I think Facebook is great for really targeting your audience and you’re on the right track. But I think you can have a better funnel than that. I find, for getting better conversion today, it is better to get your Facebook traffic off of Facebook as fast as you can to your offer and into your funnel. It is more effective for driving actual sales. If you’re just looking for social branding etc. then your funnel might be ok. A very effect strategy is to create either a video or report that you give away to your audience in exchange for an email. It should be something that helps solve or bring to light the problems patients are suffering from and how to go about solving them. Then mention how having a great Chiropractor can solve all of that and can be the most effective way to get ride of the pain. I would also have some things in there that would help them in other ways. Then I would send them to an event or webinar with your top Chiropractor and you in an interview / reveal-all type webinar to educate your lead and manage their fears of going to a Chiropractor. You could tell them that the first step is making an appointment for an assessment. You should make it easy for them to find the best and most effective Chiropractor in their area. You might have a discount on the assessment only available to them for being on the webinar to get them to sign up at the end of the webinar. By the way, once this is recorded, you can make this evergreen so you don't have to do a webinar all the time. As long as you are reaching more and new people with your Facebook campaign you won’t have to change the video all the time.

Once you have people signed up to make an appointment, make sure they are also putting a deposit of a 100 dollars or something down. This will increase your show rate for the Chiropractors. Then give them a voucher for that Chiropractor, for more than you’re asking for at the deposit for services, to use with that Chiropractor. Allowing you to prevent cancelations etc. so that their getting their money back in the form of a voucher for services which, by the way, is not a discount and shouldn’t diminishing your Chiropractors Rates. This strategy I have used in several markets that has produced more prequalified leads and patients / customers. Remember to test, track and know your metrics. You’re going to need to make some tweaks in the beginning, but this can be very effective for you. So to recap: 1. Setup a landing page with your offer in exchange for an offer. You can build this in software like Leadpages.net or Megaphoneapp.com 2. Make your offer downloadable if an ebook or white paper or present your video after. I recommend using Wistia instead of YouTube for playback as you will be able to have heat maps of your video to know where your fall off points are. You can also make this page with the software mentioned above. 3. Use an email autoresponder to engage your lead and email them about the event you’re doing after they had time to read or download your materials. Or, if a video, I would just pitch them at the end with a link below the video to automatically register. 4. Put on a webinar with your guest using either GoToWebinar or Google hangouts if you know how to set that up. 5. Make sure you have your appointment getting page with your the down payment created. You can use several different type of scheduling services so you can automatically deliver the lead/ appointment to the chiropractor. To Note: The reason I don’t send the visitor to the webinar first is because it is better to get the visitor predisposed to your information before asking them to commit to a webinar and when you do it the way I played out, you will have a much better show rate. This is it in a nutshell. Obviously there is more to it. If you need another funnel idea I am hear to help. I have used other effective strategies in the past to also make money on the front end to make your advertising free. It just depends on what you want to do and how advanced you want to get. Hope this helps give you some ideas. :) If you need help implementing something like this just let me know.

One word: Royalties This means you generate the idea and develop it enough to look interesting to a larger company who would be willing to pay you a royalty for your idea. This happens all the time. Rock stars, authors and scientists routinely license their creative ideas to other companies who pay them a royalty. Anyone can do it. Your business, therefore, would be a think tank. You (and your team, if you have one) would consider the world's problems, see what kinds of companies are trying to solve those problems, and then develop compelling solutions that they can license from you. You have to be able to sell your idea and develop a nice presentation, a little market research and an understanding of basic trademark and patent law. The nice thing about doing this is that if you develop enough cool ideas you will have royalties coming in from a lot of different sources, this creates a stable, passive revenue stream that requires little or no work to maintain. Start in your spare time and plan on the process taking 3-5 years. Set a goal to have a few products in the market that provide enough revenue (royalties) to cover your basic living expenses. Then you can quit your day job and dedicate more time and increase the momentum. A good idea business should have dozens, if not hundreds of license contracts generating royalties. It's possible to pull this off. And it is a fun job (I'm speaking from experience).

People hate calls. People hate emails. People hate mail. Do you really want your first impression to be that of an interloper and a pusher? Then again, most recipients aren't event going to look at what you send them. What is your niche? Office managers for private family healthcare providers in Peoria? Athletics department directors for NAIA schools? Sales managers at wholesale car dealers that make over $180 million per year in gross revenue? Know your niche and define your buyer (and it better be the CIO or VP). Is your buyer female or male? Older, middle age, or younger? What about her or his college education? What does he drive? Where does he live? Where does he eat his lunch and get his coffee in the morning? What does he read? Etc. Go to your buyer. Find congregations of your buyer. Professional associations. Conferences. Meet-ups. Trade shows. Offer to do free presentations--not on your product but on best practices or trends you observe in the industry. Make your presentation about solving problems your buyers deal with every day. Write blogs or columns for media they read. Again, focus on what they need/want to read. You will have a hard time keeping enough business cards in stock and click-throughs from your byline. This is a true "targeted outreach campaign." Don't waste your money and time with anything less than this. You're going to do great. Please let me know if you'd like to talk about it more!

Boston is an expensive city to live in. Rent alone is going to be $2000+. So figure $3000 for your salesperson. That's 60 sales a month just to pay that person. Two sales a day just to break even on their cost--forget about you, and your overhead. Of course, your salesperson doesn't have to be local. But it sure helps--managing them, making certain they're actually doing the behaviors they need to be doing (making calls, etc.), helping them with the technical stuff. I don't see this being financially viable under such a model. An automated online funnel is probably a better idea, unless you raise your price to pay for the salesperson and additional overhead.

I guess now is the time to start implementing the plan! What does it say there? :) Seriously - need to think strategy and go for the missing pieces ... I doubt you need a lawyer or SBA advise to get started. But the details of course depend on what is it you are trying to do. Happy to chat if you are interested.

At this point, move on from dealing with this. Focus on the business. Grow it. Traction solves most problems.

You can work upon one of the many tools that exist for this exact purpose: 1. You can use aMember to create a standalone membership website. 2. You can setup a Wordpress website and install a plugin like "MemberPress", "Paid Memberships Pro" or a combination of plugins like "Woocommerce + Groups + Subscriptions". It all depends of what sort of interaction you want for your customers. Take a look at those options and see if any of them match what you are looking for. Of course you can create something from scratch but that takes time and usually a lot more money. Make sure what you need doesn't already exist before venturing into a fully custom job. Best of luck! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Mitigate risk. You're asking a store manager to dedicate space that costs money (and must generate revenue) to an experimental (unproven) product. I've seen some cottage industry food sellers here in Detroit work out deals to set up and sell their products at local stores. They get a day or two to show the stores what they can do. If customers respond and buy a lot of the product, it opens the door for more shelf space. If not, the store lost nothing in giving it a try. How do you set this up? Free stuff. Give the decision-maker free samples of your product. If he or she likes it, you're on to the next step. Enjoy making your good luck for yourself! I'm happy to discuss further by phone.

One thing I like about your question is the fact that you're ASKING it. Trying to quantify profit. Most people never even get that far. They treat profit--especially if it is that of their own business--as some ethereal thing they will "get later" if possible. "To manage we must measure" is a business maxim and a fundamental one for me. If we don't build Profit into our revenue equation, we're unlikely to get any. And so asking this question and building profit right into your revenue target is a powerful idea nearly all small business owners totally miss. As for an answer...that amount is really up to you. What do you need to survive? There are so many variables we don't know about: what kind of business, what scale, what paths to market are you using, etc. etc. that affect costs, together with the price tolerance of your marketplace, that it's not possible to give an "average" answer. When I train business owners on how to set their operation up for success, I recommend 20-30% of revenue be built in as a monthly amount for profit. However, this is usually for consultants, and may not be possible for other business models. Sometimes 5% profit is what's achievable, say for a commodity provider, and if they make money with that, OK. Have you done any studies of comparative firms in your niche?

I think this is a very generalized question. Without knowing the specifics, such industry and product or service you are offering, it would be hard to answer this. Generally speaking, a lot would depend on the team you have in place. You have to visualize the effort required for each new business model and project and envision how this effort would be executed and by whom. If you have sufficient resources and scalability to afford an expansion, then there is not reason to hold back.

There are two value sets here: yours and the prospect's. You may value your service at $X, but if your prospect doesn't see it that way, that value does not exist. However, you do have to start off with your target value. Have a "base/best case" value, and a "bare minimum/worst case" value. The worst case value is the lowest trade price you will trade your services for. If the prospect values it at less than that, you won't trade. Your trade prospect will probably have the same kind of numbers in mind for their own service, whether consciously or not. When the two of you talk, you need to match up value. How much of your graphic design etc. do they want in return for some of their printing services? Money is the value medium. Think about it as two farmers trading cheese for chickens if that helps you. After setting a qualified meeting, ie. they are interested in what you offer... Begin by asking them how much they value your service at. Note we are getting at THEIR belief here, not yours. Because that's reality. They will lowball, probably, but now you know the starting point. Then ask them what they believe their service is valued at. Now you have a basic idea of how much of your 'Service A' you need to provide in exchange for one unit of their 'Service B'. Is this acceptable to you? Maybe you found a really fair prospect and the numbers are great. In that case you can shake hands and sign the deal. Otherwise, it's time to negotiate. If their valuation of your service was much lower than their value of what they provide, call them on it. "Why is your service worth so much to you, and mine so little?" Always be ready to get up and leave. DON'T get emotionally invested and huff and puff if their valuation isn't to your liking. It's just business. But the prospect will probably start waffling and making adjustments in your favor now. If you just can't get close enough to that minimum figure to make things work for you, consider further trading. What can they give you that isn't a big deal for them but has great value to you, that will make up that difference for you? Bartering is a huge part of the economy and large companies do it all the time. They try to hide this from consumers, because they want regular people to pay retail prices in cash. But up the chain, trade is commonplace. Get some experience with this...keep at it and it will pay off.

Most companies these days have people responsible for external innovation and business developement. Somebody with the tittle 'licensing' might also be appropriate. But the key is - never try talking to R&D or marketing people and make sure you have a solid value proposition to offer. Some times companies have an official portal or form you could submit for their review. If not, using professional intermediary is a better way than to knock the front door.

You can approach Airlines for co-branding, ask shops in Airport to promote the app, ticket booking sites to promote your app in signature of the mails they send .. there are lot of avenues. What exactly are you trying to build. Call me if needed. I am consulting architect with 14 years of experience in building iOS, Android, Windows Phone mobile apps, windows and web apps that scale.

Yes. That is the whole purpose of the USPTO filing system. Whoever is first to file gets the mark. There is common law usage which they could argue but first to file is generally upheld.

The resume's purpose is to Get You The Interview. Not get you the job. It can't do that. So anything that helps you Stand Out and get that callback for the interview is fair game. I don't even recommend using a resume anymore. Develop online content and get it in front of employers who have the power to hire you (CEOs, not HR). I absolutely would put your backpacking experience as a line item high up on your resume. I did about 60 information interviews with hiring professionals and found that they scan--not read, note--the top third of Page 1 of resumes. If you don't sell to them in that small space why they need to talk to you, your resume goes in the trash. So get your punchy stuff in up front. I'm an expert in unorthodox jobhunting and getting companies to create jobs with zero competition, custom-made for you...frequent radio interview guest on the topic, and have had four companies do this for me during my career. Resumes and cover letters are totally outdated, but you're free to keep using them if you like.

First, when you make enough sales face-to-face, hire someone to manage social media for you. You don't have to do it like everyone else, but you need to have a presence online to be a serious contender in the marketplace. Even people who meet you face-to-face may be less enthusiastic about buying from you (or even suspicious) if they can't find much about you online. Here are some of the more successful approaches I've used to increase "face time" with clients and prospects: 1. Book speaking engagements and speak on subject matters where my expertise can shine through. Chambers of commerce, civic organizations, trade associations, etc. 2. Join a meet-up group or, better yet, start your own. Figure out what kind of networking your prospective clients want to do and give them an opportunity to do it. You'll create value for them and fill your Rolodex with leads. 3. Join a chamber of commerce, networking organization, or trade association and (emphasis here) take a leadership role. Chair a committee. Run an event. Organizations like these have hundreds or thousands of members. Only a percent show up. A smaller percent actually gets a lot of business from it. Which small percent? The ones who take an active, visible leadership role. I'm sure we could come up with a lot more if we could talk specifically about your business and industry. Please set up a phone call if you want to brainstorm.

Teaching. Set up some sort of online, or even better, night course at a local college. Charge for it. By teaching, you set yourself up as an authority on the subject. The more you teach, the more people see you as the person who knows those most on the subject. What you'll get out of it is more business referrals and more clients. Seems weird, and most people will say "you'll be training your competition!" but in fact, you won't. Just because you teach someone how to use a camera, it doesn't turn them into a professional photographer, but it does form a relationship of trust and knowledge between you and boatloads of potential clients.

Have an interview plan. What is the purpose of the interview? Don't be wishy-washy. Your two questions today could have used a lot more detail. I do many of these (and am an expert guest) on my blog at http://www.salestactics.org. Here's an example of several: http://www.salestactics.org/sales-expert-interviews/ Write out your questions beforehand. Of course one or two new questions will occur to you while conducting the interview; ask them, too. But have your base set up. Think about your request from their perspective: WHY would they want to participate? Yes, people want to be cooperative and helpful. But No, they do not want to create content for you (for example, I am asked to be interviewed all the time by people who are compiling such expert interviews to then SELL them...why on earth should I give them content so they can make money with it?!). So be clear about your purpose. You really must be looking for expertise, not digging for a job. Fake purpose will be seen through immediately and it will hurt your reputation. Collecting a series of these interviews online around a specific topic is a great differentiating factor for job hunting, however. This is positioning.

If I understand your question correctly, you are asking about information interviews. That is the term. People are cooperative and like to show off what they know (I'm doing it right now!). So let them. This isn't hard. Nearly everyone you call will be open to at least talking with you on the phone for a few minutes. You may have to schedule a time to call back or meet in person later, and that's fine. So say there's a job you want to do, you think, and you'd like to find out more about it. The funny thing is, the same job done at different companies can be totally different experiences because of cultures. So it's best to talk to three or four people doing that job at separate firms to get perspective. To find these people is not difficult. You can use LinkedIn. Or you can use a simple method called the Little Unsure technique, where you ask the receptionist, "Hi, I'm not sure who I should speak with...I'm looking for the person who does [whatever role it is]. But again, I'm not sure who that would be there..." and trail off. This method is very effective. You may get voicemail. 3/4 times the person you're calling won't be available to take your call. Don't take it personally. Leave a quick message or call back later now that you have the name. For messages or live answers, say you are doing some research, are interested in the role they have and are wondering if it's right for you. If they could speak with you for about 15 minutes, it would be very helpful. If now's not a good time, when would work? Have your questions ready. They may want to go ahead right now. I have had employees get time for such interviews in person approved by their boss...again, people want to be cooperative. Once in awhile you may find someone who is "too busy". Simply move on. No big deal. That person is probably not a fit anyway. The higher you go in larger organizations, the nicer the people you'll find. How did the leaders in most organizations get there? The Sales career path. They know all about cold calling. The appreciate it. Nearly all of the success factors here are getting past your fears. These fears are simply not valid. They don't hold true in the real world. Nearly everyone is flattered someone would ask their opinion. Go find out whether this job is really something you want. And you'll also find out what kind of different corporate cultures exist...which will play a big part in your job selection, if you're smart. Don't be in "I'll Take Anything" mode. Start sorting.

Develop executable strategy and prioritized action list... The devil is in details of course. And lots depend on the field and type of business you are trying to build. I mentor a lot to startups and formal accelerator programs. Glad to discuss if there is an interest.

By far, it is managing cash flow. You need to be VERY good at it. There is an extremely fine balance between the speed you can invest and the speed at which you get new customers (i.e. revenue). And it is very easy to tip it of one way or another. If you are too risk averse, you will not invest enough and grow too slowly and be overtaken by market, if you take too many risks, you can be broken and have to shut down ... as said, very fine balance!. But mastering this balance will equip you with extremely useful skills that will prove invaluable for later stages of your startup and that, from my point of view, people that try to get funding as soon as possible don't fully develop. So face the challenge with a brave face! :)

Hi, I've worked with start-ups, SMEs and corporates serving both the public and private sectors. I have 25 years of experience managing projects, programs, operations, engineering and technology-driven change and have served in both leadership and advisory roles internationally. Here are some essential things to think about when prioritising ideas: Why do it? | Does it align with vision, goals & values? | is it the most sensible next step (thinking holistically)? | is there something else with a better ROI | what's the opportunity cost (ie what can't be done if you do this)? | does this help remove critical uncertainties ie reduce risk? | is there an associated health, safety or environmental issue | when does it need to be completed? | will this help build momentum and commitment? | what are the dependencies? | can it be properly resourced? | are there clearly defined, measurable success criteria? | does this have the required level of executive support? | how well does it align with other initiatives? | do all key stakeholders agree on the emergent priorities? Feel free to come back to me with questions. Also, if you have a particular context I can get more specific. Cheers, Trevor

That would depend on what you're trying to accomplish and who you are as a manager and individual. Off the top of my head I can tell you that Podio, Asanna and Basecamp are all popular project management tools. Which one you use really depends on you and the features you want. On a personal level I use Trello which I make work for me. It has the features I want and allows me to display information that seems logical to me. I suggest that you play around with all them and find which one works best for you. If I'm off the mark and you're asking about a specific system I suggest scrum. Although scrum is most talked associated with building agile products I've successfully used it on a wide variety of projects technical and non technical. Hope this helps and best of luck!

Assuming it's a startup with high growth ambition with real potential, the most common thing to offer is equity from the company (or company to be registered later). The amount of the equity you should offer depends on the stage at the startup development http://www.startupcommons.org/startup-key-stages.html The earlier it is the higher is the risk of that equity to have any real value, as well as the time that it would materialize. The other factor is naturally for how long and how much of time usage would you be expecting from the mentor, as well as how valuable you consider that mentoring to be on the success of the company. The good thing about equity arrangement is that if both party see the value on doing this, also the reward to benefit from the relationship is aligned via equity arrangement. Generally in startup mentoring, many serial entrepreneurs are quite happy to offer some general advise for free as part of their "giving back", this they will typically like to do as part of their own networking or presentations in a startup events. I would say that if they are in the event, they are available, so just be brave enough to ask. However, beyond simple one off advises, if you feel you need to build a longer relationship, it's better to not expect the availability of the good mentors to have time available without some arrangement either directly or via some accelerator program or similar. For short term need you can naturally always opt in for a simple cash transaction and even use same model over period of time "as needed" bases. Now clearly something like Clarity offers as easy as it can get solution for this. Optionally you could setup a simple "monthly fixed fee" as well. In case it's for something else than startup that basically have these generic models available, then you may think of something similar, where you share some of the upside (what ever that is) with the mentor. If it's totally something out of "traditional business" like life coaching, you could simple offer you own skills, contact network and time in return, assuming the would be a match in what the mentor (or his/her business, network etc.) would have use for. Something that is easy for you, but not so for the mentor.

Well, it depends on your skills and what kind of portfolio your clients ask for. I can share some comments if you are a content strategist, UX engineer, or a technical communicator. You can prepare custom portfolio, such as content inventory or gap analysis, or a quick guide from whatever apps you use in routine. For example: (a) If you blog, prepare an ‘inventory’ of how you planned this blog, your branding process, and calendar (if any). (b) If you manage any facebook or G+ brand page, prepare a quick guide to share how you post media, moderate the page, and see insights and analytics. (c) You can prepare a story of how you plan and structure your resume (digital or paper), the conventions and styling, and the branding. (d) Prepare a UX report for gap analysis and optimization scope, for any app you use (ToDo, Emails or for anything). I always recommend NOT to use your portfolio from past employers. Create your own custom portfolio, and show the value. Need more directions? I can discuss more on a call.