Bigfoot — we’ve seen elsewhere. But there were also some unique legends to investigate, some of which, surprisingly, turned out to be true.

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©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission.

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MARKETING: YOU GOTTA HAVE A SYSTEM

Being successful at marketing does not result from one brilliant idea. Nor does it follow from stringing together a random series of marketing activities, no matter how many different approaches you manage to use. To bring in a sustainable flow of business on a consistent basis, you gotta have a system.

With no system for marketing and sales, you have no priorities for where to focus. "What should I do first?" a new coaching client will often ask me. "I need to update my website, arrange speaking engagements, launch a Facebook page, follow up on leads I already have... I don't even know where to begin."

When you lack guidelines for managing your time and money, you can quickly overspend those precious resources. "I thought I would update just one thing on my LinkedIn profile," a colleague recently posted. "Three hours later, I was still working on it."

Without a system, you also have no framework for making choices. Does it make sense for you to hire the search engine optimization expert you just met? Or should you take that class on how to launch a blog? Or maybe you should join the networking group you were recently invited to.

One more missing element in system-less marketing is consistency, a crucial factor in successful marketing. When you don't have a blueprint to guide you, it's too easy to neglect what should be ongoing tasks, like following up on your unreturned phone calls or emails, posting to your blog or social media page, or sending broadcasts to your mailing list.

Here's what should be included in a marketing and sales system:

1. What result you wish to see. Name a number of clients, prospects, appointments, dollars, or some other quantifiable target.
2. What approaches you will use to achieve that result. Choose a spot in the marketing/sales cycle where you will focus your efforts, and identify specific strategies to employ.
3. Exactly what you will do to implement those approaches. Make a list of tasks to perform and tools you need to create or acquire.
4. When you will do those things. Specify when you will begin and when you will have projects or tools completed.
5. How often you will do those things. With activities that need to happen repeatedly -- phone calls, social media posts, or coffee dates, for example -- assign them a frequency or quantity. This could be once per week or ten times per day.
6. What you did, and what results you achieved. Be sure to track what really happened, not just what you planned for. It's the only way you'll know whether your plan is working, and if you're working the plan.

If you're already familiar with my Get Clients Now! system, you'll recognize these six components. Have you fallen off the gotta-have-a-system wagon? Perhaps it's time to climb back on.

If you're not acquainted with my system yet, I'd love it if you gave it a try. But my real point is that you need to have SOME system in order for your marketing to succeed.

We entrepreneurs can be an unruly bunch. We often resist systems and structures. After all, many of us went into business to have more independence and control over our destiny. But making use of an effective system can actually be freeing. "Once I complete the marketing tasks I've chosen," a grateful student told me, "I can stop worrying about marketing and spend the rest of my time as I like. What a relief!"

Copyright © 2014, C.J. Hayden

Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden or subscribe to the GET CLIENTS NOW! E-Letter.