Hope you are fine. I am great, enjoying a few days of vacation, visiting my girlfriend in Córdoba -- Argentina. What a lovely city and country. It's amazing how wonderful the life is when one is in love! :-)

When was the last time you rewarded yourself and loved ones with something extra-ordinary good? I think that nothing feels better than enjoying the fruits of life after a lot of hard (and smart) work...because then you really deserve it!

So is it time to improve your business even more?

Here are two excellent articles you'll find useful. Read and learn. Then, take action!

I think this editorial can be concluded with one of my best advises for life -- Seneca's proverb:

  Work as you would live forever.
  Love as you would die today.

All the best,
Erik G. Olsson, Editor
eolsson@redtienda.com

• What Are YOU Doing to Keep Your Customers?
• Top 7 Lessons Jay Abraham Taught Me About Business

  "The Fastest And Most Profitable Way
  To Sell Your Products On The Internet"

http://www.redtienda.com/english/onlinestores.htm

Not too long ago I ran a survey on my site asking visitors what their main complaints were about shopping for or finding information online.

An overwhelming number of people said: customer service.

It appears that many online businesses are not doing a particularly good job of replying to inquiries in a timely manner.

Questions about the product, customer requests for help, constructive suggestions ... they all go unanswered. I'm not implying that every single email requires a response - but legitimate inquiries certainly deserve one. They give you the opportunity to display your product's benefits and convert a visitor into a customer.

Making sales is always great ... but building long-term relationships with your customers is even better. Happy customers are much more likely refer others to you. It's free advertising at it's best! Wouldn't you be more inclined to purchase something recommended to you by someone you trust?

Customer service takes practice and experience. Here are a few tips to get you started ...

• Learn how to use your email software effectively. Use filters, signatures, stationery, and address books to automatically file and answer some of your email. This in itself can save you a significant amount of time, and it helps you to prioritize. Try to provide your customers with the fast, helpful service they expect.
  
• Automate responses where appropriate. For example, use an autoresponder to distribute free reports or download links. This is far preferable to forcing your customer to wait several days for a manual email from you. Automation is a good choice for anything that does not require a personalized response. It frees up your time (time that can be better spent elsewhere) and it gives your customer instant service.
  
• Create or find bonuses that you can give away to your customers. Bundle them with a subscription to your newsletter, a product purchase, or even offer them as a 'surprise gift'.
  
• Show appreciation. For example, offer repeat customers a 'loyalty discount'.
  
• Remember that words can easily be misinterpreted in an email. Choose carefully.
  
• *Listen*. Encourage your visitors to write to you with suggestions. Criticism may not be the nicest thing to hear, but it can give you insight into areas of your business that may need improvement. Give your customers what they want and they'll be more likely to return.

The success of a business depends in large part on the satisfaction of its clients. Not only can happy customers refer others to you, but they are much more likely to return for future purchases. A little extra attention can go a long ways. Isn't it worth it?

1. That there are only three ways to make money:
- Increase the number of new customers you have
- Increase your average ticket size
- Increase your re-frequency of purchase

2. That no matter who you are, where you are, or what you or your business has, there are "always" hidden assets that are right under your nose, waiting to be tapped for profit. All that is required is an open mind and a willingness to leverage what you already have or own.

3. Joint ventures are a great way to leverage assets that otherwise might remain untapped. It's also a great way to leverage and gain market cap or sales without the use of cash.

4. The power of endorsements carry more weight than any form of advertising, but this is also an area of business that should be guarded in order to ensure integrity.

5. To really get a perspective of the leverage that most businesses lack, you need to leave your business and get out of the house. By doing so, you're able to see and comprehend/make decisions about your most important goals and objectives without distractions or other items which appear urgent but don't contribute to your wealth.

6. Jay's "hotseat" format for conducting seminars is something that I now use for every seminar that I do. Only a small percentage of the thousands of folks who have attended my seminars have asked me to not do the "hotseat" approach to giving a seminar, but the greater majority of the audiences and myself included, have always came away with much more than we thought possible using this technique. The secret is to talk, present, set up some of the basic principles of whatever your topic for the seminar is, and then towards the middle or end, get your audience into small groups or bring them up on stage to ask/answer questions or just "a" question that forces your audience to think and come up with their own answers to the problems or maybe even the primary reason why they attended the seminar.
This concept may sound simple, but consider this: What would you rather have: a) listen to a speaker for an entire presentation or b) interact, ask questions, be put on the spot and forced to come up with new answers to questions that no one, nor yourself, has ever asked before. :)

7. The importance of having USPs for everything. A USP is a Unique Selling Proposition. It's what makes you, your product or service and your business unique. In fact, if you look at the header of this email, I have adapted his concept for email newsletters, in that every newsletter that we produce has a USP in the header, which is a one-sentence brief description of the value or purpose for the list. It also differentiates you from your competition. You can apply this same concept to Web sites, projects, teams, businesses, product lines and more.

  Ivan J. Jimenez, ivan(a)cosmicbreath.com
  CosmicBreath.com, http://www.cosmicbreath.com

There's more: http://www.redtienda.com/english/stores.htm

Free newsletter and many resources to help you sell more, profit more, and enjoy life more.
http://www.revistavenda.com

Infoagil.com is a great eLearning site with lots of virtual courses to expand yourself.
http://www.infoagil.com

Protect yourself! Get assistance and guidance for legal issues related to the Internet.
http://www.opinionvirtual.com

A comprehensive resource for entrepreneurs who want prosperity, freedom, and adventure in life.
http://www.jetsetliving.com

Forget about business for a minute and learn online how to dance more and better!
http://www.elbaile.net

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