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	<title>The Underdog Millionaire Blog &#187; Small Business</title>
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	<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog</link>
	<description>Small Business Growth &#124; Niche Marketing Magic</description>
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		<title>The Underdogs Need Your Help ASAP</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-underdogs-need-your-help-asap</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-underdogs-need-your-help-asap#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:43:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1614</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I just wanted to send a quick message out to all of the Underdog Millionaires out there. It&#8217;s been awhile since I put out a question to the group, so I figured it was about time.   I&#8217;d like to know your most burning small business question.    It can be anything from how to get new customers, to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-underdogs-need-your-help-asap" title="Permanent link to The Underdogs Need Your Help ASAP"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/pile_of_mail.jpg" width="330" height="246" alt="Post image for The Underdogs Need Your Help ASAP" /></a>
</p><div>I just wanted to send a quick message out to all of the Underdog Millionaires out there. It&#8217;s been awhile since I put out a question to the group, so I figured it was about time.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I&#8217;d like to know your most burning small business question. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It can be anything from how to get new customers, to tweaking your marketing, to starting from scratch and trying to think of a new business idea and bootstrapping your way to success.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>&#8230;just stay away from legal and accounting questions since I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant..</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Send &#8216;em in, send &#8216;em in.  If I like your question, I&#8217;ll post the answer on the tip sheet and on the blog.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I&#8217;ll even include a link to your webpage if you&#8217;d like, and you might get a little extra traffic to your site. Heck, you can even say that you were featured on the Underdog Millionaire!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>All you have to do is send in your question through the <strong>contact Josh form</strong> at the top of the blog, or send in your question through the <strong>comment area </strong>below. </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Thanks in advance,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Joshua Black</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
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		<title>There Is No Crystal Ball For A Small Business Success, but You Also Don&#8217;t Need One</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/there-is-no-crystal-ball-for-a-small-business-success-but-you-also-dont-need-one</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/there-is-no-crystal-ball-for-a-small-business-success-but-you-also-dont-need-one#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:09:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Attract Customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[niche marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1484</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All it takes is a little stroll through the &#8220;As Seen on TV&#8221; aisle of your local store to find out there are a lot of entrepreneurs that are grabbing at straws trying to make that next big swing out of the ballpark. You may have felt that way yourself. I know I sure have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/there-is-no-crystal-ball-for-a-small-business-success-but-you-also-dont-need-one" title="Permanent link to There Is No Crystal Ball For A Small Business Success, but You Also Don&#8217;t Need One"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/small-business-predictions.jpg" width="413" height="310" alt="Post image for There Is No Crystal Ball For A Small Business Success, but You Also Don&#8217;t Need One" /></a>
</p><p>All it takes is a little stroll through the &#8220;As Seen on TV&#8221; aisle of your local store to find out there are a lot of entrepreneurs that are grabbing at straws trying to make that next big swing out of the ballpark.</p>
<p>You may have felt that way yourself. I know I sure have at one point or another.</p>
<p>You might hope for the next big thing, that one crazy idea that will have you living in a castle in no time. However, the chances of doing that are so slim, that you might as well take the less glamorous road&#8230;</p>
<p>The road that helps you solve your customer&#8217;s problems.</p>
<p>Sure, you might have the next Snuggie, or the next iPod all planned out in your mind, but why try and knock out a giant with a bb gun when you can become really successful (over time) with a much small niche.</p>
<p>If you focus on a niche and do enough research to know your niche, you don&#8217;t have to be a superhero. You just become a delivery mechanism for the perfect solution to a problem.</p>
<p>You don&#8217;t have to be original.</p>
<p>Just improve something 10% and you could carve an entire empire out for yourself as you quietly operate your home delivery tire recycling business, while people scurry to write iPhone apps.</p>
<p>You shouldn&#8217;t have a business to make yourself look like a rock-star. That would totally be for the wrong reason. It&#8217;s all about running your own show and providing more success than a day job can offer.</p>
<p>Try not to go out there and shine up your crystal ball, hoping, just hoping to predict the next THING.</p>
<p>Pick something a little more boring instead, but something where there is a real need.</p>
<p>Look for a business model where there is a large pool of customers with an un-filled need. If those customers need to keep coming back to you over time, it&#8217;s even better.</p>
<p>Keep those lines of communication open and allow your customers to talk to you.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t pay for advertising if you don&#8217;t have to.  In many cases, free marketing techniques work much better than the old, glossy magazine stuff that companies dump millions into.</p>
<p>Just remember that you don&#8217;t have to be original, just BETTER than whatever is out there. Look for very low overhead and commitment costs.</p>
<p>Try to create a &#8220;tollbooth&#8221; position in the marketplace where you are the only one that can provide your customers with the PERFECT solution.</p>
<p>Is any of this EASY?</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s called running a small <strong>BUSINESS</strong> instead of running a small EASY. However, the cool part is that once you figure out your magic formula, all of that effort and time spent will be totally worth it.</p>
<p>Until tomorrow,</p>
<p>Joshua Black</p>
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		<title>Small Business Underdogs- It&#8217;s Time to Get Lean and Mean</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/small-business-underdogs-its-time-to-get-lean-and-mean</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/small-business-underdogs-its-time-to-get-lean-and-mean#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:57:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problem solving]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1424</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hey there&#8230; I&#8217;m just sitting here in the sun on my honeymoon #1 (I figured we should take two, since you only do this once, right?) and since I missed ya&#8217;ll a little bit (not that much, but a little) I figured I get a post out. I just read a news piece about this [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/small-business-underdogs-its-time-to-get-lean-and-mean" title="Permanent link to Small Business Underdogs- It&#8217;s Time to Get Lean and Mean"><img class="post_image aligncenter" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/small-business-lean-and-mean.jpg" width="393" height="494" alt="run your small business mean and lean" /></a>
</p><p>Hey there&#8230; I&#8217;m just sitting here in the sun on my honeymoon #1 (I figured we should take two, since you only do this once, right?) and since I missed ya&#8217;ll a little bit (not that much, but a little) I figured I get a post out.</p>
<p>I just read a news piece about this guy called &#8220;The Situation&#8221; from the TV show &#8220;Jersey Shore.&#8221; Don&#8217;t know if you get it outside of the States, but this jackass is a real marketing and <a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/attract-more-customers-once-you-know-this-ninja-secret">customer-attracting</a> machine.</p>
<p>He got his 15 minutes of fame from hanging out on the beach in a rented house and partying all the time, while camera crews watched him make a fool out of himself.  I&#8217;ll have to admit that the show is a guilty pleasure of mine, but we won&#8217;t get into that.</p>
<p>Since he&#8217;s captured recent fan-dom, The Situation recently created an iPhone app and who knows what else. The clip that I read showed him stepping into his new Bentley, which is the kind of six-figure car that is usually reserved for the people that don&#8217;t drive it themselves.</p>
<p>So what?</p>
<p>What am I mentioning tabloid poo-poo when there is real business to be done here?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s all in the headline&#8230; lean and mean.</p>
<p>See, I bet this guy will have his car repossessed within the next year or so once his 15 minutes are over. YOU, my friend, are different. <strong>You&#8217;re an Underdog Millionaire</strong>.</p>
<p>&#8230;and Underdog Millionaires don&#8217;t just sit around throwing flaming hundred dollar bills out the window at every little thing that comes our way&#8230; <strong>HECK NO!</strong></p>
<p>We earned every penny of our money and in times like these, you&#8217;ve got to think lean and mean with every business decision that you make.</p>
<p><strong>There are 15 million unemployed people in the U.S. right now, alone.</strong>.. and those are just the ones that they&#8217;re still counting. Perhaps you are amongst their ranks.</p>
<p>With customers having less disposable cash in their pockets more than ever before, you have to take very calculated risks with each business decision that you make. <a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-one-sure-fire-thing-you-can-do-to-get-rich">You can rich</a>, but to get rich you have to KEEP more than you spend.</p>
<p>For example, I know that many of you can purchase your small business information elsewhere, so I work REALLY HARD to make sure that <a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/products">my books</a> contain information that you can&#8217;t get anywhere else, and contain information that you can really use.</p>
<p>So, let&#8217;s take a few lessons from Uncle Josh.</p>
<p><strong>Here are a handful of tips that I like to use BEFORE jumping head-first into a new business decision </strong>(and I love to take risks, but even I know better when it comes to the current economic situation):</p>
<blockquote><p>1.<strong> If you can say &#8220;NO&#8221; and walk away from any deal, then you will pay less and have the upper hand in the situation</strong>. Never walk into a deal where your mouth is watering and you are jumping up and down to hand out your money.</p>
<p>2. <strong>Time limits don&#8217;t apply.</strong> If a person is trying to tell you that you can&#8217;t get that same price after a certain time period, try offering them the money the next day, AFTER you&#8217;ve gained a cool head. I bet they don&#8217;t turn you down.</p>
<p>3. <strong>If the seller is trying to rush you, run the other way</strong>. The deal is too good to be true.</p>
<p>4. <strong>Never hire someone for something that you can outsource with a subcontractor</strong>. Employees are a total pain in the arse and a drain on your sanity.</p>
<p>5. <strong>Give it the old rule of &#8220;24&#8243;</strong>. Basically, that means sleep on it. There is nothing that you have to buy right NOW that will make your business that much better. If you feel like you have to buy it right now, then the seller has the upper hand.</p>
<p>6. <strong>Don&#8217;t poop on your own couch</strong>- or in nicer terms that my mom would approve of (since she&#8217;s reading this), it means NEVER burn bridges with people whom you do business with.</p>
<p>7. <strong>Buy used</strong>. Most fancy-schmancy things can be purchased for pennies on the dollar when you buy them after that &#8220;new car&#8221; smell has worn off. No one will know the difference, and the money you save in the long run can put you in a higher tax bracket.</p>
<p>8. <strong>Diversification does not mean buying different versions of the same thing</strong>. It makes me throw up when people try to give out the worn-out advice from investing that says you should &#8220;diversify&#8221; with small cap, large cap, and medium cap stocks, bond funds etc. It&#8217;s all the same thing. TRUE diversification means that you have money coming on from totally different sources, such as your business, investments, real estate, side businesses etc.</p></blockquote>
<p>Ok, that&#8217;ll just about do for today.</p>
<p><strong>What&#8217;s your number 9? What little mean and lean tidbit would you like to share with the rest of the Underdog Millionaire family?</strong></p>
<p>In your service (and on the beach),</p>
<p><strong>Joshua Black</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/"><img class="aligncenter" title="wealthpack3d" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wealthpack3d.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Click the image to get the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FREE</span> Underdog Millionaire wealth Pack!</strong></p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved.</p>
<p>Download these other great products to help<br />
your business earn huge piles of moolah:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.attract-customers.com">http://www.attract-customers.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.how-to-business-network.com/">http://www.how-to-business-network.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com/">http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog">http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com/blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sales-letter-system.com/">http://www.sales-letter-system.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com/">http://www.closing-the-sale.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.information-product-report.com/">http://www.information-product-report.com</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.underdog-success-formula.com/">http://www.underdog-success-formula.com</a></p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
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		<title>Niche Marketing is Chess&#8230; You Still Playing Checkers?</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/niche-marketing-is-chess-you-still-playing-checkers</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/niche-marketing-is-chess-you-still-playing-checkers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:34:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[preemptive marketing strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[niche marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[positioning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1406</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Got a really powerful story about niche marketing for you Underdogs out there. I just got off the phone with a good friend of mind last night, and we had a long conversation about developing new markets and how awesome it can be to be the one that is the 800 pound gorilla in the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/niche-marketing-is-chess-you-still-playing-checkers" title="Permanent link to Niche Marketing is Chess&#8230; You Still Playing Checkers?"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/marketing-is-chess.jpg" width="251" height="381" alt="niche marketing is chess" /></a>
</p><p>Got a really powerful story about niche marketing for you Underdogs out there.</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with a good friend of mind last night, and we had a long conversation about developing new markets and how awesome it can be to be the one that is the <strong>800 pound gorilla in the room</strong>.</p>
<p>You see, my friend works for a building supply manufacturer as a sales rep/marketing coach. The company that he works with is so powerful in his industry that it&#8217;s almost like working for the mob, except that they earned every penny they&#8217;re making in a legit way.</p>
<blockquote><p>One of the quotes of the night that really stuck with me, was that he said &#8220;<strong>selling is like checkers, but developing a market is chess</strong>.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Think about that for just a second&#8230;</p>
<p>With checkers, there is more of a prescribed set of moves. You&#8217;ve got the pattern down&#8230; my opponent does this and I do that. It&#8217;s just like <strong><a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com">selling</a></strong>, much more predictable and just a few correct answers for each part of the problem.</p>
<p>Developing an entire niche market, on the other hand, is chess. It&#8217;s art. It&#8217;s the way you get completely slaughtered if you are not thinking 5 steps ahead of the other guy, or trying to make an educated guess as to what your <strong><a href="http://www.attract-customers.com">customer</a></strong> will want.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>So, here&#8217;s the story:</strong></p>
<p>My friend&#8217;s company (we&#8217;re gonna call it XCo.), whom shall remain nameless, is like the 10,000 pound gorilla in his industry, because they plan their business like a chess game, and operate it like a piece of art.</p>
<p>They are in an industry where the average <strong><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com">product pricing strategy</a></strong>is to chop each other at the knees by trying to be the lowest provider of building materials.</p>
<p>Now, XCo. knows better. They develop markets. They know that if they form relationships with their customers instead of just pitching a commodity, they&#8217;re going to have something much more powerful than a few good months of selling.</p>
<p>So, what do they do? <strong>They become PARTNERS with their customers</strong>.</p>
<p>They give their customers all the tools they need in order to sell the product correctly.</p>
<p>XCo. provides the training for the installation of the product, to the business owners that are not skilled in that area. </p>
<p>Last (this is where the 800 pound gorilla runs through the wall like the Kool-Aid man), they tell the business owners that use the competitor&#8217;s product that <strong>they are going to get there with or without them</strong>, because of the way they can offer incentives to every OTHER business around the competition, dominating their market and making their customers rich in the process (due to the high mark-up and low production costs of the product).</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;We are going to get there with or without you&#8221;</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>My friend actually said that to a customer the other day&#8230; it&#8217;s like something straight out of the Sopranos.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>So what?</strong> You&#8217;re probably asking. </p></blockquote>
<p>What does a multi-billion dollar company have anything to do with the little, tiny operation I&#8217;m running at my kitchen table in my underwear?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s got a lot more to do with you than you&#8217;d think. In fact, if you aren&#8217;t treating your business like a chess game, then there&#8217;s a good chance that you are going to be eaten by that 800 pound gorilla climbing up the side of the building after you.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #993300;">How to Develop YOUR Niche Market Like a Chess Game:</span> </h3>
<ul>
<blockquote>
<li>Know where you want to go BEFORE you start moving.</li>
<li>Predict the moves that your competition is going to make.</li>
<li>Predict the moves that your customer is going to make.</li>
<li>Make calculated moves with everything you do.</li>
<li>KNOW and operate your business with the big picture in mind, not just the quick sale.</li>
<li>As soon as you see an opportunity, you take it NOW. You never wait and see.</li>
</blockquote>
</ul>
<p>It doesn&#8217;t really matter if you&#8217;re selling knitted sock monkeys on eBay, you&#8217;re installing garage doors, or you&#8217;ve got a billion dollar building supply company. <strong>The business principles are the same</strong>.</p>
<h3><span style="color: #993300;">800 Pound Gorilla Principles:</span></h3>
<blockquote><p>1. <strong>You create RELATIONSHIPS</strong> with your customers instead of competing on price.</p>
<p>2. <strong>You develop a NICHE MARKET</strong>that services a very specific starving crowd.</p>
<p>3. <strong>You DOMINATE</strong> that tiny niche market with the best product you can create.</p>
<p>4. <strong>You keep offering new products</strong> to your niche customers as long as they live.</p>
<p>5. <strong>You never let your guard down</strong>, so you don&#8217;t lose the empire that you&#8217;ve created.</p>
<p>6. <strong>You position yourself</strong> so firmly in your market that in order to remove you it will be like taking a bag of M &amp; Ms away from a fat kid.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>&#8230;but, I don&#8217;t have much competition. I just make sock monkeys. Why in the hell should I care about dominating anything? Who would want to run me out of business? That seems kind of mean.</strong></p>
<p>It doesn&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re selling to a niche of 20 people. You&#8217;re doing this to provide yourself (and your family) with a better life, right?</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t serve your niche with the superhuman service and rock-star quality, someone else will, right?</p>
<p>&#8230;so why not YOU!</p>
<p><strong>Have a great week.</strong></p>
<p>Let me know how I can help your business grow&#8230; it just might be time for a little <strong><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/services">consultation</a></strong>.</p>
<p>In your service,</p>
<p>Joshua Black</p>
<p><strong>P.S.</strong> I&#8217;m getting married on Saturday, so my post later on this week (probably thursday) is going to be it for a little while, so me and the old lady can enjoy our new lives togther on our honeymoon.</p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved.</p>
<p>Download these other great products to help<br />
your business earn huge piles of moolah:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.attract-customers.com">http://www.attract-customers.com</a> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.how-to-business-network.com/">http://www.how-to-business-network.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com/">http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog">http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com/blog</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sales-letter-system.com/">http://www.sales-letter-system.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com/">http://www.closing-the-sale.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.information-product-report.com/">http://www.information-product-report.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ultimateuspcreator.com/">http://www.UltimateUSPcreator.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdog-success-formula.com/">http://www.underdog-success-formula.com</a></p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>How to Attract Customers With A Giant Tarp and A Skateboard</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-to-attract-new-customers-with-a-giant-tarp-and-a-skateboard</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-to-attract-new-customers-with-a-giant-tarp-and-a-skateboard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:51:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Attract Customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multiple streams of income]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1256</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s a new trend emerging across the country in the world of skateboarding. These guys are now taking huge, blue painter&#8217;s tarps and &#8220;surfing&#8221; through them on skate boards in large parking lots. If you want to see videos of this, they&#8217;re all over the Internet. Now, on the surface, this looks pretty lame, but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-to-attract-new-customers-with-a-giant-tarp-and-a-skateboard" title="Permanent link to How to Attract Customers With A Giant Tarp and A Skateboard"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/attract-customers1.jpg" width="340" height="255" alt="attract customers" /></a>
</p><p>There&#8217;s a new trend emerging across the country in the world of skateboarding. These guys are now taking huge, blue painter&#8217;s tarps and &#8220;surfing&#8221; through them on skate boards in large parking lots.</p>
<p>If you want to see videos of this, they&#8217;re all over the Internet.</p>
<p>Now, on the surface, this looks pretty lame, but these guys are causing the sales of giant tarps to fly off the shelves in many cities, and you&#8217;ll probably see this in a parking lot near you within the next year.</p>
<p>What in the Sam Hill does skateboarding on a tarp in the parking lot of a local grocery store have to do with your business? <strong>EVERYTHING</strong>.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>This is about <strong>re-purposing</strong> your product, content, or services. Surfers wanted a way to keep surfing even when there weren&#8217;t any waves. They invented the skateboard. Skateboarders got bored and wanted to pretend there was a huge wave in the parking lot of the local Winn-Dixie&#8230; so they whipped out the big, blue tarps.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s about taking something that you&#8217;ve already created and breathing new life into it.</p>
<ul>
<blockquote>
<li>Drug makers do this all the time.</li>
<li>Bloggers re-purpose content and create e-books from it.</li>
<li>Service providers can take a certain skill they have and bring it to a whole new industry.</li>
</blockquote>
</ul>
<p>When times are tough, <strong>re-purposing your existing products</strong>, even &#8220;sleeper&#8221; products that aren&#8217;t selling so well, can be a huge money maker for you and can be just what your small business needs in a tough economy.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s really time-consuming to invent something new. It&#8217;s also very risky. You already have an expertise, so why not milk that knowledge for all it&#8217;s worth.</p>
<p>Your <strong>homework for today</strong> is to go out and find that big, blue tarp in your niche. Find that thing that you can do to re-package, re-use, re-distribute your product in the hot, little hands of a whole new set of customers.</p>
<p>Speaking of ways to <a href="http://www.attract-customers.com"><strong>attract customers</strong></a>, I am going to be revealing the list of extra goodies to the <strong>Underdog Marketing 101 </strong> pre-notification list sometime this week. If you want to be able to cash in on everything there is to offer during the launch week, you might want to sign up on the notification list ASAP (upper right corner of the blog)</p>
<p><strong>Have you ever re-purposed a product or service, especially in tough times? Let&#8217;s hear about it in the comments below? Have you ever surfed on a tarp? Let&#8217;s hear about that too.</strong></p>
<p>In your service,</p>
<p>Joshua Black</p>
<p><a href="http://www.attract-customers.com"><strong>http://www.attract-customers.com</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/"><img title="wealthpack3d" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wealthpack3d.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a> </p>
<p><strong>Click the image to get the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FREE</span>  </strong></p>
<p><strong>Underdog Millionaire wealth Pack!</strong> </p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved. </p>
<p>Download these other great products to help<br />
your business earn huge piles of moolah: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.how-to-business-network.com/">http://www.how-to-business-network.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com/">http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog">http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com/blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sales-letter-system.com/">http://www.sales-letter-system.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com/">http://www.closing-the-sale.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.information-product-report.com/">http://www.information-product-report.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ultimateuspcreator.com/">http://www.UltimateUSPcreator.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdog-success-formula.com/">http://www.underdog-success-formula.com</a> </p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
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		<title>How to Get Your Competition to Help You Sell More Stuff</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-to-get-your-competition-to-help-you-sell-more-stuff</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-to-get-your-competition-to-help-you-sell-more-stuff#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Attract Customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get customers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1249</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[FIRST, before I go an further- The sales page is up for the Underdog Marketing 101 book. If you want to take a peek at everything that it has to offer, you can click on the image at the right, or click this link: www.attract-customers.com   Ok, let&#8217;s get down to it. I know this [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-to-get-your-competition-to-help-you-sell-more-stuff" title="Permanent link to How to Get Your Competition to Help You Sell More Stuff"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/learn-a-new-selling-system.jpg" width="305" height="410" alt="Post image for How to Get Your Competition to Help You Sell More Stuff" /></a>
</p><p><strong>FIRST</strong>, before I go an further- The sales page is up for the <strong>Underdog Marketing 101</strong> book. If you want to take a peek at everything that it has to offer, you can click on the image at the right, or click this link: <a href="http://www.attract-customers.com"><strong>www.attract-customers.com</strong></a></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Ok, let&#8217;s get down to it.</strong></p>
<p>I know this might sound a little crazy, but bear with me. Once you have learned this little technique, you will have the ability to shortcut your small business education by YEARS.</p>
<p>Whether you&#8217;re just getting started or you&#8217;re stuck in a selling rut, this technique will help you <strong>get more customers </strong>and close more sales in no time. It&#8217;s not very fair, but hey, it&#8217;s business right?</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s the deal:</strong></p>
<p>Find 2-3 successful businesses that are outside of your current niche. If you are a lawyer, go for the chiropractor. If you sell a health product, go for the company selling collectibles. The idea here is that you want to mix it up a little bit.</p>
<p>When companies in one niche are all doing the same thing, selling with the same technique, selling the same product to the same folks&#8230; well, guess what? </p>
<p><strong>They all get the same results.</strong></p>
<blockquote><p> If you&#8217;re just following along with your &#8220;industry standard,&#8221; then there is no way for your business to get ahead of the pack. You have to go a different route and pick a slightly different strategy.</p></blockquote>
<p>&#8230;an <strong>Underdog Millionaire</strong> strategy.</p>
<p>Once you have your 2-3 businesses selected, this is where all of the magic is boing to happen. Call them up and act as if you are a buyer. Get them to take you through their entire sales process, even send you follow-up information in the mail.</p>
<p>Take as many notes as your little fingers can manage. Even better, record the call with a digital voice recorder.</p>
<ul>
<li>You can do this with infomercials (hint: Bowflex has one of the best sales systems out there, but be careful- they may talk you into buying one&#8230;)</li>
<li>You can do this with service businesses</li>
<li>You can even do this with your local dry cleaner</li>
</ul>
<p>Call upon any successful business in a non-related niche and have them walk you through their sales process as you act like a tough customer.</p>
<p>Sales school in a box.</p>
<p>Just make sure that you don&#8217;t take too much advantage of this process and definitely don&#8217;t rip-off their process completely. Just take the best parts and make them your own.</p>
<p><strong>Some things to pay attention to:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>How many rebuttal speeches do they have?</li>
<li>How is their sales process organized?</li>
<li>How many people do you talk to?</li>
<li>Do you get voicemail at any time, or talk to a live person first?</li>
<li>How long did they keep you on the phone?</li>
<li>How many follow-up mailings did they send?</li>
<li>Did they change the mailing slightly, or mail you the same thing repeatedly?</li>
</ul>
<p>Just by going through this exercise and then adapting these great processes to your own business, you can attract more customers and bring in more sales than you ever thought possible.</p>
<p>&#8230;all without having to crack open a book or attend a single class.</p>
<p>pretty cool eh?</p>
<p>If you want to know 101 MORE ways to <a href="http://attract-customers.com"><strong>attract customers</strong></a>, then I suggest you sign up for the Underdog Marketing 101 notification list as soon as possible&#8230; HUGE bonuses for the chosen few that are tough enough to get on the list.</p>
<p><strong>Have you ever used this technique? I&#8217;d like to know how it worked for you. </strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>In your service,</p>
<p>Joshua Black</p>
<p><strong>P.S.</strong>  Just a side note, there is a new picture of me up on the blog, under the &#8220;Who Is Joshua Black?&#8221; tab, just in case you want a better look at my mug shot.</p>
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		<title>How My Dog&#8217;s Ear Infection Can Help Your Business</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-my-dogs-ear-infection-can-help-your-business</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-my-dogs-ear-infection-can-help-your-business#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:35:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Customer Service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get customers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1193</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have been around Ye Old Underdog Millionaire Tip Sheet for awhile, you&#8217;ll know that I have a secret marketing weapon that is not available to anyone else on the planet. You see, my dog happens to be one of the best sales and marketing mentors around. He&#8217;s been with me when I came [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/how-my-dogs-ear-infection-can-help-your-business" title="Permanent link to How My Dog&#8217;s Ear Infection Can Help Your Business"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/cash1.jpg" width="299" height="434" alt="small business advice from my dog" /></a>
</p><p>If you have been around Ye Old <strong>Underdog Millionaire Tip Sheet</strong> for awhile, you&#8217;ll know that I have a secret marketing weapon that is not available to anyone else on the planet.</p>
<p>You see, my dog happens to be one of the best sales and marketing mentors around. He&#8217;s been with me when I came up with many new ideas for products and today is no exception.</p>
<p>My 90-pound friend has an ear infection. The only reason I know that is because he told me. At first he shook his head a little more than usual. Then he scratched more than usual. When I didn&#8217;t get the hint, he would pace around the house and dive-bomb the carpet so he could slide across his head, like a baseball player sliding into home.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8230;I finally got the clue and today we are going to the vet.</p></blockquote>
<p>So, what on earth does my dog&#8217;s rotten ear have anything to do with your business? Plenty. When something is not quite right in your business, there are many tell-tale signs that were given BEFORE the bigger problem occurs.</p>
<p>Maybe you lost half your customers to your competition. However, for months before that, you were slacking off on your customer service, you went cheap on your marketing, or maybe you didn&#8217;t call a few people back, because it wasn&#8217;t convenient.</p>
<p>Perhaps you overheard a customer&#8217;s negative comment. Maybe you got a few emails out of the blue, asking you to fix certain things about your business.</p>
<blockquote><p>These are all signs of a small business ear infection. They are completely reversible, but will take some actual work on your part. A business does not go south overnight.</p></blockquote>
<p>When a business gets in big trouble is right about the time the owner has stopped tuning in to the signals, or even worse, has lost passion and excitement for the business.</p>
<p>If you want to avoid a goopy ear in your business then you need to make sure you address the little things as they happen. When you get a single email from a customer about something, it usually means that there are hundreds of others thinking the same thing, with only one brave soul letting you know.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t assume that all complaints are immediately wrong. Just because it&#8217;s your business does not make you the &#8220;super-fancy king of the universe.&#8221; The only reason you are around is because your customers allow you to be. <strong>Without them, you are left holding the penicillin</strong>.</p>
<p>There are other times when your business is running like a well-oiled machine, your customers love you, but you just aren&#8217;t growing. This is most-likely due to the fact that you&#8217;ve not branched out in enough directions to get more customers (and you may need to increase the dollar amount and frequency of each sale).</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re looking for 101 different ways to get customers completely for free, no matter what business you are in, then you might want to <strong>sign up for the Underdog Millionaire 101 notification list</strong> (upper right hand corner of the blog).</p>
<p>This is a separate list from the Tip Sheet, and only people on it will receive a big &#8216;ol pile of extra goodies on launch day.</p>
<p>Sign up now, so you don&#8217;t miss out on any of the updates.</p>
<p>Until tomorrow,</p>
<p>Joshua Black</p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/"><img title="wealthpack3d" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wealthpack3d.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a> </p>
<p><strong>Click the image to get the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FREE</span>  </strong></p>
<p><strong>Underdog Millionaire wealth Pack!</strong> </p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved. </p>
<p>Download these other great products to help<br />
your business earn huge piles of moolah: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.how-to-business-network.com/">http://www.how-to-business-network.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com/">http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog">http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com/blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sales-letter-system.com/">http://www.sales-letter-system.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com/">http://www.closing-the-sale.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.information-product-report.com/">http://www.information-product-report.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ultimateuspcreator.com/">http://www.UltimateUSPcreator.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdog-success-formula.com/">http://www.underdog-success-formula.com</a> </p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>The Birthday Roundup-Other Blogs I REALLY Like</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-birthday-roundup-other-blogs-i-really-like</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-birthday-roundup-other-blogs-i-really-like#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Copywriting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct Mail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Publicity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Information Products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Market Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Making Opportunities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking/Referrals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Service]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[niche marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web traffic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1092</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today&#8217;s post is going to be the last of the birthday blog posts. I thought I would share a few blogs with you that I think are really going the extra mile. These guys (and gals) don&#8217;t just re-hash the current flavor-of-the-month content that can be seen on many of the blogs out there. Instead, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/the-birthday-roundup-other-blogs-i-really-like" title="Permanent link to The Birthday Roundup-Other Blogs I REALLY Like"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/round-up.jpg" width="400" height="319" alt="Small Business Round-Up: Blogs I Like" /></a>
</p><p>Today&#8217;s post is going to be the last of the birthday blog posts. I thought I would share a few blogs with you that I think are really going the extra mile.</p>
<p>These guys (and gals) don&#8217;t just re-hash the current flavor-of-the-month content that can be seen on many of the blogs out there. Instead, they are hard-hitting, unique business owners that have really developed a niche name for themselves.</p>
<p>Many of these blogs are geared towards small business owners, but not all. I think that if you are going to be a competitive entrepreneur, you really need to look at a variety of sources for inspiration.</p>
<p>Now, I am not going to over-load you with the over 50 different blogs that I try to follow on a regular basis, but I do have a special handful for you that really do something above and beyond.</p>
<p>So, without further adieu, here they are:</p>
<p><strong>Heavy Hitters That Blog About Blogging:</strong></p>
<p>If you have been in the blogging world for any length of time, then you already know about these guys, but if you are just getting started, this is the kind of blogging that you can aspire to.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://www.problogger.net/">Problogger</a></strong>- This is a site started by Darren Rowse. He has been blogging for years and has grown his empire to over a million dollars a year, just from blogging, advertising, and selling products.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/">Entrepreneur&#8217;s Journey</a></strong>- This site is run by another Aussie, Yaro Starak. He is a real underdog story, who is now one of the biggest independent bloggers out there, providing TONS of free content and audio interviews from rags-to-riches stories of Internet entrepreneurs all over the world.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Specialists:</strong></p>
<p>This is a group of bloggers that have picked a successful niche and have gained a really solid following, due to the content they provide, the atmosphere they create, and the personality that really comes through in their blogs.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://ittybiz.com/">Ittybiz</a></strong>- This is the marketing blog of Naomi Dunford.  She has created a cult-like following all based around her razor-sharp personality and her sailor&#8217;s mouth. This is not re-hashed marketing advice. Almost every blog post that she writes should be printed out and saved as reference material. Plus, she&#8217;s freakin&#8217; hilarious.</p>
<p><a href="http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/"><strong>The World&#8217;s Strongest Librarian</strong></a>- This blog is home to one of the most eclectic guys on the blogging scene. It&#8217;s run by Josh Hanagarne, a strong-man/librarian that is also battling with a cure for Tourettes Syndrome. His posts range from spectacular book reviews, to random thoughts, from weight lifting advice, to sage wisdom. Always worth a look on a daily basis.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.menwithpens.ca">Men With Pens</a></strong>- This is a site for writers. Not only does this group own their own web design and consulting company, but the frequent posts here offer some really good advice for fine-tuning your writing and improving your value to your market.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.procopytips.com/">ProCopy Tips</a></strong>- This is a copywriting blog that, in my humble opinion is a place that is a hidden gem, discovered by only a few.  It&#8217;s run by a life-long direct-response copywriter named Dean Rieck.  He gives away some great basic copywriting advice and even posts frequently on Copyblogger.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.thesimpledollar.com/">The Simple Dollar</a></strong>- This is a personal finance/money blog by Trent Hamm. He has a cult-like following as well. He covers everything from investing, to debt removal, to bankruptcy and has authored a few books. Great site if you like money at all.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>My Friends and Underdogs:</strong></p>
<p>This is a group of up-and-coming bloggers that is really trying to make a difference in their respective markets. They haven&#8217;t hit the big time just yet, but I know they will, just based on the content and services they provide. These guys are definitely people to keep and eye on.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://tommydipietro.com/">Tommy DePietro</a></strong>- This guy is serious business. He runs a MLM marketing advice blog, has a ton of videos and is very passionate about his work. Tommy is really going somewhere.  He has been a frequent commenter on the Underdog Millionaire since the beginning.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://alexwhalley.com/">Alex Whalley</a></strong>- Alex is a really honest guy with a big heart. His blog focuses on keywords, SEO, and niche marketing. His posts are very thorough and he has come a LONG way in a short time.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://bigredtomatocompany.co.uk/">The Big Red Tomato Company</a></strong>- This is a small business blog run by Matthew Needham.  He&#8217;s got some great ideas about consulting, small business marketing, and creating information products. Matthew is a real stand-up guy and we occasionally bounce ideas off each other since we are in the same niche.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.joshgarcia.com/">Josh Garcia</a></strong>- This guy is another one that has slowly grown alongside the Underdog Millionaire. Josh is all about generating leads and giving great marketing advice. Definitely worth a look. You will see his blog comments all over the Internet.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong><span style="color: #993300;">I think that should just about do it. Hope you enjoyed the list. Of course I&#8217;m sure I missed a few great blogs out there. Give me the name of someone that you really think is doing an amazing job of creating content?</span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #993300;">Help your fellow Underdogs out and let&#8217;s get this post Tweeted all over the Net!</span></strong></p>
<p>Until tomorrow,</p>
<p>Joshua Black</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/"><img title="wealthpack3d" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wealthpack3d.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a> </p>
<p><strong>Click the image to get the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FREE</span>  Underdog Millionaire wealth Pack!</strong> </p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved. </p>
<p>Download these other great products to help<br />
your business earn huge piles of moolah: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.how-to-business-network.com/">http://www.how-to-business-network.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com/">http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog">http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com/blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sales-letter-system.com/">http://www.sales-letter-system.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com/">http://www.closing-the-sale.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.information-product-report.com/">http://www.information-product-report.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ultimateuspcreator.com/">http://www.UltimateUSPcreator.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdog-success-formula.com/">http://www.underdog-success-formula.com</a> </p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Lesson From U.S. Government Shows That Traditional Product Launches Are Bad For Business?</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/lesson-from-u-s-government-shows-that-traditional-product-launches-are-bad-for-business</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/lesson-from-u-s-government-shows-that-traditional-product-launches-are-bad-for-business#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:41:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pricing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Launch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=1037</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m going to continue our talk about product pricing strategy today, but in a slightly different way. Today&#8217;s Tip Sheet is all about product launches. Primarily this is geared for business owners with an on-line product or service that they are launching, but you can use this advice for just about anything. What I am [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/lesson-from-u-s-government-shows-that-traditional-product-launches-are-bad-for-business" title="Permanent link to Lesson From U.S. Government Shows That Traditional Product Launches Are Bad For Business?"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/US_Seal.jpg" width="304" height="330" alt="Post image for Lesson From U.S. Government Shows That Traditional Product Launches Are Bad For Business?" /></a>
</p><p>I&#8217;m going to continue our talk about <a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com">product pricing strategy </a>today, but in a slightly different way.</p>
<p>Today&#8217;s Tip Sheet is all about <strong>product<br />
launches.</strong></p>
<p>Primarily this is geared for business<br />
owners with an on-line product or service<br />
that they are launching, but you can<br />
use this advice for just about anything.</p>
<blockquote><p>What I am about to tell you flies in the<br />
face of almost all traditional launch<br />
coaching, but I think that it&#8217;s important<br />
to maintaining a healthy business for<br />
the long term.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>&#8230;it&#8217;s a lesson from the U.S. Guv&#8217;mint.</strong></p>
<p>First, let&#8217;s take a ride in the Way Back<br />
Machine and look at the traditional advice<br />
for launching a product.</p>
<p>The idea is that you should create a list<br />
of prospects, slowly build up hype over time,<br />
and then for a very limited time, you offer<br />
a huge discount to that group of people that<br />
got on the list and raised their hands to show<br />
interest.</p>
<p>Now, this works in the short run, don&#8217;t get<br />
me wrong here.</p>
<p>The problem is that once the intro offer is<br />
over and your price goes back up to full<br />
price, all of those people that were on<br />
the intro list and didn&#8217;t buy, will probably<br />
never buy.</p>
<p>This is because they now see the price<br />
increasing from the low level of before.</p>
<p>You have now lost that customer and a lot<br />
more to go along with it.</p>
<p>You get a quick boost of cash in the short<br />
run, and then everyone will forget about your<br />
product due to the increase in price.</p>
<p>Take the U.S. Government as an example. There<br />
have been many techniques to try and stimulate<br />
the current economy, one being a huge rebate<br />
of $8,000 for first time home buyers.</p>
<p>Now, this rebate created a huge influx of<br />
people buying homes, but once that rebate program<br />
was over, home sales dropped like a cinder block<br />
being thrown off a freeway bridge.</p>
<p>So where in the heck am I going with this?</p>
<p>When you launch a new product or service, you<br />
should still generate all the buzz in the world.</p>
<p>Your product won&#8217;t sell without you going out<br />
there and banging two trashcan lids together,<br />
making a ton of noise and generating interest.</p>
<p>But&#8230; <strong>be REALLY careful when it comes to your<br />
pricing.</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>If you want to generate a substantial, long-term<br />
business with your product, skip the deep discounts.</p></blockquote>
<p>Offer one-time bonuses to early buyers, or some<br />
other incentive that can be packaged with the<br />
product or service, but don&#8217;t cut the price<br />
and then raise it.</p>
<p>Otherwise you are going to develop a business<br />
that can only survive on a consistent string<br />
of product launching and that can be exhausting<br />
for you, the owner, and for your customers.</p>
<p>If you really want to kick a lot of arse and<br />
change the way you think about pricing strategy<br />
for your own business, check out:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a></p>
<p>Until Tomorrow,</p>
<p>Joshua Black<br />
<a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/"><img title="wealthpack3d" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wealthpack3d.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Click the image to get the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FREE</span>  Underdog Millionaire wealth Pack!</strong></p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved.</p>
<p>Download these other great products to help<br />
your business earn huge piles of moolah:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com/">http://www.product-pricing-strategy.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.how-to-business-network.com/">http://www.how-to-business-network.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com/">http://www.ranking-higher-seo.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog">http://www.UnderdogMillionaire.com/blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sales-letter-system.com/">http://www.sales-letter-system.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.closing-the-sale.com/">http://www.closing-the-sale.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.information-product-report.com/">http://www.information-product-report.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ultimateuspcreator.com/">http://www.UltimateUSPcreator.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.underdog-success-formula.com/">http://www.underdog-success-formula.com</a></p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Find Thousands in Hidden Assets with This One Tip</title>
		<link>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/find-thousands-in-hidden-assets-with-this-one-tip</link>
		<comments>http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/find-thousands-in-hidden-assets-with-this-one-tip#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:15:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joshua Black</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Freelancing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Business Consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success Motivation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[get customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problem solving]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/?p=966</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes you can have a big pile of money just sitting under your nose, but it takes someone else to help you find it. Using an outside consultant is a great way to have a non-biased person take a look deep inside the inner-workings of your business and find thousands of dollars (or more) in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a class="post_image_link" href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/find-thousands-in-hidden-assets-with-this-one-tip" title="Permanent link to Find Thousands in Hidden Assets with This One Tip"><img class="post_image aligncenter remove_bottom_margin frame" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/money-under-mattress.jpg" width="400" height="253" alt="Small business marketing consultant" /></a>
</p><p>Sometimes you can have a big pile of money just sitting under your nose, but it takes someone else to help you find it.</p>
<p>Using an outside consultant is a great way<br />
to have a non-biased person take a look deep<br />
inside the inner-workings of your business<br />
and find thousands of dollars (or more) in<br />
hidden assets that you can use right NOW.</p>
<p>As a small business owner, you are so<br />
involved with every little piece of your business<br />
that sometimes you have a hard time seeing the<br />
forest for the trees and noticing those little<br />
things that you can do to bring in more business.<br />
<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #800000;">Here are just a small handful of things that<br />
a small business consultant can help you with:</span></strong></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>1. Ways to get more money out of existing clients</strong></p>
<p><strong>2. How to bring in new clients for free</strong></p>
<p><strong>3. Guerilla tactics for getting your business name<br />
out there, in front of the people that need to see it.</strong></p>
<p><strong>4. New ways to &#8220;re-package&#8221; products and services<br />
that are currently not selling the way they should,<br />
turning them into a profit powerhouse.</strong></p>
<p><strong>5. Copywriting help</strong></p>
<p><strong>6. Someone just to confide in. Someone that has<br />
been through some of the stress, trials, and<br />
tribulations that you are going through.</strong></p>
<p><strong>&#8230;and even more</strong>.</p></blockquote>
<p>When you make the conscious decision to take your<br />
business to the next level through a consultant,<br />
you are choosing to get an edge up on your industry.</p>
<p>As a small business owner, there is no way that<br />
you can be an expert in every aspect of your<br />
business, even though you might like to be.</p>
<p>You probably have just a few things that you<br />
are a total expert at, and the rest might require<br />
a little help from the outside.</p>
<blockquote><p>This is how consulting can help.</p></blockquote>
<p>With a small business consultant, you can benefit<br />
from all of the tools and money-making strategies,<br />
without having to employ full-time help.</p>
<p>With a consultant you are basically getting free<br />
advice due to the return on investment for the<br />
money you could make with the results of the<br />
consultation.</p>
<blockquote><p>Think about it.</p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s like lifting up your mattress and finding a<br />
suitcase full of cash that you didn&#8217;t know was<br />
under there.</p>
<p>It may have been with you the entire time, but<br />
without having someone else show you where it was<br />
you could be sleeping on top of it for years<br />
without knowing about it.</p>
<p>If you are ready to put on your Super Entrepreneur<br />
cape and spandex and really take your business<br />
to a place where no small business owner has gone<br />
before, it&#8217;s about time you looked into getting<br />
a small business consultant.</p>
<p>For more information about the consulting services<br />
that I offer click here:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/services">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/services</a></p>
<p>A few days ago I put out the offer to a lucky<br />
handful of small business owners from many different<br />
industries, to get a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/350-worth-of-small-business-advice-for-free">free one-hour business makeover</a></strong></span>.</p>
<p>These lucky few have been chosen and in the next<br />
few weeks you will get to see samples of the results<br />
from those consults on the blog.</p>
<p><strong>Stay tuned</strong>. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.</p>
<p>They may even help <strong>your </strong>small business get an edge.</p>
<p><strong>But WAIT! Before you go&#8230;</strong> Have you ever used a consultant for your small business? Are you a consultant and you wish to share with the other Underdog Millionaires? Let&#8217;s start the discussion in the comments below- <strong><span style="color: #800000;">How have you been helped (even hurt), or helped others through small business consulting?</span></strong></p>
<p>Until Later,</p>
<p>Joshua Black<br />
<a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/services">http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/services</a></p>
<p><strong> </strong><a href="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/"><img title="wealthpack3d" src="http://www.underdogmillionaire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wealthpack3d.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Click the image to get the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">FREE</span>  Underdog Millionaire wealth Pack!</strong></p>
<p>*******************************************<br />
Copyright 2010, Outer Limit Productions LLC.<br />
All rights reserved.</p>
<p>_________________________________________</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
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