somjet2004's Blog

Dude, You Gotta Try This, You Won?t Be Disappointed! by Dave Free

Is there anything more powerful than a referral from a friend? Money can?t buy the credibility that a friend, or even an acquaintance, commands. The recommendation above was actually emailed from a happy Sport Clips� customer to his friend along with a coupon for $3 off. This is just one of many referrals sent by the customers of Joan & Chuck Matheny.

The Matheny?s own two Sport Clips� franchises. Sport Clips� features an atmosphere where men and boys feel comfortable getting their hair cut. Every chair has a television tuned to a sporting event, there is a sports theme throughout, and their premier service is the MVP. The MVP includes a shampoo, a neck massage, and a hot towel--dude you gotta try it!

In September 2005, Chuck was looking for a way to communicate with his customers without having to buy expensive ads. He also wanted to improve 1st Time customer retention. He decided to give PromoterZ� a try in one of his locations to see if it would help. He?s been so pleased with the results, his second store is now using the system as well. You can read the details of the Matheny?s experience here.

I?m obviously biased, I think PromoterZ� is a simple and inexpensive way to generate referrals and I hope every business owner signs up. Having said that, it is certainly not the only way to encourage your customers to tell their friends about your business. Mity Lite, maker of world famous lightweight and durable folding tables, credits 40% of their sales to the fact that their sales reps always, always ask ?Who else do you know that would appreciate the quality of our products??

Another company that attributes a large portion of their sales to referrals is Bike Friday. Here is a description of their referral program from CMO (http://www.cmomagazine.com/read/100105/power_one.html):
The company also uses a referral awards program. Customers receive a set of 12 prepaid postage cards with their name and that of the Bike Friday expert who sold them their bike. Whenever a customer meets someone whose interest is piqued by his bike, he'll fill out a card and drop it in the mail. Bike Friday then mails information to the contact. It also captures this interaction in its database so that riders who make a referral receive a bonus if their prospect purchases a bike. Customers can choose either a $50 check or $75 credit toward future products. Day accumulated enough referral credits to purchase a $2,000 bike last year.

The referral program has helped the company acquire more than a third of its 10,000 customers; it also helps drive sales. Over the last three and a half years, the program has generated $1.3 million in sales. In 2004, 29 percent of its sales came from referrals.

Customer referrals work and as the advertising chaos continues to increase, they will become more and more powerful. If you are not already doing it, spend some time thinking about how you can make it easier for your customers to tell their friends about your business. It will be worth the effort.

Dave Free is president of Zeryn, makers of PromoterZ(tm) http://promoterz.com. PromoterZ helps small businesses grow through referrals and customer feedback. Take a remarkably brief PromoterZ survey and receive a $5 discount on PromoterZ for life.

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Age New Spirituality ? Inspirational Quotes ( Part 2 ) by

Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking....Fill the brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals: place them day and night before you; and out of that will come great work.

Do not talk of he wickedness of the world and all its sins.Weep that you are bound to see wickedness yet. Weep that you are bound to see sin everywhere, and if you want to help the world, do not condemn it. Do not weaken it more. For what is sin and what is misery, and what are all these but the results of weakness? The world is made weaker and weaker every day by such teachings.

Let positive, strong, helpful thought enter into their brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing ones.

Never mind failures; they are quite natural,they are the beauty of life ? these failures. What would life be without them? It would not be worth having if it wee not for struggles. Where would be the poetry of life? Never mind the struggles,the mistake. I never heard a cow ? never a man. So never mind these failures, these little backslidings; hold the ideal a thousand times; and if you fail a thousands times, make the attempt once more.

All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is who have put pur hands before our eyes, and cry that it is dark. Know that there is no darkness around us. Take the hands away and there is the light which was from the beginning. Darkness never existed, weakness never existed, We who are fools cry that we are weak; we who are fools cry that we are impure.

The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the strength that is already within them.

To read more inspirational quotes visit : http://www.spiritual-simplicity.com

Lecturer, entrepreneur and Fortune 500 business consultant, Vish Writer is the author of the Amazon No 1 bestseller, 'The Joy of Becoming God'. Visit him at Spiritual SimplicityThe Real Secret

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Hard Money vs. Private Money by Ross Treakle

I interview real estate investors for my website and recently I came across a number of investors who teach about using private money to purchase real estate. However, if you would have asked me one (1) year ago about the difference between private money and hard money I would not have been able to tell you anything. The difference however is very critical.
Broken down into its simplest form the main difference is with private money you decide the terms of use and with hard money the lender decides the terms of use. Now this very basic difference has a lot of impact on your real estate investing business. One type of money is not necessarily better than the other but you should in fact no the difference.
Where does the money come from?
In both scenarios you are going to receive the money from an outside investor. There are several ways to discover these investors from holding luncheons to running ads in the local paper. The investors know that real estate will offer a higher return than the market so they are inclined to give you some dollar amount in exchange for a percentage of return.
So what about the Terms of Use?
Private Money: the terms of use with private money tend to favor that of the real estate investor. Why? Because you as the investor set the terms exactly how you want. You go to the investor and they agree to give you X amount of money and in exchange they will be paid X% return. You can structure this so they receive a monthly return exactly like any lending institution structures a basic mortgage or you may want to give a higher percentage and pay the investor in one lump sum at the close of the deal. However you slice it, you decide where to spend the money, when to spend the money, and how to spend the money. But you do need to have your business set up so that a third party holds the money until you are ready to use the money. The best part about using private money is you determine what is done with the money because you are the real estate investor, you don't have the private money investor watching over your shoulder. In fact, if using private money I would not even let the private money investor look at the deal. They are not real estate investors rather they are simply your financial backing.
Hard Money: with hard money the deal favors the hard money investor. The hard money investor lays down the terms of the deal. Everything from the percentage of return they will make to the type of deal you can do with the money. If the hard money investor wants you to do a rehab and then flip the house, well that is exactly what you will have to do. There is nothing wrong with this scenario if you can get a better deal as a real estate investor and are confident that you will be able to meet the terms of the hard money investor. Hard money does have its advantages and can be more useful depending on the deal but it is in each specific circumstance which you will have to determine which type of deal is better for you, the real estate investor. When working with a hard money investor it is always important that you have them sign some sort of agreement so you do not get taken advantage of. For example, if you discover a great investment opportunity and approach your hard money investor, it is very easy for them to go around your back and make the deal happen while you are left out in the cold.
Finally, both types of scenarios are very favorable for all parties involved. If a real estate investor can offer the person who is tired of investing in stocks and bonds and the volatility of the stock market a way to make more of a return, they will jump at the opportunity. You will most likely start off slow but once you prove yourself to that money investor, they will be more inclined to give you money a second and third time down the road, and they will often be willing to give you more money so you can do bigger deals. Just always be careful that everything thing is done within the confines of the laws in your area and that you cover your interest in each deal with good paperwork.
To find out more about using private money for investing and other real estate investing techniques that can increase your returns and help you grow your business, please visit us at .

Ross Treakle is a Internet Marketer and Real Estate Investor who has recently strived to deliver quality content to real estate investors via the internet. Ross has set out to interview successful real estate investors and deliver those interviews to his subscribers at no cost through his website http://www.reaudiotips.com. If you are interested in real estate investing you do not want to miss out on this invaluable asset to your business and success. Please visit us at http://www.reaudiotips.com.

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