How to create a name for your new business that will exponentially incre...

How to create a Lease Option business

How to create a Lease Option business

In order to create a Lease Option business you must treat it LIKE it is a business.  That means that you must remove emotion from the equation and look at every house with a regard to ROI (Return on investment).

How can you do that?

1)  Create a huge funnel:

  A funnel is a great way to automate your business so that you are continually having properties to look at.  You want to have people contacting you, rather than you contacting them.  (It is much easier to negotiate with someone that has called you, they have already taken the first steps.) Here are a few ways to create a funnel.

You need to find owners that have problems, and are motivated, AND have the circumstances that allow you to lease option their home.  You need to find tenant buyers that can qualify to purchase a home in two years.  The more prospects that you have in your funnel, the more deals you will have.  You must ALWAYS be marketing.  

a)  Business cards:  hand them out to everyone.  You should have a tagline, plus contact information.  If you don't pass out 20 business cards a day, you aren't working at it.  

b)  Internet:  have your own web site.  If you don't know how to create one, go to www.wix.com and make a free web site.

c)  Ads:  Place ads in Craigslist.net, any other community bulletin board, and any other discussion board. Put little ads in apartment complex's laundry rooms, restaurant bulletin boards, and any place that you can put one up for free.  

d)  Fishbowl:  Buy a fishbowl at Wal-mart for $5, and ask business owners if you can put a fishbowl on their counter.  People that are interested in Lease optioning their house, or need a house to lease option, can fill in the entry form, and the winner of the weekly drawing will get a (whatever the business owner sells) at the end of that week.  (If they are a restaurant, the winner gets a free meal, PAID FOR BY YOU).  Always think of how it benefits the other person; most people will operate from a selfish self interest perspective, and you can usually deal with that.

e)  Bird dogs:  Every time that you go to a nice restaurant, ask the waitress if she ever hears anyone that is looking for a house.  If she will call you AND THE PROSPECT DOES BUSINESS WITH YOU, you will give the bird dog $50.  (Give them your card, get their contact information, and follow up with them every few weeks.  It never hurts to send an email telling them another person just got $100 last week, just by keeping their ears open. Waitresses, pastors, basically anyone that gets a lot of people contact is in a position to be a bird dog.  What's in it for them?  $50 in cash if they put you in touch with a person that you do business with.  (Since you only pay the bird dog AFTER you have gotten paid, you have an unlimited advertising budget for this.  When you pay based on production, you have a HUGE budget.)

f)  Social media:  Do you know those people that are constantly using Facebook, Twitter, etc...for a social media billboard?  Yeah, you need to do that too. Be entertaining, be charming, be interesting, but always be closing.

g)  Be a subject matter expert:  If you can write a column for a local paper, using your knowledge...do so.  You might have to pay a little bit of money for the right to write the column, but it elevates your credibility.  If you can arrange to do seminars teaching young couples how to prepare to get into a house, and present this at local churches, universities, or ANYWHERE that will let you speak, you will elevate your credibility, and people will believe what you say.  (So, don't lie.)

h)  Join a real estate investment group.  When we created FRAREI (Front Range Association of Real Estate Investors) in Colorado Springs, we had meetings at our mortgage brokerage offices.  We allowed OTHER MORTGAGE BROKERS to speak, we had subject matter experts, we provided free food and drink, and we provided free space for the meetings.  This allowed us to network with other real estate investors.  If we found a deal that didn't meet our parameters, we would wholesale it to the group.  

i)  EVERY person that you contact is a potential bird dog.  Treat ALL of them with respect, let them know your business model, and ask for their help.  If you can't help them, but might be able to help a friend, if you originally treated them with respect, there is a very good chance that they will give you a referral.  

j)  Follow up.  Every person that you have ever done a deal with, OR talked to should get a card at least four times a year.  (Birthday, anniversary, Christmas, and Fourth of July)  Create a contact list and write down a little paragraph about each contact.  When you follow up, you will see a connection between you and the contact.  If you nudge them, every couple of months, asking if they know anyone that needs help, and offering to give them $50 if they refer someone to you that you can help, you might just start getting more referrals.  

k)  Reward your bird dogs/contacts with an appreciation day.  We had a HUGE appreciation day for our past clients at a putt putt golf place.  We gave them free hot dogs, and golfing for the day.  If you do this correctly, they will think that you are the greatest guy in the world...and you will get more leads.

l)  Make it a contest.  Who can give the most leads in a month?  Grand prize is....

a)  Have a quick filter:

You must get to the point where you know what a property is worth, and can look at it and say "no" in less than a minute.  If it takes more than five minutes to say "no" to a property that obviously doesn't meet your parameters, you have taken too long.  On the other hand, you can take your time on people that might be motivated.  A "yes" might take days to decide on, because you have to talk with the people, and determine their level of motivation.  (Also, if it doesn't meet YOUR criteria, can you get it under contract, and assign it to someone else?  Could you use an extra $5,000?  If so, be aware that someone might just want it.  Having a large database of fellow investors that can use a good deal, and being willing to assign a contract to them, makes every opportunity golden.)

2)  Know the value:

 Go to www.eppraisal.com, www.bofa.com, or zillow.com to get a free property valuation.  You can also go to the neighborhood, drive around, and every house that is for rent, or for sale, you can call up and ask the 5 "How" questions.  (How old, how big, how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, how much).  It gives you an indication as to the values.  they might be asking for more than the market is showing, but if you get enough indicators...that is the market.  Also ask how long it's been on the market.  If a property has been listed for more than three months, they might be desperate and motivated. There must be a spread between what the property can be purchased for, and what it can be sold for; there must be a spread between your outgoing lease payment, and your incoming lease payment.

3)  Learn how to negotiate: 

 If you have never been to a negotiating class, go to a flea market and negotiate on items.  If you are looking for a seminar on negotiating, contact me at:  master_negotiator75@yahoo.com for more information.

4)  Learn how to write a Lease/Option agreement:

If you don't know how to write a lease/option agreement, find a lawyer that can create one for you, and then just use that as a template.  (A good agreement will have all of the boilerplate that protects you, plus be so simple that all you have to do is fill in the blanks.)  If you need to know the clauses that will save you three months of payments, allow you to walk away from a bad deal, and have the purchase price be the declining mortgage balance, contact me at: master_negotiator75@yahoo.com .

5)  Be willing to walk away from a bad deal:

If you have a large enough funnel, you will get a large number of prospective deals that will fall in your lap.  Not all of them will work.  Your job, more than anything else, is to separate good deals from bad deals.  If it won't work, walk away.  HOWEVER, before you do that, ask yourself if anyone else could use that deal.  If you can, assign the option to someone else, give the listing to a realtor, or direct them to someone that can help.  ALWAYS be looking to help the prospect.  If you can't make money off of it, can someone else?  How can you be the person in the middle, and make a small profit?  If you need coaching in how to make money off of a bad deal, contact me at master_negotiator75@yahoo.com

6)  Listen, and then listen to what they are really saying:

I had a guy that called me on the phone once.  He wanted to sell his house.  I asked him what he thought the house was worth AND what he was asking for it.  The numbers were the same.  I, politely, told him that we were a business, and we couldn't stay in business if we didn't get properties for less than market value, and then sell them for close to market value.  As I was hanging up, I heard the most wonder sound you can hear. He screamed, "WAIIIIIITTTTTT".  As I wiped the drool off of my chin, I asked him, "Yes, how can I help you?"  He was leaving town THE NEXT DAY.  If we didn't buy it, he would lose it.  (He was current on his mortgage, but had to leave).  We got it under contract, transferred title, but didn't record it.  We then sold the house to one of our students for a quick ten thousand.  If I had hung up, I wouldn't have heard his underlying anxiety.  Always ask an open ended question to gather information, and closed ended questions to clarify, and follow up.  Sometimes, asking the same question, again, will elicit a totally different response. 

For more information on how to ask questions contact me at: master_negotiator75@yahoo.com

7)  Setting up the "Machine"

Once you get this started, it takes on a life of its own.  If you just maintain it regularly, you can maintain the momentum without much daily fuss.  It becomes an automaton, that just keeps growing and growing.  The first years are the least profitable, BUT, as the years go on, the lease options start to execute, and you have properties that execute the options with huge profit margins.  You also should (let me rephrase that, you MUST have positive cash flow on each property) so that will start to snowball.  You also will get deals that will fall into your lap, just because you have a large funnel.  If you do this correctly, you should have a massive positive cash flow with no risk to you, and an ongoing method to replenish the lead source.  Once you have done this, you will have created a lease option business with no money out of pocket, no credit requirements, and no risk to you.

If you want more information, please contact me at master_negotiator75@yahoo.com

Look for problems, they are opportunities...rightly considered

Problems are opportunities...rightly considered. 

A lot of people run from problems.  They try to avoid them, and they will abandon any problem, without even considering the opportunities that it might present.

My friend, Don Hodges, is a contractor.  He would look for properties with structural problems, buy them for a song, fix the problem, and bring it up to code, and then sell the properties for a huge profit.

How was he able to do that?

1)  He would analyze the problem.  If he could solve it, it wasn't a problem.
2)  He would analyze the costs and the return.  If he spent 20,000 dollars buying a property, and another $4,000 in rehab, and $3,000 in closing costs, and he could turn around and sell that improved property for a total of $50,000, he just made a quick $23,000.
3)  If the return was less than he required, he would walk away.  It wouldn't make sense.  Sometimes you will have an advantage of position, and you can take advantage of that.

One time, years ago, my cousin Pam and I found a double wide mobile home that had an:
1)  IRS tax lien
2)  Foreclosure
3)  Double homicide
4)  Divorce
5)  Bankruptcy

When I walked in the back yard, I couldn't see the inground swimming pool from 20 feet away because the weeds were too high.

This property had problems.  What did we do?
1)  We consulted with our attorney and discovered that we could make an offer contingent upon the property being released from the tax lien.  (Consult with your attorney before buying properties with IRS tax liens).  
2)  We could get the property released from the BK, again, we did this through our attorney.
3)  We could rehab the property, and spend less than $5,000 to rehab it.
4)  We could make a profit on the property IF we bought it from the bank at a low enough price.

We walked into the banker's office, and said, "We will offer you 9...."  He said "YES!" before I finished saying $9500, so we left it at $9,000.  This offer was SUBJECT TO all of the liens being released, and the title being pure as driven snow before we would purchase it.

We had to wait 60 more days for the tax lien to be released, but it was worth it.

We sold it and made a profit of over $20,000.  Why?  Because we had specialized knowledge, and knew the steps to take to take a problem that nobody else wanted, and turn it into an opportunity.  (The bank didn't want it, we might have been able to negotiate an even lower offer, but we were happy with the price.)

"Yes, there's a problem, but it's not MY problem"

Sometimes you will do your due diligence, and discover that the problem is bigger, and more expensive, than you had wanted.  If there is not enough return...don't do it. Let me repeat that, if there is a problem, but the solution does not give you a large enough profit...don't do it.

  "Yes, there's a problem, but it's not MY problem." should be your attitude.  The only way to make it worth your while is to have the other party make it worth your while.  

Sometimes they will be unable to do that, and you walk away.  Sometimes, there will be another party that will have to take a loss, and you will have to determine if there is enough profit in the deal to make it worth your while.  If not, walk away.

This one time, a business partner and I were bidding on a property.  An attorney had foreclosed on the house.  We did a cost analysis, and showed him the numbers.  The price that he was asking was too high, but, if he wanted to get rid of the house, we would take it for $25,000.  (We put ten thousand into it, and sold it for $70,000 a few months later.)

The attorney didn't want to hire a crew, and put money out of his pocket to solve the problem.  When we showed him the numbers, he agreed to our offer, and walked away.  

The house was a mess.  It had filthy walls, smelled like dog and cat urine, and was just plain ugly.  We cleaned it up, put in a new HVAC unit, and sold it for a $21,000 profit.  We had a solution, he didn't want to touch it.  If he had refused our offer, we would have walked away.  

Every deal is a bad deal, at the wrong price.  Every deal is a good deal...at the right price.  You must be able to discern what is a great deal, and what is a terrible deal.

You must know your costs.

If you are buying a property, or doing a task at work, you MUST know your costs; in time, effort, and dollars.  If you don't do that, you could lose money on a deal.  I had one client that bought a house, at just below retail, but then spent three months on it, working 10 to 12 hours a day on the project for three months, AND putting it in great condition, and then realized, belatedly, that they had spent more money on the property than they could get out.  They had over-improved the property.  The ONLY way to make money on a property that needs a lot of work...is if you know the solution, and the costs, and can still make a profit on the deal.  (If you don't have the solution, or know the costs, walk away.)

What if you don't know the costs of a project at work?  How many hours will it take to complete?  Will it take you away from your other responsibilities?  Will you be doing this task in your spare time, without compensation?  If you don't know the costs, don't do it.

Take on tasks at work...that nobody else wants to do.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, do the things that nobody else wants to do, and do them well.  When you do that, you have differentiated yourself from the competition, and brought value to the organization.  However, if you do volunteer to do a project...do it well.  If you volunteer, and you do a terrible job, nobody will remember that you went above and beyond to do a task that nobody else wanted to do; they will only remember that you did a bad job, and that you can't be trusted.

When you are taking on these tasks, document what you did, explain how it brought value to the company, have your supervisor acknowledge it, at the time, in writing.  On your next performance review, bring out the documentation, and have that factor into your performance.  If you are thinking of staying with a company, taking on additional tasks is the best way to get ahead.  If you are thinking of leaving in the future, there is no better way to polish a resume than with a series of tasks and projects that brought value to the company.  Don't worry, you will either get paid for your efforts from this employer, or your next one.

Don't take on thankless, impossible tasks that drain your energy, steal your money, and waste your time.

There will be some problems that are impossible to solve, will not be resume enhancing, and will be a complete waste of your time.  Before you commit to a task, do your due diligence to see if you have a solution; AND if the rewards are greater than the risks and the work.  If not, pass.  

Be discerning in taking on new tasks and projects.  If it's a problem, but it's not your problem, what benefits would you need to receive to make it your problem?  If you will not get any benefits, don't waste your time.

In summary, Problems can be a huge opportunity, if you are discerning, analytical, and can find the solution.  However, always have a solution before taking on someone else's problem, and know the risks and rewards before making the offer.

How to get a shy girl to fall in love with you.

Most guys have been rejected by a girl.  For some of us, it happens every day.  However, one of the best ways to get to know a girl is...to get to know her. How do you do that?

Ask her questions.  Most women, especially beautiful women, have been hit on so many times that they have an early warning system for knowing when a guy is just trying to ask them questions to hit on them.  The best way to overcome that is to be genuinely interested, and find her fascinating.

Let me give you an example; I was in an Office Depot to get some printing done, and I saw the most incredibly beautiful girl I had ever seen.  She was there with her mother.  I had two choices.

1)  I could approach her.
2)  I could ignore her.

Obviously I was going to approach her and ask for her number, but how could I do that without seeming like a pickup artist?

I was helpful, and I asked questions.

"Hi, if you are looking to save some time, what might be more helpful is if you did the self help printers over here.  Can I show you how to use these?"  How could anyone take offense when someone is genuinely helpful?

Step 2:  I asked about her needs.  It turns out that she was more interested in having the work done, than in saving time.  Which allowed me to ask additional questions.

Step 3:  Ask open ended questions, to gather a lot of information, and get her to open up about herself.

Step 4:  Ask closed ended questions to clarify the answers in the open ended questions.

Step 5:  Always give verbal cues to keep her talking about herself.  If you genuinely show concern, and find her fascinating, she will find you attractive.  (At least as attractive as you can possibly be.)

Use rewards to increase productivity

Years ago my Aunt Betty was helping me with one of my investment houses.  She said, "Every time that you finish a task, give yourself a break, even if it's only for a minute."  I thought it was good advice, and amplified that a little bit.
Using breaks to become more effective and productive

If you want to increase your productivity, set miniature tasks, and reward yourself after each task.  When you do that, there is nothing that you will do that is too hard, or too long, because you have broken the task down into small, bite sized chunks and you are just going to do a little bit more until...break time!

Give a speech

How to give a great speech, a step by step guide.
How to give a speech.
By Reed Sawyer

At some point, if you are a professional, you will be asked to give a speech.  Don't freak out.  Unless you are incredibly stupid it is possible for you to learn how to give an effective speech.  Politicians do it every day, surely you can too.

Here is how to do it:
1)  Find out the details:  When will the speech be given?  How long will it be?  What is the topic?  Who is my audience?  Why does the audience care?  (If the audience is given to people that are passionate about the topic, it is going to be a lot more fun that if people really don't want to listen to you.)

2)  Write out your speech.  Yes, a lot of people just "wing it" and don't worry about preparing at all.  Those people are the ones that are so full of themselves that they don't care if they are prepared, and they bore everyone that hears them.  They are the people that usually give speeches, and are hated.  A good speech is prepared, written out, and practiced several times before it is actually performed.  It is a communication, and, like most performances, is better when thought is actually put into it.

a)  Who is going to be there?  (This will determine the topic and the tone of your speech?  A speech given to third graders will be a lot different than a speech given to educated professionals).
b)  What is the topic?  This is the reason why they are there.  They want to hear you speak about ______.  What is it?  Why should they care?  If they don't hear your information, what will they lose?  If they do hear your information, how do they gain? How is it relevant to THEIR life?  If you can't articulate that, don't go.

3)  Lose your fear.  The entire audience; the ENTIRE audience is terrified that you are going to be boring.  They WANT you to be funny.  They will laugh at anything that is remotely funny coming out of your mouth.  They are rooting for you, because they have heard too many bad speeches and they desperately want you to be good.  They aren't expecting it, but they want it.

4)  Don't give a speech.  NEVER, EVER, EVER give a speech.  Tell stories.  Nobody wants to hear a speech, but everyone wants to hear a story that they will remember, especially if it is funny.  If you can ask questions (even rhetorical questions) of the audience, it keeps their interest high.  Don't make statements, ask questions.

5)  Keep it simple.  A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.  So, make it simple.  If you have a complicated concept, break it down into simple processes that they can understand on a cellular level.  If you have numbers, toss them out.  Tell a story about how those numbers affect a person.  If you want to do a quantitative analysis, throw that out and replace that with the story of two people, and how it affects their lives. Keep it simple, keep it in a story, and personalize it.

6)  When you introduce yourself, relate to people.  If you are talking to a bunch of parents; YOU are a parent, or you know a parent.  If you are talking to people from a small farming area; YOU are from a small farming area, or you know someone that is from a small farming area.  People like people that are like themselves, be like them.

7)  Don't be stuffy.  Don't speak over the heads of your audience.  acknowledge three or four people in the audience that you met with earlier, and thank them for allowing you to share your stories.  (Never say the word, "speech".)

8)  The mike is your friend.  Choose the hand that will be holding the mike.  With your other hand, extend your thumb, as if you are giving a "thumbs up".  The distance from your nose to the microphone should be distance from the tip of your thumb to the back of your hand.  With your mike hand, practice keeping the same distance each and every time.  Plant your elbow against your chest and practice keeping the microphone at the same distance from your mouth each and every time that you move.  You can use your non-mike hand to wave and gesture, but always keep your mike in the same relative position.  This will keep the volume steady.

9)  Don't keep the volume steady.  When you talk to a friend, you raise and lower the level and pitch of your voice.  Do not be robotic, practice varying the intensity and volume of your voice.

10) A speech is a performance, so perform.  Be interesting.  Be demonstrative.  Mention people in the audience, ask them to stand up, acknowledge them and include them into your stories, if possible.  

11)  "Tell people what you are going to say, tell them, then tell them what you said" is the ancient advice for speeches.  Here is a modification.  Tell people how what you are going to say is RELEVANT to them.  If it's not relevant, they don't care.  When you include them in the process, and it's about THEM, they will listen all day long.

From Thug to Tycoon

From Thug to Tycoon
by Reed Sawyer

There is a HUGE injustice in this country.  Young black males have a 46% unemployment rate...and it's not getting better anytime soon.  Before we start protesting, let's examine how to reduce that unemployment statistic by at least one person...YOU.


If you are young, black, and male, your chances of being hired are very small.  How can we change that?  First, let's realize that a boss DOES NOT have to hire you.  He will hire you IF and ONLY IF you make money for his company in excess of your costs.  If you have potential liabilities that would cost him money, he would rather poke himself in the eye first.


So, what can you do?
Let's examine your assets, and your liabilities, and let's readjust them so that your liabilities are now assets.  Can we do that?
Your anger:  Anger is nothing more than badly focused energy.  What makes you angry?  Is it being poor?  Ok, then let's make some money.  Your anger, or energy, needs to be focused on things that put money into your pocket.
The easiest job to get is the one that nobody wants...sales.  If you can sell, you can make as much money as you deserve.  It is not about your hours, but about your production.
How can you increase your sales production?
1)  Don't scare your customers.  If you are going to talk to people on the phone, you have to be articulate, eloquent, and prepared.  That means that if you have a heavy street accent, it might be time to take elocution and diction lessons so that you don't sound like a gangbanger.  What are the best resources?  Look to SNIROL.com for more information on our guaranteed speech performance tools to make you sound great.
2)  Don't scare your customers.  If you are going to meet people, you have to be dressed professionally.  Baggy pants are out.  Khakis are in.
3)  Don't scare your customers.  If you are going to meet people, you must be well groomed.  Cover up your tattoos.  Shave off your facial hair.  (10% of all customers will be afraid of people with facial hair.  10% of people will be afraid of people with tattoos.  10% of people will be afraid of people that are bald.  10% of people will be afraid of people with gold teeth.  10% of people will be afraid of people with a thick accent.  10% of people will be afraid of people that make fast movements and use their hands in an aggressive manner. If 60% of the potential customers are afraid of you, you are working too hard.  You have to ask yourself, what do you care about more?  Looking like a gangster?  Or making money.
Lose the flash, Grab the cash.

How else can you make money?  Time management is an essential part of any entrepreneur/success process.  Your goal is to be focused, without distractions, and  plan your time so that when you are selling, you aren't losing sales.  (All it takes to lose a sale is to have someone ask a question that you don't know the answer...and you don't know how to respond.  By the way, the best way to handle that situation is to answer, "That's a great question!  I don't hear that every day.  In fact, it's the first time that anyone has asked that question.  I compliment you on asking such an intelligent question.  Let me research that and get back to you...in the meantime, are there any other questions that would stop you from going forward on this today?  You know, why don't we move forward, for all of the obvious reasons.  Please sign here."

Incremental Revenue...a.k.a. "Vacation money"

Incremental Revenue...aka "vacation money"
by Reed Sawyer

When I was growing up, we had an RV park.  During the winter time, we had more campers than sites, so we would allow them to park around our house for the few months that we were overflowing.  Since our house was on the golf course, it was a very desirable site.

I hated it.  I hated looking out my window and seeing people staring in at me.  I kept the curtains shut, and I complained to my Aunt Betty about it.  (She was one of the partners in the RV park business).  "Why do we have to have those stupid campers outside of my windows?  I hate it."

My Aunt Betty was wise, and she said, "Reed, you're looking at it all wrong.  All of the fixed costs of the park have already been paid for, we didn't have to spend any more money developing those lots.  The ONLY cost that we have is for water and electricity, and those are minimal.  This is VACATION MONEY."

Once she articulated it like that, I loved it.  I wanted us to get more campers around our houses.

Let's examine what incremental revenue is:  Incremental revenue is revenue that comes in addition to your regular revenue, but without additional variable costs (or very minimal costs).  The fixed costs have already been paid, your variable costs are low, and the incremental revenue is almost pure profit.  It is "VACATION MONEY".

Is there any way that your business can develop additional incremental revenue?  What processes, space, advantages does your business have that it isn't using all the time that people need?  Can you create some incremental revenue streams from unused capacity?

If you are a bar/restaurant owner:  Do you have a slow night of the week that is underutilized?  Can you contact insurance companies, car dealerships, any sales organization and offer to let them use a meeting room, FOR FREE, on that night?  (What will they do?  They will probably all eat a meal, have a few drinks, and you might even have them start thinking of the restaurant as "their place" and start coming back more frequently.)  What is your cost?  Nothing.  You already had that room available.  What is your possible incremental revenue?  Possibly an average of $10 per head, minimum.  If you have 20 extra customers per week, on your slowest night, will that give you more "heat" and bring in more customers?
Can you sell advertising space on your menu?  Can you talk to every business in a one mile radius and see if you can deliver sandwiches daily?  Weekly?  Can you give the business owners a 20% discount on their morning coffee and pastry? Can you arrange with the business owners to have celebratory dinners at your restaurant, on slow nights, at a discount?

If you are a commercial dry cleaner:  Do you have large washers and dryers?  Can you do napkins and tablecloths for restaurants?  Can you do shirt laundry for a car dealership/body shop?  If you have excess time in the day where your machines are not running, can you find a company that needs to have their uniforms washed daily?  What should you charge?  Whatever you can get, but your fixed costs and variable costs are already paid, this is pure profit.
Can you offer an expedited service, for a premium?  If someone wants a garment cleaned in an hour, can you do it?  (If your boilers are still on and you have your crew available?)  Can you offer premium service, for a little bit extra?
Can you wash welcome mats for businesses?  (Most welcome mats are too big for a normal washing machine, you have a unique advantage over the small machines.)  What is your cost of doing them?  (Remember that you don't have to press or dry the mats.)  Can you use that as an intro to doing uniform laundry?

If you have public restrooms with lots of traffic:  Can you do advertisements in your bathroom over the urinals?  (What is your cost for a small advertising display case?  If you charged $20 a month, would you recoup your costs in the first month?)

If you have lots of foot traffic, and excess space:  Can you offer storage lockers?  How quickly would you recoup your money?  When the people come back to your store, can you upsell them into another purchase?
Can you have a soda cooler next to the cash registers?  People will pay premium for convenience items made on impulse.  Can you have high impulse items there as well?

If you have a service business:  Can you offer seasonal checkups (air conditioners, water heaters, appliances, etc...) for a nominal fee?  (If they need repairs, you are almost guaranteed to get the work.)

If you have enough "incremental revenue" sources, would that help your business?  Would that "vacation money" make your business more profitable, and make it easier to sell when you are ready to sell?

Can you brainstorm and find a dozen different incremental revenue sources that are untapped, and make those available?  When you let your customers know that you have "off the menu" choices and services available, and let them know that you are there to help them with ANY of their needs, you might just pick up additional ideas, and additional revenue.

Keep your core business healthy, but utilize excess capacity, space, resources for incremental revenue, and watch your profits soar.

How to increase your business revenue, profits, and value.
by Reed Sawyer

Nikon Coolpix L810 16MP 26X Optical Zoom Black Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad)
One of the best ways to increase your business volume is to have an event.  When I was a mortgage broker out in Colorado, we would do an event every month.  We would offer free hot dogs or pizza, a bouncy tent for the kids, and we would offer great rates for a refinance.  The amount of business that we would get from those events would be two thirds of our revenue for the month.

A friend of mine has a barbecue place in Apopka.  Every Thursday night he has a biker night with live music, hot waitresses, and the best barbecue in the city.  It draws hundreds of people, and it brings in new customers, that he then converts into repeat customers.

I was the director of Marketing for a Sewing and Vacuum shop.  We had a seminar for a Stabilizer company (The fabric that embroidery is sewn on so that it doesn't bunch up after washing).  We pushed it hard, and had three classes, bringing in people that had never heard of our business before, and doing a huge volume.

What exactly is an event?

An event is something that draws new people to your store/business, and gets them to spend money that they would not ordinarily spend.

What are examples of an "event".
1)  Do a promotion with a radio show to offer a special sale.
2)  Do a promotion with outside food and beverage (if you are not a restaurant).  An example would be a car dealership offering free hot dogs and sodas to people on a Saturday.
3)  Do a seminar.  It doesn't even have to be something that you are giving, you could find a business that needs to promote their business, and you have the space, chairs, or tables to provide a seminar space.  In that event, you can promote the event, without a lot of cost, and bring people in to your business that might not ever visit your store.
4)  Have a musician play at your location.  (This works best for bars and restaurants, but I have also seen it for retail stores.)
5)  Have complimentary businesses, do a co-op event with you.  Each of  the businesses markets to your own customers/clients, and bring people to the event.
6)  Have a promotional model come in (Pretty girls are the best), Do give-aways, coupons, and discounts and make it fun.

How do you attract new customers to your business?

The best way is to reach them through your current customers.  Do a fishbowl, gather email addresses and tell people the BIG NEWS about your upcoming promotion.  What's in it for them?  Why would they want to come?

The next best way to do this is to advertise.  I would suggest a co-op marketing campaign where you find neighboring businesses (non-competitive) that would like to have more business, and do a co-op advertising campaign to keep the cost of advertising per business low.

Another way to bring in customers is through a newsletter/blog/facebook/social media outlet.  If you are skilled in creating exciting and interesting posts, invite people to come to your event, and give them a coupon or gift for attending.

Do's and Don'ts for an event:
1)  Do know your costs.  For advertising, speaker fees, premiums, everything that you will be spending money on, you must know the costs ahead of time, or you could grow your business into bankruptcy.  If you have a 10% profit margin, you must get at least 10 dollars in new revenue for every dollar that you spend.
2)  Do have a REASON for the promotion.  Why would anyone want to come?  If it is not compelling enough, make it compelling, or don't do it.
3)  Do have a way to track attendance, sales, and profits, so that you can decide if you want to do it again.  If you are not tracking your advertising dollars, you are wasting your money.  Every person that comes into the store should be asked, nicely, "By the way, how did you hear of us?"  That response should be noted, and put into a spreadsheet.  List the source of the lead, the amount purchased, and the quality of the customer.  (How often do they come in?  How much do they typically buy?  Are they a good customer?)Olympus Tg320 14Mp Digital Camera (Google Affiliate Ad)

Power2Negotiate, Reed Sawyer: Angel Elizabeth Hall is a hero of mine. Why...

Power2Negotiate, Reed Sawyer:





Angel Elizabeth Hall is a hero of mine. Why...: "Angel Elizabeth Hall is a hero of mine. Why is Angel Elizabeth Hall a hero? Because she has no fear. She always is honest, has inte..."

Power2Negotiate, Reed Sawyer: Find a job or create a job

Power2Negotiate, Reed Sawyer: Find a job or create a job: " In the past, if you were out of work, you looked to employers to hire you for a job. Those days are gone. With the 'Kill Granny' bill i..."

Find a job or create a job

  

In the past, if you were out of work, you looked to employers to hire you for a job.  Those days are gone.  With the "Kill Granny" bill in place, putting more restrictions on employers, and creating a sense of uncertainty and fear (that is well deserved, as the White House makes it more difficult every day for employers to stay in business), it is time for a new solution.

Find or create your own job.  In the brilliant movie, "Robots" with Robin Williams, the Mel Brooks character says, "Find a need...fill a need."  

There has never been a better time to create your own business.  

Why?

Because business owners, and customers, still have needs.  Instead of keeping employees, that would be underutilized, they have a need for a small company that is lean and efficient to provide those services.  They will still pay for the services, but it saves them money, because they don't have to pay benefits, and worry about the overhead of an employee to perform those services.

In other words, the needs to have services performed remains...but there is no one to fulfill that service...except you.

How do you get started?  

Let's take a look at your resources:

Do you have a lot of money?  No?  Perhaps you want to broker services, rather than doing them yourself.  (Example:  If you find a great artist, that does exceptionally well at his art, but doesn't have time to market, ask if he would like more business.  Then find clients that need artwork done.  Negotiate (ahead of time) for how you will be paid.  I typically advise 10 to 20% commission is acceptable.  Get a signed agreement with the service provider that they will pay you for all deals that you bring them, and then negotiate with the prospect, on the artists letterhead, for the business.  

What are your costs?  Time and effort.  What risks do you have?  None, because the artist is solely responsible for the quality of their work.  (Having someone sign a non-circumvention agreement is nice, but if they won't honor their contracts, they will fight you with a NCA). 

Let's look at it from the artists viewpoint:  The hardest thing in the world is to bring in new business.  If you can create a revenue stream, they will love you.  I would, of course, have the payment go through me, and cut a check to the artist when the job is complete.  

When you do this, you control the money flow.  You can also view yourself as a business services broker, and use the services of several artists, rather than just one.  (This also gives you leverage in a negotiation, so that the artist doesn't circumvent you, and negotiate directly with the customer.)

What other things can  you do with no money?  Besides brokering services, you can use your talents, such as web site creation, as a sub contractor, or a contractor to a customer.  If you can combine your technical skills with finding customers, you can have a stable of other service providers that look to you for jobs, and  you take a small commission for each deal.

If you do this, you don't need a lot of money to get started.  Please get all county and state licenses and permits before starting, because you want to  make sure that you are legally able to receive checks.  Also, make sure to start a business checking account, so that you can receive checks for your business.

Reed Sawyer, Director of Information Services

It is possible to start your own small business, even if you have no skills, capital, or connections, all you have to do is ask enough people what their needs are...and then fill those needs.

Angel Hall is the most beautiful woman in the world

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall is a public speaker/saleswoman/spokesmodel that has a unique outlook on life. Angel Hall has risen from obscurity to become one of the best salespeople in Central Florida. Angel Hall is also a mother, and she works hard every day to create a loving environment for her children.

What is Angel Hall like as a friend? She is always fun, honest, and giving. Angel Hall makes everyone around her a better person.

Angel Hall is not perfect. She does, however, have a great heart, and works to be the best person that she can.

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall

Angel Hall is also a very smart business person. She has invented an automotive package that will appeal directly to women that are independent, and own their own cars. Angel Hall has said that she doesn't want to have to wait on a man to fix her car if she can do it herself.

If you are looking to hire a public speaker that has a motivating and encouraging message to all young girls, then you should consider Angel Hall.

I have known Angel Hall for years, and have been her business partner in a television production.  Her common sense insights and inventive suggestions helped to create a great business model that worked.

Angel Hall is the most beautiful, charming, and fun person in the world.

Angel Elizabeth Hall is a hero of mine. Why is Angel Elizabeth Hall a hero? Because she has no fear. She always is honest, has integrity, and will never stop working to accomplish what she needs to do for her kids.

Recently, she wanted to help her foster sister change her look by dying her hair. Angel didn't know how to do the color job, but she wasn't afraid. She researched, talked with experts, and did a great job. There is nothing that Angel Elizabeth Hall can't do.






Angel Elizabeth Hall is also one of the smartest people that I know. I always trust her opinion, and respect her ideas.

She also is the best salesperson that I know, and could sell anything.

She always cares about her kids, and she is a great mom. I am thankful that I have known her in my life.

Brainstorm Capital Group

What is Brainstorm Capital Group? Brainstorm Capital Group is a boutique venture capital firm that combines investors with inventors...and Brainstorm Capital Group provides the marketing and business expertise to change ideas to cash.

How does Brainstorm Capital Group do this? Every other Thursday night we host a free megamind teleconference that is overflowing with ideas. We have money men, idea men, and business men that are interested in taking their idea, and making a business.

However, not all people want to start a business, or have the expertise necessary to translate a great idea into a great business. This is where Brainstorm Capital Group comes in.

We are serial entrepreneurs. We know how to start a small business, market it, and sell products, without using traditional marketing means. What does this mean to you? If you are an inventor, we are able to bring your product to market at lower costs, which means higher profits for all.

If you are an investor, Brainstorm Capital Group is able to bring the products to market at a lower cost so that your investment is safer, and the profits are more likely to happen.

It is all about keeping costs low, and having the maximum amount of sales. Why not choose Brainstorm Capital Group to get your ideas converted to cash? No one does it better than Brainstorm Capital Group.

Starting your business with NO MONEY

A lot of people have ideas about having their own business, but they are discouraged because they think that they have no money. What they don't realize, is that they are entirely mistaken. They just have a different kind of capital.

Jeff Reibman, an outstanding sales manager, wanted to start a vacation club membership company. In doing the research, he discovered that he could do it, if he cut corners, for about $10,000. Unfortunately, he didn't have $10,000. What he did have, however, was a contact manager with people that he had made rich. He contacted one of these, pitched the idea, with a marketing concept that was unique, and got an offer of not just $10,000, but $15,000 to start the company.

What did he do?

1) He established a business plan, on the back of an Alehouse napkin.
2) He established a marketing approach that was viable.
3) He had done the research to discover the costs, and he had all of the information that he needed to know what the ROI and profit would be, based upon certain assumptions.
4) He made contact with people that he had already made rich, and shared the plan with them.

It was step #4 that was his "capital". He had already established a trust with these people, and they knew that they could depend upon him in the future, because he had already made money for them in the past.

My family had an RV park. It was filled during the winter time, but the summer months were slow. The only way that we could survive was to expand to enough sites so that our winter business would hold us over through the summer. We created the plans, established the costs, got the permits, and were ready to move forward except for one small thing. We didn't have the money.

What did we do? We went conventional and had three banks come out to the headquarters and give us bids. After we had selected a bank and gotten the money, my dad said, "I wonder if we could do that in a different way?"

We had retirees that stayed with us all year, paying 6 months of full rent, and when they were gone, six months of on site storage. We sent out a letter asking them if they would like to get a return on their money of 8% (bank rates were also 8%) by paying their full year rental up front, and we would give them a discount. We had so many campers send us their full year rent, that we were able to pay off the bank loan in two months, and we used that alternative financing technique for each expansion after that.

What untapped capital do you have? Do you have receivables? Do you have goodwill that you have established over time? Do you have skill sets that are valuable? Do you have a marketing idea? What assets do you have that you can covert to capital?

What if you have NO cash, NO skill sets, and NO goodwill established over several years? Can you be a broker?

Let's say that you want to be a print broker. You go to a print shop that does good work and negotiate to get discounts for work that you bring in. Then you start calling and knocking on doors. If you go out and hustle, you can find businesses that need work done, and if you can close the sale, you can write it up, take it to the printer, have the work done, and get paid by the customer. Your profit is the difference between what the printer charges, and what the customer paid. (Negotiating is critical in this process.)

The margins might be slim at the start, but as you start doing more volume, and establish a "book of business" your profits will rise.

What other businesses can you broker?

Don't let capital stop you from being a capitalist. Use your imagination and hard work to create your own capital.

Time management cheats

Every person has 24 hours in each day. We all have the same amount of time, however, some people are much more productive than others. How do they do it? Are there any time management "cheats" that can help you accomplish more that you did before?

Of course there are.

1) Make a list.
One of the best ways to get things done, is to know what you want to do. The old Franklin Covey system is what I use. Each night, just before you go to bed, have a notebook and jot down the things that you want to do the next day. Then, while you are sleeping, your subconscious can be thinking of this, instead of dreaming about baseball. In the morning, BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF BED, write down your list, by priority. Then start attacking that list. If you can accomplish most of the items on the list first, then the rest of the day will be easy.

2) What do you do first? Franklin Covey has four categories.

Urgent AND Important
Urgent but not important
Not urgent but important
Not urgent and not important

Use these four categories, and diligently strive to fit each item that you need to do into one of these four categories. Obviously, there will be some items that you might not be able to complete in one day, so do chunks of them on one day, and have the remainder move to following days.

3) Cross them off your list as you complete them. My Aunt Betty used to always celebrate after she had accomplished something on her list. (Maybe it was a drink of water, a treat, or sitting down and taking a break, it didn't have to be big.)

If you reward yourself after you accomplish each task, it will be seen as a positive accomplishment, and you will want to do more. If you don't celebrate, it will be seen as a chore, and you will avoid doing it. Celebrate!

4) CITO: If you have a business where you are making appointment, always strive for CITO, come in to the office. If you have a queue of people that are waiting in your lobby, and you take care of them one after another, that beats going to THEIR home or office and waiting for them. If someone no shows, you can work on your previous clients work while waiting for your next client to arrive. You should always have backup items on your list. If you have a gap in your schedule, work on that list. (Remember #1 and #2? This is where you can work on the urgent but not important, or the important but not urgent. Or even the not important, not urgent items.)

5) Schedule half hour meetings, instead of one hour meetings. If you have a half hour meeting, you will launch into the meeting quickly, and waste a lot less time. If you absolutely have to extend the meeting, you may do so, as long as it doesn't inconvenience anyone else.

Always be respectful of other people's time. (If you schedule half hour meetings by saying, "I have an opening between 3:00 and 3:30, I am then booked the rest of the day. If you want to meet, please be punctual, as I am very interested in your situation, and I want to make sure that we resolve it. If you show up after 3:30, of course I will not be available.)

If your client shows up late, reschedule, do NOT bump someone that showed up on time to see someone that didn't. If they complain that they drove a great distance, explain that you had an opening; they missed it.

You can reschedule, but you shouldn't bump people that showed up on time for someone that didn't. Be polite, but firm. If they are late, they just learned a lesson. If you accomodate them, they will be late again.

Never bend your rules for people that don't obey them. (If you have a gap in your schedule in an hour, explain that you are booked, but you have an opening at 5:30 to 6:00. would they like to reschedule for that time, but you have another appointment at 6, so please be punctual.

6) Establish rapport quickly, and then ask this question, "Can you tell me a little bit about your situation?" I also use, "I don't know if I can help you, but I know how to find out. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

You can also explain the process. "Let me tell you about how we work here. I will ask you a few questions to determine exactly what your situation is. Some of these are going to seem to be personal, but I need this information to help determine how to help you. Is that ok?"

By asking permission before you ask personal questions, and waiting for a positive answer, you will find that most people will be more than happy to answer any question that you have, if you give them a reason for the question first, and ask if it's ok.

7) Use open ended questions and closed ended questions. Open ended questions, such as, "Can you tell me a little bit about your situation" gather large amounts of information. It is free flowing and unstructured.

You must then clarify with a closed ended question, such as, "So you are looking to buy a house and need a mortgage?" By alternating open ended and closed ended questions you can guide the client through an interview quickly and painlessly. By listening, and writing notes, you can use intense listening skills to quickly establish the goal, and arrive at solutions.

8) Always clarify. "So, if I'm understanding you, what you want to do is...." If you know where they want to go, it is much easier to help them get there. If you are misunderstanding them, make sure that you clarify and find out exactly what their needs are, so that you aren't wasting their time.

9) If action is to be taken, make sure that you both agree on an action plan. Delegate who will do which actions, what needs to be done before that action is taken, and the expected results. You have just completed a tentative purchase order, which you can now fulfill. If they need to bring more money, or to pay for the service, spell out their responsibilities at this time, so that you can move forward. DON'T make them guess, tell them what you are proposing, and the cost. If you do this skillfully, they will not feel that they have been sold, but that you have discovered their needs, and you are a valued professional.

10) Make your goodbyes into future appointments. At the end of your session, shake their hand, and schedule an appointment for the next step. At that time, certain things will have been accomplished by both sides.

11) NEXT! After you are finished, walk them out, and greet your next clients. Do not chat for half an hour. They are busy (you have given them a list of the things that they need to do, and you have items that you have to accomplish as well.) Now you can greet your next clients.

If you have time (make sure that you do by structuring the appointment correctly), write down a proposal for how you are going to solve that clients needs, what steps you will need to take, and the timeline to accomplish them, before you greet your next client. If you only have a half hour for each client, allow yourself 5 minutes to accomplish this task. Do this while their meeting is still fresh on your mind, and you know exactly what their problem is. It will be easier now than at any other time.

12) Schedule your decompression time. If you want to just relax, schedule it. If you are married, have scheduled time with your spouse to make her feel loved and cherished. Don't let anyone violate that scheduled time. If you make her feel loved and cherished, you will find that it will be returned. If you make her feel that she is less valuable than a client, she will be upset. Make her feel cherished. If someone calls, allow the call to go to voicemail.

13) Schedule your day in half hour blocks, and keep track of your schedule. I was a mentor with a company, and our day was scheduled in half hour blocks. I followed that schedule religiously, and was able to accomplish more than I ever had before, because I used that tool to help be more productive. Use the tools that you have to be a dynamic and productive time management professional.

14) Be flexible, but use your tools wisely. Situations change, but don't abandon your schedule just because of a change. It should serve you, not be your master.

If you are a rigorous time management expert, and use all of the tools available to you, you will discover that you will have a drastic increase in your productivity, as well as your available time, that you can use as you wish. Don't waste time, you only have a fixed amount, it is up to you how you will use it.

Risks and rewards

Risk and Reward
By Reed Sawyer

Every transaction involves risk and reward. If you sign up for a new cellphone, you are taking the risk that: A) the cell phone will work. B) The network will be reliable, and C) that your information won’t be stolen by someone else because the network is insecure. Why do you buy? Because you believe that the risks are outweighed by the rewards. If you didn’t believe that, you would never buy a product.
Since the fear of pain is always greater than the desire for gain, eliminating risks or minimizing risks is a more effective sales tool than emphasizing rewards. In other words, you must acknowledge the risks, address them, and minimize them before you tell about the benefits.
How do we do that?
1) Realize that there are always subconscious fears that lurk underneath the surface in a sales presentation. If you can bring those out, and eliminate them by giving information and asking questions, you can remove the risks.
a) You can’t tell someone that there are no risks. Instead, bring out the most commonly perceived risks and ask questions to impart information and the client will remove those risks. (If I tell you something, it might be a lie. If you tell me, it is always the truth, according to you. Let them be the truth teller here and have them eliminate the risks by answering your questions.)

Here is an example: By using a vacation club membership, you can save multiple thousands of dollars over the course of your membership. What are the perceived risks? It might be out of business in a year. State that it has had the same address and phone number for the last 30 years, and ask the client if they feel comfortable with a business that has kept the same phone number and address for 30 years? Is that an indication that they are stable? Does that indicate that they will be around for a long time, if they have been around for a long time already?

By giving a factual statement, and then asking the client to interpret that, you are having them validate the truth. If they say that they feel very comfortable with the fact that it has had the same address and phone number for 30 years, you have eliminated that nagging doubt. After all, they said it, so it must be true.

2) Ask if there are any other concerns? If you do this in a sympathetic manner, they will not feel that you are using high pressure tactics, but that you are trying to help them be an informed consumer. If there are no other concerns, try a trial close. “Are there any other concerns that would stop you from taking action today?” Then…shut up and listen. If you keep talking they will use your talking to stall. If you shut up, they will answer, hopefully with another objection. If they don’t have any objections, you will then need to discern if they are ready to proceed, or if your benefits are large enough to overcome their buying process objection (no one wants to be sold, but everyone wants to buy.)
3) If they raise an objection, simply do the backtrack, conditional close technique. Use their exact words of their objection, (“the price is too high”) and phrase it in the form of a question, “So, the price is too high? Assuming we can deal with that, are there any other objections?” Since most people have a processorial objection to any closing, they might have just thrown out an objection without thinking of it. By using their exact words, in the form of a question, they are hearing their own voice raise the objection. If it sounds silly to them, you can just go past it and move on. You haven’t lowered the price, you have handled the objection. If price really is the objection, raise the benefits, do not lower the price. This is a conditional close opportunity, and you can move forward with it.

By getting the risks taken care of first, you eliminate that fear, and allow the benefits to be larger than the costs. If you don’t manage the risks, they will be unsettling and cause a lost sale.

Risk reversal:
Risk reversal is taking the risk out of the equation for the buyer, so that there is NO risk to him, and all of the risk is assumed by you.

Example: "You must experience 100% satisfaction with this mattress, or we will give you back your money, and give you $20 for your trouble."

Why would you do a risk reversal, (Get Jay Abraham's book, "Getting Everything you can out of all you've got" for more information)? To completely remove the risk from the buyer so that there is no reason for them to not purchase.

Are there other risk reversal techniques?

What about: "If you are not satisfied within the first two weeks, return this item to the store for a full refund."

"You will experience a 20% improvement in your sex life after trying these pills, or you can return the unused portion and get all of your money back."

"This will be the best listening experience you have ever had in a portable sound system, or you can return it within 30 days and get a complete refund."

What you are doing is letting the buyer know that they don't have anything to lose. They have no risk. Now, if you have a great product, you will always have some people that return it, no matter how great the product is; however, since your volume will be increased so much, it is worth it for the small returns that you will have.

If you have a terrible product, and you know that it will make people unhappy, a risk reversal technique is a terrible idea, because people will demand their money back, and/or put you out of business.