What Can XL Offer You? - Wealth Dynamics

"Our legacy defines us, and our vision reminds us: The more we follow
our purpose, the more we become who we are meant to be." - Roger Hamilton

In 2002, the United Nations Millenium Declaration, signed by all 191 UN member states, set a target to halve world poverty by 2015, and to end world poverty altogether by 2025.
In the same year, XL Results Foundation and the concept of World Wide Wealth was launched. We set a goal to create a global foundation of learning and networking resources for entrepreneurs and business people from all walks of life.

Roger Hamilton, Founder of XL, is Asia's leading wealth consultant, author of internation bestsellers "Wink and Grow Rich", and "Your Life, Your Legacy", Creator of the internationally recognised Wealth Dynamics Profiling System, and an internationally recognised keynote speaker and wealth coach. He owns businesses across Asia Pacific in property, event management, franchising, coaching and training.

Using Wealth Dynamics - the only profiling system that offers direct strategies for wealth and financial success to Entrepreneurs - over 50,000 people have discovered a whole new way of doing business, and they are reaping the rewards of greater wealth, satisfaction, peace of mind and renewed vitality for life itself.

Discover in just 15 minutes;

• Your wealth profile
• Role models who share the same profile
• Your strengths and weaknesses as a wealth creator
• How to build your wealth foundation
• Your moment of wealth creation
• How to create value using your profile
• The value you need to own
• How you need to leverage
• How you secure your cashflow

Once you have your profile you will understand YOUR wealth frequency and what you need to do to create maximum attraction so that opportunities to create your wealth flow to you. You will also understand why people like Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet become very wealthy... while others lose their wealth... even though they are doing exactly the same things.

How it works

Since the beginning of time wealth has only been created through any one of eight contrasting paths. These paths have been categorised and by the creator of Wealth Dynamics; Roger Hamilton.

Creator - Creating a better product

Creators are big picture thinkers with an awesome ability to get things started, although they tend to be shocking when it comes to finishing things. Examples of successful creators include Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Richard Branson.

Star - Creating a unique brand

Stars are aware of the strength of their personality, and often use it to their advantage without realizing the negative impact it can have on those around them. Examples of Stars who have found their natural path include Martha Stewart and Anthony Robbins.

Supporter - Leading the team

Supporters have strong interpersonal skills and are great at building relationships but generally poor at knowing how to use their ability to create sustainable wealth in a way that’s fun for them. Examples of supporters who have discovered the secrets to their profile are Rudolph Giuliani and Jack Welch.

Dealmaker - Bringing people together

Dealmakers are great communicators, influencers and negotiators with a strong sense of timing. Examples of successful dealmakers are Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch.

Trader - Buying low, selling high

Many people see themselves as traders, possibly as a result of the increased profile of online, retail and options trading. George Soros has achieved great wealth through following his natural path as a trader without deviating.

Accumulator - Collecting appreciating assets

The accumulator is the safest profile, and relies on a system to achieve incremental wealth growth. Warren Buffet is possibly the world’s most well known accumulator.

Lord - Controlling cash generating assets

Lords are rarely seen, yet rolling in cash, and often in control of natural resources and man made structures. They act slowly and certainly, which frustrates many around them. John D Rockefeller and J Paul Getty are two successful and well known Lords.

Mechanic - Creating a better system

A mechanic has the ability to control and manage people without necessarily having any charismatic leadership qualities. Successful mechanics include Ray Kroc and Sam Walton.

Find the style of business that works with your natural strengths and weaknesses and learn how to create a sustainable system of increasing cashflow that fits your natural talents and passions.

Not only is wealthy dynamics a groundbreaking tool for personal development, it's fantastic for putting together teams. Different profiles balance each other out and a complete team will perform to astronomical proportions. This is where XL comes in, a network of entrepreneurs and business people who know their profiles and are seeking others to connect with complimentary profiles. Targetted and effective networking on a whole new level.

What are you waiting for? To get started on the path to a life worth living with your wealth profile, visit Learning4ever and order your profile now, or to take this incredible learning to the next level, check out the Wealth Dynamics Weekend.

Promotional Products - What can they do for you?

The pens you’ve got on your desk, or in your bag. Grab them out. Lay them out in front of you. Good. Now get your keys and lay them out. Now check your bag for any napkins or those little moist wipe things you get at the drive through.

If you inspect those pens, your keyring, your napkins, you might notice they have one thing in common. Most of them have logos on them, sometimes a slogan and some contact details. They are promotional products.

You know how you go to places and borrow their pens and end up wandering away with them in your bag? There’s a reason you don’t get tackled by security for doing it. Businesses want you to have promotional products.

First, lets see what wikipedia has to say about promo products;

“Promotional items or promotional products refers to articles of merchandise that are used in marketing and communication programs. The items are usually imprinted or decorated with a company's name, logo or message. Premiums, incentives, business gifts and awards are also considered promotional products. Often distributed at trade shows, used in direct mail and as part of guerilla marketing campaigns, these items are also referred to by the slang terms "swag" and "tchotchke".”

So now we know what the experts have to say about promotional products. But what are they good for? For that we need to go back to the little spread in front of you. You should have at least a couple of logos in front you, I can count three or four on my desk right now. That means that I am a walking advertisement for those logos. In exchange, I get to have a pretty pen (I always need a pen), a keyring (it’s got Milhouse from the Simpsons on it!), or a napkin for those awkward moments, like eating ice cream in the car.

Promotional products shouldn’t be confused with merchandise, which is a whole other kettle of fish. Merchandise is basically the branded products you pay for, the action figures you get from movies and comics, the mugs you get from your favourite tv show or the t shirt from your trip to Hawaii. Merchandise can double as promotional products when needed, and serves the purpose of brand exposure as well, but you need an existing and desirably brand before you can expect people to pay you for the right to advertise your brand.

So what are the benefits of promotional products for your business?

Exposure
When your logo is on something useful, for example a pen or a key ring, it’s being carried everywhere, it’s being seen not only by the person carrying and using it, but by everyone they meet, everyone they loan that pen to or unlock that door in front of. This is the kind of exposure that buries your logo into the minds of everyone who sees it. Subtle, but effective, and it doesn’t make people shut down the way they do when the ads come on in the middle of their favourite show.

Association
Not all exposure is good exposure, so having your name associated with something useful or fun, like a lolly or a stress toy, is invaluable marketing for you, because it’s a direct association, and you don’t have to tell the people you’re reaching anything at all, the promotional products do it for you!

Customer Relationships
Always having a spare pen handy, or something funky to give to customers or potential customers is a great way of making a small, bug significant connection. People love free stuff, and enjoy seeing generosity in the businesses they deal with. Don’t you like the places that give a lollypop to your kids? What about the places that give a lolly to you? Doesn’t it make you feel like coming back?

So what kind of products are on offer?

There are literally thousands of promotional products you can try, but here are just a few…

Pens
Pens are perhaps the most tried and true promotional product in the world. They’re useful, they’re cheap, there’s huge variety and a high level of customizability, and people are always looking for more of them. The thing about pens is that you need to be careful when you choose them, no one needs their name associated with a pen that broke on the second day, so do some homework before you buy a set.

Keyrings
Keyrings are a promotional product employed heavily by the automotive industry and the property market. They have a long life and they’re almost always with their owner. People love keyrings, they can be any shape, any colour and almost any size (mine has millhouse from the Simpsons on it) and they’re cost effective.

Confectionary
This is a good one to go for if your customers often have children, or if you’re in an industry related to hospitality. Things like mints on the pillow, the lolly on the airplane, or the mint that helped to mask the garlic from lunch. Confectionary doesn’t have a very long life so it’s more of a tool for building customer relationships, however it’s cost effective and always results in a grin. It can also be combined with other items for a double hit of warm fuzzies.

Stickers, badges and magnets
Anything with a membership aspect to it can benefit from these sorts of promo products. My Dad has a BMW, and he belongs to the BMW car club. Guess what’s sitting on his windshield? A BMW club sticker. So everywhere my Dad drives his beloved car (he spends more time with it than he does with me), he’s helping out the club by showing off that he’s a member. Magnets are great because they get put up on the fridge, and stickers are also a great thing for kids, and they tend to last longer than confectionary. These products offer huge flexibility in design and shape, and are cost effective in proportion to their useful life, how old are the magnets on your fridge?

High End Items
When you’re selling something big and shiny, like a ticket to a big conference, a batch of expensive computers, or a new boat, you might want to look at higher end products, such as compendiums, technology or just really high grade pens and so on. Before you go spending a lot of money on these items you need to think carefully about the type of market you’re aiming for, and what kind of things are useful to them. If you’ve got a high portion of vegans in your customer base you don’t want to be handing out leather bound compendiums.

Some More Ideas…

• Get a mascot – A little fluffy toy that can feature on a keyring, a sticker or a pen is a great way of adding a dash of fun and personality to your promo products
• Why not send out little promo products with orders for clients? It always adds to the relationship and prolongs the exposure of your brand. People like value.
• Why not have a collection of promotional products, and with each order, a new part of the set is revealed.

If you have a loyalty program, try something a little funky with your memberships, maybe a kooky barcoded ring or a uniquely shaped card.

So what’s right for you?
Choosing the right promotional products is as crucial as actually having promotional products. To find the right items for your market and budget you need to ask yourself the following questions;

• Who am I targeting?
• What do these people like?
• What do these people do?
• How will they receive my promo products?
• How much do I make on average from each customer or sale?
• How much of that can I spare for promo products
• What will my promo products be used for?
• How often will they be seen?
• How long will they last?

Using this info, weigh up what the best option for you will be. Avoid low grade products, even if they’re cheaper, because having your name tagged to a broken pen is worse than having no pen at all.

So get out there!

Promotional products are the way of the future in building customer relationships and getting your name out there. Many small businesses have no need or budget for large marketing campaigns and targeting your market with promo products can be an ideal way to get your name where it matters most, into the daily lives of your customers and potential customers.

For a great range of promotional products, try www.premierproducts.com

- Bridget Hughes

Making your Mark 3

Key elements for a lasting impression with your customers

This Week’s focus: Bars, Seminars, and being Social

I work in web design. Well, sort of. I work in web design in the sense that I can put together a basic site, understand most what people mean when they talk about htaccess, DNS and SQL (if you know what those acronyms mean, give yourself a pat on the back), and that I know enough people in the industry to fulfil most client requests, or have the unfortunate computer of a person who’s annoyed me hacked (not that I would, honest.)

Many of my projects involve dynamic coding and databases – basically, the site can, to a limited extent, think for itself. Of course, I can’t produce those sites without the help of some excellent programmers. How did I find these programmers? Social networking.

I know a guy who knows a guy. The guy introduced me to the guy he knows and now I know the guy the guy I know knows. Complicated? Not really.

So what use is a Social Network? That elusive buzz word we hear so often nowadays.

Webster (courtesy of Dictionary.com) defines Social Networking as;

“the use of a website to connect with people who share personal or professional
interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc.”

“a person's family, neighbors, and friends with whom they are socially involved”

Wikipedia enlightens us on some of the business applications of Social Networking, such as;

“Social
networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small
businesses looking to expand their contact base. These networks often act as
a customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and
services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of
banners and text ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can
make it easier to keep in touch with contacts around the world.”

But Social Networking has many more forms than the internet. The seminars you go to? The conventions and trade shows? The bars you frequent? Your neighborhood darts club? They are all valuable sources to build your network.

The core element of social network is not about selling. It’s about relationships. It’s about building your resource pool to a hundred times what it is on your own. Say you know three people, and they know three people, who in turn know three people. It’s the ripple effect, it grows. A strong network allows you to draw on hundreds of people for countless resources, for everything from direct marketing and joint ventures, to getting that leaky tap fixed for a good price.


So what are the benefits of Social Networking?

Resources
When you know a plumber, you ask a plumber about plumbing. You don’t go to the phonebook. The fact that said plumber knows you means that they’re going to be nicer to you, perhaps with a good price, some good advice or maybe just a better result. If you know a web designer (like me) you’d go to them for info and prices on web design. You have a starting point for whatever it is you’re after when you know people. People know people who know people. It all adds up, and within a strong network, you can cut your costs, and source better resources than by going through the phone book.

Trust
Trust is one of the biggest issues in business to date. Decisions are based on trust as much as logic. For example, you can be protected by a contract, but if said contract is broken, you still lose out in pursuing it, even if you win in the end. Therefore you’re more likely to enter into a contract with a person or business you trust not to break said contract. Somebody that you know, or that a friend or associate knows. Obviously you don’t trust some one from the off, which is why a network of strong relationships is crucial for better sales, better deals, and better business.

Brand Awareness
Something all the Stars (see Wealth Dynamics) out there will know about is branding. The goal of any good marketer is to build up an automatic association and recognition when people see their brand. People like to deal with people, so adding a face, a name and a personality to your brand won’t hurt you one bit. By networking, you’re getting your name out into the arena, and you’re building up a presence that will ultimately precede you in the business world.

A survey across several forums (including Business Forum) and business owners in person have suggested that while many business owners recognize the value of Social Networking or certain elements of it, they have yet to understand it’s techniques or unlock it’s full potential.

80% Said they found various forms of Social Networking useful
20% Said they
hadn’t tried Social Networking, or didn’t find it useful

Of the 80% who found Social Networking useful about 30% used mainly tradeshows, seminars and conventions to build their networks, while 50% used mainly websites such as directories, forums and profile sites. 80% of the total who used Social Networking only used one or two forms, while the remaining 20% used multiple forms, including social events, cold calling and referral programs.


Ways to Build up your Network

Tradeshows, Seminars, Conferences and Networking Events
Business people will always need other business people, so they network to find other business people. So go along to events (like the Entrepreneur Business School or latest XL Speaker, etc) in your region. You can look up events here or on Learning4ever.com

Join Websites, Directories and Forums
There are hundreds of networking websites (such as Ecademy, run by XL Results Foundation), article sites and forums you can join. There are those for general business, different types of business, and the general area in which your business is based. Try a quick google search and see what you can find.

Keep your business cards handy
Give people an easy way to contact you, you could meet some one on the street, or walk into a café and be struck by an opportunity to make a contact, keep your business cards handy, or else have an easy to remember point of contact (like a website, a brochure, or an easily remembered phone number) on hand at all times. You never know when you’ll come across a useful person to know.

Offer incentives
Many people aren’t comfortable with using their circle of friends as a social network, which is fine, as if it isn’t handled properly it can come across as rude, however don’t be afraid to offer your friends and their friends discounts or free advice whenever they need it, give them a reason to put their name on the line in recommending you to their friends. Referral programs are also an excellent option, just make sure you turn as many referrals as possible into contacts as well as customers.


How to get the Most out of your Network

Be Generous
Business is give and take, be generous with your time and your experience and people will be generous in telling others about you, and in going to you first.

Keep in Touch
Even if it’s as simple as an email saying hello, grow and nurture your network by letting people know that you remember and value them. This immediately puts you one step ahead of your competitors.

Be Patient
The best customer in the world is one who wants to buy. Don’t drive them away before they become that customer. If you value their business, build the relationship and when they are some one they know wants what you have to offer, you’ll have a sale without having to sell.

Get the Right People
We all know how important having the right people in your business is (See Wealth Dynamics), and the same goes for your network. Seek out people who compliment your strengths and weakness. There is so much more to be gained from a solid network than immediate sales.

Have FUN!
People do business with people they like. Don’t lose your dignity, but remember that at the end of the day, if you’re not having fun, you’re already doing the wrong thing (Roger Hamilton, Your Life, Your Legacy). If you love what you do (and there’s no point doing it if you don’t), let the world know.


So Stand up straight, smile, laugh and eat chocolate. This is your life, your future, and your legacy. Go Live it.


Wealth, Success, and Confectionary,

-Bridget Hughes