If you’re in business, you’ve probably come a across an aggressive prospect that’s looking to play a game of “let’s make a deal” by offering the promise of future business to receive better pricing on the first transaction.

“Future business” may include increasing the size of a future order in terms of dollar volume or referring other prospects that may be interested in your services.

There’s obviously a need to meet the expectations of a potential client without telling them to take a hike, but how do you manage a prospect that’s looking to take the upper hand by using this rude and aggressive sales tactic?

Put Prospects In Their Place: I’ve never had a problem with prospects when it comes to negotiating pricing. It’s a part of business and negotiating can actually be fun. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling consulting time, widgets, data, or contracting services, there’s always a way to make a deal work if both parties are fair and cooperate.

When a prospect is looking to receive better pricing on a contingency basis as a result of knowing “a lot of people” or the ability to “blow your business up”, watch out. It’s important to reinforce the value of your product or service by making sure to convey to the prospect (politely) that you’re doing them the favor, and it’s not the other way around.

Never Give Free Samples: Some prospects will push to create free or cheap options to decide if you’re the best vendor. By catering to the demands of the prospect and offering “free samples”, you’re giving the potential client the upper hand, wasting time, and increasing the likelihood that flaws will be found in the service. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling, flaws will be found as you’re compared to other vendors.

I’ve disarmed several lead generation prospects that gone down the path of skepticism to gain leverage. Wheelers and dealers will ask: “How do I know if your leads are good?”, “What happens if they’re bad?”, “Can I have a free test batch?”, etc. Proof of concept is important, but never sell yourself or your products short.

It never hurts to disarm by using humor. Ask the prospect if they’d ever ask a drug dealer for “free samples” and see what their response will be. You’ll gain respect by using simple analogies like that. Get your pen ready, because you’ll be putting ink on paper in no time!

Part Ways Like A Champ: Parting ways can become incredibly awkward for a prospect that has made previous claims of sending future business “your way” after their pricing needs are not met. They’ll say something to the tune of: “I’ll definitely keep your number handy” or “keep me posted on new services“, etc.

Emphasize the benefits of doing business together and not the features of the product or service that your selling. Let your prospect know that you understand that they’re price conscious, and that’s acceptable. End the conversation quickly, because there’s no sense in restarting the negotiating process again. Your time is valuable. Make prospects realize that you’re in demand by others.

By “keeping it real”, prospects will usually end up coming back with a counter offer or just decide to work with you. If you can eliminate the sales BS during the deal structuring process, you’ll set realistic expectations for your clients. Set the bar high, and exude professionalism. If you don’t put the roast beef on the table, nobody will eat. Be clear as to what the deliverable is and demonstrate that you’re “game on” when it comes to always having the best interest of the client in mind.

Rinse, lather, and repeat…

How To Manage Prospects That Promise Future Business is a post from: Nicky Papers

There are dozens of paid review services on the web that will pay bloggers to generate content on their own properties with anchored links pointing back to the advertiser. Blogvertise is one of the more reliable services as they provide volume in terms of writing assignments and are usually on time with payments.

Paid review services such as Blogvertise, have always been under scrutiny as bloggers often complain that they’re not receiving enough assignments or that they’re unhappy with being paid on NET 30 terms.

Blogvertise has a platform in which advertisers have the ability to select web properties that they’d like their content to appear. The criteria is based on niche, page rank, blogger response rating, and staff rating. Blogvertise performs some level of diligence when approving blogs, but ultimately it’s up to the advertisers to select where there content will be placed.

Are you wondering how I came up with the $12,775 figure on estimated Blogervise earnings? I’ve assumed an average payout of $10.00 per post (conservative) with a frequency of 3.5 submitted posts per day. $35.00 per day x 365 days = $12,775. Payouts will not make you rich, but have the ability offset costs or reduce capital risks in other areas of your business.

1: If you own auto blogs or use plug-in’s such as WP-Robot, advertisers will be interested in sending assignments your way as there’s usually depth and PR associated with sites that have high posting frequencies. Most of the time advertisers will direct the blogger to write 2-3 paragraphs about their product, service, or an offer that’s in a profitable niche.

Monetizing with Adsense? Writing unique content will drive additional traffic to your sites and hide the footprints of automation. This deep monetization method can be achieved while potentially increasing Adsense earnings and traffic when publishing unique content.

2: Blogvertise offers a “grab bag” feature that allows bloggers to select assignments that appeal to their content or niche. In order to receive desired assignment volumes, you need to be diligent with your postings, have several authoritative blogs approved, and a good relationship with your AM.

“Grab bag” assignments are capped (per day) but offer the same payout as regular assignments, so it’s fair game. Run a content / SEO shop that can handle more volume? Speak with your AM, they’ll be happy to work with you.

3: I use an egg timer when writing Blogvertise posts to gauge productivity. It should take no longer than 10 minutes per assignment to read the instructions, write the content, anchor the keywords, publish on WordPress, and submit the URL back to Blogvertise.

If you’re conscious about the value of your time, you’ll be earning approximately $75.00 per hour based on my projections. It’s also important to consider the long term monetization benefits achieved when building regular content in profitable niches for your web properties.

4: Becoming a publisher on Blogvertise will train you to become a great advertiser. You’ll have a much better understanding of how the interface works and how to craft assignments properly. Check out Blogvertise Ad Network if you’re interested in cutting straight to paid placements.

5: Income from Blogvertise can offset the cost (and risk) of other expenses such as paid traffic. Have interns? Put them to work with writing assignments from Blogvertise. Have employees? Justify payroll expenses by putting your team to work writing content. Greedy? Write the content yourself to increase your bottom line…

I never was a fan of the New Radicals, but you certainly “get what you give” with Blogvertise. The projections I’ve provided are realistic and attainable for Internet marketers that have a portfolio of websites with authority and traffic.

Keep in mind that advertisers may build links to you URL’s (social bookmarks, etc.) as an SEO filter or as an effort to control link velocity. Free links? Yes please!

Check out what Blogvertise has to offer today.

Blogvertise Review – Earn $12,775 in Paid Postings for 2011 is a post from: Nicky Papers

If you’re not earning affiliate income through your Internet marketing consulting practice, you’re leaving money on the table. It’s important to realize that many of the services that you’re already utilizing or recommending to clients have affiliate programs which can increase your bottom-line and also mitigate the risks of co-mingling personal campaigns with client work.

Additionally, when a client registers for a service using their account information and credentials, you’ll be able to reduce any associated credit risks in the event of a client not paying on time, or refusing to pay altogether. This is a reality that all business owners are faced with at some point in time. More importantly, should your client no longer need your services and wish to hire part-time or full-time personnel to manage Internet marketing efforts in-house, you may still be able to generate income from affiliate programs that pay a percentage of the sale on a recurring monthly basis.

It’s also important to remember that you’ll be able to price your services more competitively when you take into consideration the payouts associated with affiliate based sales. This may come in handy for price conscious clients and will allow you to operate in full-transparency.

In your initial proposal, keep the service offerings vague so that you’re not providing a “road map” where your client can perform the work themselves or render services from the providers you recommend. As long as you’re charging your client an appropriate agency or management fee for your time and expertise, you’ll be on the road to increasing your monthly earnings in no time.

1) Hostgator: Domain registration and hosting is a prerequisite for clients that are looking to create new websites or landing pages. Hostgator offers a variety of options for affiliates to earn income by referring clients to register a domain name, purchase a hosting package, or take care of both at the same time.

If you have experience with web hosting, you may wish to become a Hostgator reseller. You’ll be able to earn recurring monthly revenue for the lifetime of your client’s subscription based on what you decide to charge. If you’re like me and see the cash flow benefits with respect to time and program management, you’ll probably want to earn your commission upfront by using the standard Hostgator affiliate program.

At $50.00 per sign-up (standard payout) this should be a no-brainer! Check out Hostgator today to learn more about hosting packages that are available.

2) Market Samurai: For larger companies that have an in-house “web guy” or a small team that manages Internet marketing, Market Samurai is perfect for SEO research and keyword analysis. The research depth and speed with respect to generating and analyzing keywords has helped me generate thousands of dollars in revenue since August of 2009. Market Samurai can be used to compliment your consulting efforts by giving your clients a competitive edge when internalizing search engine optimization research.

Market Samurai offers payouts of 48% based on sales linked to affiliate accounts. Market Samurai is extremely versatile and can be used for Internet marketing research beyond SEO based campaigns. If you have not already tried this software, check out Market Samurai today.

3) AWeber: Automate e-mail advertising to communicate with your client’s target audience. AWeber’s services can enhance existing relationships with consumers, encourage customer loyalty, as well as give users the ability to create custom forms and pathways.

AWeber pays affiliates a 30% recurring monthly commission on each subscription sold. Most Internet marketers rely on this service to manage subscriber lists and e-mail campaigns. Using AWeber can take your clients e-mail marketing campaigns to the next level.

4) Raven Tools: Tracking performance is important when working with clients over extended periods of time. Raven Tools automated reports give clients “visuals” (charts, graphs, trends, etc.) on web traffic, search engine ranks, Twitter and Facebook pages, and most recently YouTube pages.

Why operate in stealth by handing your clients a “private labeled” PDF report generated on your personal Raven Tools account when they can have their own? Earn a 50% commission on the first paid month and 10% recurring thereafter. Reduce your overhead, increase your bottom-line, and stop co-mingling multiple client campaigns by using this method.

5) Social Oomph: Are you running social campaigns on behalf of your clients? Social Oomph will give you the ability to run Twitter and Facebook campaigns on auto-pilot, spin content, and track clicks inside of one interface. The only thing limiting your power to drive quality social traffic using Social Oomph is creativity.

Social Oomph has an attractive affiliate program where you can earn recurring commissions equal to 40% of the monthly subscription fee ($29.99) on Professional account referrals. You can work with clients with transparency using Social Oomph while scraping Tweets, automating processes, and scheduling content distribution on your own time. Load the platform with accounts created overseas and scale to the max!

6) Blogvertise: If you manage SEO initiatives for clients, you need to check out this service. Blogvertise gives advertisers the power to “cherry pick” bloggers to write and post content with your links (keywords are anchored) on web properties that they own. Advertisers can provide detailed instructions to bloggers to promote products, services, and offers on per post basis. Blogvertise is extremely powerful for search engine optimization because you can select blog targets based on niche, writing style, page rank, response rating, and staff rating.

By recommending this service you’ll be able to earn 20% of what your client spends on advertising with Blogvertise. If you haven’t already checked out what Blogvertise is about, sign-up today and take your SEO game to the next level.

7) DirectCPV: Are you running traffic on behalf of your clients? DirectCPV can dramatically increase the number of website visitors and page views by leveraging pop-ups. Advertisers are charged on a per view basis by targeting desired URL’s and keywords. Impressions start at $0.004 per view on DirectCPV. This is economical option to run massive and targeted traffic quickly.

Earn 5% of your client’s spend with DirectCPV using this method. More importantly, your client will be charged directly on the traffic purchased so there is no need to create invoices and create additional accounting work on your end.

I’m three short, but if you follow these rules and you’ll have mad bread to break up.

Earn Affiliate Income When Consulting is a post from: Nicky Papers

If you’re looking for money savings tips for Guidos, then you’ve come to the right place! Guidos seem to have a fantastic ability to monetize (creatively) and generate healthy incomes. Defining the “occupation” of a Guido or verifying records of employment is an entirely different story. More importantly, many Guidos are notorious for living beyond their means and are candidates for exercising more discretion with regard to personal finance.

The negative impacts associated with impulsive spending and the desire to indulge in “the finer things of life” can be detrimental at the balance sheet level. As most Guidos are not known for their ability to consistently exercise good judgment, this comprehensive guide should provide strategies on how to stretch the dollar on popular products and services consumed by Guidos.

Gym: There’s no need to spend more than $19.99 per month on a gym membership. Some may argue that discount gyms such as Planet Fitness are not properly equipped as they do not offer a selection of dumbbells over 60 lbs. It’s important to recognize that you can make up the weight difference in terms of repetitions when you’re getting your swell on.

Additionally, the level of talent (among females) during peak hours can be compared to fitness clubs that offer memberships at much higher rates. If you can refrain from setting off the “lunk alarm”, a membership at Planet Fitness may yield savings of over $480.00 annually, when compared to boutique fitness operations.

Maximize Gym Savings: If you’re still convinced that it’s important to be seen at the gym, seek part-time employment at the most exclusive fitness club in your area. The pay might be lousy, but you’ll be able to workout for free. Make sure to keep your work hours to a minimum and turn the charm button on to increase your chances of having an intimate relationship with a female co-worker. Be sure to shower the most flirtations club members with compliments as they probably are not receiving the attention they deserve from their husbands at home.

Tanning: Maintaining a radiant olive complexion is important for Guidos, especially during periods of the year when tanning outdoors is not an option. If you’re looking to “touch up the paint job” regularly, you should find a gym that offers free tanning. A five minute blast in the booth may be all you need to stay fresh. Exercising this option may yield a typical Guido an average savings of over $720.00 per year.

Laundry: Doing your own laundry is for suckers! If you spend an extra few dollars, the Laundromat will separate, wash, dry, and fold your laundry perfectly. Time is money when it comes to laundry. Exercising free options such as having your mother do your laundry, may run the risk of having your girl’s thong mysteriously appear when sorting through your dirty clothes.

While this might not be the worst thing in the world, you mother may draw conclusions as to the types of girls you’ve been sleeping with based on the size and style of their underwear. If you’ve been hittin’ heavies or girls that shop at Forever 21, you may have some explaining to do.

Haircuts / Waxing Eyebrows: Every Guido knows the importance of maintaining their appearance by getting lined-up at the barbershop. Use the barbershop to your advantage by developing a good relationship with your barber. This should be easy for most Guido’s as creating conversation usually comes naturally.

A decent barber has more connections than you think with respect to business and social opportunities. Most barbershops on Long Island offer a la carte “Guido Services” on the menu such as eyebrow waxing. If you can get your eyebrows waxed at the barbershop, you’ll save both time and money by taking care of your grooming needs at one location.

Tip your barber no less than $5.00 per action, (Haircut, eyebrows, etc.) and you’ll be regarded as a VIP customer. VIP Status includes perks such as getting haircuts after hours, bumping customers waiting in line, free booze and cigars, and your barber brokering business deals for you. Haircut pricing will vary by location; however, spending an extra $192.00 in tips (annually) should yield significant ROI when applied correctly. Stay fresh!

Protein: Protein and supplements are a part of every Guidos diet. If you’re shopping at GNC or Vitamin World, you’re pouring money down the drain! For starters, always buy protein powder in bulk after sampling options from smaller containers. If you don’t like the flavor, or it’s harsh on your stomach, you don’t want to be stuck holding a product that you’ll never use.

Guidos are often impulsive and will scale a protein buy without thinking. This results in undesirable flavors of protein and supplements trading within a secondary market between other misinformed and equally impulsive Guidos that have a talent for “wheeling and dealing”.

Scale your protein buys to a reasonable amount based on a predetermined rate of consumption. In most cases, 7 lbs. should be sufficient. Use a calculator to be precise. Wholesalers such as Costo and online retailers such as i-Supplements offer savings on protein and supplements sold in mass quantities.

If these strategies are put in place, the average Guido should yield a minimum of $360.00 per year in savings on supplements. The only thing left to do is store your protein in a “cool and dry location”, which is usually on top of the refrigerator as most Guido’s take instructions literally.

Money Saving Tips For Guidos is a post from: Nicky Papers

In the video above, Timothy Sykes does an excellent job describing how to distinguish a penny stock scam from a legitimate investment opportunity. As Timothy explains, there are approximately 8500 “scam stocks” trading on the OTCBB that exercise “pump and dump” strategies to drive share prices up.

The marketing tactics of these companies may be overly aggressive. However; for savvy investors, trading these types of stocks can be potentially lucrative if you know what to look for. Tim further explains that he has no reservations investing in what he considers “horrible companies” as he simply plays the odds when noticing a penny stock jump from 100-200%. (Smart thinking!)

One must take into consideration that promoted “hot penny stocks” are usually marketed to individuals who are susceptible to impulsive buys based on reading “jazzed up” marketing materials. Most Kool-Aid drinkers will either make a buying decision or spread the hype to other suckers who are drawn into flashy money making schemes. Most people do not perform their due diligence nor read the fine print contained in the marketing materials.

The independent marketing firms promoting these stocks are making out like bandits should they play the movements that they create. Always do your research before moving forward with a promoted or speculative investment. If you play your cards right, you may be able to profit from the hype when spotting breakouts and shorting accordingly.

Penny Stocks To Watch is a post from: Nicky Papers

Who would have thought dialing for dollars could be so much fun? For a few bucks you could buy thousands of leads in select states with the parameters of your choosing.

To make money “chop shop” style you will need the following:

1. A telephone blocking the number on outbound calls.
2. Thick Skin
3. Male Leads (We don’t pitch the bitch.)
4. Puma Jumpsuit.

Welcome to Cold Calling 101. The sample lead above, (rendered to protect identity) is a fair representation as to how a boiler room works and the mentality of the brokers behind the high-energy phone calls.

Everyday thousands of Americans are harassed at work by money-hungry brokers hopped-up on a mix of testosterone, red bull, and prescription medications.

So what are the “sharks” looking for exactly?

Currently working with Brokers: A prospect who works with multiple brokers shows that he’s not completely committed to anybody and will cut a check if he likes an idea. Be wary of guys who use online brokerages as they don’t see the need in being told what to do. For prospects that have brokers out of state, (especially in NY) this is a clear indicator that they are receptive to doing business over the phone.

Owns Stock: Prospects that trade common stock are our type of guys! We are looking for liquidity and a gamblers mentality. If they’ve made some money on a stock they’ll usually share the ticker with you. On the sample lead above the prospect was kind enough to tell us that (NASDAQ: SLAB) Silicon Laboratories took the prize as he doubled his money on it. Reference something similar on the next call to gain trust and open the account.

Ballpark Portfolio Size: So, how much are you playing with in the market? We were looking for guys with over 100k invested in the market. In pursuit of gaining a piece of that portfolio, anything over 100k is safe to separate the piker’s from the players. In this case, our prospect has around $900,000 invested. Get your tartar sauce ready, we’ve got a “whale” on our hands!

Personal Info: After capturing the “meat and potatoes”, it’s now time to BS a little. So are you still making six-figures? What do you do in your spare time? Still chasing the ladies?

The prospect will usually lighten up and share his tales of adventure and romance. Our guy enjoys fishing for trout. (How exciting!) It’s not much, but it’s valuable information to pull out your ass on the next call.

This prospect turned into a slippery eel and got away on the follow-up call. With a healthy 5%-in, 5%-out structure in place, the broker will always be on top. And if the stock actually goes up, more power to ‘em!

Cold Calling 101 is a post from: Nicky Papers

In the information technology industry you need to keep up with the latest trends. My in-box is flooded daily with vendors sending invites to webinars and “lunch and learns”. How about a good old fashioned night on the town to mix business with pleasure?

It was my lucky day when I responded to an invitation that made promises of hors’ douvres, cocktails, and a keynote speaker at a popular Manhattan nightspot.

I took the train into the city with high expectations of doing some damage to an open bar, handing out a few business cards, and getting down on some shrimp cocktail. It was a much different scenario upon arrival.

There was a registration table, a long line of old dudes in wrinkle-free khakis, and the classic “Hello: My Name Is” stickers to be filled out. The line was making me anxious, so I popped into the ballroom next door for a quick drink.

I was greeted with a bucket of Coronas while I made my way out onto the empty dance floor. During my stroll I noticed an illuminated whiteboard with the name of a major apparel company, headquartered in New York.

I just walked into a party which I was about to crash. Sweet! How could I pass up an opportunity to crush an open bar, devour buffet food, and listen to a CEO congratulate employees on a “job well-done”? Jackpot.

Somewhere after my 6th Tanqueray / Tonic and the DJ playing Montell Jordan’s – “This Is How We Do It” I was in the zone. I got a few dagger looks from the C-level’s in suits; but I keep it cool with few affirmative head nods and winks back at them.

Asking girls “what department are you in?” was my opener.

“I can make your computer run faster” was the closer. Who cares if I was prying? Single ladies make noise!

In my travels across the dance floor I bumped into a fine looking Jewish girl named Robin. She invited me back to the bar to grab a fresh round. I was straight-up with her about my spying antics and she was mildly turned-on! She was intrigued, impressed, yet equally intoxicated. My type of chicken.

We ended up going out for sushi and she started yapping about all the details of her current job at Jones New York and her experience working for small company that “bedazzles” cell phones.

The impromptu date was now getting lame. I quickly got the check and put the meal on my AMEX card (double points on dining!) before exchanging phone numbers and goodbyes in front of her 2nd avenue apartment building.

Robin never responded after two calls and a text message. More importantly, I still ripped-it at a billion dollar company’s holiday party and pumped a drunken employee for information.

Take Notes: Mixing business with pleasure is best done over open bars, self-serve buffets, and always on the expense of others.

Mixing Business With Pleasure is a post from: Nicky Papers

It’s hard to pinpoint the catalyst that caused markets to plummet, the exposure of unethical practices in the financial world, and the credit crisis that we are in today. It’s easy to blame the mess on chop shops in New York and greed.

Is it because working in financial services (in many instances) had become too lucrative? Or is it because Americans as consumers are weak and gravitate toward shiny objects, exotic trades, (from a hotshot broker in New York!) and complicated mortgages structured by now defunct banks?

One of my favorite movies of all-time is Boiler Room, as it shows an accurate representation of chop shop culture and the attitudes and behavior of young brokers in that environment. For me, made the business glamorous and influenced me toward working within the financial services industry during my early twenties.

At the age of 21, I responded to a Craigslist Ad to become sponsored by a “retail equities brokerage” where I would learn the business through cold calling and studying for my Series 7 exam.

The opportunity seemed like it would pay dividends down the road so I kindly accepted the offer.

In just a few months working at this firm I observed the following:

1: I was becoming an animal on the phone. Being trained by sharks caused me to be relentless and not take “No” for an answer.

2: There was no dress coded or sense of office etiquette. Most of us, (myself included) rocked the classic head-to-toe Puma jumpsuit. Typical guinea attire. We had dice games in the conference room after the markets closed.

3: There were no analysts at the firm. Brokers pitched what they liked or stocks with preexisting call scripts. There was one speculative stock (Telkonet) that was pitched harder than anything else. It’s ticker symbol (TKO) opened up more accounts on a first trade basis than more commonly known stocks, merely because the ticker sounded “cool”.

4: Everything I did was fake. I used a fake name. I pretended I was a senior broker. I held conversations in topics I knew nothing about. (Fishing, golf and hunting?) I told prospects I would call them back “later on down the road”. In-turn, I passed prospects off to a British guy (heavy accent) where he’d read my notes and open the account at a later date. The client was none-the-wiser.

I never ended up passing my Series 7 exam. The firm tried selling me on reasons why I should continue studying and “dialing for dollars”.

Frankly, I was sick of being an actor on the telephone and getting leads for someone else. I ended up parting ways with the firm on good terms. As a former “chop shopper”, where would I go next?

For me, that was an easy decision. I became a mortgage broker.

Chop Shops in New York is a post from: Nicky Papers