2) Duplicate Content:
I can tell you that duplicate content penalties aren’t a myth. And that spinning articles is becoming less and less effective. Some duplicate content is okay, especially if your source is the original. If you must have duplicate content, make sure that at least 70% of your site is unique, high-quality content.

3) Include Images And Videos:
This not only improves user engagement, it can also bring in traffic for you. Be sure to use relevant “alternate text” with every image on your page.

4) The Click Through Mentality:
This is another mindset thing, but it’s VERY important. Whether you’re talking about the title of your pages, your meta-data or your internal links, you ALWAYS want the end goal to be a click. And you want that click to deliver on the promise it’s making.

5) There are two types of clicks, and you need to deliver on both promises.

The “Content” Click: contextual link may be “Click here for my post on becoming an SEO rock-star”. You’d have that linked contextually, and you’d deliver on the promise with a quality article on the topic. This gets people both clicking your links AND because you’re delivering what you promise, it greatly improves your average visitors time on site and reduces your bounce rate. This is HUGE when it comes to trust and relevancy.

The “Action” Click: This is when you want them to take a specific action, such as “Get Exclusive Subscriber Updates – Click Here To Sign Up For My FREE Newsletter” or “Click Here To Start Your Risk-Free Trial Of My New Membership Site”…
The point being, you want to be very specific about the action you want them to take. You don’t want to “trick” people into going to a squeeze page or sales letter, make it clear what action they’re taking, so you attract ONLY those who want to take that action, and don’t drive your bounce rate through the roof by surprising people with a squeeze page or other content they’re not expecting.

6) Internal And External Linking:
A good rule of thumb is to have a relevant link for about every 300-500 words of content. Don’t force it, and only do so when it makes sense. Linking to external, related authority sites in your niche helps your “trust” factor a lot. And linking to your internal pages helps your own rankings a lot. A good rule of thumb is to link to your own pages 70% of the time, external pages 30% of the time. That’s not a hard and fast rule, just a good ratio to keep in mind.

7) SiteMap:
Link to your sitemap in the footer, make it easy for your users to find. This matters to Google a LOT.

8) Privacy Policy/Terms Of Service/Contact:
Again, this not only gives users a better experience but it’s CRITICAL when it comes to looking like an authority site in Google’s eyes. Don’t be lazy, put them up and link to them from the footer on every page of your site.

9) Traffic Retention (Don’t Rely On Google!):
This is rarely talked about from an SEO point of view, but it’s HUGE. Do everything you can to engage your audience and keep them coming back. This includes FB buttons, FB fan pages if applicable, a link encouraging them to follow you on Twitter, social bookmarking buttons, an easy to see RSS feed and a call to action to sign up to your mailing list.

This is important on so many levels. First of all, it allows you to make your site “sticky”, to convince visitors to return without relying on SEO alone. Second, it gives you massive brownie points with Google and all of the new traffic that comes from that. Third, it encourages your visitors to share your content, build links for you and rapidly grow your site over time.

10) Pay Attention To Your Code:
Your (H1), (H2) and (H3) tags are still VERY important today. There are so many sites that make rookie mistakes like using (H1) tags above every paragraph. Make sure to double-check your code. It’s a simple mistake, but it can cost you big time.

Conclusion:
It may seem like a lot of work, but missing one or two of these could be costing you a fortune in lost traffic.
Take 10 minutes to go through the list, and figure out a plan to implement everything on your website. If you’re already doing all of this stuff, That Great.

Branding is strategic. Marketing is tactical.

Marketing may contribute to a brand, but the brand is bigger than any particular marketing effort. The brand is what remains after the marketing has swept through the room. It’s what sticks in your mind associated with a product, service, or organization—whether or not, at that particular moment, you bought or did not buy.

The brand is ultimately what determines if you will become a loyal customer or not. The marketing may convince you to buy a particular MicroMax Mobile , and maybe it’s the first Mobile you ever owned, but it is the brand that will determine if you will only buy MicroMax for the rest of your life.

The brand is built from many things. Very important among these things is the lived experience of the brand. Did that cellphone  deliver on its brand promise of reliability? Did the maker continue to uphold the quality standards that made them what they are? Did the sales guy or the service center executive  know what they were talking about?

Branding is as vital to the success of a business or non-profit as having financial coherence, having a vision for the future, or having quality employees.

2. Look for status updates,wall posts and comments.If the user hasn’t updated a status for quite a long time and hasn’t been involved in any wall posting or commenting of other statuses,it means that the profile is likely to be fake.

3. Look at the recent activities.If it is that the user has just been adding randomers and making new friends,and that there are no pages liked or groups joined,it suggests that the user is determined in jst adding people and hence the profile is fake.

4. Check out the friend list.If found that maximum of the friends are of the opposite gender,it can be assumed that the profile is used either for fun or for random dating.

5. Check the info.If found that there is no ideal links given regarding school or education institutions or workplace and that the user is looking for dating and interested in both men and women,it shows signs of fakeness.

6. Check the birthdate. Birth dates like 1/1/XX…..or……31/12/XX are common between fake accounts as it is quite unique and easy to type in.

7. Fake profiles of girls usually have a contact no. in their info. Lets face it,girls harldy will have their contact no. in public.So watch out if the user exposes info that is unlikely for general users to unveil in public.

8. Look out for recent wall posts,if u see loads of people asking…’THANKS FOR THE ADD….DO I KNOW YOU’……and yet the psots remains unanswered…it is bound to be a fake one.

9. Look for common tarits used in facebook,like.using applications such as farmville,pet society etc….and adding siblings.If these traits are not found among the user, the profile is highly inactive or fake.This point can’t single handedly prove the fakeness,however this will be a supporting clue along with other points.

10. If you are quite certain about the profile’s fakeness,and want to be absolutely sure, try browsing google for some random profile pictues. Fake profile pictures are usually selected frm google and while browsing through it,you might as well come upon the picture the user chose for the fake account.

So this was a minor summary of points to note while detecting a fake account on facebook.Thus beware of suck fake accounts which may lead to privacy dilemmas or likewise.Hope you people like the article and it benefits you in case you try to detect any suck profile…..!

China is no. one in IT hardware Production just because they are not in to IT Software & Services ( Manpower Junk Yard)

If we go with a simple calculation We can understand that the total Expected income by the IT/ITES Industry of this F.year(2012-13) is $23.6 billion in India with 1.3 Million Manpower indeed. Where China Earned $420.6 billion just by producing Electronic Goods in F.Year 2010. with 1.7 Million Manpower. And the best part without any Additional Investment in Education Sector for focusing at Semiconductor or Electronic subjects in their Universities.

Where the worst part in India : We, Our Students & Government invest around $3.7 Billion in Studies to Learn IT/Computers/Software Application in English Every Year.

Even After this a new market “e-education” is under development n expected to reach around $45-60 Billion by year 2015 which is currently around $20 Billion.
So if we calculate-
Total Revenue from IT = 23.6 (Expected)
Total Investment to develop manpower = -3.7
Total E-Education = -20.00
=======================================
Total= $ – 0.1 Billion.
=======================================

India Must Switch to Produce Hardware’s Because its rare to Buy’s Software to update a Phone or Laptops but we Buy Cell Phones/Laptops with New Features.
Same as Computers ..Intel Launches i7 Series which too support old software applications.
Apple Launches i5 with upgraded Hardware n Features as best phone yet in 2012 then what was 4s and 3G in 2011 & 10.
Where Samsung selling its Hardware Galaxy since 2009.

How many of these five mistakes are YOU committing on-your quest for more sales leads?

You go to networking events ‘expecting’ to find clients.
You try to pass out as many business cards as possible at every opportunity.
You don’t like to waste time with ‘chit chat’ and instead tell people about what you have to offer as soon as possible.
You try to close the sale right then and there — after all, you may not have another opportunity.
You follow up with everyone, making them an enticing offer they can’t refuse — and are puzzled that they decline anyway.

So what should you do instead?

1. If you’re going to networking events focusing on getting clients, you’ll miss out on what you COULD find: connections.

Focus on getting to know people instead. They may not buy your product today, or ever, but in time they may send numerous people your way who could – but not unless you develop a relationship with them.

2. If you think passing out business cards is a numbers game, you’re sadly mistaken. Instead, focus on getting to know people — and get their cards as well.

Quality is far more important than quantity. Make sure that you have made enough of a connection that people actually remember you when you call later or see them next time — and remember you in a positive light.

3. Don’t jump in with your offer.

Instead focus on the other person, get to know more about them and their business. Start by building rapport and connections. Try and find ways that you can be of service or help them, make introductions and refer them if you can. Ultimately, just get to know them.
4. The hard sell is dead.

If you want to chase away prospects, this is exactly how to do it. It’s ok to talk about what you do or offer, the problems you solve and outcomes your clients get. Where you cross the line is when you assume what you do is what they need and start selling and pushing your product or service on them.If the person you’re talking to is interested in your services – schedule a sales appointment. You’ll be much more likely to make the sale once you’ve established a relationship.

5. When you follow up with people after networking events, don’t start selling them.

Again, develop the relationship by finding out more about them, seek to be of service and continue to build that relationship. If your follow-up is by email – don’t send a sales pitch. Instead reference a point in your conversation and offer them something of value – an informational article, resource link or introduction.Keep thinking about ways to build ‘relationships’ and be of service.

You’ll find your networking will start yielding more connections, friends, referrals and opportunities!

by Srikanth Chari

In business, you always need to know what your competitors are doing. To survive you must perform competitive intelligence activities and monitor the broader market for new developments that could affect your company, your products and brands, suppliers, and distributors.

Companies spend enormous sums of money on maintaining their websites so that they can attract and influence prospects, customers, and analyst. Your competitors may wish they could block you from their websites, but remember that the information they post there is public. If you aren’t harvesting this rich – and free – resource, you are the loser! Here are 5 things you must do regularly to effectively track your competitors and uncover their not so hidden secrets:

1. Identify your competitors. Now, this may seem odd to you. You’re probably thinking, “doesn’t a company know who its competitors are?” Not always. New firms come seemingly out of nowhere, preempting existing companies with different technologies or approaches they never saw coming. Often a company in an adjacent area will change its positioning to try and address your market, or a new startup may emerge in a related area. You need to create a master list of your key competitors and make sure you keep this up to date.

To do this, Google the terms, which describe your industry, your products and services. You can also use a little known feature in Google. In the search box, type in “related:www.yourcompanyname.com” and Google will display a list of companies that it considers related to yours. Look for new companies that show up and see if any of these pose a threat.

2. Check your competitors’ home pages for positioning changes.
When you visit a company’s website, first look at its home page to see if they have made changes to the way they describe their products and services. Carefully scrutinize how they emphasize different features or benefits and how they are positioning themselves. Sometimes, you can learn a lot even from the subtle changes your competitors make on their home page.

3. Review the trade shows they participate in.
Trade shows can take a big chunk out of a company’s marketing budget, so it is important to know which shows your competitors participate in. Regularly review the events page on their websites and maintain a spreadsheet with names, dates and locations of the shows that your competitors plan to be at. You can then see which ones you might want to sign up for. If you spot one of them at a new show, you might ask yourself, “why are they exhibiting at this defense-related show?” It might be an indicator of a new market they are entering – perhaps one that you should consider as well.

4. Create a competitive intelligence database of white papers and webinars.
Increasingly, white papers and webinars have become the preferred way for a company to establish its mind share and leadership — so this is another area you should be tracking. You should maintain a list of titles of the whitepapers and webinars your competitors create or host to get an idea of their new direction. You may not learn much from one single event or white paper, but you’ll learn a lot when you look at these as a whole. You’ll see trends and patterns that clearly indicate how these companies are positioning or repositioning themselves.

5. Check who they are hiring and firing.
Once in a while, check the management team and job postings pages on your competitors’ websites. Try and see whether your competitors have added or removed any names from their management team. This is often the only way you may learn that your key competitor has lost their VP of Sales; no press announcement is likely to be made about such events.

Competitive intelligence is rewarding, but not easy You’ll gain a lot by making these activities part of your routine, but this work does take serious time, effort, and discipline! If you don’t have the time to invest in such activities, you can always stick to just using Google Alerts to get the top-level news about your competitors. But the truth is, you’re short-changing yourself if you do this.

Quality competitive analysis may not come easy, but it will go a long way towards ensuring your business success. The good news is that some new automated competitive intelligence tools are now starting to become available. Such tools can automatically scan company websites and deliver any new information that posted. You may want to consider one of these to make this job significantly easier.

As businesses grow, so does the amount of information they store and the need for business intelligence. Customer demographics, accounting data, product information, human resources data, all contribute to the mass of information that companies collect. The tools and technologies used to interrogate that data and turn it into useful information are generally classed as “Business Intelligence” tools. Traditionally, the resulting output from these business intelligence tools was in the form of paper-based reports.

Most companies want to deliver the same information electronically in a dynamic form that can be further manipulated according to each individual’s needs – the corporate intranet provides the perfect delivery mechanism for this type of business intelligence solution. First and foremost, it provides a low-cost alternative to purchasing and installing client software on each PC in your organization. Secondly, it also provides a distribution method for reports that you may want to share with your vendors, customers and other relevant business partners outside your organization, through an extranet or Internet site.
This article will guide you through the necessary steps needed to establish a system to deliver data to be used for competitive intelligence purposes to your team by means of a portal. It will discuss the following six basic phases behind the development of a portal for your competitive intelligence needs:

· Defining the Concept – What will the portal do for you?
· Sourcing the Data – Where is your information?
· Creating the Design – What will the portal look like?
· Selecting the Right Tool – Which tool is the right one?
· Developing and Testing The Design – How do you evaluate?
· Deploying and Operating – How will it be used?

Defining the Concept – What will the portal do for you?

Before you can actually sit down in front of a computer and create a report, query, Web page, etc. you must first have some idea or concept of what you want the final output to look like. The information starts with the user-you will need to interview the users of your prospective solution to determine what information they need and what form they would like it in. When working with business intelligence tools, there are a number of different structures that can be used to deliver information to users, including:

Reports – Traditionally paper-based reports can be delivered online, with features like parameters, drill-down, record selection, etc. Usually does not provide a high degree of flexibility in terms of design or structure;

Queries – Either pre-defined or ad-hoc queries can provide users with method of interrogating their database and viewing the results. Queries are a good choice for users who quickly want to see this information but are not particularly worried about how the output looks;

OLAP Cubes – Online Analytic Processing (OLAP) cubes are data structures that are multi-dimensional and provide a structured, summarized view of the information held within a database. Traditionally used by managers (as it shows a higher-level view than reports or queries), OLAP cubes are usually presented in a dynamic user interface, sometimes called a “worksheet,” that allows users to change dimensions, add filters, drill down/up, etc.

Scorecards – Scorecards are a collection of “nuggets” of information that measure a company’s Key Performance Indicators (or KPI’s). These nuggets can come in the form of queries, reports, dials, graphs, etc. and are generally designed to give an “at-a-glance” status of a particular KPI.

Once you have assessed a user’s needs and determined what type of analysis they require, you can select one of the delivery methods above and get down to designing the object.

The easiest way to develop and communicate this concept is to create a prototype, or mock-up, of the report, query, output, etc. you wish to create and the Web pages or application that will deliver this information. You can use a word processor, a spreadsheet, or the low-tech option of pen and paper, but you should try to make the prototype of these objects and pages as complete as possible. This will help you later when you are trying to determine if the object that you want to create is feasible.

Sourcing the Data – Where is your information?

With a prototype in hand, the next step is to determine where the data for your solution actually resides. Is it stored in a database, a log file, or a mainframe file? After you have determined the general location, you need to find the database or system administrator responsible for that particular database or system.

Armed with the database or file schema, the database or system administrator should be able to tell you exactly where the data is located. A common scenario is that the data you wish to include in your report or query may not exist yet. Your accounting system, for example, may not have the capability to track budgets. Therefore, trying to produce a report contrasting actual sales versus budget may be a problem.

You should also keep an eye out for any fields that need to be calculated and determine whether those calculations should occur on the database level or within your object. Most CI tools include their own formula language and function set, but you may want to consider pushing heavy processing back to the database where it belongs.

Creating the Design – What will the portal look like?

After creating a prototype, determining your data source and selecting the right toolset, the next step is to design the objects that will be a part of your CI solution. At this point, you are probably asking yourself if this is where you get to use the design tools? The answer is no. The best report, query or cube design is one that is completed first on paper and is then recreated using your tool of choice.

During the design phase, you want to revisit your prototypes and, given what you now know about the database, indicate which of the fields on your reports or queries are going to come from the database, which are going to be calculated, and what formulas are to be used in those calculations.

It is also at this time you will want to start creating the design of the Website or application itself, given what you know about the tool set. It is important to note that this part of the process does not involve any actual development tools – you are only creating the design of the site at this point. This phase will frequently involve the creation of story-boards and diagrams to indicate the look and feel of the site and the flow of information delivery.

Armed with the user’s requirements and the design you have created, your development team should have no problem creating the portal you require.

Select the Right CI Tool – Which tool is the right one?

There are a number of competitive intelligence tools on the market that can help you create a Web-based CI solution. Each of the vendors in this space has their own custom Web solution, whether it be their own portal or Web application, they have all recognized the need for Web-based delivery.

When looking at CI tools, you should consider the following questions:

· Can it deliver the information we require?
· Is the tool Web-integrated?

To answer these questions and discuss concerns, speak with other companies or developers who have created a solution using these tools and benefit from their experience and expertise. Go outside of the reference sites the vendor provides and try to find a developer willing to give you the low-down on what features worked, what didn’t, etc.

Developing and Testing the Design – How do you evaluate?

With the design completed on paper, it is time to open the design tools and get down to business. After you have laid the groundwork, the actual object and portal design process should be quick and simple.

Once the developers have created a beta of your solution, you will need to test the site and the objects within against your original design for acceptance and scalability. Note any performance issues and revisit your object, page or application design to see if you can make any performance enhancements. If you have created objects that prompt the user for a start and end date, try entering bad dates, the same date, or even some text in those prompts. You need to be prepared to handle any situation that a user may encounter.

Deploying and Operating the Report – How will it be used?

As a final step in the process, you need to consider how your solution is going to be deployed and used. Given the wealth of information provided and its usefulness, ask yourself these questions:

Will users want to export the information contained for further manipulation? How does the information design translate when you export to Microsoft Excel or Word? Try to export the information yourself-you may need to revisit your report design based on the results of your exporting attempts.

Will users be able to modify the objects you have created? Are your formulas, naming, and coding conventions easy to follow? Again, you may need to modify your design based on these answers.

Someone once said that “a project is not over until the user is happy, and they are never happy.” While a bit pessimistic, there is some truth to that saying. While you may think you have covered all of the user’s needs, there may be aspects you have not anticipated. Use this deployment time as an opportunity to listen to your user’s comments and plan for additional features or functionality that they require. Finally, with your solution in production, you will need to monitor the site or application to ensure that it performs as expected and that the information represented is still relevant.

Conclusion
Many organizations think that creating a competitive intelligence solution stops when you hand the information to a user. To the contrary, the design process should be ongoing throughout the life cycle of the solution and you should continually analyze ways to enhance the information presented and to add additional value to the data.

By following the steps outlined in this article and staying focused on delivering the information users require, you can create a portal that can add real value by helping your users make more well-informed decisions every day.

About the Author: David G. McAmis is a freelance writer living and working in Sydney, Australia. His work has appeared in numerous computer magazines and trade journals. He has traveled the world educating developers and end users on the benefits of business intelligence and information management.

If you are looking to get your press release distributed to a large and/or targeted network of media outlets, than using a wire service makes good business sense. Many reporters subscribe to these services to get access to breaking news. Short of having your own media list (built from experience, personal relationships, or via reporters who have covered competitors in your market), a newswire is one of the best options for distribution.

To deliver the most effective results, it is recommended that you use a combination of established sources as well as free distribution sites that may reach a different audience. Keep in mind that many of the “Free” distribution sites offer enhanced services for a fee. Sites like PR Web (one of the top 3 distribution sites on the Net) will only give you adequate distribution if you pay around $30. However, this is much less expensive than a formal service like PR Newswire with fees starting around $150.

PR Newswire Snapshot:

Effective
Sending your press release over the wire is the most effective way to get your news to the media. All press releases distributed by PR Newswire are delivered directly into the central editing computers at daily newspapers, newsweeklies, national news services (like the AP, Dow Jones, Reuters), trade publications and broadcast newsrooms. Additionally, all releases are archived in over 3,600 web sites, databases and online services (like Yahoo!, MSN.com, and AOL.com) where they are accessible by millions, including journalists, investors and general consumers. This is important to our members because their press releases are accessible in the locations where the media go to get raw material for their stories.

Credible
For 50 years, PR Newswire has been viewed by the media as a valuable source for legitimate and accurate news. Distributing your news over PR Newswire can help smaller companies gain credibility and visibility as their news is intermingled alongside releases from major corporations.

High Visibility
Each day savvy consumers and investors turn to the Internet to gather information. Search engines are becoming the most popular way to gather this information, in fact, everyday there are approximately 550 million searches worldwide using 50 million keywords. PR Newswire has the capability to optimize each release to make them most attractive to the leading seach engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Ask Jeeves, providing a completely new level of visibility for press releases.

Saves Time and Money
Sending your release over the wire is less than the cost of postage. The standard news release that runs about 400 words can be sent to all media in your state, plus trade publications, and also distributed to more than 3,800 websites, online services and databases for as little at $160. If targeting a national audience, you can send to more than 22,000 media points across the country for only $635. Additionally, as a member of PR Newswire you will receive these benefits and many more:

• Access to the world’s largest news and information distribution network
• Extraordinary Internet and trade media reach with every press release
• Dedicated media relations staff that cultivates an audience for members’ news
• Complimentary monitoring and feedback to gauge success of communications
• A 24/7 customer support network
• Valuable member-only webzines and industry newsletters
• Consultation and guidance to maximize targeting efforts
• One-on-one Feature News counseling
• Sophisticated interactive news release technologies
• Unique opportunities to interact with members of the media
• Secure upload site for releases, images and other files at www.prndirect.com
• PR Web Snapshot

PR Web™ is the only service on the Internet that provides free global news distribution services. There are other services that claim to provide free press release distribution. In reality these “distribution services” do little more than post your news release on their web site and in some cases spam your news to a handful of editors.

Successful global news distribution is a complex endeavor. Since 1997 we have invested thousands of man hours in developing a state of the art distribution system. Each day we email press releases to between 60,000 and 100,000 global contacts points including journalists, analysts, freelance writers, media outlets and newsrooms. In addition to email and FTP distributions PR Web™ operates a proprietary syndication network, XML feeds and a network of robust media Web sites.

PR Web™ came online as a press release distribution system and has quickly grown into one of the Internet’s most popular press release Newswire services. Third party online metrics show that PR Web™ is the second or third most popular press release wire service.

PR Web™ is your wire service. We stand by our reputation as providing professional and valuable service to all of our users. To this end, we are continually enhancing our features and improving our tracking tools to meet your needs.

Here are a few reasons that you should consider using the services of PR Web™.

High Capacity
PR Web has unmatched network capacity. Our proprietary distribution servers are designed and tested to deliver over 14 Million emails a day. To ensure maximum deliverability and avoid spam filters we do not use multiple TO, CC or BCC addresses when sending your press release. This is where our high capacity servers step in. Each journalist receives a personalized email containing your press release based on their unique profile.

Our servers deliver over 15 million press release views each month. These monthly press release views are in addition to press releases which are distributed by email and third party syndication networks.

Quality Assured Deliverability
Our media database is opt-in. This means that the contacts in our database have asked for our press releases and provide valid and current email addresses. Even so, members of the media move around. Therefore, we have staff devoted solely to ensuring proper deliverability of your press release. Their job is to keep our undeliverable deliveries as close to zero as possible.

As more organizations, including media outlets, employ spam filters to sort through the mountains of email that arrives each day it is important to have experienced editors working with you to advise you when you release contains keywords, phrases or content that will trigger a filter and cause your release to be deleted before it reaches the media. Our editorial staff reviews your release to make sure that your news item does not contain keywords that will trigger spam filters.

Unmatched Search Engine Presence
We are heavily invested in search technologies. Search engine traffic plays a vital role in the success of your news release. Journalists increasingly rely on major search engines for their research. Consequently, every press release distributed through our network is optimized for maximum organic search engine inclusion. Search engines can then crawl naturally and efficiently to index your press release. Our exclusive technology and unmatched infrastructure provides the best available search traffic directed to your news items.

We are so confident of our service that PR Web™ is the only newswire service to guarantee the inclusion of your press release in major search engines.

Yahoo Press Releases
We are the only wire service that has three different methods for getting your press releases into the Yahoo News system. In addition to feeding press releases directly into the Yahoo News search through our network feed, we have special agreements in place that make it possible to inject your press release directly into the press releases section of the Yahoo News site. Additionally, through our special relationship with PR Newswire™, we have systems in place that can provide prominent placement for your release.

PR Web & PR Newswire Synergy
With the addition of PR Newswire to our distribution network you can now leverage the best of the top two press release newswires. Each release sent out through PR Web Newswire with the PR Newswire upgrade receives a free report showing exactly where releases have been used online.

Blogs
Is your company blogged? Once thought of as a trend, participation in blogs is now essential to your media relations. We have been leading the industry with our blogging technology. The easiest way to make sure that your company is taking advantage of the online buzz associated with online blogs is to distribute your press release with PR Web™.

Syndicated Network News Feeds
We manage our own syndicated network news feeds and employ third party syndicates to assist in distributing your news release.

Regardless of which service you use, be sure to research the newswire distribution options via the Internet. You need to make sure that you are using the option that meets your public relations objectives.

This in my view is one of the Big Fat Myths Of Building A Coaching Practice, and it really annoys me to see would-be coaches being duped and misled in this way. The fact is, with any buying decision, the buyer has questions and concerns that need to be addressed, and not all of them will be handled in the free consultation.

Over the years I’ve encountered people who are frustrated and demoralized by their conversion of free consultations into paying business. So what’s the answer? Are we for or against free consultations? My take on this is that free consultations might work, but you need to use them in the right way, and that means asking the prospect to take the next step at the end of the session.

The Free Consultation Won’t Do The Selling For You!

The trouble is, many people use free consultations in the hope that the consultation will do the selling for them, and they won’t have to engage in the ‘dirty’ business of asking for the order. So the consultation comes to an end, the service provider says, “I hope you enjoyed that/found it useful”, and then waits for the client to initiate the next step, because they don’t want to be ‘pushy’. Meanwhile the prospect is actually waiting for some direction from the service provider, yet when none is forthcoming, leaves, or ends the phone call, confused. So if you are going to offer free consultations, make sure that at the very least you invite the prospect to take the next step, and find out what questions and concerns they have about proceeding.

The free consultation should pave the way for a sales conversation to take place, not replace it. They Take Up Your Time The main objection I have to ‘free consultations’ as a selling tool is how much time they take. When you’re running your own business, time is the most valuable resource you have. You can always make more money, but none of us, not even Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey, can manufacture more time. Most people, especially when they are starting out, think that they are cash-poor, but time rich, and therefore happily offer free sessions in the hope that it will win them some business. The trouble is, if you’re even half way good at what you do, it won’t take long for word to get round, and your calendar will be full with free consultations, but no paying clients.

I suggest that instead of offering free consultations ‘one-to-one’ you offer group tele-coaching preview calls. That way you will leverage your time and can simultaneously reach a number of prospects.

What Type Of Prospects Do You Attract With Free Offers?

I hate to say it, but in my experience it’s true, when you offer anything for free, you will attract a percentage of people who will never, ever buy from you no matter what you do for them. I have had many successful coaches admit to me privately that it was only when they found the confidence to charge for andintroductory’ session that they attracted a better caliber of client. I’m not saying don’t offer free stuff – but offer things that are low cost for you to deliver and high perceived value to the prospect e.g. special report, e-book, free teleseminar. Things that take your time on a one-to-one basis are a HIGH cost to deliver, because it’s time you can’t sell to anyone else, or time you could be spending on other projects.

Why People Say No To Free Consultations

Some people are mystified that even when they offer something free – people don’t want it. I’m reminded of the man in Hyde Park who, as an experiment, started offering £5 notes to passers by, only to be refused! There are a whole host of reasons why someone might be reluctant to take up your free consultation.

First, they might be worried about what they are getting into, secondly it’s wrong to assume that the financial risk is the only barrier preventing someone from doing business with you. They might be worried about being vulnerable or looking foolish. In these circumstances the prospect will take the safest option i.e. do nothing!

So should you offer free consultations? Well, at the risk of sounding like a politician, it depends. What I’ve done in this article is give you some things to take into consideration. At the end of the day, you have to consider all the options and make the decision that is best for your business right now. (You can always change your mind later).