Have you considered the lucrative opportunity in finder`s fees? You could become a professional finder and earn a fortune from this alone. Alternatively, you could supplement your present income with finder`s fees.
A finder is someone who finds something for a person or business. The amount paid for this service is called a finder`s fee.
What is the difference between a finder and a broker or commissioned salesperson?
A broker or commissioned salesperson gets paid a percentage of the sale made. Usually, such person acts as an agent for the owner of the goods or services sold. He becomes actively engaged with the sales process, supplying information to facilitate the sale, negotiates the contract, arranges financing, and completes paper work.
On the other hand, a finder simply introduces a buyer to a seller for a fee. He does not become involved in the sales process and is not an agent acting on behalf of the seller.
The best areas to earn finder`s fees are those in which you already have expertise and interest. For example, if you are an expert on airplanes and have connections in the aviation industry, you could earn finder`s fees finding suitable planes for those needing them.
You can earn finder`s fees in many areas including equipment (used or new), equipment leasing, finding locations for franchises or vending, scarce materials, commodities, financing, et cetera.
Connections are the inventory of a finder. You are being paid to find something of value by someone who doesn`t know where (or doesn`t have the time) to find it. Your knowledge of where and who to get something from is invaluable information that people are willing to pay for.
Protect yourself with written contracts. Also, document all efforts you have made to earn your finder`s fee.
Before you introduce a buyer to a seller, have the seller acknowledge in writing that they have agreed to pay you a finder`s fee of so much upon successful completion of a sale. After obtaining a properly executed written contract (which may be a simple one page letter agreement), inform the person by written correspondence (sent by registered mail) about the buyer. Keep all copies of correspondence and other written documentation in case it becomes necessary to enforce your rights later. Proper documentation should help you to avoid any misunderstandings.
Just as the business that sells something pays its sales staff, likewise the seller generally pays the finder`s fee. The seller is the one that makes a profit from the sale and so usually is the one that pays commissions or finder`s fees.
However, if a buyer is particularly anxious to buy something, he might offer a finder`s fee. Therefore, it is possible to collect such fees from either the seller or the buyer.
It is possible to find finder`s fees opportunities offered in magazines, newspapers, and newsletters. You can find additional opportunities by doing your own research. Use your contacts, reference and phone books at the library, the Internet, persons you know (or don`t know) who might have the information you need, as well as other sources to find what is needed.
For example, if someone tells you they can`t find a pilot with an airplane outfitted with geophysical survey equipment, have you considered talking to airport employees, pilots, business acquaintances, exploration companies and manufacturers?
Make sure that all your communications and dealings (telephone, correspondence, letterheads, contracts, et cetera) reflect the professional nature of your business.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Successful Books
Like most first time authors, I figured that once the word was out that I'd written a book, the world would beat a path to my door wanting to buy it. I'll admit I gave little thought to marketing until the day my first printing of Handbook To A Happier Life was delivered. In a panic, I called a published author I knew and asked, "What do I do now?" She suggested several books about book marketing, which I bought immediately. I was on my way.
Success in book selling is a three step process: 1. Write the book. 2. Print the book. 3. Sell the book. That last one can be bit tricky:-)
Space does not permit me to go into all the details of my process or to list the many people who helped, however, there are a couple of very important points I learned early on which made all the difference.
The most important thing I learned was to identify my reader. As much as I hated to admit it, not everyone would buy my book. My early feedback told me entrepreneurs, network marketers and salespeople were buying my book. I began to ask myself focused questions as to how I could best reach these people. I set goals. After all, if you don't have a goal, how will you know when you've succeeded? I took specific actions daily. That's important. Consistent action will make all the difference.
There were days when I was ready to give up but I kept taking action. I refused to give up. Another important point. Never, never, never give up! One day, a door opened. I had located a distributor who was selling to the market I wanted to reach. They reviewed "Handbook To A Happier Life" and it was put on a recommended reading list. It went into eight printings with almost 100,000 copies sold and was translated into several languages, and then sold to a big publisher. I knew all along that once people saw this book, they would want to read it.
I firmly believe most books will sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and commit to taking daily action. And more action - keeping in mind that there are many places you can sell books besides bookstores. Go for it!
The Best Business Card You Ever Had
"Keep in mind Jim, this is a great business card." That was my first lesson as a new author and it has served me well over the years. On a lark, I sent 20 copies of my new book to the presidents of several big direct sales companies. The result was a glowing testimonial from the president of one of the companies, along with an order for 250 books. Was it worth the cost of giving away the 20? You bet it was! I like to think of giving away books as planting seeds. You never know which ones will spout or when.
Many professional speakers and coaches willingly give away their $12 paperback book (with a cost of a $2-$4) and attract clients and bookings worth thousands of dollars from it. Others obtain high priced consulting contracts using the book as a door opener.
Success in book selling is a three step process: 1. Write the book. 2. Print the book. 3. Sell the book. That last one can be bit tricky:-)
Space does not permit me to go into all the details of my process or to list the many people who helped, however, there are a couple of very important points I learned early on which made all the difference.
The most important thing I learned was to identify my reader. As much as I hated to admit it, not everyone would buy my book. My early feedback told me entrepreneurs, network marketers and salespeople were buying my book. I began to ask myself focused questions as to how I could best reach these people. I set goals. After all, if you don't have a goal, how will you know when you've succeeded? I took specific actions daily. That's important. Consistent action will make all the difference.
There were days when I was ready to give up but I kept taking action. I refused to give up. Another important point. Never, never, never give up! One day, a door opened. I had located a distributor who was selling to the market I wanted to reach. They reviewed "Handbook To A Happier Life" and it was put on a recommended reading list. It went into eight printings with almost 100,000 copies sold and was translated into several languages, and then sold to a big publisher. I knew all along that once people saw this book, they would want to read it.
I firmly believe most books will sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and commit to taking daily action. And more action - keeping in mind that there are many places you can sell books besides bookstores. Go for it!
The Best Business Card You Ever Had
"Keep in mind Jim, this is a great business card." That was my first lesson as a new author and it has served me well over the years. On a lark, I sent 20 copies of my new book to the presidents of several big direct sales companies. The result was a glowing testimonial from the president of one of the companies, along with an order for 250 books. Was it worth the cost of giving away the 20? You bet it was! I like to think of giving away books as planting seeds. You never know which ones will spout or when.
Many professional speakers and coaches willingly give away their $12 paperback book (with a cost of a $2-$4) and attract clients and bookings worth thousands of dollars from it. Others obtain high priced consulting contracts using the book as a door opener.
Building & Competitive
Many webmasters spend a lot of time tweaking their sites for the search engines because they think that search engines will bring them the most traffic for the time and money spent. It is a good use of time but combined with a link building campaign and some competitive intelligence work, any webmaster can triple the traffic created or better.
Strategic Link Building
Link building is directly related to search engine optimization. Because of this many webmasters fail to think about link building as a strategy of its own separate from the search engine optimization aspect. Strategic link building can bring in a lot of targeted high quality traffic to your website. There are three good methods for obtaining quality links. Each method becomes more powerful.
The first method is simple and easily implemented. You go surfing for sites that you like, and would appeal to your visitors, and you ask for a link. It helps to offer a reciprocal link in exchange but it is not always necessary.
To get results, you’ll need to send your request to about ten sites for every one positive response you get. Once you get some experience, these odds will improve. So, expect to do a little work. The results will be worth it.
Please Note: In approaching the prospective website’s webmaster, make sure you are sending them a relevant link request and make it personal. Let them know you visited their site and why a link would be valuable. There are a few link building software programs that send spam to webmasters. You want to make sure that the email you send is sincere. Link building is a legitimate marketing strategy and approached ethically it can have significant impact on your bottom line. It’s worth taking the time to do it right.
The second link strategy is also very powerful. It is also simple. Submit articles to free content sites and to be included in other site’s ezines. These free content sites will post your articles on their websites and offer your article to webmasters to reprint on their sites and newsletters. This is a great strategy. You don’t even have to write the articles, you just need to obtain one. You can hire a ghostwriter or a guest writer. The key is that each article has a resource box that contains your website name and a link. The article can be reprinted only as long as it also contains the resource box. If you have a popular subject, your article and link can get published on thousands of websites this way.
And talk about targeted traffic. If you’re selling fly fishing rods to an upscale audience you can write an article for that audience and by the very nature of the article it will get picked up by websites that attract your clientele. They will read your article and click over to your site. This is high quality targeted traffic.
As you are have probably already thought about, the links are also great for your search engine rankings. The link in your article is surrounded by your site keywords. The article itself will populate the search engines and the links to your site will support higher page rank. It’s all good.
The third strategy has been around since the internet began. It is to post to forums and news groups. It’s easy and fun plus the links are valid and hold a lot of weight. The search engines like forum post links a lot. In fact, the best way to submit your site to the search engines is to post your website link in a popular forum. The forum will be spidered within 72 hours and your site will begin the submission process on it’s own.
Here too, stay on topic and be honest about your posts. You can buy a spam poster and post to ten thousand forums automatically but, being about the oldest trick in the book, it will get you in a lot of trouble. It’s not good business. Seek out forums you like and get involved. That’s all there is to it.
If you want to learn more about article distribution here are two links that will help. The first one is for an ezine article submission program and the second link is for submitting article to article directories.
Strategic Link Building
Link building is directly related to search engine optimization. Because of this many webmasters fail to think about link building as a strategy of its own separate from the search engine optimization aspect. Strategic link building can bring in a lot of targeted high quality traffic to your website. There are three good methods for obtaining quality links. Each method becomes more powerful.
The first method is simple and easily implemented. You go surfing for sites that you like, and would appeal to your visitors, and you ask for a link. It helps to offer a reciprocal link in exchange but it is not always necessary.
To get results, you’ll need to send your request to about ten sites for every one positive response you get. Once you get some experience, these odds will improve. So, expect to do a little work. The results will be worth it.
Please Note: In approaching the prospective website’s webmaster, make sure you are sending them a relevant link request and make it personal. Let them know you visited their site and why a link would be valuable. There are a few link building software programs that send spam to webmasters. You want to make sure that the email you send is sincere. Link building is a legitimate marketing strategy and approached ethically it can have significant impact on your bottom line. It’s worth taking the time to do it right.
The second link strategy is also very powerful. It is also simple. Submit articles to free content sites and to be included in other site’s ezines. These free content sites will post your articles on their websites and offer your article to webmasters to reprint on their sites and newsletters. This is a great strategy. You don’t even have to write the articles, you just need to obtain one. You can hire a ghostwriter or a guest writer. The key is that each article has a resource box that contains your website name and a link. The article can be reprinted only as long as it also contains the resource box. If you have a popular subject, your article and link can get published on thousands of websites this way.
And talk about targeted traffic. If you’re selling fly fishing rods to an upscale audience you can write an article for that audience and by the very nature of the article it will get picked up by websites that attract your clientele. They will read your article and click over to your site. This is high quality targeted traffic.
As you are have probably already thought about, the links are also great for your search engine rankings. The link in your article is surrounded by your site keywords. The article itself will populate the search engines and the links to your site will support higher page rank. It’s all good.
The third strategy has been around since the internet began. It is to post to forums and news groups. It’s easy and fun plus the links are valid and hold a lot of weight. The search engines like forum post links a lot. In fact, the best way to submit your site to the search engines is to post your website link in a popular forum. The forum will be spidered within 72 hours and your site will begin the submission process on it’s own.
Here too, stay on topic and be honest about your posts. You can buy a spam poster and post to ten thousand forums automatically but, being about the oldest trick in the book, it will get you in a lot of trouble. It’s not good business. Seek out forums you like and get involved. That’s all there is to it.
If you want to learn more about article distribution here are two links that will help. The first one is for an ezine article submission program and the second link is for submitting article to article directories.
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