We just ran a successful workshop with 25% of the participants purchasing seminar packages (aka, the back end product) that were easily 15 times higher than the workshop (aka the front end product)  fees.  The result was a great energy and morale booster as we scrambled to put everything together in less than 3 weeks.  Suffice to say, the trainer was jumping up and down with joy. He wanted another one in July.

That is good news for us, as it means more business.  Now, those who have done marketing for consumer products and seminars will know that it is tough for a new products entering a saturated market. You have to be really creative to pull customers  from another pond to your pool.  The customers today are smart to compare features, benefits and price before they make a purchase. It is not surprising that many seminar promoters give out free tickets to fill the room.  Yet, we managed to have 100% PAID participants.

We suggested to the trainer that past graduates be allowed to attend the next workshop as a review for free. Not only that, he can invite 2 guests for free too. From experience, we knew that participants are more ready to sign up for advanced program (aka the back end product)that cost many times the workshop  fee, when they know that they have a friend who has done so. So having past graduates in the room to offer testimonies or help to answer questions can be especially important and helpful.

Yet the trainer disagreed. He felt that he offered such good value that everyone should pay for his 3-hour workshop.

One of my team members  put up a strong argument:

We all are fully aware, we bring in “big” value to the audience however we also need to be realistic, audience only know our “big” value when they are in our room. Right now, not enough people know about you and the massive value you are offering. To offer a low fee or even free seat to selected people will mean there is a low risk barrier for people who have not heard of the program to attend. Until they appreciate our values, until we have earn the rights, we should serve first and think about making money later. Anyway, money is not in the front end but is all at the back end.

Exactly! The money is not at the front end. It’s at the back end. I’m sure you know that you can buy a Canon, Epson or Lexmark printer for less than US$100. The price is dirt cheap but we all know that the quality offered by Canon,  Epson and Lexmark is excellent. So where do they make money? From the ink cartridges! If you are a heavy users, you can finish 2 cartridges or more of coloured ink every month. That’s almost the price of the printer. The lowly priced printer is the front end product that baits you; the money is found in the ink cartridges, also known as back end products. So in seminar business, the 3-hour workshop is the front end product and all other programs and merchandise offered during the workshop are the back end products that really bring in the dough. Some trainer and seminar promoter were all prepared to lose money on the front end product, because they know they can recover the loss at the back end.

There’s wealth when there is value offered. There ’s no wealth when there’s no value offered.

Now, if you are running a business? Do you have back end products that bring you buckets of gold?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Let me share with you a story… …

Once upon a time, 3 rich guys decided to have a get-together and the brilliant idea was to row a boat to the middle of the lake to enjoy a fabulous afternoon tea.

Happily, they rowed out. Once they anchored the boat and settled down, they laughed. Seems that they forgot to bring the teapot.

“It’s OK, I’ll get the teapot,” Rich Guy #1 stood up, put his leg over the side of the boat and began to walk on the water back to the shore. He trooped to the nearest shop and brought back a nice teapot with a picture of an English Rose.

Rich Guy #2 boiled the water and poured into the new teapot. Once that’s done, they looked at each other for tea leaves.

“Never mind, I’ll run back to get some Earl Grey”. Rich Guy #2 wiped his hands clean, climbed over the side of the boat and gamely walked on the water back to the shore. He brought back an expensive tin of Earl Grey.

Now everyone is happy and started chatting while sipping the hot brew. Rich Guy #3 suddenly pined for some open-face sandwiches and volunteered to go get some.

He got up and like the others, put one leg over the side of the boat. Splah! He fell into the water. The other 2 rich guys had to help him back up to the boat as he almost sank.

“How on earth did you two manage to walk ON water?”

The other 2 rich guys looked at him with amusement, “Well, we know where the rocks are”.

Now, that is the crux of the matter, isn’t it?

Do you know where are the rocks in your life – personal and business?

What are these rocks?

Why are they important?

How do they impact your life?

When did they surface?

Which are your Big Rocks, Small Rocks,  Stones,  Pebbles, Sand?

And, if I gave you a container, how are you going to put a pile of big rocks, small rocks, stones, pebbles, sand plus a jug of water into it?

Would you attempt to place them in randomly without any sequence?  I’m sure you wouldn’t do that. You know it will be tough to get everything – including every speck of sand and every drop of water – into the container

The smart strategy is to put the Big Rocks in, followed by the Small Rocks, stones pebbles, sand and lastly add in the water. Voila, that’s it, you’re done.

Now, the interesting question is: Do you treat your personal life and business life this way? Do you treat marketing of your product or yourself this way?

This story once again reminded me to start thinking of the “rocks” in my life again.

Popularity: 3% [?]

We all know that times are not good. Many of us are facing challenges to keep our sales flowing continuously. There’s hardly time for anything else other than servicing existing clients, following up on leads and doing whatever it takes to close the deals. Yet, at the end of it all, our sales just don’t seem to improve.

I like to share with all of you an encounter that I had with the Heart Sales Guru.  During this trying time, she said many sales personnel found closing sales, already a difficult task, a task that seems next to impossible. Budget cuts, uncertainties and sometimes, just plain old fear has paralyzed a lot of decision making when it comes to spending money.

However, all is not lost. “Ask and you shall receive” is the law of attraction that many people understand but somehow did not put into practice enough.

She asked, “As a sales person, do you know the answers to these questions?”

• What are the main obstacles your clients put before you?
• Do you fear facing those tough questions?
• Are you able to connect with your client at a deeper level?
• Do you know how your image is affecting your client and the outcome of your meeting?
• Do you know when to close?
• Are you passionate about your product?

Indeed, as she correctly explained,  there is a lot more to sales than just being nice to a client and having the best price. Even if you have the best product in town to offer, that would just be your own opinion if  you failed to connect with your client’s needs. His needs are definitely more crucial than what you have to offer.

I was learning so much, I ordered more tea. That 3 hours of tea not only filled me with a lot of liquid, but I can tell you, I was stunned at how much new insights and techniques I learned. I was asking the Heart Sales Guru, how could I get my business partners to hear this, could we have more tea?

Sadly, she did not have time for more Earl Grey. However, she did have time to share this knowledge with more people. The Heart Sales Guru will be conducting her “Rich Heart Sales” training workshop in Singapore:

Date:  Saturday16 – Sunday17 May 2009
Time: 9 am – 7.30 p.m. for 2 days
Investment: S$198 nett

I was seriously shocked. I have attended a lot of Sales Trainings and what I learned in those few hours with the Heart Sales Guru was more than equal to any of those thousands of dollars worth of seminars and workshops that I attended. And here it is, only a hundred and ninety-eight. Seriously, grossly, under priced.

The reason she gave warmed my heart, and that is why I chose to share this story here. With the financial crisis and the resultant economic recession, many people are hard pressed to make their numbers. The Heart Sales Guru had a successful sales career meeting her quotas more than 80% of the time throughout her career. Her consistent performance was due to the techniques and concepts that she will be sharing at the Rich Heart Sales workshop. She has learned from her mentors, and she felt that this is time to reciprocate.  She wanted to make sure that everyone who was serious about success in a sales career, would be able to afford to attend this workshop. Just like everything else she does, this is an expression of her Heart for everyone.

If any of you lives in Singapore or Malaysia and would like to attend this workshop, drop a mail to her staff : Wan Ee – wanee@miraclelifeinternational.com

Tell them that you learned about this workshop over at Versa, so that the Heart Sales Guru knows that I am also spreading her heartfelt mission to share her powerful sales techniques.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Just read an interesting interview over at the Corporate Eye blog about good usability.

This is an interesting read. You would think that after so many years of being online, most of us will have a good grasp of this concept of usability. Well, just as common sense is rather uncommon, than good usability is yet another illusive phantom for many.

Many small companies cannot afford to get a full time team to take care of their website. These sites become white elephants faster than you can eat a Happy Meal. Worse, many of them “cannot afford” to spend to create a decent site. Just yesterday, I saw a site where they simply scanned in their promotion flyer and put it up as a single JPEG file. So, that website had one page, and one page only. Worse, it was just a jagged, slightly blurry JPEG file of a handbill.

There are some nice solutions. For example, if you just need a simple site, yet want it to look professional (eg. Flash, animated menus etc), you can use professional templates that can give you almost an instant site – see www.domains4everyone.com and www.myezynet.com for example.

A professionally designed site will give you a good level of usability. It makes the user feel comfortable and imparts a certain level of trust that they are dealing with an “OK” company. Another important reason for having good usability on your site, you need your visitors to be able to actually find something useful for them. You really don’t want them to come to your website, click around in futility and leave in a huff.

So, if you are interested to hear what an expert has to say about good website usability, go on over to read: Expert interview: David Hamill, Good Usability

Popularity: 9% [?]

We live in the Internet Age. Yes, this might sound a little cliche, but it is true.

This fact was hammered home to me the other day. I was talking to my friend about a good cancer doctor who was trying out a unique, holistic approach that seems to be working well. He was interested, and then asked the inevitable question “What’s his web site?”

Well, he did not have one. The reaction I got was one of shock and disbelief. You see, my friend thought that anyone involved in such “advanced” work, ought to have gotten his own web site a long time ago. It is more or less a given.

Today, we even get blogs for our dogs. So, the question then becomes, WHY don’t you have a web site?

Many small business owners today have their own web sites. Many don’t. Even for those who do have their websites, many find it difficult and/or expensive to upkeep. If you visit a site today, tomorrow and the week after; and each time you were there, it looked exactly the same, would you be back?

Despite the fact that there are many Content Management System out there, web site templates and other make-it-easy for you solutions, many still struggle getting even a token presence online.

I found a really good system. It is nothing new, but it is spectacular. Flash-based templates, editing on the front end instead of the back end, a-dollar-a-day cost and so much more. It was so good, I created a site using that system to market that system – in half a day. OK, technically, it took just an hour to get all the text typed in. But I was fiddling around with the images, graphics and so on. You know what it’s like.

You can take a look at it over here: www.domains4everyone.com

It is a really simple site and would not be of much use for anyone who requires more sophistication. But for the average small business, it is all you need and more. It looks professional, easy to set up, and most important, it is easy to keep updated.

There is really no excuse now for not getting online. Drop me a note. Let’s talk about this.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I was reading Dr OIC’s blog on his take that one should not work too hard during the economic winter.

Farmers do not go out to sow seeds in winter. Instead, they visit families, eat and sleep (nice tradition for Chinese New Year). So should you. Take a vacation. Go away for a few months. Reserve your energy and resources during the Winter.

Sure, farmers do not sow in winter for all seeds will not bloom and grow in the cold. In fact, all farmers know the necessity of keeping enough food stock to survive the winter without working. The rich farmers can keep enough for reserve and sell the rest for profits, what about the poor farmers?

Businesses are like the farms. What happens to businesses that do not have existing activities that will tide them until spring comes? These businesses will not be able to act like rich farmers.

What does a poor farmer do during the snow-locked winter?

Let’s see … He has to take up a secondary profession or he will starve and freeze to death. He can elect to be Rag and Bone Man scavenging on whatever left and make a living out of it. He can also chose to be a hunter, take his rifle and make a kill for the table.

The chances of the Rag and Bone man picking up a diamond among the junk are slim. However, insightful detective work, powerful leg work and trained focus and patience can certainly land the hunter plenty of meat and bacon. I would elect to be the hunter. Load up the gun, dress warmly, pack enough food for a few days and then start out on the off-beaten tracks to scrutinize all the animal tracks on the ground and smell the scents in the air. Troublesome as it may sound, i reckoned the hunter has a better chance to survive winter. If the hunter is in luck to find several game tracks, he must be focused and decide if he wants to go down this or that trail.  He needs to examine his strengths, opportunity and resources to ensure a kill, otherwise the trip will be futile and possibly deadly in the snowy cold winter. Once he has decided what prey to bring down, he has to consider his strategy – pursue and chase relentlessly or select a great spot to wait for the opportunity before he strikes, or lay down some traps and wait patiently. The strategy will help him further decide the tactics to use.

What will you do if you were the poor farmer? Care to share your thoughts?

P.S.: I also like to tag Anja Merret, Bokjae, Calvin Warr, Lisa Tan-Koh, Laura Spencer, Robin Bal,  Solomon , Walter Lim to carry on this discussion here and in their blogs.

After note: Please read these wonderful bloggers’ contributions:

What to do in an economic winter? by Anja Meret

Economic Winter by bokjae

Facing the Economic Recession by Calvin Warr

Living beyond the economic winter by Lisa Tan-Koh

When winter falls, build a snow man by Walter Lim

Take it out of the inner recesses of your mind by Solomon

Popularity: 15% [?]

How did you like your past 364 days?

How do you intend to create your next 365 days in 2009?

Tomorrow is a brand new year waiting for you and I. Here’s some questions from my friend, John Stamoulos to complete 2008 and create 2009. You may find some of the questions really tough to answer, however, it will help you to have clarity in your life.

Versa Creations and I wish you a happy new year.

Completing and Remembering 2008

What was your biggest triumph in 2008?

What was the smartest decision you made in 2008?

What one word best sums up and describes your 2008 experience?

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2008?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2008?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2008?

What are you most happy about completing in 2008?

Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2008?

What was the biggest risk you took in 2008?

What was the biggest surprise in 2008?

What important relationship improved the most in 2008?

What compliment would you liked to have received in 2008?

What compliment would you liked to have given in 2008?

What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2008?

Creating 2009

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2009?

What advice would you like to give yourself in 2009?

What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2009?

What would you be most happy about completing in 2009?

What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2009?

What would you most like to change about yourself in 2009?

What are you looking forward to learning in 2009?

What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2009?

What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2009?

What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2009?

What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2009?

Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2009?

What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2009?

Popularity: 19% [?]

Are you worried about your bottom line?

Are you wondering if your bottom line will hit rock bottom in this financial tsunami?

I’m pretty certain you’ll have some concerns even though you are wonderfully successful at the moment.

Like everyone else, I have my fair share of concerns and anxiety. However, I would not resort to not celebrating Christmas with the feel-good and nostalgic baked turkey, honey ham, egg nog and a few nicely wrapped presents underneath my Christmas tree. Careful budgeting and purposeful spending is wise. Scaling back unnecessarily will actually stop the economic wheels moving and in the long run is going to hurt you and I even more.

Feeling energized and empowered after 2 of T Harv Eker’s powerhouse seminars – The Enlightened Warrior Camp and Mastering The Stage , my enthusiasm in propelling my client’s business to the next level remains strong.  I have faith that the cheese is at the next corner or the one after next. Why do I have such faith when the financial storm is still brewing? I started my first business in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. I sowed, ploughed, and unearthed many hidden gems then.  The opportunities were there but the journey was definitely not a relaxing stroll in the park. For those who heard my story previously, my very first cheque was an awesome S$117.

For the past 2 weeks, after many, many cups of coffee listening to my clients, I can smell and sense their intense fear of uncertainties for the future. The typical sentiment is “I know I must put in more efforts in marketing my stuff, I know I must have a more decent advertising budget but I’m worried about my bottom line. What if everything goes down the drain?

The fear of losing whatever little they  have is very real, can you relate to such fear?

I’m sure you do. Everyone has a bottom line.

For a business owner, it is the net income a company has after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue. That net income is what keeps his business and family going.

For a salaried worker, it can be interpreted as the net income after you have paid for your necessities.

With prices soaring, value of assets declining and money shrinking, the feeling of scarcity is intensified. To fear is human, and we have to be truthful about our emotions. However, we must use our mind and emotions to our favour.

Reducing expenses can only help so much. Borrowing from the wisdom of Jay Abraham, the other options are to increase your sales, increase your sale frequency and increase your price.

I recently found another option: Change my financial blueprint and maximize my wealth dynamics profile.

We have been programmed and conditioned to think, react, response and do things in a set manner. That affects how we choose to spend, invest, save or even hoard our money, and who and how we elect to mingle and socialize with in the business arena. Many of our habits and actions are non-empowering or damaging without our knowledge.

I was privileged to be tutored by T Harv Eker for the past year, and recently have added Roger Hamilton’s wisdom in “Wealth Dynamics” to my learning and application. I now have a better understanding of my financial blueprint and wealth profile. I jumped when I heard that there’s a seminar called “THE BOTTOM LINE” coming to Singapore.

I was attracted by the promise of the program, “More Profit, Less Stress”

Would you like that as a business owner? I would.

After doing my due diligence PLUS a long and meaningful discussion with the program trainer, Allan Cheung, I gladly registered for THE BOTTOM LINE on Christmas Eve.

Why am I doing that?  Especially since I had already invested in 7 programs with T Harv Eker? Because it is going to complement what I had learned! Because I choose not to have my emotions dictate my wealth creation.

THE BOTTOM LINE is a highly interactive program for participants to discover

• Openings to new possibilities and ways to create more wealth with less setbacks
• Insights to how successful millionaires, and even billionaires, create their wealth with seemingly effortless ease
• Clarity on what strategies to adopt and what actions to take

We will learn key principles of Wealth Dynamics

• What is “FLOW” and how you must be in flow to use it to attract wealth
• What actions to take to find your personal “FLOW”
• What actions to take to create “FLOW” for your team
• What actions to take to create “FLOW” for your business
• What actions to take to ride on the repeating cycles of industries

The “FLOW” bit especially intrigue me. I’m doing what like but there were times I felt I was riding against the tides. Was I not in my flow? I don’t know. I’m going to find out.

What is unique about THE BOTTOM LINE is that it is designed for you to take action. In fact, after attending the 2-day program, you are to come back on another evening to share the actions you have already taken and listen to other people’s actions and success stories.

According to Allan, this program is regularly conducted in Hong Kong and a 100% of his participants have given it a huge thumbs up. Well, I said I did my due diligence earlier. What I did was run a quick Google check and found quite a few positive testimonials. I also discovered that the program wasn’t the typical sit-down-and-listen-only type. You can have a glimpse how fun and interactive at this YouTube video.

If you want to generate more profit for your business AND at the same time have less stress, then you really should consider this program. At an Early Bird Investment of only S$197 (USD130) – which is about what you pay for a Christmas Dinner for 2 – what do you have to lose? More importantly, what do you stand to gain from this small investment.

Mark your calendar for March 14 and 15 (9:00 am – 9:00 pm) and March 17 Tuesday evening (7:00 pm – 10:00 pm). Er, if you are living outside Singapore, take advantage of the low airfares and get to enjoy the city while learning how to make more profits with less stress.

For those of you who’s wondering why I spent so much time and money in educating myself. Let me share with you what Jim Rohn said: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe also said “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

T Harv Eker’s programs have turned me around in more than one way. And I’m looking forward to THE BOTTOM LINE giving me a great spin to more profits and less stress.

Where to sign up? Just click here: THE BOTTOM LINE. By the way, you’ll have to include the code BRC12 to enjoy the Early Bird Price before 31 Dec.

HOW TO ENJOY SPECIAL DISCOUNT:

1. Click on THE BOTTOM LINE
2. When page loads, select Single Ticket or Group Ticket and enter number of tickets you need (Min of 5 persons to qualify for Group Ticketing)
3. Click on ENTER DISCOUNT CODE
4. Enter the following: BRC12
5. Click on Apply Discount
6. Wait for Page to REFRESH
7. You will now see the NEW PRICE
8. Click on ORDER NOW and select your preferred payment method

Popularity: 18% [?]