7 Steps to eCommerce Success

I work with a lot of start-up business owners and during the initial entrepreneurial stages, the emphasis is usually on planning, product development, establishing markets, gathering resources and attracting the right people. When it actually comes time to hang out the OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign, it's not uncommon to see some very key elements missing ---such as the actual operational infrastructure of the business, for instance. The following are necessary tools you'll want to have in place to not only be taken seriously as a business owner who conducts business online but to also be able to systematize and scale your online operations for growth.

1. Protect your IP--Register all corresponding domain names.
Secure any domain name related to you, your company and your products at Snagadomain.com . You may have a vanity site with all your Company info and links but it could be more profitable to also put your main products on their own mini-sites or landing pages. Spreading your name around the internet helps to create a bigger footprint.

2. Establish an online presence conducive to selling
Most people put up a website that does everything but inspire people to buy. Wherever your product is being sold should have a strong, clear call to action without other distractions. It should also establish your credibility within seconds AND have an opt-in area with a compelling free offer in exchange for your visitor's contact info.

3. Use a shopping cart with autoresponder.
Your product catalog should be loaded onto an online shopping cart so people can browse then click to buy in 1-2 easy steps. Even more importantly, you want to be able to follow up with automated (autoresponder) marketing messages to your customers and prospects to inspire them to buy more frequently and to refer. The #1 Shopping Cart with autoresponder I recommend to get you started is Kickstart Cart(1ShoppingCart) . I've had multiple accounts for years and it's served me well! Digital orders are processed and shipped to the customer automtaically. Services can be performed without have to worry about collecting fees. Physical product orders can go directly to whomever is doing your fullfillment and shipping.

4. Sign up for a professional merchant account.
You can use PayPal to process money transactions online but I recommend signing up for a bank backed merchant account to establish a more professional presence. It also happens to be more cost effective in the long term. My husband, Michael Murdock, offers wholesale merchant accounts with discount fees starting at 1.59% (PayPal fees average 3.5%). Contact him at murdock@docmurdock.com for details. Your merchant account will then be connected to your shopping cart for complete automation. Orders are processed and money appears quickly in your bank account.

5. Optimize your website so your customers can find you
Once you've set up your eCommerce site, make sure you've physically submitted it to the search engines like Yahoo and Google. More specifically, if you've researched and are using the most appropriate keywords for your product, people can more easily find you when searching online for your product category. You may have a great product but it won't really matter if no one can find you. Michael is an SEO expert and offers FREE info about this at Docmurdock.com .

6. Follow-up with ongoing email communication
Your prospective customers may not buy on their first visit so frequency is important to establish a connection until they ultimately make a purchase or at least tell others about you. The easiest way to do this is with a pre-planned email or video campaign. It should start the moment they make a purchase or give you their contact info and continue for as long as they're on your list. You can dramatically change your conversions with the proper follow-up.

7. Use measurement tools to track your results
There are many strategies you'll want to employ for traffic generation, sales conversions, and copywriting. You'll find that even the smallest change to your website or marketing strategy can produce big results. Google Analytics is a great first step and one of the many tools you can use for monitoring website visitors, page views, conversions, etc.

Join Maria's Abundance Mastermind Group call on 7/21 @ 12pm pacific and learn specific steps to creating a successful eCommerce presence. Get 2 months FR^EE when you purchase her eBook at http://www.passion2prosperitybook.com

One of my favorite OFFLINE marketing strategies

I'm heading out for a little R & R this weekend--hope you are too-- and I wanted to get this important announcement out to you before I take off:

Launching some aspect of your business using online marketing strategies is one of the fastest and most cost effective ways to get into revenue and to quickly build a following-- it's one of the key elements of our Protégé Program.

When it comes to OFFLINE marketing, however, one of my favorite strategies is the use of (in-store) live events and product launches. They're especially effective if you're just starting out or have a limited marketing budget! They produce instant connection to your market, offer plenty of media opportunities, quick revenue and so much more.

LIVE EVENTS & APPEARANCES can be organized at almost any venue, for any industry, for virtually zero up-front marketing costs and can be easily duplicated.

In my next ABUNDANCE MASTERMIND GROUP call scheduled for Tuesday, June 16th, at 12pm pacific, I'll share specifics of :

*How to create a live event that positions you in front of your perfect target market.

*How to determine the best venue and pay ZERO for the event.

*How to get thousands of dollars worth of fr*ee media and marketing exposure.

*How to recreate the event for ongoing national exposure.

*How to leverage each event to get contracts for new business.

*How to use the event to beings tons of new visitors to your website or store.

Each event I've organized has produced thousands in immediate revenue and the goodwill, media exposure and ongoing traffic to my websites continues on MANY MONTHS after the event.

If you're currently a Member in good standing, you'll be sent specific details. If you'd like to join this event for FR*EE, simply purchase my Passion 2 Prosperity ebook at http://passion2prosperitybook.com and you'll receive 2 MONTHS FR*EE
in my Abundance Mastermind Group which includes Tuesday's session!

The value of this gift is $150 but you'll join me as my guest for 2 MONTHS by simply making a purchase...and a portion of all ebook sales goes to the local Food Bank.

Maria Simone is a speaker, author, and transformational business strategist who helps entrepreneurs and services professionals with "next steps" in creating 6 and 7 figure businesses.
http://passion2prosperity.com

CEO Space: a life changing experience AND a free cruise

We all have turning points in our life and I wanted to share one of mine...

Over ten years ago I wanted to completely transition from my profession into my own business.
I had already started and sold ONE profitable business by then but the process had been a struggle and I knew for sure I'd want to have more critical resources next time around:
Influencers who could open doors, industry experts to mentor me, the most current entrepreneurial skills, and access to funding.

Mama didn't raise no fool. There was no reason to go without these things again and have to work way too hard to achieve my goals. The second time around in business, I was committed to having an easier time of it.
I knew the WHAT I wanted, but how and where to find all these resources in time was my challenge back then.

Someone mentioned joining a group called CEO Space and I hesitated thinking it was just a seminar and "another one of those". I was VERY wrong.

I finally took a chance and attended their Free Enterprise Forum which turned out to be a life changing experience for me...and could be for you too!

The experience was like strapping a rocket to my business ventures and the ongoing benefits have been sustaining.

CEO Space is not a seminar--- it's a life-time membership in a cooperative group of incredible thought leaders and CEO's who all commit to helping each other succeed.
When you attend a week-long Forum, you're DOING business, not just being lectured or sold to non-stop.
Meals are structured working sessions where partnerships are formed, mentoring takes place, and investors review projects.

My results were dramatic... Within 6 weeks of joining I retired from my profession, created new income streams that completely replaced my salary,
acquired wonderful new customers for my consulting business, replaced all toxic relationships with an incredible support team & connected with a number of investors.

***If you're not a member right now, I STRONGLY encourage you ---from the bottom of my heart --- to consider joining CEO Space! ***

Could you use similar resources to accelerate your business to the next level in this current economy?

There are dozens of benefits to joining CEO Space and here are my recommended next steps to get the full picture:

1. Contact CEO Space Regional Director, Kehau Kali, for a list of all current benefits of membership (huge list) and to get plugged into your local free chapters. kehau@ceospacehawaii.com or call 808-342-0375.
(Let Kehau know I referred you to receive a gift I put aside for you valued at over $650)

2. Go to http://ceospace.net and scroll down to watch the most current video overview.
If you have any doubts that what you're watching is REAL...believe me, it's real!

3. Suspend any thoughts about whether you can afford this. Most entrepreneurs these days CAN'T afford NOT to. They have complimentary programs to help you acquire the resources you need....just ask Kehau

Contact Kehau before June 15th and you'll be eligible for one of the FREE Caribbean Cruises they're giving away. Next event is in Las Vegas the week of July 20th. I'll be there supporting the participants as a mentor. Join me!

Maria Simone helps those who want to transform their talents to create 6 and 7 figure businesses using these sequencing steps. Learn more at http://www.passion2prosperity.com/

7 Steps To Create The Business of Your Dreams, Part II

Planning and launching a successful business calls for many elements to be aligned including, vision, planning commitment, etc. There’s a sequence of events that lends itself to success in our Free Enterprise system and if you follow them, you can dramatically improve your chances of success. In my last issue I wrote about the first 4 steps you want to take when organizing or launching a new business. Here are the next 3 steps to consider. If you’re in business now and feeling stuck about moving forward or feel like you “own a job”, be sure to look over all these steps, including Part I, to see if you’ve covered all the bases.

Also know that I’m a big advocate of getting your ideas out there ASAP as opposed to being perfect first. Following these guidelines will help you get out there quickly, yet with the least amount of risk.

5. Set-up your DISTRIBUTION/OPERATIONS.
The WHERE your product will be sold will determine WHAT it will look like. Before you commit to product development (beyond the prototype and testing phase with the final product) make sure you take the time to set up your distribution channels and logistics. Who will be buying or selling your product? This also includes all the nuances of storage, ordering, shipping, backend support, etc. If you don’t set up some infrastructure, systems and sales channels first, you run the risk of implosion if you aren’t scalable or if you allow operational chaos. This is common in small businesses when the Founder/ CEO manages too much responsibility and doesn’t have the ability to delegate to others because there aren’t systems set up. You’ll also see this in businesses that focus on making product which just sits there because they haven’t set up their sales channels first. There are a variety of ways to create demand for your product before you’ve actually made it. The same principles apply for offline and online businesses.


6. Manufacture your PRODUCT.
People are always surprised when I place this so low on the list but there are good reasons for it. I’m an advocate of product testing and validating up towards the planning stage but in this step I’m talking about making that commitment to your final product development where some type of manufacturing investment is made and now you have to deal with storage and shipping issues. Obviously this isn’t as much of an issue with digital products as it is with more tangible products but regardless, I would let your product ideas evolve a bit before committing to their development. I know of many instances where entrepreneurs rushed into this stage-- spending $10,000, $50,000, $150,000—without fully getting a handle on who their market was and what their market desired in a product. Many had to go back to the drawing board after making such investments. I’ve also seen people invest in product development before they had outlets to sell their products and were amazed that product didn’t “fly off the shelf” simply because they had made it. Hello, reality check! Bottom line is don’t jump into major investments in product development before you’ve done some testing, understand your ideal market, have the capability to manage the inventory and know for sure where the product will be sold at least in the beginning.

7. Execute your sales, marketing & PR effort.
If you’ve taken the time to cover all the previously mentioned steps, then once you’ve gotten to this stage, you should be an unstoppable evangelist for your business. You’ll have systems in place as well as support and access to financial resources to handle the growth that will ensue form everyone raving about your business. You’ll be spending time with the media, creating new and exciting marketing opportunities, and establishing strategic sales alliances. You’ll experience slow, steady growth and avoid many of the headaches experienced from underplanning, underfunding, lack of experience, etc.

There’s good news and there’s good news: Always congratulate yourself for taking ANY action, even if you feel out of sequence. Most people don’t take any of these action steps in their life and are perfectly content to watch you do it! Also, if you feel like you may be off track, know that it’s never too late to course correct and start moving through the steps you may be missing. You’ll get caught up faster than you think!

Maria Simone helps those who want to transform their talents to create 6 and 7 figure businesses using these sequencing steps. Learn more at http://www.passion2prosperity.com/

Embracing the overwhelm?!

I know, I know…it sounds off the wall but I hear so many people say they’re feeling “overwhelmed” these days and then tend to stay there. Consider that the energy of overwhelm is really that of EXCITEMENT of what’s to come as you reach a crossroad during your journey! What’s coming up are all the choices you have & the decisions that need to be made. The anticipation mingled with fear may not feel exciting in the moment but you can easily shift it to raise your vibration. I suggest when you feel this way, acknowledge the feelings that are coming up and know they are perfectly fine. Acknowledge the exciting crossroad you have arrived at and know that you’ll always make the right decision. Regardless of what may seem like confusion or chaos in front of you, just take a moment to be still and ask what your heart wants right now. Listen for an answer… it will be clear in the stillness.
Take action only after you feel you’ve received your answer and you feel confident in making choices that totally support you. When I regularly practice this technique, I glide through making business & life decisions at a much higher vibration, and not out of fear.

7 Practical Steps To Create The Business of Your Dreams, Part 1

Planning and launching a successful business calls for many elements to be aligned including, vision, planning commitment, etc. There’s a sequence of events that lends itself to success in our Free Enterprise system and if you follow them, you can dramatically improve your chances of success. Businesses that get stuck or lose momentum are usually out of sequence and you merely need to refer back to the model to get back on track.

I’ve put together 7 very practical core steps to launch a business successfully. These strategies apply primarily to an offline business and when I use them for online projects, they help me accelerate.

1. Clarify your VISION.
Take some time to understand what you want YOUR life to look like and are you passionate about what you’re doing? Does this new concept fit the lifestyle you desire? Check in with experts to help initially validate your idea. It’s critical that you’re personally aligned with your business otherwise you’ll lose steam or possibly sabotage efforts along the way. Could be a great idea but if you don’t love it you won’t follow through. You may absolutely love your idea but if the risks outweigh the rewards or the market isn’t big enough, it may not be worth the effort. If you’re in business now but losing steam, go back and find your purpose for it again to renew your passion!

2. PLAN for success.
You may opt to do this in stages but some business planning is essential for success. As with any journey, a roadmap is necessary in order to quickly and safely get to your destination. Same premise applies for your business. It’s also much easier to test your concepts on paper first before investing too much time and money. The planning stage is a great time to detail your markets, the products & services you’ll be offering, how you’ll serve your customers and how much it will cost to accomplish all of the above. This is where I would also perform beta testing or achieve local sales to “test the waters” so to speak. Validate along the way before launching full out! I have worked with many clients who thought their business would look one way but when we worked it out on paper, they realized another expression would be best.

3. Build a TEAM.
The sooner the better! Start looking for people who can assist with industry expertise, business development, those who represent your market, support you emotionally, mastermind your concepts, etc. Those who will fill in the gaps of your plan--- will you be a retail store, an online entity, print catalog?? These people will work ON your business. You’ll also want to attract operational, sales and marketing support when the time is right--- plan for it so that you can activate a wonderful manifestation cascade! When we work through this process with our clients, they inevitably come to realize that the people they most needed in their business were already in their life. They just hadn’t properly defined the support they needed. This was the case for Cathy who realized, after working through this step, a high level contact she needed to a sports organization was someone she actually knew and had access to!


4. Plan for and access Funding Resources.
There are literally DOZENS of ways to fund your business so it’s not necessary to struggle without having the proper resources. Unless you’re completely capable of self-funding, skipping this step could result in sluggish starts, lots of stress and a general failure to launch. Establish a funding plan early on and start accessing the resources BEFORE you need them so that you’ll have what you need for salaries, product development and to execute a proper sales and marketing plan. HINT: “create a viral marketing campaign through word of mouth” isn’t necessarily without costs. Funding could include pre-selling strategies, corporate sponsors, business lines of credit and private investors.

In our next issue I’ll share Part II and the remaining 3 strategies. Maria Simone helps those who want to transform their talents to create 6 and 7 figure businesses. Learn more at http://www.passion2prosperity.com

Build your business without working harder?

I have to tell you I was brought up with the notion that financial success = HARD work & struggle.
Even though my family was financially comfortable growing up, I hardly saw my father as he managed his busy law firm.
I also don't recall many people in my life expressing passion for the work they were doing... mostly working to make a living.
I do remember a fun-loving cousin who was the only real entrepreneur of the family yet who was regularly laughed at for having "pipe dreams".
Ah, such is life! I'm sure I wasn't alone.

Needless to say, I worked very hard for all of my past professional and financial successes but 7 years ago that started to change as I immersed myself in spiritual transformation and personal growth.
I was absolutely committed to creating abundance with more ease and flow!

Today, I've learned to infuse more CONSCIOUS business building strategies into everything I do and it has had a dramatic impact on my professional advances, relationships, opportunities presented, flow of income, and so much more.

Tuesday, May 19th, is our next monthly "Abundance Mastermind Group" Coaching call and I'll be presenting :
"Creating Prosperity with Conscious Business Building Strategies"

You've heard about the Universal Laws but do you know how they specifically apply to your business?
I've found out many people either don't know or just get think it's all about Law of Attraction.
On Tuesday, I'll share my secret recipes with you. I specifically focus in on the areas of money flow, productivity, joy, & relationship.
This is where they've had the greatest impact in my life and business. Believe me, we're going BEYOND Law of Attraction.

How would YOU like to join us and receive 2 months FR*EE in my Abundance Mastermind coaching group?
Simply go to http://passion2prosperitybook.com/ and when you purchase my ebook & audio program at the discounted price, you'll receive your complimentary membership.(Existing Members in good standing will receive specific details soon...you're invited to simply share this with others.)

Without working HARDER in your business, on our call I'll show you how to:

*Dramatically increase productivity
*Improve your business relationships so people are really supporting you
*Gain more respect & support from your peers as well as mentors
*Attract more customers, investors and contracts for accelerated growth
*Quickly increase your revenue to move into ease and flow

I've done it for myself, I've been showing my clients how to do it and now I'm sharing it with you----for FR*EE.
http://passion2prosperitybook.com/ <---- click to purchase & teleclass details will be emailed immediately.

If after our call you feel that the strategies I share have no bearing on YOUR life, I would be HAPPY to issue you a refund. I know this call will change your perception of how you do business AND life so don't miss out!

To your SUCCESS!
Maria Simone

PS Want more step-by-step support? There's still room in our Protégé Program http://passion2prosperity.com/program