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Hi Beki,

I would agree with all the others that said ACT was a good option. I
would also consider www.freecrm.com since that is kept online and it
is free while ACT you pay for and is kept on your computer.  I
personally have used Goldmine at www.frontrange.com for about a
decade but they are not as committed to supporting the single user it
seems these days so ACT is probably better for someone starting out
new if you don't go with www.freecrm.com.  If you want to drive
yourself nuts and look around find below a listing of options
mentioned on this list serve in the past by folks who thought they
deserved mention. I collected them over time and saved them.  I would
keep it simple and just look at ACT or www.freecrm.com myself.  Also
you could Google "contact management" and that will get you tons of
other results to look into if you want.

Best regards,

Henry


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

http://www.marketcircle.com/daylite/index.html

http://www.marketcircle.com/daylite/features.html

http://www.frontrange.com/ProductsSolutions/subcategory.aspx?
id=80&ccid=15

http://www.salesforce.com/services-training/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

www.consideredsales.com

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
x

http://www.cmsmatrix.org/

and

http://www.opencms.org/opencms/en/ ?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
List of 19 vendors of contact management systems:
• Amaxus (Box UK)
• Cascade Server (Hannon Hill)
• Contentworkz (GlobusMedia)
• Communique (Day Software)
• dotEditor (Ellipsis Media)
• Ektron
• iCM (Goss Interactive)
• Immediacy
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• MySource Matrix (Squiz)
• NetBuild (NetConstruct)
• Origin Content Manager (Madgex)
• RedDot (Open Text)
• Rhythmyx (Percussion)
• Sitecore
• Stellent
• TERMINALFOUR
• Vyre
• WebDeck (Solid State Group)
• WORKSsitebuilder (eShopworks)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx

    - GoldMine - http://www.frontrange.com

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    - Act - http://www.act.com

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    - Maximizer - http://www.maximizer.com/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    - SugarCRM - http://www.sugarcrm.com

[This message had to be edited by your moderator because the full original post
was appended to it. Please remember to edit your own posts before sending.]

I was wondering what advice can the group can give on someone who's
getting starting, and if you have any advice on old business cards that
accumulated thur the years and don't know where you got them.

Thanks,

Timothy Griggs
Innovative Payment Soultions, Inc

> >> I was wondering what advice can the group can give on someone who's
> >> getting starting


Hi,

Where exactly are you in terms of getting
started? Here is a plan I usually share with
my clients who are getting started. Skip
the steps you have already done:

- Define your target market. You need to know
exactly who your clients are. Before you figure
this out you will not be able to market effectively.

Don't offer your services to everyone - you need
to specialize and market your services to your
audience.

- Turn your web site into an effective lead-generating
web site. Make sure that your web site talks to your
target market and educates your target market
about you, your services and your products.

- Start a newsletter. You need to bring leads into
your business every day in order to turn some of
those leads into clients.

Make sure that every page of your web site has a form
that invites your web site visitors to subscribe to your
newsletter.

- Use marketing techniques, such as search
engine optimization, article marketing, blogging,
online and offline networking and others to get more
subscribers and get more potential customers to your
web site.


Biana Babinsky
Free Report, "Top Strategies To Get Clients Online"
http://www.avocadoconsulting.com/free_report.html

Greetings!

We use SalesForce (www.salesforce.com), an online contact management
solution. It's a great tool for us to keep track of leads and other
contact management. You can export contacts; conduct mail merges; send
e-mail; assign and track tasks and much more.

Recently, our firm hired a Marketing Director, so we can now share the
same program. She can input leads and see the leads I generate.

Good Luck!
Steve Phillips
Purple Trout, LLC
An SEO Firm
www.purpletrout.com

Hi,

This product (salesforce.com) looks impressive, but is
probably overkill for the solo operator.  I just
bought Microsoft Office 2007, the Small Business
upgrade, for $280.00.  It comes with Outlook 2007 with
"Business Contacts Manager" which is quite robust.
You can also get Outlook 2007 as a standalone product,
but be sure it comes with the Business Contacts
Manager.  Definitely worth taking a look....

-Don

[This message had to be edited by your moderator because the full original post
was appended to it. Please remember to edit your own posts before sending.]

Can anyone give any pointers on how to stay the course, and what is the
most effective way to do this.

Thanks,

Timothy Griggs
Innovative Payment Solutions, Inc

Don,

I am not sure "overkill" is the right word. Great contact management
is a huge factor in remaining a sole proprietor and growing into a
larger company. By the way, we now have 5 employees.

While I did like Microsoft Business Contact Manager (and used it
regularly before I switched to Sales Force), be aware it's a huge
memory hog. If you don't have enough RAM, your computer will come to a
crawl. Also, always, always, always back up your contact management
system. Microsoft's Business Contact Manager (like any other software)
can crash.

Thanks!
Steve Phillips
Purple Trout, LLC
www.purpletrout.com

Here are a few tips:

1. If you have the means, get someone else to do it
for you. Cold calling is time intensive with not that
much of a return of your investment.

2. Create two scripts, one for when you get someone on
the phone, and one for leaving voicemail.

3. Call ONLY those in your target market most likely
to require your services.

Good luck!

James Palmer

James Palmer, Independent Copywriter
http://www.jamesmpalmer.com
Receive TWO valuable FREE reports when you sign up for my FREE Newsletter The
Write Stuff!
The Copywriting Blog: http://thecopywritingblog.blogspot.com

[This message had to be edited by your moderator because the full original post
was appended to it. Please remember to edit your own posts before sending.]

I've never kept a serious mailing list, but the time has come. Do you have
suggestions for how to best:

1. Maintain a database with relevant information, including notes about
when/where you met, prior conversations, mailings, etc.
2. Maintain a mailing list for newsletters, offers, etc., including a
reliable "unsubscribe" function, or low or no maintenance cost. (Since I will
mail infrequently, I prefer to pay by the mailing vs. paying for storage

I'm aware of contact management programs like ACT or (for myself on the
Macintosh) Now Contact, and this would handle the first, but how about the 2nd?
And I've heard of Constant Contact and Slipstream that handle the mailing list,
but I assume that I don't want to put all the other fields (notes, prior
mailings) etc. on this database.

Is there a solution that synchs both functions?  Again, Macintosh-friendly
solutions are most welcome!

Thanks for your thoughts.

Best,
Steve

What do you recommend for a credit card merchant account when the number of
transactions is quite low but high value?

I would like to accept credit cards on my website for just a few services.
Average ticket amount will be $1000-$2000, but volume will be quite low, perhaps
just 10-30 per year. I will not need a terminal, nor do I need to take credit
cards over the phone or by mail.

In the coaching world, Practice Pay Solutions seems popular but is perhaps
overkill for me. Costco has a good program at 2% but it has
a monthly minimum. Has anyone just used Paypal with a button on
your website?

Thanks for your tips.

Best,
Steve

--
Steve Levin
Leading Change Consulting & Coaching
5 Thistle Street
Portola Valley, CA 94028
www.leadingchange.net
steve@...
tel 650 851 3641
fax 650 851 3640

Steve asked:
<< Do you have suggestions for how to best:
1. Maintain a database with relevant information, including notes about
when/where you met, prior conversations, mailings, etc.
2. Maintain a mailing list for newsletters, offers, etc., including a reliable
"unsubscribe" function, or low or no maintenance cost. (Since I will mail
infrequently, I prefer to pay by the mailing vs. paying for storage

I'm aware of contact management programs like ACT or (for myself on the
Macintosh) Now Contact, and this would handle the first, but how about the 2nd?
And I've heard of Constant Contact and Slipstream that handle the mailing list,
but I assume that I don't want to put all the other fields (notes, prior
mailings) etc. on this database.

Is there a solution that synchs both functions? >>

Steve, I think if someone could invent one system that could truly handle both
of these functions well, and at a price affordable to small business owners,
they'd have a corner on the market. As of this moment, I am not aware of an
integrated system that handles BOTH true contact management AND automated email
list management, except for enterprise-scale CRM (customer relationship
management) systems with prices out of reach for a solo independent
professional. If someone else on this list is aware of such an animal, please
let us all know about it!

Contact management systems like ACT allow you to send email from within the
system, but since the emails are sent using your regular ISP, you can't send
more than about 50 at once, and there is no automated subscribe or unsubscribe
capability. So they aren't an adequate solution for ezines or email marketing.
Email list management systems have everything you need to manage email
marketing, but none of them have any real contact management capability -- you
can't store and retrieve detailed notes, or sort and select on fields like "date
last contacted."

I know Salesforce.com claims to be able to handle both functions, but the last
time I checked, they really don't. They do allow you to send bulk email directly
from the system, but they don't have automated signup and autoresponder
capabilities -- they only offer "integration with 3rd-party solutions." So you
still need a 2nd system to manage those functions, and if you're going to do
that, there are a lot of contact management systems available that are cheaper
and less complex than Salesforce.

So... most professionals that I know with large mailing lists (including me)
handle their needs by using two parallel systems: one for managing "personal"
contacts and a different one for managing their email list. This isn't as
inefficient as it sounds. I use an email list management system to sign people
up for my ezine, manage email marketing for products and programs, and send out
automated reminders to product purchasers and registered students. I use a
desktop contact management system to hold information about clients, important
business contacts, and prospects for higher-ticket services like one-on-one
coaching, in-house training, or paid speaking.

With the email list management system, there's almost no data entry involved.
People add themselves to the database when they purchase a product, sign up for
my ezine, or ask for information about a specific program. Subscribers can
update their own email address or unsubscribe themselves from any list. They can
also remove themselves from the database if they don't want to hear from me
again. The only time I enter people into the system manually is when I give an
in-person workshop and collect business cards from people who want my ezine.

With the contact management system, I choose who gets entered into the system
and what gets entered. The only people who appear in this system are those who I
plan to be in personal contact with by phone or postal mail. If my only contact
with a person is to send an ezine or automated emails, there's no reason for
them to be in this 2nd system at all. As with any contact management system,
when information changes, it needs to be manually updated. And very importantly,
these people can't remove themselves from my database -- they don't disappear
until I delete them.

Because of the different uses for these two systems, the only times I have to
deal with issues of duplicate data entry are:
1. When someone emails me and says "please change my email address." Then both
systems need to be checked, and if the person exists in both, they both need to
be changed. This doesn't happen often, as most people update their own email
address with my email list management system.
2. When I do a postal mailing to people who are not "personal" contacts. I do
this very rarely, but an example would be if I was giving a workshop in Boston,
I might want to send a postcard to everyone on my ezine list who lived in the
area. Having the two different systems adds one extra step to this process, as I
need to download from my email list management system all the Boston contacts
that I happen to have postal addresses for, and merge them with any "personal"
contacts in Boston to eliminate duplicates before creating the final mailing
list. This takes about 15 minutes to do.

I will respond separately to the question about recommended systems for the two
different needs, but you may also want to search the archives of this list for
"contact management" to see what others have said about this topic in the past.
(Go to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/getclientsnow/messages )

-- C.J.

----
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author, Get Clients Now! (tm) & Get Hired Now! (tm)
Wings Business Coaching LLC, San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8845 or (877) 946-4722 in the U.S.
http://www.getclientsnow.com
http://www.gethirednow.com
http://www.socialentrepreneurcoach.com
http://www.howtobecomeahero.com
----

Steve:

I have used paypay with great results, especially when the number of
transactions is low, but high $$$. Good luck

[This message had to be edited by your moderator because the full original post
was appended to it. Please remember to edit your own posts before sending.]

Hi, Steve. Clients often pay me using PayPal. I don't have a button on
my web site but send the invoice through the system. Rather than
getting a merchant account, I would probably try Google checkout
first:  http://checkout.google.com

I hope this info helps. Best wishes for your continued success!

--
Karen Commins
770.712.4767
Demos, testimonials and studio pictures -- www.AVOICEAboveTheCrowd.com
Blog -- www.KarenBlogs.com
"Eloquent voice to enlighten and entertain"



On 11/4/07, Steve Levin <steve@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> What do you recommend for a credit card merchant account when the number of
> transactions is quite low but high value?
>
>  I would like to accept credit cards on my website for just a few services.
> Average ticket amount will be $1000-$2000, but volume will be quite low,
> perhaps just 10-30 per year. I will not need a terminal, nor do I need to
> take credit cards over the phone or by mail.
>
>  In the coaching world, Practice Pay Solutions seems popular but is perhaps
> overkill for me. Costco has a good program at 2% but it has
>  a monthly minimum. Has anyone just used Paypal with a button on
>  your website?
>
>  Thanks for your tips.
>
>  Best,
>  Steve
>
>  --
>  Steve Levin
>  Leading Change Consulting & Coaching
>  5 Thistle Street
>  Portola Valley, CA 94028
>  www.leadingchange.net
>  steve@...
>  tel 650 851 3641
>  fax 650 851 3640
>
>  Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic
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--- In getclientsnow@yahoogroups.com, Steve Levin <steve@...> wrote:
>
> What do you recommend for a credit card merchant account when the
number of transactions is quite low but high value?
>
> Hi Steve,

I use Paypal on my website and it works great.  I also have a page on
the site that I tell my clients about when they want to pay me for
additional services, they can enter in the amount of money, it works
very well.  I think by accepting credit cards I get more clients paying
for additional services.

Good Luck,
Lori

Weight Loss Coach
Always Your Weigh
real life weight loss solutions
www.alwaysyourweigh.com

Here's part two of my answer to Steve's question about contact management
systems and email list management systems that are Macintosh-friendly.

About contact management for the Mac, the last time that question came up on
this list, Daylite seemed to be the favorite desktop (installed on your
computer) system: http://www.marketcircle.com/daylite/ . It would be great to
hear from any Mac users if they have experienced any compatibility issues with
any of the web-based (hosted online) systems, for example FreeCRM.com .

About email list management, first I'd like to comment on this piece from
Steve's original post: "Since I will mail infrequently, I prefer to pay by the
mailing vs. paying for storage." If you want an automated system that allows
people to sign themselves up for a list, unsubscribe themselves, and change
their own addresses, the system needs to be active at all times. That way you
can capture sign-ups online any time people visit your site, regardless of when
you plan to mail to them. Also, your subscribers may choose to unsubscribe or
change their addresses at any time, not just the same day you send them mail.
(You'd be surprised how long people will keep your emails in their inboxes.)

In the independent professional marketplace, the email list management systems
most people are using are all web-based (hosted) systems: 1ShoppingCart, AWeber,
or Constant Contact. In the larger Internet marketing world, I would add to this
list: GetResponse and EmailAces. As far as I know, all of these are compatible
with the Mac. Any Mac users with a different view, please let us know.

There are many more web-based list management systems available at a wide
variety of price points, and also a number of different systems that reside on
your own web server. Some of the latter are open source software or extra
goodies provided by your web host, and can be installed for free if you know
what you're doing. Personally, I think it's worth it to pay the monthly charge
for a hosted system if you're going to be doing any volume of email marketing
and you're not a tecchie.

With all these options, there are a huge number of pros and cons to consider in
choosing an email list management system, but below are my personal
recommendations for independent professionals. (Note that I've included
affiliate links, so I do receive an affiliate fee if you choose any of these.)

Constant Contact ( http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2561581-10296181 )
This is an excellent solution if you plan to send out just an email newsletter
and don't plan to make use of autoresponders to maintain multiple mailing lists
and send out different types of automated messages. Constant Contact includes an
HTML newsletter composition tool integrated with the system. I recommend it
mostly to people who plan to maintain a newsletter list in the hundreds rather
than the thousands, and who don't plan to have a shopping cart on their website.
I think it's the easiest to use of the three.

AWeber ( http://www.aweber.com/?102621 )
If you anticipate a mailing list in the thousands within a few years time,
AWeber is a better and more affordable solution than Constant Contact. They
offer predesigned HTML templates for your newsletter but not the same type of
integrated composition tool Constant Contact has. They also give you the
flexibility of setting up mutiple mailing lists based on the same database, and
sending automated messages instead of just scheduled broadcasts. If you plan a
large mailing list but don't plan to have a shopping cart, this is probably your
best choice.

Professional Cart Solutions ( http://www.practicepaysolutions.com/cjhayden )
If you want to have a shopping cart on your website that integrates with your
mailing list system, includes autoresponders, and allows you to maintain a
mailing list in the thousands, I think this is your best choice. This same
product is also marketed under the names 1ShoppingCart, Cartville,
KickStartCart, EasyWebAutomation, Marketers Choice, and others. They don't have
an HTML newsletter composition tool or templates (although they have promised
that is coming soon), so you need to compose your newsletter outside the system
(or have a designer create a template for you) and copy it over. This is the
vendor I use for my own list of 20,000.

Keep in mind that whichever mailing list system you begin with, you will want to
stick with for a long period of time. None of these vendors will allow you to
upload a pre-existing mailing list, because there have been too many abuses of
this by spammers. If you change your vendor, you will need to ask all your
subscribers to opt in to your new system, and you will lose a large percentage
of your mailing list.

Other comments on this topic are welcome!

-- C.J.

----
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author, Get Clients Now! (tm) & Get Hired Now! (tm)
Wings Business Coaching LLC, San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8845 or (877) 946-4722 in the U.S.
http://www.getclientsnow.com
http://www.gethirednow.com
http://www.socialentrepreneurcoach.com
http://www.howtobecomeahero.com
----

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Steve asked:
<< What do you recommend for a credit card merchant account when the number of
transactions is quite low but high value?

I would like to accept credit cards on my website for just a few services.
Average ticket amount will be $1000-$2000, but volume will be quite low, perhaps
just 10-30 per year. I will not need a terminal, nor do I need to take credit
cards over the phone or by mail. >>

Steve, since you don't have a need to take cards except online, it sounds to me
like PayPal may be your best choice. For others who have a similarly low volume
of transactions but do need to be able to accept credit cards by phone or in
person instead of just online, Practice Pay Solutions (
http://www.practicepaysolutions.com/cjhayden ) has an unadvertised service
called "Phone Pay," which has no monthly fee. You won't find it on their
website, but this service is designed for low-volume users, and allows you to
pay a per-transaction fee instead of a monthly charge.

As is true with their regular service also, you don't need a terminal. But
instead of processing transactions on your computer, you do it via your
touch-tone phone. They will tell you about it if you call them at 888-208-8523.

-- C.J.

----
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author, Get Clients Now! (tm) & Get Hired Now! (tm)
Wings Business Coaching LLC, San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8845 or (877) 946-4722 in the U.S.
http://www.getclientsnow.com
http://www.gethirednow.com
http://www.socialentrepreneurcoach.com
http://www.howtobecomeahero.com
----

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have used paypay with great results, especially when the number of
transactions is low, but high $$$. Good luck



Dan, I have never heard of PayPay.  Could you tell us where to find it?
Thanks!

Carol



Carol Deckert

Networking Coach/Consultant

Referrals Unlimited Network

Everyone can network - not everyone knows how to network effectively!

Lancaster, PA USA

(717) 394-6453 phone  .  (717) 291-5562 fax

  <mailto:carol@...> carol@...  .
www.runlancaster.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/caroldeckert

http://www.jaxtr.com/caroldeckert



"Have you signed the Ethical Business Pledge at
http://www.business-ethics-pledge.org ? I have!"

_,___



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

AWeber ( http://www.aweber. <http://www.aweber.com/?102621> com/?102621 )
If you anticipate a mailing list in the thousands within a few years time,
AWeber is a better and more affordable solution than Constant Contact. They
offer predesigned HTML templates for your newsletter but not the same type
of integrated composition tool Constant Contact has. They also give you the
flexibility of setting up multiple mailing lists based on the same database,
and sending automated messages instead of just scheduled broadcasts. If you
plan a large mailing list but don't plan to have a shopping cart, this is
probably your best choice.






Hi CJ,


I appreciate reading all your comments and have a few more for you.  I'm not
using a Mac, but on a PC.  Is AWeber set up to allow subscribers to PAY
through PayPal for seminars, books, etc.?



If I am unable to upload a pre-existing database, how can I make that work
within AWeber's system?



Thanks for all your answers and support,

Carol Deckert



Carol Deckert

Networking Coach/Consultant

Referrals Unlimited Network

Everyone can network - not everyone knows how to network effectively!

Lancaster, PA USA

(717) 394-6453 phone  .  (717) 291-5562 fax

  <mailto:carol@...> carol@...  .
www.runlancaster.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/caroldeckert

http://www.jaxtr.com/caroldeckert



"Have you signed the Ethical Business Pledge at
http://www.business-ethics-pledge.org ? I have!"





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Timothy:

I think the best way to handle a cold call is to warm it up.  I
always send out a quick note or letter first and follow up with a
call.  When I am working with clients here is a typical strategy I
would use:

Everyday send out five letters of introduction.  The letter should be
short and to the point.  It should point to your website.  It should
also have an offer of a free report or white paper included.

The following week you should call the five from the week before to
confirm receipt of the letter and to see if they were able to get the
report you offered.

So the program would have you send out five letters and make five
calls every day.  If you have more time, by all means do more.  Most
of my clients don't have the time so I want them to create a program
they can implement.

I hope this helps.

Lia Allen
www.liaallen.com

Steve asked:
  << Do you have suggestions for how to best:
  1. Maintain a database with relevant information, including notes about
when/where you met, prior conversations, mailings, etc.

[Maya] I love ACT! for this function

  2. Maintain a mailing list for newsletters, offers, etc., including a reliable
"unsubscribe" function, or low or no maintenance cost. (Since I will mail
infrequently, I prefer to pay by the mailing vs. paying for storage

[Maya] I've used both Constant Contact and Cooler Email for email marketing
management and hands down Cooler Email is ahead of the pack.  Lydia of
PrivateLabelInterActive.com is a VAR for Cooler. If you want a walk-through, I'd
contact here. Here are some features you and your clients  can benefit from
Cooler:

    Outlook Calendar  Integration (great when announcing events in your email
blast)
    Integrates Leads  Generation strategies with email blasts (i.e. website
sign-up boxes,  autoresponders)
    Email blast can  include a proactive, upsell -- Send to Friend type feature
    You can manage  multiple campaigns and track results which is so important in
improving email  blast results
    Export subscribers into Excel which you can then import to ACT
If you would like to see online campaigns that uses Cooler's system, just let me
know. Sometimes seeing examples help you understand the benefits of these
services.

Hope that helped,
    ---------------------------------------------------------
Maya, Chief  Imagination Officer
Design Insomnia E-Marketing Services
Site: http://www.DesignInsomnia.com
Blog:  http://MayaAndMarketability.com



  __________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks for your feedback, Steve!  I may yet follow in
your footsteps, especially since I am venturing into
internet marketing and am involved with several
different enterprises.

I take it that salesforce.com can sort your contacts
by business (or any other category)?  What has the
learning curve been like for you?  Are there built-in
tutorials?

I like your website.  I take it you read "Your
Marketing Sucks", yes?  Have you read "The Four Hour
Work Week"?  It's quite impressive to me, and its
ideas may yet make me rich!

Cheers,
Don

[This message had to be edited by your moderator because the full original post
was appended to it. Please remember to edit your own posts before sending.]

Greetings all,

I rarely emerge from the shadows, however here I finally am in all of my lurking
glory.  In response to some of the database questions, I have been spending time
playing with the dabbledb database.  Dabbledb is a web-based database that is
constantly evolving.  I have created at least three different databases for
business and clients.  Currently, it allows you to import and share data in a
public or private platform.

It doesn't send alerts or have some of the bells and whistles of packaged CRM
software, but it does the job. Oh, and best of all, it has a free account that
can be set up.  The only drawback is that the account is a public one.

www.dabbledb.com

Cheryl Green



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Hi, Timothy,

From Timothy: > Can anyone give any pointers on how to stay the
course, and what is >the most effective way to do this.

When possible, I advise the avoidance of cold calling. When you are
first starting out, some might be required. However, you will have a
better response rate from referral marketing. Here's a good source to
learn about how to get more clients from referrals:
http://www.referralcoach.com/members/articles/

Referral marketing is a LOT more enjoyable than cold calling.

If you must cold call, a call-mail-call approach works well. Call
first to let the person (or their assistant) know the package will be
coming. Mail the package. Call to follow up.

All best,
Deborah Ager
Click Wisdom
Online Marketing Strategy
Sign Up for Free Marketing Tips:
http://www.clickwisdom.com

Just a clarification on what CJ said. Constant Contact does allow you
to upload a pre-existing mailing list. You have to jump through some
hoops to do it, but it's possible. I've done it twice.

Also, I highly recommend that you avoid any system that is hosted on
your server unless you are highly technical and can manage the related
problems and issues. I've used Aweber, Constant Contact, 1ShoppingCart
and a bad one hosted on my server. It's worth the money to pay one of
the services above to worry about being whitelisted (meaning emails
are allowed to go through) at various ISPs and company domains. You
don't want to spend your precious time trying to get your emails to
reach your customers.

All best,
Deborah Ager
Click Wisdom
Online Marketing Stategy
Sign Up for Free Online Marketing Tips:
http://www.clickwisdom.com

--- In getclientsnow@yahoogroups.com, "C.J. Hayden" <CoachCJ@...> wrote:
>None of these vendors will allow you to
upload a pre-existing mailing list, because there have been too many
abuses of
this by spammers.

Deborah said:
<< Constant Contact does allow you to upload a pre-existing mailing list. You
have to jump through some hoops to do it, but it's possible. I've done it twice.
>>

Deborah, thanks for the clarification on Constant Contact's import policy. My
source must have been wrong about them instituting an opt-in requirement.
According to the info currently on their site, they DO permit you to import an
existing list if you certify that you have permission from the subscribers.
AWeber and 1ShoppingCart used to allow this also, but changed their policies a
while back to require the opt-in step.

-- C.J.

----
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author, Get Clients Now! (tm) & Get Hired Now! (tm)
Wings Business Coaching LLC, San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8845 or (877) 946-4722 in the U.S.
http://www.getclientsnow.com
http://www.gethirednow.com
http://www.socialentrepreneurcoach.com
http://www.howtobecomeahero.com
----

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Carol asked:
<<  Is AWeber set up to allow subscribers to PAY through PayPal for seminars,
books, etc.?

If I am unable to upload a pre-existing database, how can I make that work
within AWeber's system? >>

Carol, AWeber isn't a shopping cart or ecommerce system like 1ShoppingCart. It's
an email list management system only. So it's a good system to use for
autoresponders and/or delivering your ezine if you DON'T plan to have a shopping
cart on your website. This could be because you don't plan to accept payments
online at all, or you will be offering only one or two items for sale and don't
really need a cart.

If you have a pre-existing mailing list and want to switch to AWeber, you will
need to ask all your existing subscribers to opt in to your list again. This can
be done automatically by the AWeber system. You upload your list to the system,
and compose an opt-in message that goes to all the subscribers. If a subscriber
clicks on the link in the message, you will be able to mail to them. If they
don't click on it, you won't be able to send them any mail. (This process isn't
unique to AWeber; most email list management systems have the same opt-in
requirement for imported lists.)

So technically, you CAN upload your list, but in practice, you can't mail to
anyone who doesn't respond. You can end up losing many subscribers who ignore
the opt-in request. This is why it's a good idea to choose an email list
management system early in the process of collecting subscribers instead of
waiting until you have a substantial list already.

-- C.J.


----
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author, Get Clients Now! (tm) & Get Hired Now! (tm)
Wings Business Coaching LLC, San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8845 or (877) 946-4722 in the U.S.
http://www.getclientsnow.com
http://www.gethirednow.com
http://www.socialentrepreneurcoach.com
http://www.howtobecomeahero.com
----

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

For those of you who don't subscribe to the Get Clients Now! E-Letter, the
October feature article was on the topic of how to decide whether cold calling
is worthwhile. You'll find a number of posts on that topic in this list's
archived posts also. Here's the article:

To Call or Not to Call: Does Cold Calling Ever Pay Off?
C.J. Hayden, MCC

Many independent professionals believe cold calling is a
complete waste of time, while others claim their cold calls
produce plenty of sales. Why is there so much disagreement about
the effectiveness of this approach to selling professional
services?

First, let's define the nature of cold calling. A cold call is
when you call someone you don't know and have no direct
connection to. When you already know the person you are calling,
or you were referred by a mutual acquaintance that person
trusts, you are instead making a warm call, and different rules
apply.

Here's the cold calling debate in a nutshell. According to cold
calling fans, "Cold calling, done well, can be one of the
fastest and cheapest ways to get new clients." But cold calling
foes say, "There's no point in calling people who have never
expressed interest in doing business with you. It's annoying to
them and a poor use of your time."

The truth, as with most controversies, probably lies in between
these two extremes. For some professionals under certain
circumstances, cold calling can make a lot of sense. For others,
it's far too labor-intensive and ultimately non-productive. Here
are ten tips to help you determine if cold calling is a practice
you should avoid -- or adopt.

Cold calling can work when:

1. You are selling a service that people are already using or
seeking. The best candidates for cold calling are services that
can be described in two or three words and are immediately
understood by prospects. In business-to-business marketing,
services that can benefit from cold calling include graphic
design, marketing communications, and IT support. When selling
to consumers, successful cold callers include insurance brokers,
financial planners, and real estate agents.

2. You can identify likely prospects via research or targeted
leads. If you can describe your prospective clients by
demographics, industry classification, or job title, you can
look them up or buy a prospect list. Online phone directories
display businesses by category for any geographic area. List
brokers offer databases of homeowners, subscribers to investment
publications, and members of certain trade associations.

3. Your name or your firm's are already well-known in your
field. Prospects are more likely to accept or return a call when
they already know who you are. Being active in professional
groups that serve your industry, speaking, writing, and building
your web presence are all factors that can increase name
recognition.

4. Your phone skills are up to the task. Effective cold calling
requires getting past gatekeepers, clearly communicating
benefits, and the willingness to hear people say no. The best
cold callers actually enjoy being on the phone and have the
ability to keep making calls despite many rejections.

5. Your pipeline is empty and you need to fill it quickly.
Whether or not cold calling is an effective use of your
resources may depend on what your alternatives are. Attracting
prospects through networking, referrals, speaking, writing, or
web presence are approaches that require a certain amount of
elapsed time to start paying off. With cold calling, you have
the potential to make contact with a large number of prospects
by the end of the week.

Cold calling can fail when:

1. Your clients don't know they need you until you tell them
why. When prospects aren't already using or seeking a service
like yours, it can be difficult to get their attention long
enough to explain how your solution addresses their problems.
Communicating tangible benefits in a cold call can often be too
steep a challenge for less-familiar services like executive
coaching, leadership training, alternative healing modalities,
or professional organizing.

2. You place one call per prospect with no follow-up. Calls are
typically more successful when they are part of an ongoing
call-mail-call campaign. When you contact your prospects
multiple times by sending mail or email and calling again, you
can communicate a variety of messages on more than one channel.
This increases the likelihood that at least one of your messages
will provoke a positive response.

3. You have no name recognition or connection with the people
you are calling. When prospects have never heard of you before,
they are often reluctant to grant you even a few minutes of
their time. You can get more people to take your calls when you
can claim some sort of connection between you, for example: "We
both know Frank Carducci," "We belong to the same association,"
"We went to the same school," "I read the recent article about
you," or "I saw you speak last month."

4. You are uncomfortable or fearful about talking to strangers
on the phone. The first impression you make when calling a
prospect can determine their willingness to speak with you. If
you are awkward or sound uneasy, your call may go nowhere. It's
true that you may get better at calling with practice. But if
you dislike making these calls in the first place, you may
discover that sales and marketing is more productive for you
when you use approaches you find more comfortable.

5. You have a substantial list of warm prospects and referral
sources you aren't tapping. Surprisingly, some professionals
find it easier to call strangers than to talk business with
friends and colleagues. It seems it's easier to face rejection
from people they don't know than to risk being turned down by an
acquaintance. But warm calls are always a surer bet than cold
calls. Be sure to take advantage of all your existing contacts
before resorting to contacting strangers.

Perhaps the best rule for any professional to adopt about cold
calling is not "don't ever do it" but rather "don't ever rely on
it." Most successful cold callers combine their calling with
other sales and marketing techniques that help them improve
their name recognition, referral base, personal network, and
market positioning -- all factors that can increase cold calling
success.

And in some cases, those other techniques will net you better
results if you just focus on using them instead and forget about
the cold calls.

----
C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author, Get Clients Now! (tm) & Get Hired Now! (tm)
Wings Business Coaching LLC, San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8845 or (877) 946-4722 in the U.S.
http://www.getclientsnow.com
http://www.gethirednow.com
http://www.socialentrepreneurcoach.com
http://www.howtobecomeahero.com
----

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am a weight loss coach and I am taking my business into a slightly
different direction... I am cooking for a couple of my clients now.  I
had been cooking in my home but now I am cooking at theirs.

My question is about liability Insurance, do you think it's necessary
(I think it may be), do you know anything about costs.  I think I will
be contacting my insurance company to discuss it with them.  Since I
work from home normally, I do not have a business address to insure.
Last time I looked into it they seemed confused.

If any of you have any experience with this I would love to hear from
you.

Thanks for your help,
Lori

Weight Loss Coach
Always Your Weigh
real life weight loss solutions
www.alwaysyourweigh.com

I've worked with a personal chefs in the past that would cook at my work
location or our clients'.  They had liability insurance through their
association, http://personalchef.com/.

Gail Beltran-Nott
Malaya Center for Health + Healing
A Holistic Wellness Center
Office (925) 726-0300


Subscribe to our email newsletter at:
www.MalayaCenter.com

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