What if I told you that with one word I could increase your profits while decreasing the amount of time you spend at work and lowering your stress? Sound too good to be true? Well it's not - in fact it's one of the easiest changes you can make, because it starts, and ends, with you! The word is....

Productivity. Webster defines it as the quality or state of being productive, and further defines it as producing, especially in abundance. People who produce, who are productive, are people who get things done. They are "action" people, type A personalities, go-getters. There's a thousand expressions and nicknames to describe them, but they all come back to one thing - these people are PRODUCTIVE.

What's that you say? You're not one of "those" people? You just weren't made that way?

Hogwash.

Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, is capable of being productive. The problem isn't in how you were "made", it's not because you weren't born that way, it's because you fall victim to one (or more) of the 3 productivity KILLERS. You are being sabotaged - attacked from within by enemies of a devious nature. They seem to be on your side, but BEWARE! They are not allies and unless you find them and destroy them, you will keep trudging along where you're at right now - never increasing your profits or your business; doomed to a meager and unfulfilling life.

Scare you enough?

Good, because these three productivity killers won't kill you, but they'll sure as heck squash your dreams and take away your chance to make something of yourself. You need to find them, face them, and eradicate them on the spot. No mercy, no prisoners, no remorse. Now let's move on to identifying these three silent sabotagers!

1.) Perfectionism - Now this sneaky little devil is probably the worst of the three. Why? Because he pretends to be on your side, pretends to be helping you make everything "just right" but in reality all he's doing is eating away at your profits and stopping you from succeeding in your professional life (and probably in your personal life too!). He succeeds by convincing you that your article(website, product, book, video, service, etc) is not quite good enough to publish yet...it still needs a little more work.

Seems harmless enough on the surface, but the problem is that he doesn't let go. Once you fix those few small things, he'll point out some more, and more, and more - until it's 6 months down the road and you're still holding on to your product/service/etc. It's a sad and silent trend that has kept many a publisher/small business owner/entrepreneur from achieving greatness, riches, and fame.

But isn't it a good thing to want only the best for my customers, you say?

Of course it is! I'm not saying throw some junk together and hand it out because all we care about is the money, money, money. That would be unethical and just plain bad business; and in the end, karma will come back and get you because your customers will never want to buy from you again. But do you think your customers will mind if there's a word misspelled on your webpage, or if the color scheme is not quite perfect? Do you think they'll notice that your header is off 3 pixels to the right and you were squinting a little bit in the picture you posted on your main page?

NO!

The only thing your customers are ultimately going to care about is whether or not you give them what they want. I have seen hundreds of comments (and I'm sure you have to) with quotes like this - "Ugliest website ever, but excellent service!" Now did the website wow? Not in a good way! But the service was spectacular and he not only got a recurring customer, he's got someone actively referring people to him and his "ugly" website. Sounds like he won to me! Good thing he didn't wait until everything was "perfect" to launch, isn't it?

Bottom line? Get your product/article/book/service together, pretty it up, and publish it! Spend 70% of your time on producing, 10% on prettying, and the last 20% on publishing - and your customers will eat it up. They may get a great product with only okay looks, but didn't your momma ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?

Join me tomorrow for the next installment in the PRODUCTIVITY KILLER series. While you're waiting, check out this new course from Paul Lemberg. It's called Blueprints to Profits and it is a goldmine of information on increasing your profits and decreasing your stress and your workload. Seriously, this guy may be smarter than I am! The price isn't cheap ($1997) but if you decide to buy, there's a guy offering a FREE laptop (15.6" screen - HP, Acer, or Toshiba - retail value $600 to $800) to anyone who buys Blueprints to Profits through him.

Check out the FREE laptop Blueprints to Profits BONUS.

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Our country is mired in a deep recession right now, and as the news plays clip after clip of big businesses struggling and looking for bailouts, one can't help but wonder - if the big businesses are failing, do entrepreneurs and small businesses stand a chance? The answer may surprise you...

Owning a small business isn't easy. Even when your country isn't in a recession, research has shown that 62.8% of small business fail within the first few years. Tack on a recession and decreased consumer spending and I'm sure that number rises even more. But does the recession spell doom for all small businesses, or do they actually have a better chance of surviving than the corporate giants?

The answer is really dependent on the small business owner, or the entrepreneur. If he or she continues to do business the same old way, marketing to the same people with the same advertising and the same products, then yes, small business is doomed. But the small business owner that can shift his marketing/advertising strategy as needed and gives his customers only the products they need - that small business owner will have no shortage of sales and profits rolling in.

The key to understanding why requires that you first understand what happens in a recession. A recession doesn't mean consumers stop spending money, it simply means they stop spending money foolishly. They don't rush out to buy something because they want it anymore, they only buy the things they need. So it is the job of a small business owner or entrepreneur to get inside their customer's head, find out what they need, and then give it to them. A happy customer is a customer that keeps coming back.

Surveying your customers becomes 100 times more important during a recession, both before the sale and after. Your customers will stick by your side if they feel you understand their needs, because research has shown that even during a recession consumers still exhibit a strong brand loyalty. Give your customers the products they are looking for, with the guarantees that make them trust you. Take their feedback and show them that it matters, both positive and negative - and your company/business will flourish, recession or not.

To be successful in small business, you have to stand out and that just doesn't mean in your marketing or advertising campaigns. Stand out by offering the best guarantee, the best value, the best customer service. Add a 10 year guarantee to your product - even if it's a pair of jeans or a basket weaving class. Go big! Sure some people will use it to try to scam you, but they will be few and far between compared to the amount of sales your guarantee will bring in. Don't think you can offer a guarantee? Then find a way to offer the most VALUE for your product. Make your product irresistible to your customers because they get so much for their dollar it's just foolish to pass it up.

Surviving a recession takes guts, determination, and hard work. Succeeding in one takes an out of the box approach that most business owners/entrepreneurs won't take. That gives you the competitive advantage, but only if you're crazy enough to take it. Step up to the plate and swing for the fences...

Want to DOUBLE or TRIPLE your profits, even during this recession? Let Paul Lemberg and his new course, Blueprints to Profits, show you how. Paul Lemberg is an internationally renowned business coach who has helped his clients earn over $350 MILLION in extra profits. His course includes over 60 hours of video and dozens of PDF's to walk you through the 5 steps to a successful business. If you're ready to buy, check out this site where there's an AMAZING Blueprints to Profits bonus - a FREE laptop to the first 75 people who buy Blueprints to Profits!

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Friendster

For those who have been following along - you've made it! Today we discuss the last step on your way to doubling your profits by New Year's Eve. This step is the most important step, so PAY ATTENTION, because if you don't master this step you will not succeed in business.

Step 5 - Do more work in less time

Personal productivity is the cornerstone to an entrepreneur or a small business. It is imperative that you, the small business owner, know how to manage your time and use it effectively.

Why?

In small businesses, you usually find the owner working 20 hours a day, trying to keep his business running smoothly, or just running at all. He's overworked, underpaid, and doesn't get to spend any time with the people he loves. Sounds a lot like a regular job to me!

Now I don't know your reasons for becoming a small business owner but most entrepreneurs start their own business because they're tired of working for someone else, or they want a job closer to home and family, or they want to bring an idea of theirs to life. Whatever your reason, I doubt your "dream job" consisted of you working nonstop 20 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week.

So let's change. First, realize that you're not "working" 20 hours a day. You may be AT work, but you're not working 20 hours a day. You're probably only working productively about half or a quarter of that time. Start prioritizing your tasks. If something could be delegated, find someone and delegate it to them. Don't have any staff? Then that needs to be your first purchase. Free yourself up from the mundane tasks that take up your precious time and you can focus on the tasks that make you the most money.

Once you free yourself from the distractions and the "busywork" of your business, you can sit down and focus on what is really important. You can be the boss and leave the employees to handle the rest of the tasks. This applies to you even if you have no staff. Accomplish all your "employee" tasks and then set aside some time to be the "boss". Don't get so caught up in doing the employee tasks that you forget who runs the business.

These 5 steps aren't hard. They do demand a change, and it might not come easy to you, but business is about change, and successful business is about doing things a little different than everyone around you. But it's up to you. You can take these 5 steps and double your profits by the end of the year, or you can go back to doing it your way.

Want a detailed guide that takes you by the hand and walks you through these 5 steps? Blueprints to Profits, by Paul Lemberg, has over 60 hours of video and dozens of PDF's detailing the exact advice that Paul used to get his clients and extra $350 million in profits. He's an internationally renowned author and business coach who has been helping entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed for the last 17 years. Buy Blueprints to Profits today from these links and get a FREE laptop as a Blueprints to Profits Bonus.

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LiveJournal

If you've been keeping up with this series, you have already seen the power of these 5 steps and hopefully have already started implementing them in your business model. If you haven't - get off your a** and get to work. Money doesn't come to the lazy - it comes to those who act first and think later.

Let's go on to step 4...

Step 4 - Convert more leads into buyers

Back in Step 1 we talked about raising the price of your product and we discussed briefly about the concept of value and how important it was. Step 4 delves more into that concept. Specifically, we discussed the importance of making sure your product is EXACTLY what your customers are looking for, because the more a customer NEEDS your product, the less he cares about the price.

So how do you make sure your customers NEED your product?

Simple. Build your product around your customer's needs. Find out what your customers need and then shape your product to fill those needs. If your product is missing something, add it. If it has too much, take some away. Give the customers exactly what he is looking for and he'll pull out his wallet without even looking at the price tag.

But how do I know what they need?

Ask them. If you're already bringing in customers and just want to increase sales, ask your existing customers what they like and dislike about your product. Offer them an incentive (10% discount, gift card sweepstakes, etc.) to fill out your survey and then ask them to describe why they bought (needs), what they liked (needs you met) and what they disliked (needs you didn't meet). Then shape your product to fix the issues you discovered.

Don't have an existing customer base? Easy enough. Try a service like Zoomerang.com. They offer market research, satisfaction surveys, twitter and facebook surveys, and more. They have over 2 million people ready to take your survey; just pick your filters. Men, women, young, old, from California or Minnesota...you decide. Bottom line? You can increase your profits very easily by just learning a little bit more about your customers needs, and then helping them fill those needs.

That's it for today. Check out the last step, step 5, tomorrow. We'll be talking about the biggest enemy your business faces....you. You don't want to miss this!

While you're waiting. check out my mentor, Paul Lemberg. His new course, Blueprints to Profits, launches August 5th and his advice will take your business from a flatline to a full out rocket blast into the stratosphere. I'm serious. Want more? Here's an EXCLUSIVE Profits review.

I found a site offering a free laptop as their Profits bonus, so if you buy Blueprints to Profits check that out. Nothing beats FREE, right? Lol.

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WorldVillage

Got a minute? If you do, I'd like to show you a guaranteed way that you can DOUBLE your profits by the end of 2010. This is advice you simply can't afford to miss - that is, unless you're already making more money than you know what to do with.

Continuing on with our 5 steps:

3. Bring in more customers

Now this seems like an obvious "duh" but hold on a minute. When I say bring in new customers, where does your mind go? Does it go to the same "tried and true" techniques you always use to find new buyers? Or did you start thinking outside the box, thinking how could I get new customers in ways I haven't tried before? The latter is what I'm talking about. Hardly any companies have ALL the lead generation methods nailed down - so there's most likely room for improvement in your business.

Here's a few ways you can use to get new customers (and don't say I can't do that to any of these - your business depends on how often you say I can, not I can't):

a.) Telemarketing - Contrary to what you might think, telemarketing is still a very good way of generating customers. Sure, it's not glamorous and you'll hear a lot of no's, but those extra customers you bring in are extra dollars in your pocket.

b.) Classified ads - Both online and off now offer classified ads and they both get read quite frequently. Places like Craigslist, Kiiji, Backpage, and more exist online, and we all know the offline places; Thrifty Nickel, local newspapers, etc.

You can target these places two different ways, putting your services out there for everyone to see (ad), or looking for people who could use your services and contacting them (kind of like a Craigslist/telemarketing approach). The second approach converts better, but don't discount ads.

Just make sure you're making your service or product look valuable - focus on promoting the VALUE of your product, not the price. "We offer the lowest prices in town" also implies "We offer the worst service in town" to many potential customers. An ad that focuses on the value you provide and the benefits they can expect draws a lot better crowd than engaging in a price war with your competitors. Remember, they are only your competitors until you increase your VALUE so much that no one can compare to you.

c.) Reactivating "dead" customers - remember all those people who bought your product/service before? If you provided the value I've been preaching, those same customers would be happy to buy from you again. You just need to remind them of your product/service and why they need it again. A simple email, letter, postcard, phone call, or visit can be the key to unlocking a flood of new profits.

Why?

Simple - you've already sold them once! You don't have to go through the whole selling process from start to finish, you just need to show them why they need your service on a continuing basis (continuity) or need a bigger solution (upsell). This goes into Step 2 a little, I know, but it is one of the easiest ways to add profits to your business. Don't overlook it.

While we are on the subject of easy ways to increase profits, let's talk about price again. I know you heard about it in Step 1, but it needs to be repeated again.

Increase your prices AND the value of your product!!!

If you do this first, not only will you start making more money right off the bat, your future steps will bring in more profits as well.

Think about it, if I do Step 3 and bring in 100 new customers but still charge the same price I did before (let's say I charge $500 for my services), I've increased my profits by $50,000. Not bad, but what if I had also increased my price 20% as well? Now those same 100 customers are worth $60,000 in new profits!

That would have taken 20 more customers at my old price; or let me phrase it this way - I cut my workload by 20% and still made the same amount of money! Now I have more time to give those 100 customers, meaning I can provide more value to them.

It's a win/win situation for everyone and all it took was raising my price and the value of my product/service a little bit, and stepping out of the box to attract some new customers.

Stay tuned for steps 4 and 5 - they offer even more power-packed ideas to DOUBLING your profits by the end of 2010! While you're waiting check out Blueprints to Profits by Paul Lemberg. He's an internationally renowned author and business coach and one of my new favorites to listen to. He preaches a lot of the same stuff I do, and he has helped his clients earn more than $350 million in increased profits! This guy knows what he is talking about and he's charismatic on top of it all. Try listening to a few of his videos at Blueprints to Profits video and let me know what you think.

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