Kepentingan Value Proposition Dalam Jualan

Pengguna membeli penyelesaian dan bukannya produk. Jangan keliru, sememangnya mereka membeli produk, tetapi mereka membeli kerana di sebabkan “sesuatu”, dan kerana “sesuatu” itu, mereka mahukan penyelesaian.

“Sesuatu” yang biasa kita ketahui adalah seperti masalah. Cuba fikirkan, apabila anda membeli iPod, the end result anda mahukan hiburan. Apabila anda membuka akaun percuma Lot.my anda mahu kurangkan kos dan memudahkan proses perniagaan anda. Produk hanyalah satu “kenderaan” yang membawa prospek kepada penyelesaian.

Jadi, anda perlu bijak mempamerkan kelebihan produk anda untuk mampu meyakinkan prospek anda bahawa produk anda adalah yang terbaik. Apabila membeli produk anda, mereka hanya mahukan penyelesaian kepada masalah mereka. Di sinilah “Value Proposition” memainkan peranan penting.

Gunakan Value Proposition anda di dalam marketing tidak kira di telefon, email, seminar untuk membantu prospek memahami kenapa produk anda mampu menyelesaikan masalah mereka. Untuk mempamerkan Value Proposition dengan cara yang efektif, pastikan anda mempunyai elemen-elemen seperti di bawah (Berdasarkan teori Jill Konrath) :

Business Driver
Senaraikan end result apa yang prospek dapat jika mereka membeli produk anda. Contohnya anda menggunakan Lot.my, Value Proposition pula : Mengurangkan kos, Mempercepatkan proses, Memudahkan proses pembayaran, Meningkatkan produktiviti.

Movement
Senaraikan efek-efek yang akan mereka rasai jika mereka membeli produk anda. Contohnya tidak jauh bezanya dari di atas, tetapi highlight pada perkataan yang mampu mempengaruhi mereka : Mengurangkan, Mempercepatkan, Memudahkan, Meningkatkan.

Metrics
Letakkan metrics atau digit di dalam Value Propositation anda supaya ia nampak lebih teguh dan di percayai. Contohnya : Pencuci Ini Mampu Menghilangkan Sehingga 99.99% Bakteria.

10 Timeless Business Tips From 10 Millionaire Entrepreneurs

I always get asked the question of how I became successful. If you ever hang out with me for a day or two, you’ll notice that most of my friends are 30 to 50 years old. When you start hanging around with people in this age group, you will soon realize that they have tons of experience under their belt and they usually don’t mind sharing it with you.

Here is what I have learned in the last year from 10 successful entrepreneurs :

There’s no such thing as a safe bet – just because a friend or a family member tells you about an investment, it doesn’t mean it is a good opportunity. If it was that good, they wouldn’t tell you about it and instead they would put in all their money. The only reason people tell you about investment opportunities is because they want to diversify due to the risk. (David Niu – sold a company to aQuantive and is the co-founder of BuddyTV)

You don’t have to start a business to be successful – if you find a good business you can always buy it, grow it, and sell it for a good return. In many cases it is less risky to buy a business than to start it from scratch. (Ben Huh – bought I Can Has Cheezburger)

Just because you have money, it doesn’t mean you should blow it – there is no need for small companies or startups to waste money. You have to be scrappy at all times, such as subletting a 660 square foot office space at a good deal and squeezing 12 employees in there as well as a conference room. (Andy Liu – sold a company to aQuantive and is the other co-founder of BuddyTV)

If you want to keep making money you have to spend some on yourself – if you end up spending money on yourself, it will create a drive in you that will cause you to want to make more money. If you just keep on saving money, there isn’t much to motivate you to keep making more of it. (John Reese – the godfather of email marketing and a Lamborghini owner)

Have some balls – stand up for yourself and don’t be afraid to confront others. If you let people push you around, when will it ever end? Letting others push you around may not seem like a big deal at first, but it can impact your life and business in a negative way. (Jeremy Schoemaker – sold a company to MediaWhiz and made $132,994.97 from Google in one month)

Raising venture capital is harder than being stricken by lightning – a venture capitalist usually has no clue about most of the investments brought to him or her. But if you make the investor feel that they can contribute to your company and if you can show growth, the investor must be on crack if they don’t fund you. (Guy Kawasaki – writer, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist)

There is nothing wrong with being last in line – if you miss out on an opportunity, who cares, there are plenty more out there. See who else is involved and think things through carefully before you jump in and make a commitment. (Alex Algard – investor and founder of Whitepages.com)

Staying under the radar isn’t always a bad thing – getting press and buzz maybe nice, but it can also cause your company to be getting too much attention. This can lead to things like increased competition. It may just be better to stay under the radar and make millions while you can. (Edward Yim – sold a company to Marchex and founded a company that has been stealth for years)

Don’t judge a book by its cover – whether a Harvard MBA or a bum hits you up, take the time to listen and respond to everyone. Don’t judge anyone too quickly because you don’t know who is going to be the next Bill Gates (Geoff Entress – made millions by investing in companies that either went public or were bought out)

Ride other peoples’ coattail – being successful isn’t always easy, so why not increase your odds by following other successful people. You may not be as successful as them, but you’ll do well enough. (Mr. C – invested early into a company that went public with a 30 billion dollar market cap)

Credit To - QuickSprout

4 Sebab Kenapa Perniagaan Anda Perlukan Blog

Salah satu elemen yang penting dalam pemasaran ialah perhubungan dengan pelanggan. Namun, tidak semua kaedah untuk perhubungan pelanggan adalah murah lebih-lebih lagi jika anda ingin melakukan kempen besar anda. Salah satu cara yang paling mudah dan efektif untuk anda berhubung dengan pelanggan adalah melalui blog. Antara sebab mengapa blog boleh memainkan peranan dalam perhubungan pelanggan ialah :

Mempamerkan Personaliti Anda

Kata orang tidak kenal maka tidak cinta. Jadikan blog sebagai medium untuk mempamerkan personaliti anda kepada pelanggan, supaya mereka akan lebih mengenali anda melalui personaliti dan penulisan anda. Jadi semasa menulis, penting untuk anda menunjukkan personaliti sebenar diri anda.

Komunikasi Bersama Pelanggan

Anda juga dapat membina hubungan dengan pelanggan dengan berkomunikasi dengan mereka melalui blog. Tanya permasalahan mereka tentang produk atau servis anda. Di sini anda mengetahui di mana kesilapan anda dan memperbaikinya untuk prestasi yang lebih baik. Anda juga boleh melakukan survey dan permintaan semasa pelanggan anda.

Mengumumkan Berita Terkini

Dengan blog juga anda dapat berkongsi dengan pelanggan anda tentang berita dan informasi terkini perniagaan anda. Selain itu, anda juga boleh mengumumkan promosi terkini produk atau servis anda. Pelancaran produk anda juga mungkin boleh di lakukan di blog.

Berkongsi Informasi

Anda juga boleh berkongsi informasi yang sangat bermanfaat kepada pelanggan anda di blog. Berikan mereka informasi yang mereka tidak boleh dapat di mana-mana. Ini dapat meningkatkan kepercayaan pelanggan terhadap kemampuan anda.

Do You Have What It Takes To Be An Internet Entrepreneur?

Many people dream about becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg. However, 95% of bloggers have fewer than five visitors to their website in a given week. Of course, many bloggers just want to share a few stories and pictures and couldn’t care less about becoming an Internet entrepreneur, much less Mark Zuckerberg. Still, it is clear that many Internet entrepreneurs don’t have what it takes to really be successful.

Most of us would probably attribute the success of an Internet entrepreneur to raw intelligence. This is most likely not the case. The success of an Internet marketer usually boils down to their frame of mind, rather than their mind itself. Here are some of the important traits that distinguish them from the wannabe bloggers who will never get anywhere in the field.

They have a huge drive

Internet marketing is not for the faint of heart. You need to be highly ambitious just to get by. If you want to truly be successful, then you may need to almost be mistaken for being narcissistic (thankfully, you probably don't have to go quite that far).

Being a successful Internet entrepreneur takes a lot of effort. If you are going to succeed in the field, you need to know that you really want it before you ever write a single blog post or line of code.

They are willing to wait for result

The process of setting up a WordPress blog can take a matter of minutes. Theoretically, if you created one interesting post that a hundred million people read, then you could be a million overnight. How many times has this actually happened, though?

One of the rules of thumb for an online entrepreneurs is that it will take you about three months to make a full-time income from your online business, if you play your cards right. You have to secure your position in the search engines and build a following. You need a strong brand and trust. This involves making regular contributions to both your blog and other communities you have joined.

If you need to make money right away, then a career in Internet marketing is not for you.

They have the right attitude

This is probably the most complex element of being a successful Internet entrepreneur, because it summarizes everything and anything. In a nutshell, their attitude needs to carry over into how they deal with both themselves and everyone else.

They are optimistic about achieving their goals. At the same time, they know how to reach out to others and are persistent about following through with commitments. They also are also tactful and understanding of their customers. A good Internet entrepreneur will place the needs and desires of others in their network before themselves, every time.

I honestly don’t know if these skills can really be learned. New scientific evidence suggests that genius is more about determination than innate cognitive abilities. Some people are just born with a drive that the rest of society doesn't have. The bottom line is that you need to sincerely ask yourself if you have what it takes to be a true Internet entrepreneur before you commit to the madness and sacrifices that you must go through before you can reach your dreams.

Credit - Young Entrepreneur

Jual Beli : Antara Keperluan Dan Kemahuan

Salah satu teknik yang perlu ada pada setiap usahawan ialah membuatkan prospek membeli apa yang anda promosikan (walaupun kadangkala ianya bukan keperluan). Ini kerana setiap manusia mempunyai naluri dan kemahuan mereka sendiri. Naluri mereka sangat tipikal, mereka sentiasa mempunyai kemahuan untuk menjadi lebih dari apa yang mereka ada, walaupun mereka tahu ia bukan keperluan semasa.

Cuba anda fikirkan kembali, berapa kali anda membeli barang mengikut kemahuan anda? Berapa kali anda melihat produk-produk di televisyen yang bukan keperluan tetapi masih mendapat permintaan yang tinggi? iPhone? Astro? Produk kecantikan? Untuk memberi anda sedikit klue, cuba anda perhatikan beberapa contoh asas kemahuan seorang manusia di bawah :

1. Untuk menjadi lebih baik – Mereka mahu menjadi lebih baik dari rakan-rakan mereka. (Memakai kereta yang lebih mahal, memakai handphone yang terkini dll)

2. Belajar sesuatu yang baru – Sesuatu yang baru boleh membuatkan mereka kelihatan lebih advance dari rakan-rakan mereka.

3. Menjadi popular – Tidak penting bukan? Tetapi mengapa industri hiburan masih di banjiri bakat-bakat baru melalui program realiti televisyen?

4. Untuk berhibur – Walaupun mereka tahu hiburan melalaikan tetapi mereka masih menginginkannya. (Tidak hairanlah perniagaan berasaskan hiburan mendapat banyak keuntungan)

Siapa yang tidak mahu menjadi lebih baik kan? Sebenarnya, banyak lagi sikap pengguna yang boleh anda fahami hanya melalui produk/servis yang sedia ada di pasaran. Tugas anda untuk meyakinkan mereka bahawa produk/servis anda mampu mencapai kemahuan mereka. Selamat mencuba.

Tips Pemasaran 4P Rasulullah S.A.W

Konsep Pemasaran 4P digunapakai oleh nabi dalam perniagaan baginda.

Produk (Produk)
Rasulullah S.A.W memasarkan barang dagangan atau produk yang menepati citarasa pengguna di kalangan masyarakat Arab. Baginda turut mengutamakan kualiti produk sepertimana Allah berfirman yang bermaksud :

"Wahai manusia! Makanlah apa yang baik & dihalalkan di dunia & janganlah kamu mengikuti langkah syaitan" (Al-Baqarah: 168)

Promosi (Promotion)
Promosi adalah aspek penting dalam sesebuah perniagaan. Tanpa promosi yang betul akan mengundang kegagalan yang memeritkan. Walaupun Rasulullah S.A.W menyedari betapa pentingnya promosi dalam melakukan perniagaan, baginda tidak pernah melebihkan produk dengan maksud ingin memikat pembeli. Promosi merupakan komunikasi dua hala yang penting antara penjual & pembeli. Baginda tegas mengatakan bahawa seorang peniaga yang baik perlu menjauhi diri daripada sumpah/janji yang berlebihan dan melampaui batas. Daripada Abu Hurairah R.A Rasulullah S.A.W bersabda :

"Sumpah atau janji yang diucapkan untuk melariskan perniagaan dapat merosakkan keuntungan" (Direkodkan oleh Muslim)

Seterusnya dlm satu hadith baginda bersabda :

"Yang dinamakan jualan palsu adalah usaha untuk melariskan barang dagangannya, lagi berusaha dgn cara yang tercela" (Direkodkan oleh Bukhari dan Muslim)

Penetapan Harga (Pricing)
Harga sesuatu barang dagangan/jualan amatlah penting. Dalam proses penetapan harga, Rasulullah S.A.W mengamalkan konsep tertentu yang dapat difahami dalam hadith di bawah daripada Abdullah bin Umar :

"Janganlah kamu menyaingi (secara tidak sihat) penjualan saudaramu sendiri"
(Direkodkan oleh Bukhari & Muslim)

Jika diteliti dalam hadith di atas, persaingan yang tidak sihat seperti perang harga yang melampau adalah dilarang. Namun baginda amat mengesyorkan persaingan yang sihat dengan menekankan kepada kualiti produk & memberi nilai hebat kepada pelangan dari produk yang dipasarkan.

Pemilihan Lokasi (Place)
Semua peniaga telah maklum tentang betapa pentingnya lokasi/pemilihan tempat dalam perniagaan. Di zaman Rasulullah lebih 1400 tahun dahulu, faktor pemilihan tempat amatlah ditekankan oleh baginda. Pasar-pasar di sekitar Makkah menjadi tumpuan baginda kerana di situlah pedagang-pedagang luar berkumpul dan mengedarkan barangan yang dibawa.

Baginda telah berusaha menempatkan dirinya di kalangan peniaga di sekitar Makkah terutamanya di pasar-pasar besar yang menjadi tumpuan sejak dari kecil lagi. Di sanalah juga Rasulullah S.A.W menjalinkan jaringan sebanyak mungkin dgn para pedagang tempatan & luar Makkah. Di samping itu baginda mementingkan hubungan yang baik dengan semua pelangannya.

Baginda telah melarang beberapa strategi yang tidak adil contohnya strategi yang boleh membebankan petani-petani di kampung dan juga bakal pelangan. Ini dapat difahami dgn lebih jelas dalam hadith baginda S.A.W daripada Jabir :

"Tidaklah dibolehkan penduduk kota menjadi perantara niaga bagi orang di desa. Biarkanlah orang memperoleh rezeki Allah satu daripada yang lain."
(Direkodkan oleh Muslim).

Dapat difahami secara umumnya, semua strategi yang mengundang kepada ketidakadilan dan kezaliman kepada mana-mana pihak adalah dilarang menurut Rasulullah S.A.W dan wajib dielakkan diamal oleh para peniaga. Etika & amanah serta jujur dalam berniaga amat penting demi mendapatkan rezeki yang Halalan Toyyiban!

Tips Pemasaran Kaedah Rasulullah di atas amatlah sesuai dilaksanakan dalam Internet Business ataupun Offline Bisness. Gunakan kreativiti masing-masing dalam memproses maklumat di atas utk di applykan dalam bisnes online/offline.

Credit to - WangCyber

Store Of The Week : Ericanfly.lot.my

Setelah beberapa minggu ruang Store of Week di lancarkan, nampaknya semakin banyak peniaga Lot.my yang menunjukkan prestasi yang agak memberangsangkan untuk kedai mereka. Baik dari segi designing, trafik dan jualan. Nampaknya, memang tidak mustahil untuk anda maju dalam perniagaan anda bersama Lot.my.

Okay, tanpa melengahkan masa, minggu ini kami memilih kedai Ericanfly sebagai store of the week. Apa yang patut di contohi peniaga Lot.my lain tentang Ericanfly ialah cara beliau mempromosikan kedai, kerana penting untuk peniaga membuat promosi yang betul di kedai mereka untuk memastikan pengunjung dapat di tukar menjadi pembeli. Di samping itu design kedai di lihat amat menarik, dengan pemilihan warna yang sepadan iaitu merah dan hitam. Menambahkan seri kepada kedai.

Okay di harap peniaga Lot.my dapat menjadikan kedai-kedai yang di review sebagai reference dan contoh. Bukan sahaja untuk mendapat tempat di review mingguan, malah di harap ia dapat menambah prestasi dan keuntungan kedai Lot.my anda.

10 Things Every Young Entrepreneur Should Know

Below are 10 tips that every young entrepreneur should know because it will help you gain credibility, authority, and will generally power you as a business owner, so embrace them! This post is written with the assumption that you are already an entrepreneur, already have a business plan, financing, etc. If not, make that happen!

Be willing to tell someone about what you’re doing

Yes, shy people can be entrepreneurs, but if you struggle to ask someone to help spread the word or have difficulty sharing information about your business then how will people know you’ve got a new business in the first place?

Never let your youth hold you back from telling people about your company when appropriate. Remember that your age is both an asset and (can be) a hindrance so if you screw up at first just learn from your mistakes. We all gotta start somewhere!

Listen to what people say

Ask potential clients/customers questions about themselves and be sincere. The key to any industry is about relationships with your end consumer. People need to know that you care and they’ll remember you and your business. I am not in a traditional sales business but one of my favorite books is Jeffery Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling because it teaches you how to do just that- listen and build relationships.

Never bombard people with your business

This can be extremely difficult if you’re really excited about what you do, but see #2 above. You will learn so much more about your target market if you let them open up to you and then address their needs with your product or service. As guru Jeffrey Gitomer says, “People hate to be sold but they love to buy.” (especially if they like you!) Again- pick up any of Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Little book of” books. These are all extremely helpful and he actually answers his personal email! (but save yourself some cash and get them at Amazon or Half.com of course!)

Get used to hearing “no thanks” and “not interested”

No matter how perfect your service or product is there are really some people out there who have no interest in your company or what you offer and that’s okay-no amount of salesmanship will change their mind. You will hear no more than once. Thank them and move on because if you offer something amazing there will be other people who realize it and they will want to buy from you.

Dress professionally when on the job or looking for new business

This may seem like a no-brainer but trust me, last week I saw young women being interviewed to get into pharmacy school who were wearing leggings and men who were sporting that popular half-shaven look. First impression is huge for young entrepreneurs like you and me because we want to be taken seriously… So don’t give anyone any reason discredit you because of your outfit. TomJames.com has very tasteful collections that will give you a guideline of what looks professional, regardless of your age.

Learn how to speak more effectively without the “ums and uhs”

Talk to your cat. Give a pretend presentation to the mirror. Whatever it takes to get comfortable with your business, do it. Toastmasters is an excellent cost effective organization that will help you stop speaking ineffectively. They welcome younger guests, too- locate your nearest chapter and ask if you can sit in on a meeting. They last about an hour and will give you a great idea of how to speak effectively and maturely.

For those of you in high school consider joining a business related service group. Ask your counselor or teachers for more details. FCCLA (Family Career, and Community Leaders of America) and FBLA (Future Business Leader of America) are excellent groups to get involved with.

Realize success will not happen overnight

It probably will not happen for the first 4-5 months. But stick with it – if you quit then it will never happen for you. Famous Failures-all of these people ended up making lasting impressions on their field and our world- did you know they are famous “failures”? They all failed miserably and some were even told they’d never make it- yet they did and we know recognize each of their names. If you’re on to something never ever quit.

Be creative to get your name and company out there

Start a blog. Do some posts about your business. Join a local community service group. Volunteer under your company’s name, etc. The Social Tee offers custom social media shirts (like follow me on twitter, etc) I haven’t gotten a price quote yet but I’ve heard they offer competitive pricing.Read anything you can get your hands along the lines of marketing, success strategies, and how to effectively use social media. Again, some of my favorites are anything by Jeffrey Gitomer and Mashable’s small business section.

Ask for their business

This can be difficult for even the most outgoing people to do, but an effective salesperson will ask for the customer’s business (Did you realize you are salesperson since you’re promoting your company?). I still find it difficult to remember to ask for business-especially if the chemistry is great between someone I’m talking to. Just because you click with them doesn’t mean they’ll be your customer. Here’s a great article on Microsoft’s forums about how to ask for a customer’s business, for referrals, and for return business.

It is all about networking

Everyone knows someone who knows someone who can use your services-just ask Feel like you’re too young to talk to adult professionals? Ask your parents or your friend’s parents if they know anyone who is looking for your services. It is about who you know, and who they know. So get out there and shake some hands and talk to the right people-(the ones who can be future clients or can refer future clients).

If you have a game plan and can effectively express yourself and what your company does adult professionals will stop seeing your young age and start treating you as a peer because you will have demonstrated that you are on the same level with them.

Credit to : EpicLaunch

Store Of The Week : Faizah.lot.my

Salam sejahtera, di harap perniagaan semua usahawan di Lot.my sentiasa berjalan lancar. Okay, untuk minggu ini kami ingin review sebuah lagi yang berjaya mencuri tumpuan kami. Sebuah kedai yang menggunakan fungsi-fungsi Lot.my dengan sebaiknya. Tahniah di ucapkan kepada kedai Faizah.lot.my

Seperti yang kami terangkan tentang widget-widget yang berguna untuk kedai Lot.my sebelum ini, nampaknya kedai Faizah ini menggunakannya dengan baik sekali. Selain itu kedai ini juga di lihat pandai memasarkan kedainya dengan widget network facebook dan shoutbox untuk memudahkan hubungan dengan pengunjung. Beliau juga memberi penghargaan kepada pelanggan setia beliau dengan widget pelanggan setia di bahagian side module.

Tahniah sekali di ucapkan kepada Faizah.lot.my kerana berjaya menggunakan Lot.my dengan sebaiknya. Di harap para peniaga lain dapat mengambil contoh dan reference dari apa yang di lakukan Faizah di kedainya.

How To Start A Business With No Money

Do you think you need a lot of money to start a business? You don’t! I’ve started eight businesses with less than $1000 each. These are the tricks I use.

You Don’t Need Everything from Day One

Don’t feel like your business has to look like a “real business” from day one.

- You don’t need an office.
- You don’t need to incorporate from day one.
- You don’t need fancy business cards, a fax machine or that desk you really like.

People can often become distracted by the things mentioned above and lose focus on what matters. Concentrate on selling and then selling some more. That’s all you should be working on at the very beginning.

Use Relationship Marketing to Your Advantage

This is the most important lesson that I’ve learned in my career as an entrepreneur, so please pay attention. The best kind of marketing is called “relationship marketing” and it’s free. How does it work?

1. Find the people that have access to your audience.
2. Offer them a commission for referring business to you.
3. Let them market your company at no risk to you.

Let’s say you offer city tours in London. Go to all the hotels in the city, talk to the front desk staff at each place and tell them what you do. They have access to millions of travelers and that’s your target audience. Pay the front desk clerks a commission for each guest they send your way. This is risk-free and extremely effective.

Do As Much as You Can Yourself

Design your own business cards, build your own website, and write your own marketing copy. These won’t look as great as work done by professionals, but it’s free and fast. Once you’ve sold a few thousand dollars worth of products or services, you can always re-do your website, business cards and marketing copy using experts.

Good Enough is Good Enough

There’s a group of people that struggle more than anybody else when it comes to starting a business with no money: the perfectionists. They can’t stand good business cards; they need great business cards. They can’t stand using a template for a website; they want a custom-made site. They can’t work with a web-based application that’s $5 a month because it doesn’t have all the features they want. They don’t leverage existing products, they need stuff that is customized for them, and that can be very expensive.

Have Contractors, not Employees

Having contractors has many advantages:

- You can stop working with them when you don’t need them anymore or if they’re not good at what they do.
- They don’t need a desk or office space.
- When work is slow, they get paid less. When there’s a lot of work, they make more money. Try that with an employee.

Pay for Results

It’s OK to have some people on retainers, but make sure that most of their income is tied to results. If they bring you a lot of business, they should make a lot of money. After all, you’ll be making a lot of money too, so it’s only fair that you share it with those that help you achieve your goals.

Be Smart About Your Inventory

These are two great pieces of advice I learned from my mentor:

- Produce on demand. When you receive an order, collect payment and then manufacture the product. By doing this your working capital will come from your customers instead of your own funds.
- Be the middle man. Instead of producing your own products, buy them at a discount from someone else and sell them at retail price. The profit margin will be smaller but this is a lot less risky. Once you’re in a better financial situation, you can start producing your own products.

Barter as Much as You Can

Very few people barter these days, but bartering is extremely powerful. If you have something other people want, try to barter for their services. You might not get the best expert in the industry to work with you, but whomever you get will be good enough.

Leverage Other People’s Businesses

You should take advantage of the retail locations, distribution channels and manpower that other companies pay for. For example, if you sell t-shirts, opening your own retail store will be way more expensive than selling your t-shirts through other people’s stores. Let them carry your products. Use their salespeople, their retail space and their distribution channels.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Quit Your Job Yet!

Having to make money by tomorrow in order to be able to buy groceries is no fun. I know it because I’ve been there; several times. Don’t quit your job yet. Work on your business in your free time. Grow it without taking stupid shortcuts because you’re desperate for money. Once you’re getting a decent income from your business, you can quit your job and work on your business full-time.

Source : Young Entrepreneur

6 Widget Berguna Untuk Kedai Lot.my Anda

Feedjit

Feedjit membolehkan anda mengetahui siapa yang telah datang ke kedai anda. Feedjit juga akan memberi statistik terperinci tentang sumber dari mana pengunjung datang ke kedai anda. Jadi anda akan dapat membuat analisis cara pemasaran anda. Ia juga memberi maklumat masa dan waktu pengunjung tersebut datang. Feedjit juga boleh di integrasi dengan beberapa laman sosial seperti Facebook dan Twitter.

Social Button
Facebook Share Button
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Anda boleh meletakkan widget-widget share seperti ini untuk memudahkan pengunjung berkongsi kedai anda dengan rakan-rakan mereka, secara tidak langsung anda mendapat trafik dan viral percuma. Untuk membuatkan pengunjung berkongsi kedai anda, pastikan anda mempunyai kandungan yang menarik dan mampu menarik minat mereka.

User Online

Dengan meletakkan widget User Online, anda dapat memaparkan jumlah keseluruhan pengunjung semasa anda kepada umum. Ini dapat menarik lebih ramai pengunjung, seperti yang kita tahu, orang ramai lebih suka dan percayakan laman web yang popular dan mempunyai ramai pengunjung. Ini dapat menambah kredibiliti kedai anda kepada umum.

Site Counter

Site Counter mempunyai fungsi yang tidak kurang bezanya dengan User Online, cuma bezanya ia menunjukkan jumlah keseluruhan pengunjung kedai anda. Pengunjung gemarkan kedai yang selalu di kunjungi, ini menunjukkan kedai anda mendapat kepercayaan ramai. Site Counter juga mempunyai pelbagai design dan warna statistik yang dapat di sesuaikan dengan tema kedai anda.

Shoutbox

Komunikasi antara anda dan pengunjung amat penting, jadi kenapa tidak anda meletakkan Shoutbox untuk memudahkan komunikasi dengan mereka. Manalah tahu mereka mempunyai pertanyaan atau cadangan tentang produk anda. Ini sangat membantu membina hubungan anda dengan mereka.

Feedback Box

Feedback dan cadangan pengunjung amat penting. Berlainan dari Shoutbox, cadangan dari Feedback Box hanya akan dapat di lihat oleh admin kedai sahaja. Ia amat penting untuk mengetahui apa yang di cadang dan di inginkan pengunjung dan amat berguna untuk meningkatkan prestasi kedai anda.

Store Of The Week : Kedai969.lot.my

Kedai yang bertuah untuk mendapat review minggu ini adalah Kedai 969. Kami tidak pasti apa "sejarah" di sebalik nama Kedai 969, apa yang pasti, kami memilih kedai ini, kerana ianya amat menarik perhatian pada first impression. Kombinasi warna background dan header yang menarik. Kelihatan lembut di mata pengunjung.

Bukan sahaja pada design, pada bahagian welcome page juga, mereka berjaya menghighlight promosi utama mereka dengan jelas sekali. Begitu juga dengan feature-feature Lot.my lain yang dapat di gunakan dengan baik. Apa yang kami mahu, ambil kedai-kedai yang kami review ini sebagai contoh dan reference. Jangan putus asa, tingkatkan lagi prestasi kedai anda, anda mampu melakukannya.

Jika anda rasa kedai anda deserve untuk di review, senaraikan kedai anda di status Facebook kami atau tinggalkan komen di artikel ini. :)

4 Langkah Mudah Menetapkan Setting Weight Based Shipping

Pada artikel kali ini, kami ingin berkongsi tentang feature “Weight Based Shipping” dan cara menggunakannya. Mungkin tidak ramai yang menggunakan feature ini kerana kebanyakkan pekedai Lot.my menjual produk yang lebih sesuai menggunakan feature “Per Item”.

Langkah 1
Bagi menentukan setting weight based shipping produk anda, pertama sekali anda perlu tentukan berat default kedai anda di bahagian Setting > Store > Local. Di bahagian Weight Class, pilih sama ada Kilogram atau Gram bagi unit berat produk anda.

Langkah 2
Kemudian, pastikan anda memasukkan unit dan nilai berat item anda di bahagian Catalog > Product > Data. Sekali lagi, pilih sama ada berat produk anda dalam Kilogram ataupun Gram di bahagian Weight Class.

PERHATIAN: Sekiranya anda memilih “Kilogram” pada Langkah 1, maka anda mesti memilih “Kilogram” juga di Langkah 2. Perkara yang sama perlu dibuat sekiranya anda memilih “Gram” sebagai unit berat bagi produk anda.

Langkah 3
Secara umumnya, kami menetapkan kos penghantaran sebagai ’Flat Rate’. Jika anda mahu menggunakan weight based shipping anda boleh klik pada pautan Edit di bahagian Setting > Shipping > Weight Based Shipping. Kemudian anda perlu memasukkan nisbah Weight dan Cost mengikut nilai yang anda mahu, lihat contoh yang di tunjukkan di bawah : (Dalam contoh ini, weight class yang digunakan adalah Kilogram dan lokasi adalah Semenanjung Malaysia)

Perhatikan pada bahagian “Semenanjung Malaysia Cost”, terdapat digit-digit yang kelihatan seperti ini:- [0:0.00, 5:17.00, 10:27.00, 25:37.00, 35:47.00, 50:57.00, 55:67.00]

[5:17.00 = weight: cost]

Maknanya [5 = weight: 17.00 = cost]

Bila mana digit-digit tersebut ditaipkan bersebelahan seperti ini misalnya;

[50:0.00, 5:17.00, 10:27.00, 25:37.00, 35:47.00, 50:57.00, 55:67.00]

Ia bermakna setiap berat antara 5 Kg ke 9.999 Kg akan di kenakan kos penghantaran sebanyak RM17, bagi berat dari 10Kg hingga 24.999Kg akan dikenakan kos penghantaran sebanyak RM27 dan bagi berat 25 Kg hingga 34.999 Kg pula akan di kenakan kos penghantaran sebanyak RM37. Begitulah seterusnya.

Setelah selesai, klik pautan Save, dan ia sudah sedia untuk di gunakan.

Langkah 4
Pastikan juga anda telah “On” feature Shipping di bahagian Setting > Order Total untuk memastikan pelanggan anda dapat menerima jumlah keseluruhan order bersama dengan jumlah Shipping.

Sekian. Selamat mencuba!

Store Of The Week : Tuds.lot.my

Minggu lepas, kami ada bercakap mengenai segmen store highlight atau store of the week untuk pengguna-pengguna kedai Lot.my di status Facebook kami. Untuk pengetahuan anda, ia di buat untuk memberi motivasi kepada anda untuk berniaga dan menbangunkan kedai anda dengan lebih bersemangat. Untuk membolehkan kedai anda di review di blog ini, pastikan ianya pada prestasi yang memberangsangkan kerana kami akan memerhatikan kedai anda, prestasi semasa, sama ada ianya akan di tentukan melalui design, jumlah pengunjung, jumlah jualan, dan pelbagai faktor-faktor lain.

Untuk membuka ruangan "Store of the week" minggu ini, kami memilih kedai dari Tuds.lot.my


Sedikit review pendek. Kami memilih Tuds.lot.my kerana ia mempunyai design yang menarik di bahagian header. Since, target mereka adalah wanita, design kedai nampak sangat sesuai dengan wanita. Dengan gambar yang sangat sesuai dengan tema jualan kedai. Apa yang lebih menarik, mereka menggunakan setiap feature yang ada di Lot.my secara maksimum, anda boleh lihat apa yang mereka buat di page special offer, bestseller, dan side module html. Jika Tuds boleh buat, anda juga boleh kan?

Okay, sampai di sini sahaja review pendek untuk minggu ini. Teruskan usaha anda, mana tahu minggu hadapan, kedai anda pula di pilih.

Lagi 5 Tips Untuk Pemasaran Facebook

Kita tidak akan dapat berhenti bercakap mengenai Facebook, kerana ianya amat sinonim dengan masyarakat kita sekarang. Mengikut statistik semasa, pengguna Facebook di Malaysia adalah kedua terbesar di dunia. Amatlah rugi jika anda tidak mengambil peluang ini untuk mengoptimasikan pemasaran perniagaan anda di internet. Di sini kami kongsikan lagi 10 tips menarik untuk pemasaran Facebook anda.

Gunakan url yang menarik untuk profile

Biasanya selepas anda register akaun profile anda, url default akan di berikan dan ia kelihatan agak kurang kemas. Oleh itu, untuk lebih menonjolkan brand anda, ubah url profile tersebut. Untuk mengubah url profile, anda boleh layari www.facebook.com/username. Orang ramai akan lebih mudah mengingati url profile anda begini www.facebook.com/lotdotmy daripada www.facebook.com/profile5279739. Setuju?

Lengkapkan profile anda

Profile anda adalah tempat pertama di mana setiap pelanggan atau prospek akan singgah nanti. Jadi penting untuk anda melengkapkkan profile anda dengan maklumat perniagaan anda. Di bahagian description, anda boleh letakkan maklumat produk anda, di bahagian url letakkan alamat laman web kedai anda. Anda yang tentukan. Optimumkan penggunaan profile ini dengan sebaiknya.

Sertai group page yang berkaitan

Sebarkan perniagaan anda dengan bersosial di dalam group-group yang berkaitan dengan perniagaan anda. Jika anda berniaga mengenai produk kesihatan, sertai mereka yang mempunyai masalah berkaitan dengannya. Jangan lakukan spam! Cuba perkenalkan produk anda kepada orang ramai dengan maklumat-maklumat yang berguna untuk mereka, dan yang dapat menyelesaikan masalah mereka. Ini akan menambah kredibiliti dan autoriti anda dalam pasaran anda. Oh ya, anda juga boleh memerhatikan pesaing anda dengan menyertai group page mereka.hehe

Mencantikkan fan page anda

Jika anda mempunyai fan page sendiri, anda boleh mencantikkannya dengan meletakkan pelbagai design menarik. First impression amat penting untuk setiap perniagaan, bayangkan jika prospek melihat kedai anda yang tidak kemas pada pandangan pertama, sudah tentu mereka tidak berminat untuk melihat produk-produk anda. Jika anda tidak mampu melakukan design sendiri, anda boleh mengupah designer freelance yang boleh di dapati di forum-forum usahawan di internet.

Melakukan contest di fan page

Facebook adalah tempat terbaik untuk membuat pemasaran viral. Cara yang paling mudah untuk melakukkannnya, ialah dengan membuat contest untuk fan anda. Melalui contest ini anda dapat juga mengeratkan silaturrahim dengan fans anda. Contest yang menarik juga secara tidak langsung akan memberi promosi percuma kepada produk anda, yang juga di panggil pemasaran viral.

Is Entrepreneurship In the Blood?

Families full of entrepreneurs are not uncommon to find (think the Waltons and Vanderbilts). Though many deem it difficult to engage in business with one’s family, these entrepreneurs did not think twice. Is this because entrepreneurship is in their genes, or because it was expected of them or perhaps a little of both?

The oft-argued question of whether entrepreneurs are born or made is now under scientific scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal recently posted an article about whether or not entrepreneurship lies in blood. Scoot Shane, a professor of entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University and author of the new book Born Entrepreneur, Born Leader : How Your Genes Affect Your Work Life, says entrepreneurial prowess may have as much to do with nature as nurture.

Scott believes “a third to 40 percent of the tendency to be an entrepreneur is innate.” This is an easy idea to conceive, considering the genomes of each individual alive consists of varying traits. Greg Watson, a professor and retired private serial entrepreneur, has attempted to break down the DNA of the prototypic entrepreneur and the characteristics that person will possess in his article DNA of Entrepreneur.

With genetic engineering supposedly on the horizon, it is a possibility it will no longer matter what the parents’ DNA yields, they will have the ability to choose their offspring’s genes. Will this mean an increase or decrease of our future entrepreneurs? To keep the entrepreneurial fire burning, fuel a child’s desire to get involved in business early by stoking their curiosity in simple, engaging, creative, and safe ways with Kidspreneur, a book that outlines some basic tools and strategies that kids can use to gain valuable experience in starting, managing, and growing a successful business venture.

Credit : Young Entrepreneur

5 Tips Asas Untuk Meningkatkan Ranking Anda Di Search Engine

Mendapat ranking yang baik di search engine adalah perkara penting bagi setiap laman niaga. Ini kerana peratusan pengguna internet yang mencari maklumat menggunakan search engine adalah tinggi. Jika laman niaga anda berada dalam ranking yang baik, iaitu ranking di muka pertama, peluang anda untuk mendapat trafik sangat tinggi. Di sini kami kongsikan 5 tips asas untuk meningkatkan ranking anda di Google.

1) Optimasikan kandungan laman niaga anda – Ini adalah perkara terpenting, kerana tanpa isi kandungan yang bagus, search engine tidak akan dapat mengenalpasti topik laman niaga anda. Semakin bagus isi kandungan anda semakin tinggilah peluang laman niaga anda berada di laman pertama search engine, ingat content is a king.

2) Gunakan Social Bookmark – Terdapat banyak laman social bookmark yang boleh anda gunakan untuk submit laman niaga anda. Jika anda mempunyai target pasaran tempatan anda boleh menggunakan laman social bookmark tempatan seperti Gengblogger & Myebuzz. Tetapi jika anda mempunyai target yang lebih besar dan global, gunakan laman social bookmark luar negara seperti Digg.com, Stumbleupon.com, Reddit.com etc

3) Membeli review dan iklan – Terdapat banyak laman-laman blog tempatan yang mempunyai nilai autoriti yang tinggi. Sangat bagus jika dapat membina link anda di laman-laman yang mempunyai link yang autoriti seperti ini, kerana ia akan menguatkan populariti link laman niaga anda di search engine. Anda boleh cuba bertanya pemilik laman-laman blog untuk membeli atau menyewakan iklan disitu. Untuk lebih efektif, gunakan iklan berbentuk text supaya mudah untuk search engine mengenalpasti laman niaga anda.

4) Meninggalkan komen – Salah satu teknik yang mudah dan efektif ialah meninggalkan komen di laman web yang anda singgah. Untuk lebih efektif tinggalkan komen di laman web yang berkaitan dengan perniagaan anda, contohnya jika anda berniaga tudung, komen di laman web yang sama. Selain menambah populariti link anda, ia juga dapat mempromosi laman niaga anda kepada umum, secara tak langsung mengeratkan hubungan dengan orang ramai.

5) Meletakkan link ke laman direktori – Kebanyakan laman web direktori di internet mempunyai nilai autoriti yang bagus. Tidak kurang juga dengan laman direktori tempatan seperti Blogmalaysia.com, Allmalaysia.info, Ntahla.net dll. Letakkan link laman web anda di sana, kerana biasanya direktori begini mempunyai nilai autoriti yang tinggi dan mampu memberi kekuatan kepada ranking laman niaga anda. Di samping itu, ia juga dapat menarik trafik ke laman niaga anda kerana biasanya pengguna internet gemar mencari laman web yang mereka inginkan di direktori.

7 Traits of Highly Successful Salespeople

The issue of selling is a subject most entrepreneurs dread. All businesses thrive on profit, and profit is a derivative of sales. Often, I hear statements such as:

• “I hate selling.”
• “Why should I learn how to sell when I can just hire salespeople?”
• “I love selling but I hate being rejected.”

There’s nothing absolutely wrong with such statements, but the truth is that we are all born salespeople. This truth is even more profound on entrepreneurs because every entrepreneur is automatically a salesperson. As entrepreneurs:

• We sell our business ideas to investors with an intention to raise venture capital.
• We sell to our customers to generate profits and build brand loyalty.
• We sell to suppliers to prove our credit worthiness.
• We sell our vision to employees to enable them to align with our purpose.
• We sell our dream and mission to highly skilled professionals to make them join our team.

The list can go on and on, but I feel with these few illustrations, you’ve understood the point I am trying to buttress.

“The ability to sell is the number one skill in business. If you cannot sell, don’t bother thinking about becoming a business owner.” – Rich Dad

The purpose of this article is to give you an insight into the life of successful salespeople and specifically highlight the traits that make them successful. If selling millions of dollars worth of products is your concern; if improving your sales skill is your utmost priority; then read on as I highlight seven traits possessed by every successful salesperson.

Seven Traits of Highly Successful Salespeople

1. They are good communicators

Successful salespeople are excellent communicators. They have mastered the art of persuasion. They are eloquent speakers, good listeners, and know a great deal of how to make use of body language.

Take a look at companies with billions of dollars in sales. and you will find out that the entrepreneurs at the helm are powerful communicators. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are examples of such entrepreneurs. So if you want to be successful in sales, then you must work on your communication skills. If you cannot communicate, you cannot sell.

“Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You will be amazed at how many companies don’t listen to their customers.” – Henry Ross Perot

2. Highly successful salespeople are enthusiastic

Enthusiasm plays a key role in achieving overall success in life, and successful salespeople know this. To succeed in the field of sales, you need to have a positive attitude and be optimistic.

“Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes; the swing in your gait; the grip of your hand; the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.” – Henry Ford

3. They are persistent

Successful entrepreneurs who are excellent at sales possess a high degree of persistence. They almost don’t take no for an answer. They press on even in the face of failure. They are insistent on making the sale and succeeding; in the end, they do.

“Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Ray Kroc

4. They face their fears

When I first started out in business, I was afraid of rejection, and as a result of this, I couldn’t sell. Highly successful salespeople also hate rejection but instead of hiding in their closet, they go into the street and tackle their fears head on. The ability to face their fears is what makes them outstanding and successful. Overcoming the fear of rejection is essential to making sales and growing your business.

“The more I risk being rejected, the better my chances are of being accepted.” – Rich Dad

5. Successful salespeople are past failures

The highly successful salespeople of today were the failures of yesterday. They’ve tasted disappointments and failure, but instead of quitting as others would, they use their failures as a stepping stone to reach for greatness.

“Get mocked at for as long as you can, fail as much as you can, but don’t quit. Let every mockery, every failure, be a source of inspiration for you to reach for greatness, and the greatness will silence your critics.” – Ajaero Tony Martins

6. They are proactive learners

Successful salespeople are proactive learners. They know their cup is never full, so they seek out knowledge and information from the masters of the game. They read books and magazines, and attend seminars and courses. They do this to stay ahead of the game and stay on course with the current trends.

7. They go beyond their comfort zone

Another attribute that sets successful salespeople apart from others is their ability to stretch beyond their comfort zone. Entrepreneurs who are excellent at sales always go all out to make sure they achieve their set goals. Regardless of the weather, these entrepreneurs are out there, doing what they know how to do best.

“Restlessness is discontent, and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man, and I will show you a failure.” – Thomas Edison

In conclusion, these are the seven traits possessed by highly successful salespeople. Strive to develop these traits, and you will see a drastic increase in your sales. Good Luck. Lesson learned.

Credit to Young Entrepreneur

Tutorial : Memasang Favicon Ke Kedai Lot.my Anda

Favicon adalah umpama logo atau simbol untuk sesebuah laman web. Selain dapat mempamerkan brand, ia juga dapat menjadikan sesebuah laman web lebih menarik di lihat pengunjung. Di Lot.my, anda juga berpeluang memasang favicon untuk kedai anda. Dalam tutorial kali ini, kami akan menunjukkan cara untuk memasang favicon untuk kedai anda. Ikuti langkah-langkah yang di tunjukkan dengan teliti. Ianya simple sahaja.

1) Pilih gambar yang anda mahu jadikan sebagai favicon.

Nota : Jika anda mahu, anda boleh mengecilkan gambar anda, kecilkan sehingga saiz 25x25. Proses ini hanya perlu jika anda mahu mencantikkan kualiti gambar anda.

2) Pergi ke laman web IconJ, sebuah laman web, untuk menyimpan file anda secara percuma.

3) Klik pada butang browse, kemudian pilih gambar yang anda mahukan dan klik Upload Now.



4) Setelah berjaya di upload, copy html code yang di berikan, seperti yang di tunjukkan dalam gambar bawah.



5) Kemudian, masuk ke bahagian Setting kedai anda, dan pergi ke bahagian Custom HTML di dalam Side Module.

6) Klik pada Source dan paste code html anda di situ dan klik Save.

Nota : Anda juga boleh meletakkan code html tersebut di bahagian Custom HTML untuk Welcome Message.

Refresh browser yang anda gunakan untuk melihat logo favicon anda. (Lihat contoh yang di buat di Banner.lot.my.) Tahniah! Anda sudah berjaya memasang favicon untuk kedai anda. Simple bukan? Selamat mencuba.

Mencari Prospek Di Laman Sosial Twitter

Twitter adalah laman sosial kedua terbesar penggunanya di Malaysia. Sehingga kini, pengguna Twitter di lihat semakin meningkat dari hari ke hari kerana kecenderungan pengguna internet terhadap komunikasi yang lebih pantas.

Tidak seperti Facebook, komunikasi di Twitter adalah lebih pantas. Ia boleh di umpamakan sebuah bilik besar yang di penuhi orang ramai berbual sesama sendiri secara langsung dengan pelbagai topik. Lebih menyeronokkan, topik-topik yang popular akan menjadi trend untuk tempoh tertentu. Jika seseorang ingin memasuki atau mengikuti topik yang di bualkan seseorang, ia perlu mengikuti atau istilah Twitter “Follow” seseorang yang di inginkan.

Sebagai usahawan internet, ini adalah satu peluang untuk mendapatkan prospek. Anda boleh menggunakan platform ini untuk mencari prospek anda mengikut topik yang mereka minati. Siapa tahu, mungkin ada pengguna Twitter yang sedang mencari produk seperti yang anda niagakan. Di sini kami kongsikan cara untuk mengenalpasti prospek anda di Twitter mengikut keyword.

Pertama sekali, pastikan anda telah mempersiapkan profile anda dan jadikan ia kelihatan professional. Letakkan gambar sebenar anda beserta link ke laman niaga anda. Sebolehnya untuk permulaan, letakkan status mengenai produk anda, sekurang-kurangnya 5 status. Kemudian, pergi ke laman Twitter Search. Taip keyword produk anda di ruangan search itu dan tekan butang search. Twitter akan menyenaraikan pengguna-penggunanya yang menggunakan keyword yang anda taip tadi. Apa yang anda perlukan, ikuti (follow) sahaja pengguna yang anda ingini mengikut keyword anda tadi. Lihat contoh pengguna di bawah dengan keyword "beli beg tangan".



Apa yang menarik, setiap kali anda mengikuti seseorang, secara automatiknya orang yang anda ikuti itu akan mendapat notifkasi terus ke email mereka. Ini akan memudahkan mereka untuk melihat profile Twitter anda dan seterusnya melihat status mengenai produk yang anda tawarkan. Tapi, sentiasa ingat, laman sosial bukan untuk tujuan promosi produk sahaja, pastikan anda selitkan sekali dengan komunikasi dan informasi yang berguna, supaya orang ramai tidak jemu dengan anda.

Oh ya, jangan lupa ikuti kami di Twitter. :)

4 Tips Untuk Pemasaran Fan Page Facebook Anda

Jika anda masih belum menggunakan Facebook sebagai platform perhubungan dengan pelanggan, anda patut mempertimbangkannya. Ini kerana, statistik menunjukkan pengguna Facebook semakin bertambah dari hari ke hari. Selain menguruskan pelanggan sedia ada, anda juga berpeluang menambah pelanggan baru.

Tetapi anda juga perlu faham bagaimana berkomunikasi dengan pelanggan dengan platform sosial begini, lebih-lebih lagi jika anda menggunakan fungsi Facebook Fan Page. Ini kerana platform begini memerlukan anda untuk lebih berusaha mengekalkan hubungan dengan pelanggan. Jadi di sini kami kongsikan beberapa tips untuk menggunakan Facebook Fan Page dengan cara yang betul :

Sentiasa memberi info yang berguna

Beri info yang berguna untuk fan anda di Facebook supaya mereka akan sentiasa datang untuk mendapatkan info baru. Jika anda tidak mempunyai masa untuk update status fan page anda, anda boleh menggunakan aplikasi percuma fan page anda untuk update status fan page anda secara automatik seperti aplikasi Notepad dan RSSGrafitti yang mengintegrasikan blog anda dengan Facebook.

Beri sesuatu yang mereka tidak jumpa di mana-mana

Anda boleh cuba untuk memberi fan anda sesuatu yang istimewa seperti report percuma dan contest khas untuk mereka. Pastikan ianya hanya boleh di baca oleh mereka sahaja, supaya ianya nampak ekskulif dan mereka akan berasa isitimewa. Ini mampu menambah kesetiaan mereka kepada fan page dan juga perniagaan anda.

Sentiasa berinteraksi

Sentiasa berinteraksi dengan mereka. Anda boleh bertanya khabar tentang mereka, memberi soalan dan bertanya tentang perkembangan perniagaan mereka. Memberikan mereka nasihat yang berguna untuk memperbaiki dan menyelesaikan masalah mereka. Interaksi begini mampu menaikkan kredibiliti sambil mengeratkan perhubungan anda dengan pelanggan anda.

Menarik pengunjung baru

Gunakan fan page anda untuk menarik pengunjung baru dengan sebaiknya. Sebagai contoh anda boleh membuat landing page di fan page anda dengan meletakkan newletter atau informasi tentang perniagaan anda. Ini secara tidak langsung memberi gambaran kepada pengunjung tersebut tentang fan page anda dan akan menarik mereka untuk menjadi fan di fan page anda.

Jangan lupa sertai kami di Fan Page

Bagaimana Mengkaji Permintaan Pasaran Di Internet

Dalam apa jua perniagaan, kajian permintaan pasaran amat memainkan peranan penting. Tanpa kajian permintaan, sesuatu perniagaan tidak akan dapat mencapai keuntungan yang di ingini. Begitu juga dengan perniagaan di internet. Kajian permintaan harus di lakukan sebelum anda memulakan perniagaan. Ia amat penting untuk memastikan pasaran anda mempunyai permintaan. Untuk artikel kali ini, kami akan berkongsi bagaimana untuk mengkaji permintaan pasaran di internet.

Untuk mengkaji permintaan pasaran di internet, anda boleh menggunakan tool percuma dari Google iaitu Google Keyword Tool. Tool ini akan memberikan anda gambaran tentang permintaan pasaran dengan statistik carian oleh pengguna di Google mengikut average bulanan dan tahunan.



Untuk contoh, di sini kita gunakan keyword "baju kurung" untuk mengkaji permintaan bagi pasaran baju kurung. Setelah meletakkan keyword, di option location, tukarkannya kepada Malaysia, kerana kita mahu mengkaji pasaran Malaysia sahaja. Anda tidak perlu tukar option location tersebut jika anda mengkaji pasaran antarabangsa. Oleh kerana tiada option untuk Bahasa Melayu, kita gunakan English sebagai bahasa utama di sini. Kemudian klik pada butang search dan Google akan memaparkan statistik permintaan untuk pasaran "baju kurung" seperti di bawah.



Dalam statistik yang di paparkan, anda boleh lihat permintaan untuk baju kurung amatlah memberangsangkan iaitu sebanyak 74,000 secara average. Boleh di konklusikan di sini, pasaran baju kurung di internet mampu mendatangkan hasil lumayan, kerana permintaan amat banyak, memuaskan, serta mempunyai trend yang stabil.



Anda sebenarnya bukan sahaja dapat melihat permintaan pasaran anda, malah yang lebih menarik, anda juga dapat mengetahui permintaan untuk pasaran lain yang berkaitan seperti yang kita lihat pada contoh. Jika di scroll ke bawah, kita dapat lihat permintaan untuk pasaran "baju korea online" dengan average permintaan sebanyak 2400. Seperti yang anda tahu, trend terkini remaja adalah dengan fesyen korea.

Di samping mengkaji permintaan pasaran anda, anda juga dapat mengetahui pasaran-pasaran baru yang mungkin anda boleh terokai. Jadi, sebelum memulakan perniagaan, pastikan anda melakukan kajian permintaan pasaran. Selamat mencuba.

3 tips untuk melakukan pemasaran di Forum

Teknik mendapatkan banyak trafik atau prospek dari forum sememangnya popular, tetapi jika anda tidak tahu cara untuk memasarkan diri di forum, anda mungkin boleh melakukan tips-tips yang akan di tunjukkan di artikel ini nanti.

Menaikkan populariti thread anda di forum adalah sangat penting. Ketika pertama kali, thread di postkan, kekuatan utama terletak sepenuhnya pada headline, itu perkara pertama di lihat oleh pembaca. Jika anda tidak mahir menulis title untuk headline, anda boleh membuat eksperimen. Cuba tulis satu headline. Setelah thread di postkan, untuk mengetahui popularitinya anda boleh melihat jumlah reply kepada thread tersebut. Semakin banyak reply kepada thread, semakin banyaklah orang yang tertarik untuk melihat apa yang sedang berlaku di dalam thread tersebut. Jadi, tulis headline yang menarik perhatian dan content yang di minati ramai.

Di bawah adalah 3 tips untuk mendapat reply atau respon kepada thread anda :

Membuat thread pertanyaan

Ini adalah cara yang paling mudah. Kebanyakan orang sebenarnya gemar membantu orang lain. Dan tentu saja, selepas anda bertanya, ramai yang menjawabnya dan pasti juga ada ramai lagi memberi pelbagai informasi dalam topik yang anda tanyakan. Tapi pastikan anda bertanya soalan yang masih belum di tanya di forum tersebut untuk memastikan thread anda mendapat respon.

Contoh : “Bagaimana untuk mendapatkan trafik ke laman niaga?”

Memberi pendapat yang kontroversi

Kebanyakan orang suka berdebat. Jadi, cuba pilih topik yang mempunyai kontroversi dan kemudian tulis content yang menyokong sebelah pihak. Anda pasti akan terkejut melihat respon dari forumer lain tentang hal kontroversi tersebut. Jangan lupa anda juga perlu untuk bersama berdebat bersama mereka untuk lebih menghangatkan thread tersebut.

Contohnya - "Berita hangat! Program X adalah scam!"

Menulis thread yang informatif

Menulis sebuah thread bermaklumat adalah seperti menggoda pembaca. Seperti yang anda tahu, semua orang sukakan informasi percuma. Pembaca yang sukakan gaya penulisan dan maklumat anda pasti akan kembali semula ke thread anda dan berkongsi maklumat tersebut dengan orang lain. Secara tidak langsung menaikkan reputasi anda di forum tersebut.

Contohnya – “7 Teknik Meningkatkan Trafik ke Laman Niaga Anda”

Sumber tips : TimScullin

Your Must Do Check List For Successful Selling Online

You may have just spent long and tiring hours slaving over the composition, design and presentation of your e-commerce website and feel that you are now ready to open the virtual doors to buyers. The chances are that you have sidestepped quite a few essentials, or omitted certain fundamentals that individually or collectively are key to creating the perfect buying environment. This is understandable as there is a lot to think about, so we have indicated here a must do check list. Go through your website and see how you stack up before you start selling online.

• Please don’t be tempted to try and replicate the ultra cool website that you came across the other day, with all the flash enabled graphics, cool audio effects and so on. In addition to slowing down the load times of your pages, especially if the visitor is using a less than premium access method, the chances are that your “coolness” will detract from your core sales message. You need to avoid any dilution.

• Check to see how long your webpages take to load. If you have not already done so, go here and download this neat YSlow plug-in for your Firefox browser. This will automatically analyze your page design and tell you what you need to do to ensure that it loads more quickly.

• Hopefully you started off with a structure plan and your site unfolds naturally to the virgin visitor. Step back and look at your site through someone else’s eyes. Is there a clear and logical path from your home page to your checkout page?

• While on the subject of clarity, are you very clear about your unique value proposition? You MUST have something different to say. Once you have determined your critical USP, make sure that your solution flows from the buyer’s need. Are you stressing benefits, not features?

• While on the subject of features, don’t try and load up what you consider to be “value added” elements, especially if they may confuse the process. We’re not suggesting that your potential clients are all imbeciles, but if you introduce a question mark in their minds, over a period of time this will translate into an element of lost sales.

• Go over your form composition and requirements with a fine tooth comb. Have you ever been frustrated when filling in a form online, only to be told when you submit that you need to go back and amend something? This may be only mildly irritating, but becomes very annoying if the other information you had entered has been erased, forcing you to “start again.” Make sure that the correct information has been saved!

• Always make your visitors feel special. Offer them something for nothing and give them plenty of information free. The more your site comes across as a trusted purveyor of knowledge, the more people will return and over time convert into customers. This is a very important point. You are not there just to get money out of their wallets, but must devote the majority of your marketing efforts to providing value.

• Make sure that you have systems set up to automatically communicate with anyone who communicates with you. If someone sends you a simple e-mail query, you should have an autoresponder set to fire back immediately, thanking them for their input and advising them when they should receive a reply, if you’re not able to do so right away. When somebody fills in an order, do you have a specific thank you page ready, as personalized as you can make it? Your clients will expect an immediate response of some kind following their payment and this should not be just a generic message provided by the shopping cart provider, for example.

• Look at your site composition from an SEO perspective. Are your title tags clear and unambiguous? How does your site show up within search engine results?

• Remember what we said earlier about keeping it simple? This will certainly help you if you discover that there are a number of errors on your site. Sign up for a Google Webmaster account here and after a couple of easy registration steps you should get a good picture of any glaring errors that need to be fixed.

• Remember that there are a number of different web browsers. Many web savvy folks like to use Firefox, but you should remember that the majority still use Internet Explorer. There are other less important browsers such as Chrome and Safari and you should see how it looks on a smartphone screen as well.

Credit : Young Entrepreneur

What to do when you get a Business Card?

I spend most of my time meeting clients and business partners, so I get tons of business cards. After getting so many cards, I’ve now developed good habits that really help me in managing them. What you should do when you get card:

1. Record the date.
Record the date (and place) so that you know when (and where) the meeting took place. At first, I only wrote the day and month (like 30/2). But later on, I tend to mix up year the date refers to. So I suggest you include the year too (like 31/4/09).

2. Highlight the preferred name.
In Malaysia, we have people from various races and religions, so naturally there are names with all sorts of formats. So underline which name the card owner wishes to be addressed. Tengku Muhammad Azlan Shah has 4 names, which one does he prefer: Tengku, Muhammad, Azlan or Shah? How about Tan Su Lian, is it SL Tan, Su Lian or Ms Tan?

3. Write other names.
There’re also those who prefer other names too. Tengku Muhammad Azlan Shah might prefer his nickname Che Mad. While Tan Su Lian might prefer her christian name Shirley Tan. So write them all down.

4. Spell to pronounce.
Sometimes you come accross business cards with names you can’t prononce. So rewrite the name in your own spelling, so you can pronounce it correctly later. It’ll be humiliating if you were to pronouce a name incorrectly the second time you meet (especially if the first meeting was just days before).

5. Write the circumtances of your meeting.
Was it a chance meeting? Was it in an elevator? Were you introduced by someone else? Record such info and it’ll help you to remember who the person is and why you met him.

6. Record what stands out.
This is what usually triggers my memory when I’m trying recall the person later on. Write something unique about the person, something that stands out. It could be ‘the guy with only 1 hand’, or ‘the lady with cutest dimples’ or ‘the guy with bad breath’.

7. Size up the prospect.
If you’re a marketer, insurance agent, Amway agent, unit trust consultant, Along, MLM agent, etc, I’m sure one day you’ll want to approach the card owner with what you have to offer. So, identify up front whether the person is a good prospect. If he already has insurance, record that so you’ll spend your time approaching others first. If he already bought the same water filter, record that so you don’t pitch the same thing.

Oh yes, last but not least:
8. Immediately get rid of cards you don’t want.
You don’t want to mix useful cards with unwanted ones. Useful cards are like the ones from your mechanic or your plumber, because you might need them one day. Keep the ones you need, get rid of the rest. Don’t feel bad to ‘discard’ any ‘card’.

If you see my collection of cards, most of them have scribblings at the back with all sorts of info. It really help me a lot in recognizing who the owners are.

I think above suggestions (especially no 7) are useful for marketers who try wants to pitch products/services and do follow ups. It makes huge difference between saying “How are you? I would like meet..” as opposed to “Diana, remember we met at the Klinik X. How’s your daughter’s eyes now, better? Actually I’m wondering if we could meet..“.

But others (non-marketers) can adopt the same habits too। After all, most of us get business cards from time to time, especially during events like weddings, kenduri, open house, etc. What’s the purpose of keeping the cards if you can’t tell whose card is whose?

Originally from blog.aidan.com.my

TV9 Nasi Lemak Kopi O

Kami dijemput oleh penerbit rancangan Nasi Lemak Kopi O, TV9 untuk perbincangan secara langsung tentang perniagaan online oleh wanita. Rancangan tersebut akan keudara secara langsung pada hari Ahad, 2 Mei 2010. Jadi kesempatan ini kami ingin menjemput mana-mana pemilik kedai di Lot.my untuk sama-sama dalam rancangan tersebut.

Kami memerlukan 2 usahawan sahaja. Sekiranya anda memenuhi kriteria dibawah, sila hubungi kami di email buzz@lot.my sebelum 29 April 6 petang.

• Wanita
• Mengusahakan perniagaan secara serius sama ada full time atau part time
• Memiliki kedai di Lot.my
• Petah berbicara

Sekiranya, anda memenuhi kriteria di atas, sila email kami. pastikan anda turut nyatakan alamat kedai anda dan nombor telefon. Ini peluang terbaik untuk turut sama mempromosikan kedai online anda.

Utusan: Membina usahawan online

Coverage on 'Bengkel Usahawan Mega Utusan' last weekend.

source: Utusan

New Strait Times : Tech touch to traditional business

Today, two of our successful Lot.my stores being featured in the New Strait Times. To read, check here.

source: NST

New Strait Times : Chinese connection in Web Business

source: NST

Utusan: Jual-beli melalui internet meningkat

Utusan: Ruang Niaga di Lot.my

source: Utusan

Tips #6 - Customers your #1 Asset

There are many proverbs or quotes to emphasize how important is your customers. “Customer is always right”, “Customer is King”, “If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will”, etc. It is very clear that in business, customers is your #1 priority. It is your asset.

Like any other assets, you must take a good care of it. It must be taken care of and maintain all the time. So this week tips are on how you could take care of your No. 1 asset.

First of all, make sure your contact information, including a phone number, is easy to find on every page of your website and on every email that you send. Put your full address and how you can be contacted. This is the first thing to do to start good relationship with your customer. For you to know them better, you must let them know your better first! You can also create 'about us' page where you can tell more about you and your business. For inspirational, you can check Lot.my’s About Us page.

Once they become your customer, you need to spend a little more time with them. If you take care of your customers, they will be more inclined to both come back and send you referrals when you ask them to. Here are some ways to make sure you can always do a good job so your customers will always stay loyal to you:

• Ask for feedback. Listen to them and always reply back.
• Always tell the truth.
• Use personal touch in your communication.
• Take all your complaints seriously.
• Be accessible. Let them contact you easily via phone, email, instant messenger, facebook, etc
• Lenient Return Policy. Make it easy for them to return purchased products.
• Offer a strong guarantee. Reduce the risk for the customer to buy from you.
• Thanks them every time. And make it personal

As the proverb earlier said, I suggest you to treat your customer like a king. In return, they’ll bring in more “king” [pronounced $$$] to you!