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The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is based on the assumption that if you can’t be better than the competition then being different will usually suffice.

It is true that most businesses scrape by in the midst of mediocrity. The bosses of these firms see an industry or profession that looks lucrative and join the ranks in a ‘me too, I’d like some of that action’, kind of way. If there’s enough of a market for what they do then they’ll pick up the odd client and eke out an existence without having to think or work very hard on their brand.

Most of these companies make up the headlines of casualties when the market they’re in gets tough and only the outstanding or well-positioned firms stay safe.

So, the USP, in principle, enables the enlightened business owner to rise above the ranks and be noticed. This is usually achieved by:

High Value Promises

Guarantees

Under Promising and Over Delivering

Finding an under-serviced niche in your market

I applaud and support this way of thinking and believe that high value promises, guarantees and aiming to delight clients are all important. I actually believe that these things should be the baseline for any business.

So the notion of a USP is fantastic. There’s just one tiny flaw…

Finding your USP can be like the quest for the proverbial Holy Grail. You could end up spending inordinate amounts of money on research, product/service development and branding without ever really attaining a true USP. The quest to find ‘unique’ when ‘relevant’, ‘outstanding’ and ‘decisive’ are just as good can be frustrating and wasteful.

I’ve seen people stumble upon some really great propositions for their brand that would have worked like a dream, but then dismiss them because they’re not “unique” enough.

Some of the problems with USPs:

Nearly every idea you come up with will have already been done, so struggling to find unique will be frustrating and wasteful

You’ll spend lots of time trying to invent something truly unique and if you do ever find it you’ll never really know if it’s unique anyway

If you are unique then as soon as you start telling people the reasons why, somebody else will copy it and, alas, it is no longer unique.

Most people realise the above as soon as they start looking and instead of doing the hard work they’ll just slap a USP label on something that is ‘me too’ or mediocre.

USPs feed money hungry textbook marketers with research, positioning and creative brainstorming projects. Then once somebody copies you it’s back to the drawing board and they can get paid all over again.

I want you to get the notion of ‘unique’ out of your head by replacing it with ‘decisive’. We’ll look at how to achieve this shortly but first, I’d just like to tell you about a guy who came on one of my first Lean Marketing(tm) Master Classes…

Mister 73 USPs: A Warning

This guy’s firm provided training and coaching in performance improvement and change management. He had an MBA and reportedly knew lots about marketing.

Just to set the scene…

Throughout the first half of the day he’d managed to disagree with and antagonise everyone in the room, including his own business partner.

He was quick to disagree and slow to explain his reasons why. We’d just started work on the “So What?” exercise when he said,

“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to help us find our USP. Don’t bother, I’ve already got 73 of ‘em.”

I was surprised and impressed but not convinced, “73 USPs? Are you sure? Tell me about them.”

Silence. The rest of the group were now all looking at him. He looked back with a look of concentration as he struggled to remember just one. He finally came back with, “Quality!”

Although I felt uncomfortable for the man with 73 USPs, I believed it was important to uncover what he really understood; for his benefit and the benefit of the rest of the group. I didn’t want everyone believing that having so many USPs was a good idea. So I continued my line of questioning,

“How does quality set you apart as unique?”

Again, a long pause and then,

“Well, we provide the best quality solutions to all of our clients.”

I continued with three questions in rapid succession,

• “Do you offer a guarantee?”

• “Are you sure your competitors aren’t saying and delivering the same thing?”

• “Who are your clients?”

His response to each question was,

• “No we don’t guarantee it, how could we?”

• “We don’t have any competitors because what we offer is unique!”

• “Anyone can benefit from what we do, so anyone willing to pay is a client!”

As you can see, Mister 73 USPs was in a tricky spot:

He didn’t have one USP let alone 73

The ‘USP’ he chose was not unique

He had no idea who his competitors were

73 anythings in branding are usually 72 too many, no wonder he couldn’t remember them!

He hadn’t even defined his target as a type of business let alone pin-pointed an individual

He was entrenched with a belief that he’d seen it all before – this usually limits a person’s ability to learn anything new

Now, I’m known for my ability to step right beyond the BS and for my edgy and sometimes dangerous manner with textbook marketers, but he was a delegate, so I swiftly moved on so that he could save face. I then continued to try and help him personally during the rest of the workshop but he really wasn’t willing to part with the belief that he had 73 USPs. Nor would he accept that selling to everyone meant that he wouldn’t appeal strongly to anyone.

I don’t pretend to be a life coach (I leave that to people who are good at it) and don’t believe it’s my job to change people’s beliefs, so at the end of the class, unprompted, I gave him his course-fee back.

He wasn’t going to use our information and ideas anyway.

So why am I telling you this sad story? Why, because most textbook marketers, in my experience, really don’t understand USPs. It’s just another buzzword they throw at you to sound clever and important but under the surface their USPs are usually little more than over-dressed features.

USPs are mythological artefacts that rarely exist today except in the imaginations of textbook marketers or the truly inspired.

DPPs – Decisive Power Points

Right, back to the programme… I’d like you to ignore ‘unique’ and replace it with ‘decisive’.

Decisive is more effective than unique for a number of reasons:

Unique doesn’t necessarily mean favourable – Decisive does!

If all else is equal your DPP will tip the scales in your favour – it will be the deciding factor

DPPs work from your client’s viewpoint – they are triggers that help your client decide, not just things that you think are unique

Decisive is much easier to find and maintain than Unique

There’s an example of our DPP chart (high and to the right is where you want your benefit to be) on our site at http://www.debbiejenkins.com/academy-pics/DAY17-dpp-example.gif

The Decisive Power Point chart and detailed instructions on how to use it is covered thoroughly in our ebook called Coaching Charisma – Using The Power of Your Brand to Magically Attract New Business. This 64 page book is a must read for any coach who is struggling to stand out in the crowd.

Speak Soon

About The Author

“Dangerous” Debbie Jenkins is a speaker, author and stand-up comedian. Get her latest course – “CoachesCan!” Attract More Clients & Enjoy More Success By Doing & Spending Less and you can even set your own course fee!

http://www.debbiejenkins.com/coaches/index01.html

debs@debbiejenkins.com

If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker, and you are considering purchasing mortgage leads, one thing that will be important to know, is where these lead companies obtain their leads from.

Many times, mortgage lead companies will sell their leads multiple times. They have a data base of thousands of leads that they sell repeatedly over and over.

Or, they buy leads in bulk from third party vendors and sell them at a profit.

This is known as recycling leads, or selling junk. And who knows how many times that third party vendor sold their leads to other mortgage lead companies.

By the time that lead lands on your desk, it has gone through the hands of literally dozens of loan officers.

Your best bet is to deal only with mortgage lead companies that own and operate their own mortgage lead generation sites. This way at least you now that there is an excellent chance that the quality of the lead will be good.

How can you find this out?

Call someone in the customer service department of the company you are considering. Don’t be shy, come right out and ask where and how they obtain their leads.

If you are not satisfied with their answers, than move onto the next mortgage lead company.

Remember, if you are not happy with their customer service, than more than likely you will not be happy with their leads.

Many participants in my programs ask how to deal with people who appear to be seeking information and nothing more. In many environments these individual’s are called time wasters. Time wasters come in every shape and form but they usually possess a few consistent characteristics – they ask a continuing stream of questions, take up loads of our time, and seldom end up buying anything.

What is particularly interesting about these situations is that many time wasters don’t set out to be that way. It is usually our fault that this happens because we don’t control the sales process. And in many cases, we become the time waster.

Most sales professionals know they are supposed to ask questions to learn about their customer’s needs but I have learned that the majority of sales people tend to be more comfortable responding to questions rather than asking them. Here is a simple fact…the person who asks the questions is the one in control of the sales process.

I have conducted hundreds of sales training workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance from the buyer or customer. But that means it’s too late. Now it will appear that you are trying to justify your product, service, price, etc.

Sales people hear this, but it seldom sinks in. Here is a personal example.
After reading one of my weekly sales tips a sales person emailed me (for the second or third time) and said he had been focusing on his needs rather than mine in his previous correspondence. He presented a couple of good points so I agreed to a telephone conversation. When we connected he immediately launched into a ten-minute monologue about his company and its services. At this point it still wasn’t clear what he wanted from me so I asked. He went on to say that he wanted me to endorse his product to my clients and newsletter subscribers. I then stated that my target market is mostly specialty retailers and asked how his product would help them. His reply, “Oh, it won’t.”

He had now just wasted almost 15 minutes of my time – valuable time that could have been used to work on one of the many projects on my desk. As a sales person, he had just become a time waster. If he had asked one simple question in his email he could have saved us both time because he would have learned that our companies were not compatible.

In another situation, I listened to a sales person pitch his product by reading PowerPoint slides. His slides discussed his company, their financial backing, their products, their clients, blah, blah, blah. Not once did he ask me what I wanted in a solution. Instead, he kept his attention focused on his agenda, once again, wasting my time by talking about something that had no relevance to my situation or business.
Professional selling means helping someone make an educated buying decision. That means you need to determine how your product or service fits into their situation. I was once asked by an advertising sales rep what to do if the prospect’s publication targeted a different demographic that the advertisers. My answer was simple, “Move on.”

In some cases, your product or service may not be needed by your prospect or may not fit into their plans. This means you move on to the next prospect. Don’t waste their time and yours trying to reconfigure everything hoping something will work out.

Virtually everyone I know is pressed for time. Respect that fact. Save your customers time by asking a few well-thought out questions BEFORE you suggest a product or service. That way you won’t become a time waster.
But, how do you control a customer who is a time waster? There are a couple of ways…

First, ask a few high-quality questions early in the sales process to determine exactly what your customer is looking for and what their buying criteria are. One of these questions should be something that identifies the time-frame that your customer is working with.

The second thing you can do, particularly if the other person has indicated that they aren’t making a buying decision in the near future, is to direct them to your website or offer other printed materials for them to review.
Third, ask them to make a buying decision. This approach is effective because the time waster will become uncomfortable and will often end the sales discussion himself.

The fourth strategy is to drop them like a hot potato. Don’t waste your time trying to close them. Be pleasant, firm and direct. Tell them that you must take care of other customers and move on.

You only have a certain number of hours of prime selling time in any given day. Don’t waste your time selling to people who have no intention of ever buying. And, avoid wasting the time of your customers.

© 2005 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved

Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques to Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at http://www.kelleyrobertson.com

Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com

1. Persuade your visitors to like you. People buy from people they like. You could tell them a joke, give them a compliment, give them a freebie, etc.

2. Add viral marketing into your promotional plans. Allow your visitors to give away your free stuff, just include your ad somewhere on all the freebies.

3. Design your web site to be less confusing. Don’t use a lot of graphics, links and anything that takes away from your sales message.

4. Use headlines and sub headlines that are aimed directly at your audience. If you’re selling things to lawyers use a headline like “Attention All Lawyers!”.

5. Increase your opt-in e-mail list quickly by giving away a product at no cost. Just require people to subscribe to your e-zine in exchange.

6. Joint venture your web business with other offline businesses. Look for businesses that have the same target audience and create a win/win deal with them.

7. Expand your target audience by adding a new product line or packaging your main products with other ones. You could also add-on extra services.

8. Give your visitors the option of viewing your web site by autoresponder or printing it out. They might not have the time right then to look it over.

9. Submit the free stuff you offer to online freebie directories. They usually get tons of traffic because people like to get things for free.

10. Express the same views as your target audience. Bring up common likes and dislikes in your ad. This will create instant rapport with your audience.

The upsell strategy or upgrade is potentially the most expensive
secret on the net. (Not so secret now) You must have seen those
sites listing things you will learn if you pay me X amount to
join my private site, one of them is always. LEARN HOW TO
INCREASE YOUR SALES BY 50% JUST BY ADDING ONE SIMPLE PAGE TO
YOUR WEB SITE. How many times have you been curious enough to
consider paying, just To find out what that was. (Lesson No 1
curiosity is a great sales inducer) Well for those of you who
resisted, your patience is about to be rewarded Because today
you are going to learn this secret for free. I will tell you
this though you will kick yourself when the penny drops. I went
around banging my head on every brick wall I could find for
being So stupid. When your customer clicks on that link at the
bottom of your Page that say’s order here now through our secure
server they are Expecting to get their credit card out, in fact
they may already have it in They’re hot little hands. So what do
you do, send them to a page that offers them an upgrade to the
Product they are ready to buy. That new page tells them that for
a measly extra $10.00 they can have the super duper version, or
an extra item that will make there lives even easier. Testing
shows that 50% of buyers will go for the upgrade they are
already in the buying mood and they figure what the heck I was
going to spend $30 why not go for the extra $10 and get a better
deal. (see I told you stop banging your head on the desk and see
an example of this at work. If you go to this page and click on
the order now link at the bottom (don’t worry you wont be
charged) http://www.hotbobs.com/autorespondermagic.htm Two
things will happen you will be sent to clickbank where you can
start the process of purchasing, but also a popup will appear
with the upgrade option. If you choose the upgrade that popup
will redirect you to a different clickbank page where you can
hand over the increased amount. It’s neat, simple and works.

It’s no secret that the society we live in today likes to take the easy road. We come up with inventions and spend billions of dollars a year on things that make life easier for us: cars, appliances, computers, gadgets… you name it, we’ve probably bought it.

People have made billions of dollars making things easier for the public at large. So, why can’t you enhance your bottom line the same way? If you want people to be attracted enough to your business to actually place an order, you’ve got to make it easier for them to use you instead of the competition.

So how do you make things easier for your potential customers? First of all, if you don’t already take credit cards, start now. Research shows that business who allow online credit card transactions do far more business than those who don’t. You’ll most likely have to pay for a merchant account, but it’s definitely worth it because your sales volume will increase by leaps and bounds. If you’re not ready for that or really can’t afford it, try using a service like Paypal. Anyone with an account (and a LOT of people have them) can use their credit card or even their bank account to send you money via email.

Next, you know how much people hate paperwork. If your business requires people to provide extensive documentation or fill out lots of forms just to place an order, try drastically reducing or eliminating that paperwork altogether. If you can’t do that, at least let customers fill out forms online or allow them to give you the information over the phone.

Now, everyone knows that buying products and services costs money. But if you can charge people less for your products, reduce your fees, or offer a few freebies, you’re definitely making it easier on people to buy. After all, what’s easier than saving money?

The bottom line? When given the choice, people will almost always take the easier route. If you can be that route, you’ll become busier than you ever dreamed you’d be.

So you’ve made the decision to update your home photographs and display them in digital format with a digital picture frame. Great! This new technology is exciting; it looks great and is totally interactive with features like touch screen and the ability to incorporate music files and videos into the display. But with so many options out there regarding size, style, functionality, colour and compatibility, which kind of digital photo frame do you buy?

Firstly it is best to consider what size you’re looking for. Frames can range in size from 3.5″ diagonally across right up to 10″, usually with 5″ and 7″ in between. Considering the standard photography print size is 6″ x 4″ you’re best to go with a 5 or 7″ if you’re looking for the same size frame, just with digital effects. If you want something smaller, obviously go for the 3.5″ and the 10″ digital frame is best suited for wall mounting where it can make a huge statement. Because all digital picture frames come with both wall mounting holes on the back and a stand, you can place them just about anywhere so choose where you want it to be, and then you’ll be able to tell how big it should be too.

Secondly, how is your digital photo frame going to be used? If you go on a lot of holidays and love to regale your friends and family afterwards with pictures, videos and stories then going for a frame that plays both .JPEG images and mp4 video files will be just right for you. If, however, you’re looking for a bit of comfort and a way to enhance the feeling of the room then try a frame that not only shows pictures but also plays mp3 music files too. That way you can have some calming and comforting music playing in the background while pictures of your best memories are shown to the room.

If you’re a real photography buff or you simply want to show off your best photographs then go for a standard frame which simply shows images, but a large 10″ one for wall mounting with a remote control. This will allow you to change how long each photograph is displayed for, how long each interval is and what order they are shown in from the comfort of your sofa.

Once you’ve considered all the details then you can choose which colour frame you would like. Once you’ve shopped around a bit you should find exactly the right digital picture frame for you. Good luck!

Mark sits at his desk with his eyes closed, pen in hand, apparently deep in thought. Or is he dozing? Actually, he’s about to take a crucial first step in winning a new account.

Holly is on her way to see a potential client when a flash of insight radically changes her strategy for the meeting. An hour later she has a contract for a six-figure account plus a substantial signing bonus.

Mark ponders and Holly has an ah-hah moment. Yet they’re both doing the same thing – they’re checking in with their intuition before making a sales call. Why? They’ve discovered that the insights and promptings they get from their “inner voices” can help them score more sales more easily than when they go it alone.

Make Intuition Your Ally – Intuition is the secret weapon of many successful sales leaders. Ask them about it, though, and they’re likely to describe it as “gut instinct.” Sound familiar? Of course it does, because whether you admit it or not, you’re highly likely to have experienced it yourself, and just as likely to have ignored its messages.

The fact is, everyone receives intuitive information. It’s both a gift and a skill, and the more you practice it the better you get at it. How does your intuition speak to you? Do you receive information in words, feelings, a flash of insight, a gut reaction? Do you simply just know? Roy Rowan, author of a study on intuition, said, “This feeling, this little whisper from deep inside your brain, may contain far more information – both facts and impressions – than you’re likely to obtain from hours of analyzing data.”

Ask Your Intuition Questions – My friend Mark, who you met at the beginning of this article, is a national sales leader in his industry. When I asked him how he explains his success he told me that before he meets with a client he asks his intuition a series of questions such as, “What do I need to know about this company?” “What is the best way to approach the decision maker?” “What should I know about who I’m competing against for this sale?” “What can I do to win this account?” He sits with pen in hand and quiets his thoughts. The answers come to him as he writes. Mark’s competition scratches their heads.

Keep Your “Inner Sales Person” Positive – Pay attention to what you tell yourself about your sales prospects and your life. If your “self-talk” is positive and optimistic your personal and business life will reflect that. Try a simple experiment. Close your eyes and say the following to yourself for about 30 seconds: “I’ll never get ahead. I’m not good at sales. I won’t make my quota this month.” How do you feel? Depressed? Demoralized? Hopeless?

Now do the same experiment and focus on these statements: “Things have a way of working out.” “I’m learning some new skills and things are beginning to change for me.” “Today I’ll take steps that will open up opportunities for more income.” Now how do you feel? Hopeful? Optimistic? More confident? When you’re in this state it’s much easier for you to be open to intuitive messages pointing you to avenues of increased prosperity.

Know Your Gut, Know Your Client – Successfully making the sale requires that you process hundreds of pieces of information subconsciously. You must develop and trust your ability to use your intuition to read between the lines. Do you press a client for the sale, or do you back off and wait? Are they motivated by the lowest price you can offer or is the quality of your product or service the prime impetus for buying from you? Many times, logic and analysis will provide that information. On other occasions, your gut feelings or instincts – your intuition – will provide the answers.

Use the Power of Silence – As any good salesperson will tell you, “Sometimes the best thing to do is ’shut up.’” But there are times when you also need to silence your mind to receive valuable intuitive insight. When you need help making a decision – pause – take a deep breath, reflect on the question and allow the intuitive impressions to come to you. Intuition is often described as “still and quiet.” It doesn’t usually answer in a big, booming voice. It is much subtler. Pay attention to any images you receive, words you hear, physical sensations you experience or emotions you feel. These are all ways that intuition will communicate with you. Write down any impressions you receive. Some people find that intuitive insights will pop into their mind immediately. For others, it may come later in the day when they least expect it.

Make Your Enthusiasm Work for You – Intuition often communicates its message through passion and excitement. The root of the word enthusiasm comes from the Greek, entheos. It literally means, “God within.” If a sales strategy or decision leaves you feeling drained or bored, that’s a clear message from your “inner guidance” saying, “Don’t go there.” Conversely, if you feel energized and enthusiastic, your intuition is giving you the green light to continue with your plan of action.

Envision Your Success – Spend time each day imagining your ideal life. Envision the details of that life. Imagine you are living it now. What are you wearing? What are you feeling? Who are the people around you? We are often quite clear about what we don’t want. The path to success comes from spending time thinking about what you do want. What does an ideal day, month or year look like to you? Being clear about what you want is often the first step in being able to create it. Successful people visualize their goals and dreams. Your intuition can help you achieve success when you know what you want to achieve.

Write it Down – Many people have great success receiving intuitive information through writing. This technique is similar to brainstorming. Write a series of questions about your choices. Suppose you have to make a decision to fill a position in your company. You might write, “If I hire Mary will the company’s sales increase?” “If I hire her will this be a positive choice? “What are her strengths?” “What are her weaknesses?” When you’ve completed your questions, write the answers quickly just as they come to you. Repeat your intuitive Q&A about each potential employee and then assess the results.

Take the time, make the sale – Be sure to set aside time to routinely check in with your intuition. It won’t be long before you’ll be experiencing faster, stronger and more accurate insights. Though intuition can be described as a secret weapon, there’s no big secret about how to use it. Follow the suggestions I’ve outlined above, and begin now to enjoy the rewards of this powerful competitive advantage.

© 2003 Lynn Robinson, M.Ed. All rights reserved in all media. –

The journey to a successful life should be enjoyed. True success comes from accomplishing the activities daily that will lead you to your ultimate goals in life. Failing or neglecting to accomplish the daily disciplines will lead you down the path of lost opportunities and lost income. If the penalty for not accomplishing your daily activities or disciplines was implemented or assessed today, we would look at neglecting them differently. The truth is that the penalty for neglect is more visible in the future than it is today. The person who eats fried foods does not pay the penalty at 35, he pays at 55. The person who fails to save 10% of his income for retirement is not penalized at 40, but at 60. The prospecting we fail to do today does not hurt our income today, but 90 to 120 days from now.

If we were zapped today from neglecting the daily disciplines rather than in the future, our daily disciplines would change. We need to associate pain today with not doing our daily disciplines in the real estate business. We have to make the neglect more painful than the activity pain. The truth is we have a tendency to move away from pain and towards pleasure.

There are three disciplines that must be done daily in real estate for success. They are working on growth, administration, and working ON your business. Let’s look at each individual area comprehensively.

Growth:

Growth is the part of the business that brings in the revenue for your business. The more time you spend of your day in growth, the more income that you will make. Most agents focus little time on growth activities daily. They work on growth activities at the last minute, when they are running short on funds. The problem is that is too late. To have a steady business income you need a steady approach to growth.

Growth is the prospecting that you do daily. It is the listing appointments that you have for the day. It is the lead follow-up that you are doing on the people who want to buy or sell. It is the meeting with your lender to work on your competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Growth is the critical part to any business. Without growth a business will fail. I know a lot of agents who are highly skilled in growth and poorly skilled in administration and working on their business who earn large amounts of money. I know of very few successful agents who are not highly skilled at growth. You can have huge deficiencies in administration and working on your business but still win the game. You can not be deficient in growth and win. My focus is to help our clients achieve a high level of skill in all three areas. Growth is the engine that powers the train; you must first pay attention to growth.

Growth demands a minimum of three hours daily in the activities of growth: prospecting, appointments, lead follow-up, and meeting with affiliates. Prospecting should comprise 65% of the growth time daily. If the prospecting does not happen, the other growth areas will wither. Remember the higher the hours spent on growth, the higher the income and profit.

Administration:

These are the activities that complete the income stream:

Processing the listing so agents can find it in the MLS

Processing the sold property through escrow

Communicating with your clients on a regular basis

Directing your staff and monitoring their progress

These activities done well will enable you to turn clients into fans who will look for new business for you. You will need one to two hours daily for administration. If you create a good system and have a highly trained and skilled staff, your time spent in this area will be reduced. In the perfect system administration gets done well, but the agent spends little of his personal time on it.

On your business:

This is the time that most people neglect. This working on your business really separates long-term success and growth from just running faster on the treadmill of life. Long-term financial success lies in this section of your day. The ability to earn more profit is also located here.

We are all really employees of our own little real estate business. We are the ones who bring in the business and make the system go. The more time we plan, read, strategize, practice, role play, and implement our ideas, the more ownership we gain. Becoming the owner of your real estate business only happens through diligent work on your business. Instead of being the employee who works to draw a salary and pay the bills, why not become the one who orchestrates the company? Be the one who has something to sell when he wants to try something else and/or retire.

Working on your business is truly taking a step back from the daily rat race and to look at your growth and administration areas for ways to improve them. Look at your productivity and profitability then evaluate your progress. You cannot make meaningful change without evaluation as an owner, rather than as an employee on a tread mill.

Working on your business is critical to helping you move to the next level of production, or to decrease time worked without reducing income, or finding where to cut expenses by 10%. Working on your business will help you create economies of scale in administration and new ways to produce growth and income in your business. You need one hour per day of working on time. For every minute you plan you will save ten minutes in implementation.

What do you think your business would look like in 90 days or even six months if you were to implement the below daily routine?

Growth: 3 hours

Administration: 1 to 2 hours

Business: 1 hour

Time block these activities into your daily routine. You will be amazed at the results you will achieve, even in one week. Do not allow the distractions to overtake you and your new daily focus. Do not neglect to do the things that will lead you to success. Do them daily without fail.

It is at times a common mistake for web designers, especially beginners, to create a website which is not optimised for various screen resolutions. With over 40 different screen resolutions, it is extremely important to optimise your web pages for the most popular screen resolutions so that your web pages can be viewed by a greater number of online visitors.

Here are some basic facts to consider when designing for screen resolutions:

- 800×600 is the minimum resolution offered on most PCs and notebooks. 800×600 is also the preferred viewing option for 14% of internet users.

- The most popular resolutions used by approximately 60% of online users is 1024 x 768, followed by 1280×1024 and other resolutions, with 26% of internet users.

Designing for a wide spectrum of resolutions is therefore essential. But how is this achieved?

The process of designing for all resolutions is achieved through a “lowest-to-highest” resolution technique. Which ever image editing or web building application you are using, it is important to set your working area or table width to a resolution within 800 x 600. A suitable area of 770 x 560 is recommended for best viewing in a web browser on a 800 x 600 screen resolution. This recommended area will not only alleviate horizontal page scrolling but will keep your pages user friendly and easy to read.

Designing web pages for all resolutions is especially useful for attracting and keeping visitors for a longer period of time on your site. Easy to use and read websites are always more likely to attract customers. A poorly designed and structured website with irritable horizontal scrolling will only drive away visitors and potential buyers.