If you are with a Network Marketing home based business you probably started out in a blaze of enthusiasm only to find there was no home based business marketing program to go with it. You probably also found that most people you talked to did not share your enthusiasm about the opportunity you were offering. And maybe your up line didn’t have any skills to offer you either, not that they told you that at the time, right?I had a similar experience, in fact that exact experience. You not only feel let down, you feel cheated. Or at least I did. I was so excited to get into the network marketing opportunity I joined (and it wasn’t that cheap either) that I just assumed there would be a complete home based business marketing training program to go with it. I was ready to do anything and soak up every little detail of what I was being told to do. After all they did say “complete turn-key system”.It wasn’t until after I got started that I found out that the team I joined, although very successful, didn’t really know that much about marketing on the internet. They had heard of a few things that others were doing with reasonable success and he shared those, but he didn’t know the details, or really have a plan to offer me.Their success did not revolve around home based business marketing knowledge as I had expected, but had more to do with good timing with the business opportunity, a down line who were not fully positioned and were therefore handing up sales, and a couple keywords that they had managed to build their whole business around using pay-per-click advertising.An amazing outcome, but not an overall marketing strategy that could be shared to the benefit of others. Pay-per-click is a powerful method, but can be very expensive if you don’t have a very good understanding of how to use it – and there is a lot more to marketing on the internet.I knew I had to go elsewhere for help so I started scanning the internet for answers – probably like you are now, and to my great relief I found that the answers were there. The marketing training I was after did exist.What is needed by network marketers is training that focuses on getting traffic to your website or lead capture page.It needs to cover:Keywords
Copy writing
Building your list
Monetizing
Marketing MethodsThese are some of the basics and they apply to internet marketing in general but if you can get a program that is focused primarily on generating leads, it will be most beneficial. I found that there were a lot of different training systems on offer for home based business marketing and that the best option was to choose one targeted at getting fast traffic.
Home Based Business Marketing – The One Key to Success For Your Home Based Business Marketing
Home Based Business Is The Way To Go As It Pertains to Navigating Today’s Economy
Your best life now comes in the form of a home based business. Working for someone else is alright, however it does not compare to leading your own home based business.Every since 9/11 people have been using their home as a sanctuary and or retreat. Given these tough economic times, homes have become fertile ground for generating revenue. Justifiably so, if given a choice of commuting to work every day, walking down the hall and or in your basement to work, which one will you choose?As for me, I chose to start a home based business because it gave me the comfort and control I always wanted. For example, with technology today I can start a new business, market and promote it on the internet and take the online business and transition it to a offline business to conduct live training, deliver speeches, write books, participate in tele-seminars and or panel discussions in the business community.It looks as though I am pretty excited about my home based business. Why not? I encourage you to consider starting a business, perhaps it can be information products, live talk radio show on the internet, host your own YouTube channel, podcast or a virtual business.Incorporate your business with the internet and the possibilities are unlimited. People are making a ton of money from their home. Some people ask, “Where do you meet clients?” I respond by telling them to meet with prospective clients at their office, at a hotel lobby and or there are a number of free office spaces one can reserve to conduct meetings, many come with administrative staff and diverse office oriented facilities.In my opinion, being able to manage your day is one of the greatest advantages of a home based business. You get to call your own shots, begin and end your day whenever you want to and depending upon how you structure your business, you will encounter very few interruptions.It is easy to see why I am so happy, I get to live my life on my own terms. Granted I still work hard and I have to find new customers, the bottom line is, I would not have it any other way. A home based business is about choices, decide if this is for you by writing down your goals and going after them.Here is to your home based business success, embrace the opportunity and forge ahead no matter what. If I can do it, so can you.
How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?
I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.
A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.
So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?
The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.
I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.
Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?
Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.
A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.
But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.
So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.
They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.
But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.
But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.
But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.
And it cost them.
Learning Points
The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.