Category Archives: Business

Business, Local Writers & Contributors

Toastmasters – Helping 235,000 People to Become Stronger Leaders

By Lisa J. Lehr

Would you like to have more communicative employees—or be one? Have a more effective sales force, or be a trainer with phenomenal presentation skills? Be a more confident, competent leader? Be persuasive, inspirational, and/or entertaining?

That’s what 235,000 people around the world are doing right now, and it’s called Toastmasters International.

This might sound like a shameless plug for Toastmasters…and perhaps it is, because I’ve been a member of Toastmasters for over 10 months now, and I love it, and so do my fellow Toastmasters, and we’d love to have more company!

Toastmasters is an international organization that provides training in speaking and leadership that is on a par with expensive and extensive professional training programs, yet at a fraction of the cost and time commitment.

Nevada County is lucky to have four different Toastmasters Clubs—unusual for a community of our size. Mother Lode Toastmasters meets Monday evenings; Early Risers Toastmasters, Tuesday mornings; Penn Valley Club, Wednesday evenings; and the club I belong to, Empire Toastmasters, meets every Friday at noon at Trolley Junction Restaurant (at the Northern Queen Hotel) in Nevada City.

We’re a small, friendly, supportive group dedicated to helping each other improve at a comfortable pace, wherever we each currently are with our speaking and leadership skills. Our meetings are open to anyone who is interested. Come as a guest; you’ll be invited (but not required!) to participate in Table Topics, in which participants each speak impromptu for about a minute on a given theme. It’s often the highlight of the meeting, and almost always provides the most laughs. Lunch is $14 and reservations are not required.

My fellow Toastmasters and I are available to do a presentation for your business or organization that will explain the program in much greater detail. My own personal and professional growth through Toastmasters has been nothing short of astonishing in less than a year, and my fellow club members have similar stories to tell about being “the shyest person who ever lived”—but no more, thanks to Toastmasters!

Visit this link for more information about the local clubs:

ToastMasters Nevada County

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Lisa J. Lehr
I write words that make you money–just ask me how.
Visit my website and sign up for my fr~ee marketing tips.
New! No~cost Marketing Guide now available at my website.

Business

Quickest, Easiest Way to Make More Sales: Re-activate Past Customers

Lisa J. Lehr

by Lisa J. Lehr   (Lisa is a regular contributor to this site)

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you know that getting new customers is a lot more work—and a lot less profitable—than selling more to your existing customers. Needless to say, people who’ve bought from you in the past already have a relationship with you, so they don’t need to be sold; they only need to be reminded to come back for more.

People have short memories and fickle habits. If your competitor has offered your past customers some sweet deal, “your” customers may well stray from you to cash in the coupon (or whatever it is), receive good service, and switch loyalties, never to be seen again. The good news about that is…you can do the same thing, and get them back. And not only that: you can keep them coming back.

First step: get in touch with those past customers. If you already have their e-mail addresses, great; if not, you’ll need to use postal mail. An inexpensive, simple way to do this is with a postcard, which will need to do the following:

·         Tell your readers what to do: visit your store (for example, bring in the postcard for a special offer) or your website (to opt in to your list).

·         Follow the usual rules of good sales writing. Words sell!

·         Be attractive: following the rules of good design, yet not devoting so much space to graphics that you run out of space for words.

·         Entice your readers with what they’ll get when they take the next step. (Coming into your store gets them a discount or a freebie; opting in to your list gives them a heads-up on all specials, sales, and new offerings.)

·         Use both sides of the postcard. An often-overlooked strategy: put a map to your place of business. You’d be surprised—even customers who know where you’re located are more likely to visit if you show them how to get there!

·         Be prepared with the second step, i.e., whatever you’re going to give them when they visit your website or your store.

Now, once you’ve reestablished your relationship with your past customers, keep them! This is where your e-mail list is so important. You’ll stay top-of-mind, and when they need something, they’ll come to you—not your competitor. An essential part of the process is a website. The e-mails they get from you will be completely automated and anti-spam-compliant.

If you don’t have one yet, we seriously need to talk!

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Business

California and 23 States Reach $22.5 Million Settlement Against Pharmaceutical Companies that Blocked Generic Drugs

I always wonder when I travel to another country why proscription drugs are so much cheaper than here in the States.  Here’s one of many reasons drug companies get by charging so much. They spend their money cooking ways to stifle competition, along with full page ads in magazines and TV ads.   Here’s the settlement details by the California  State Attorney’s General office for blocking of generic drugs.

“Oakland-Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and 23 other state attorneys general today announced a $22.5 million settlement with pharmaceutical giants Abbott and Fournier after the companies “illegally blocked” cheaper generic substitutes for the cholesterol-reducing drug Tricor.

The settlement is the result of one of the country’s first legal actions challenging pharmaceutical companies for “product hopping,” a strategy to block generic competition by making slight changes to the formulation of a drug.

“Abbott and Fournier devised a complex scheme that illegally blocked cheaper generic drugs from entering the market,” Brown said. “They used minor reformulations of the drug to delay competition and filed frivolous patent lawsuits. This scheme cost California and other states millions of dollars.”

Beginning in 1998, Abbott and Fournier, two of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies, partnered to manufacture and distribute Tricor, a cholesterol-reducing drug. Tricor’s annual sales were in excess of $750 million.

By 2002, as Tricor’s patents were set to expire, several drug companies sought approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic drug equivalent to Tricor. To be approved by the FDA, the generic-drug manufacturer must prove that its drug has the same active ingredients and the same labeling as the brand-name drug, in addition to being a therapeutic equivalent of the brand-name product.

Once a generic drug is approved for market, the market share for a brand-name drug like Tricor can decrease by up to 80 percent. Most states and group health plans require pharmacists to substitute the generic drug for a brand-name drug to get the cost benefit of the cheaper generic version.

Knowing generic manufacturers were attempting to enter the market, the lawsuit alleged that Abbott and Fournier devised a complex scheme to delay and prevent the approval and marketing of generic versions of Tricor. The companies made minor changes in the form and dosage strength of Tricor that did not provide any significant health benefits over previous Tricor formulations. These minor changes interfered with and delayed any FDA approval of the generics.

To further delay the process, Abbott and Fournier also filed more than a dozen lawsuits against generic drug manufacturers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Impax Laboratories because the law prohibits the FDA from approving a generic drug for 30 months after patent-infringement lawsuits have been filed. After the 30-month automatic stays expired, all of the suits were eventually dismissed.

As a result of the scheme, Abbott and Fournier recorded Tricor sales exceeding $1 billion at the expense of consumers and state governments.

Today’s settlement agreement requires the companies to cease illegal efforts to block generic competition to Tricor and to pay the states approximately $22.5 million dollars. In California, the Department of General Services, Medi-Cal and the Department of Corrections will be reimbursed for overcharges.

States joining California in today’s lawsuit include: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia.”

Source Office of Attorney General

Business

Be Careful of the E-Mails You Receive!

 

By: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Be leery of e-mails or text messages you receive indicating a problem or question regarding your financial accounts. In this scam, you are directed to follow a link or call the number provided in the message to update your account or correct the problem. The link actually directs the individuals to a fraudulent website or message that appears legitimate where any personal information you provide, such as account number and PIN, will be stolen.

Another scam involves victims receiving an e-mail message directing the recipient to a spoofed website. A spoofed website is a fake site or copy of a real website and misleads the recipient into providing personal information, which is routed to the scammer’s computers.

Tips
Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:

  • Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
  • Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
  • Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. Virus scan the attachments if possible.
  • Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
  • Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link you are actually directed to and determine if they actually match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
  • Log on directly to the official website for the business identified in the e-mail, instead of “linking” to it from an unsolicited e-mail. If the e-mail appears to be from your bank, credit card issuer, or other company you deal with frequently, your statements or official correspondence from the business will provide the proper contact information.
  • Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Business, Local Writers & Contributors

Three marketing “clichés” that could skyrocket your sales

Lisa-J.-Lehr

by Lisa J. Lehr

  •  “It takes ‘seven touches’ to turn a prospect into a client.”

 

  • “Know me, like me, trust me, buy from me.”

 

  • “The money is in the list.”

 

What do these sayings have in common, and what do they have to do with your business? The answer to both questions is that they’re all true, and that understanding how to make them work for you could boost your bottom line exponentially. 

In my previous post about marketing (before the one about rescuing cats from trees), I talked about simple, inexpensive marketing tools. Now I’m going to expand on one of my points—the opt-in box. The opt-in box, remember, is where people enter their name and e-mail address and click “submit,” or words to that effect. This little box could literally bring in 90% of your sales; if you have one, you’re in a good position to capture the lion’s share of your market niche. 

It’s what happens after they click “submit” that really matters. Using an automated messaging system, you’ll send them a series of messages called “autoresponders.” This accomplishes several things. 

First, it keeps you top-of-mind. If one of the people who opt in (known as your “list members”) suddenly has a need for your product or service, and you’ve been sending him or her interesting information for weeks or months, you’ll be the obvious choice over your competitors. 

Second, it establishes you as an expert. You see, you’re not sending them constant sales messages—although sales messages certainly can be part of the plan. You’ll mainly be sending them useful, valuable information that they’ll feel indebted to you for—and possibly forward to friends. 

Third, it’s an inoffensive way to stay in people’s faces. The automated system includes an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of every message, so if people get tired of hearing from you, they just click and you’re gone. No angry phone calls, no returned mail, no enemies. 

Autoresponders are particularly useful if your product is a one-time or occasional type of purchase or a seasonal item. People don’t buy a washing machine, a computer, or a Christmas tree, or get their windows washed or their gutters cleaned, every week. You don’t want your prospects to forget about you between that first visit and when they actually need what you offer. 

The messages can be created around any of a variety of themes. They can reflect current trends or news themes; they can be based on case studies or testimonials; they can each focus on a particular product or service you offer, or announce sales or specials; they can be “seven tips for…” or “ten ways to…” types of messages. 

Let me give you a first-hand example of a missed marketing opportunity by a local business owner. 

I’d won a free session with a particular type of service provider. It was a new experience for me; I found it enjoyable, and my curiosity about this service was piqued. I told the service provider that I was a marketing writer, yet strangely, I never heard from her again! Apparently she didn’t have a website, so she certainly didn’t have an opt-in box or an autoresponder series. So she missed two great opportunities—to sell additional services to me (far easier and cheaper than finding new customers), and to take advantage of my ability to market her services to others. 

Now, there are a few keys to making your opt-in box a success. First of all, your website has to be good enough that people will stay long enough to even notice you have an opt-in box. Second, the words on the box need to be compelling. (Hint: “submit” isn’t: no one likes to submit.) Third, offering an enticement, or “ethical bribe,” increases your opt-in rate dramatically. Enticements include a free e-book, report, white paper, informational message they can listen to or download, or free sample or consultation. How often you mail to your list depends on several factors, including the nature of your product or service. 

Let me emphasize that you don’t want to try to keep your own list and send the messages manually. Yes, the automated system costs money (contact me for the name of the one that 95% of Internet marketers use); however, not only is doing it yourself a lot of work, you’ll eventually get labeled a spammer and blocked from most people’s e-mail systems. 

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Business

How Business Owners Can Get Ahead in “This Economy”

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Lisa-J.-Lehr
By Lisa J. Lehr

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of hearing the phrase “in this economy.” As in: “Everyone’s trying to save money…in this economy.” “Who can afford this, that, or the other thing…in this economy?” “Good luck getting a job, making a profit, running a business…in this economy.”

It’s as if “this economy” is a catch-all excuse for failure, inaction, and stuck-ness. Okay, certain things are out of our control. But let’s not throw everything that is within our control into the same hopeless bag. If you’re a business owner, there’s a lot you can do to secure an advantage over your competition who’s given in to the doom-and-gloom mentality of “this economy.”

Here are some starters:

  1. Figure out your USP, and tell everybody what it is. If you’re not sure if you even have a USP, it means “unique selling proposition.” So what makes you so special? If you’re not the biggest, the oldest, or the closest, you must have something else that no one else has. Dig it out, polish it up, show it off. Hint: what do your best customers say about you?

2  Make sure your website is as good as it can be. Please don’t tell me you don’t have a website! (Okay, do tell me…I can help.) Forget the flash and snazzy graphics. You need a clean, easily navigable, informative website. The more content, the better—both for getting more web traffic and for making your readers know, like, and trust you. People who know, like, and trust you will buy from you! And on that website

3. Put an opt-in form in a prominent place. This simple tool can literally bring in 90% of your sales. If you’re not sure what this is, I’m sure you’ve seen them on other websites: people enter their name and e-mail address and give you permission to keep in touch with them. Voila, when they need the product or service you offer, guess who’s top-of-mind—you!

4. Be famous. Not celebrity-famous—but establishing yourself as an expert in your field will put you light-years ahead of your competitors. This means you offer articles, news releases, blog posts, case studies, white papers, even an informative Yellow Pages ad—all kinds of free, no-obligation content that gets your name “out there” and convinces people you know your stuff. Secondary benefit: all that “free stuff” makes people feel indebted to you—and more likely to choose you over your competitors.

5.Have materials to hand out. Called “marketing collateral,” these are all the print pieces that support any sales messages you have: brochures, free articles, point-of-sale take-home pieces, catalogs, magalogs, white papers, and so on. These offline pieces have a “stickiness” that online content doesn’t have: people will keep, re-read, and pass along to others informative reading material. Make sure your contact info (including your web address!) is on everything.

5.Advertising can be expensive. And that “I can’t afford to advertise…in this economy” mentality has led to the failure of many businesses…especially in this economy. But the above relatively simple and inexpensive strategies will give you the visibility, authority, and distinction you need to remain competitive in your field. Even in this economy. Especially in this economy.

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Business

Is the Economy Recovering or Not?

economy-recoverying
Photo Bend Oregon Realty

Are we in a recovery or not? You know, you can get ten economists in a room together and get ten different answers as to how the economy is doing.

But it seems like the roomful of economists are starting to come together and agree that we are bottoming out and coming out of the recession. The stock market has recovered 54% of its value from it’s low point and lower price homes are getting multiple offers.

According to the OCRegister, Kerry Vandell, head of UC Irvine’s Center for Real Estate stated that “The economy is recovering more rapidly than I would have guessed”

He went on to state that the residential market has began to recover but, there are some obstacles still in recovery’s path which he said are the following:

Massive wave of foreclosures is yet to come.

Banks are delaying “taking the hit” on those devalued properties.

Credit is still very tight.

Unemployment is still increasing.

State spending cuts will offset federal stimulus in California.

Prices and rents are still high.

So there you have it, we are recovering according to Kerry Vandell, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. What do you think, are we recovering or not?

Business

Ex-Con Wants to Take Over Empty Jail

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American Police Force logo
American Police Force logo

The American Police Force, that mysterious security company that plans to take over an empty jail in Hardin, Montana, is looking shadier than ever.

Montana’s attorney general has launched an investigation into a California company’s plan to take over the city of Hardin’s $27 million jail, following revelations that the company’s lead figure is a convicted felon with a history of fraud.

Michael Hilton, who formed Santa Ana, Calif.-based American Police Force in March, came to Hardin last month promising to fill the city’s never-used jail and build an adjacent military and law enforcement training center.

Since yesterday, details have been emerging about the background of the man behind APF — a California-based grifter, who has said he’s a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Montenegro, and uses the name Michael Hilton.

Over the years, Hilton has served jail time for fraud, and had a string of arrests and other run-ins with the law. Based on reports from the AP, the Billings Gazette, and Prison Legal News, here’s a quick rundown:

• 1988: Hilton arrested in Santa Ana, Calif. for writing bad checks.

• April 1990: Hilton is again arrested in Santa Ana for writing bad checks and for grand theft.

• 1992: A civil judgment of $83,000 is entered against Hilton and Ilia Dokovich.

• March 1993: Hilton pleads guilty in Orange County court to 14 felonies, including 10 counts of grand theft. One charge involves a $20,000 real estate scam, in which Hilton persuaded an associate to give him a deed on property in Long Beach, Calif., saying it was to be used as collateral on a loan, then sold the property to someone else. According to the AP, he spends six years in prison in California.

• 1999: A small claims judgment is entered against Hilton for $3,979.

• 2000: the same plaintiff obtans another small claims judgment against Hilton in Los Angeles County, this one for $1,852.

• March 2000: Hilton is accused of fraud, larceny, and breach of contract, in connection to a venture in which Hilton and others recruited the plaintiff to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to create collectible Super Bowl commemorative coins. According to the complaint, Hilton and the others said the money would be used for the design and manufacture of the coins and for a license to produce them from the National Football League — but the NFL never issued a license. Hilton is ultimately ordered to pay the plaintiff $200,000.

• Around the same period: Hilton also faces two similar fraud suits: In one, he’s accused of posing as a fine arts dealer to deceive a Utah couple into giving him a $100,000 silver statue. In the other, he is said to have teamed with a doctor to recruit investors for a southern California assisted-living facility that was never built.

• November 2002: Hilton files for bankruptcy, in order to avoid eviction by his landlord.

• March 2003: Hilton is arrested for DUI in Huntington Beach.

• February 2004: Hilton files for bankruptcy once more, again to avoid eviction.

• January 2006: A $5,052 judgment lien is entered against Hilton in Orange County, CA.

A Lexis search conducted by Prison Legal News turned up the following aliases used by Hilton: Miodrag Dokovich, Miodrag Djokich, Miodrag Djokovich, Michael Hamilton, Anthony M. Hilton, Michael A. Hilton, Michael Milton and Hristian Djokich, plus related variants.

Business

Bernard Madoff, King of Ponzi

This chart shows how a pyramid scheme (also known as a Ponzi scheme) is impossible to substain.
This chart shows how a pyramid scheme (also known as a Ponzi scheme) is impossible to substain.

Bernard Madoff, the king of Ponzi, sits in jail for the next 150 years, or at least until he dies, whichever comes first. In the meantime, Irving Picard, the court appointed trustee, also known as the liquidator, is searching for the billions of dollars that disappeared.

Where did the money go?  Madoff sent out statements to his “investors” that the fund was worth 64.8 billion dollars. According to Mr. Picard’s chief counsel David Sheehan, the statement was total lies.  The statement of 64.8 billion dollars was an illusion to keep investors investing.

According to CBS 60 Minutes:

“Asked how much real money went into the whole scheme, Sheehan told Safer, “I’d say about $36 billion. And about 18 of it went out before the collapse. And 18 of it is just missing. And that $18 billion is what we’re trying to get back.”

So for the past nine months, Picard and his team have been on a global treasure hunt. The first step: liquidating Madoff’s boats, his art, even his season tickets to the New York Mets, plus Bernie’s various homes, all sold or about to be sold with a U.S. Marshal as real estate pitchman.

“They didn’t exactly hide their wealth, did they?” Safer asked.

“They did have the house in Palm Beach. They had a place in Montauk. They had to have, you know, an apartment here on Park Avenue in the city – all of which are the accoutrements of great wealth. But it wasn’t an extraordinary lifestyle,” Sheehan said.

According to the government, those homes, boats, art and more are worth over $50 million.

That’s just a drop in an oversized bucket, nothing close to what investors lost. So Picard and his team continue to follow the money.

They started at Madoff’s New York offices, now an impressive landscape of emptiness.

And close by, perhaps a work of art that sums up the entire story: “It was called the ‘Soft Screw.’ And it was about four, I guess four to six feet high. And it was sitting right here,” Picard explained, describing a screw-like sculpture that used to be displayed in Madoff’s office.

And sitting on top of the world was Madoff himself. “He was much like the Wizard of Oz, just hiding behind this wall. And no one could quite penetrate it but they sort of really liked the results,” Sheehan said”

It looks like the “soft screw” turned out to be a total reaming.