How To Live Up to Your Greatest Potential.

If you want to make more of your talents - live up to your full potential- you have to learn to use them. You have the power to change your habits- to acquire new skills and fully use the skills you now have. You can improve your performance, your productivity, and the quality of your wholelife.What makes a high achiever? Is it luck, intelligence, talent, dedication?All of these things figure in - they all make a difference. But we allknow intelligent, talented, hard-working people who do not consider them selves very successful or even happy. And we know people who are notexceptionally bright but seem happy and successful.So there must be something else, some secret to success. Actually thereare several secrets to achieving your peak performance - living up to yourfull potential.Your success at business, friendship, love, sports - just about anythingyou try - is largely determined by your own self-image. Your unhappiness is something you choose. So, you're thinking no one chooses to be unhappy. Well, maybe not - but you have to consciously choose to be happy,self-confident, and successful.Happiness is elusive when we go after it directly. So is self-confidence.Both seem to be more "side-products" than something you can achieve in andfor itself. So how, then, can consciously choosing to be these things beof any value? Well, the secret is to focus on other things.First, focus on your potential. Begin by making a complete and accurateassessment of your potential. To do this you must take an inventory of yourself - you will make a few lists. Sit down and make a list of all the things you can do well. Be honest with yourself. When that list is done,make a list of all the things you like to do, even if you think you can'tdo them well. Then, make a list of all the things you would like to do, if you could. Now list your hobbies.Then, go back to the list of things you can do well. You are probablybeing much too hard on yourself. Most of us are. We have this littlevoice in our heads telling us things like: "You're so dumb," or "You can'tlearn to do that," or "You never do anything right," or similar nastythings. And even worse, we listen to that voice as if it's telling us thegospel truth. So now, shut off that voice - you can do it - and add a fewmore things to the list of things you can do well. Pretend you are yourbest friend - it's amazing how much more forgiving and charitable we arewith our friends than we are with ourselves. Now that you are your bestfriend, you should be able to add a few more items to your "do well" list.But do be honest - don't list things you feel you really can't do well.Next, go to your list of things you like to do but you feel you don't dowell. Speaking as your own best friend, do you think there are some thingson this list that could be moved to your "do well" list? There probablyare. If you like to do it, chances are you do pretty well at it. Treatyour hobby list in the same manner.Next, go to your list of things you would like to do if you could. Askyourself, "Why can't I do this, if I'd like to?" Put your reasons onanother list. OK. So you have a lot of lists going - what good is thatgoing to do? Well, you have just made an assessment of yourself. If youhave been truly honest in making these lists, it may even be a fairlyaccurate assessment. Probably it isn't, but that's OK. This assessmentisn't carved in stone. It's subject to change. But for now we will workwith what's on the lists. At least you have a place to start.Look over your lists again. You are focusing on all the things you feelyou can't do and the reasons why you can't do them, right? Well, don't.FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO - FOCUS ON YOUR POTENTIAL. Make it a habit tofocus on your strengths. Don't forget to include your undevelopedpotential, as well. Train yourself to focus on your potential instead ofyour limitations.Now that's not to say that you should ignore your list of reasons for notdoing some of the things you would like to do. Not at all! But look atthem from the viewpoint of your strengths. For instance, you'd like toplay basketball but you think you are too short, so you don't even try. Inthis case, you are looking at it from the viewpoint of your limitations.Now, when you look at it from the viewpoint of your strengths, you wouldsay, "Well, I may be pretty short to play, BUT I am fast. I can handle theball well. I have a lot of stamina. I can't change being short, but I canrefuse to let my limitations overcome my strengths."You see the difference? Focusing on your limitations lets thoselimitations make your decisions for you. Focusing on your strengths letsYOU make the decision. To go back to our example: when you've decided toovercome your height limitations to play basketball - something you reallywant to do - you will be more determined to develop your strengths tocompensate. You will do well, because you will be doing what you reallywant to do and you will be determined to develop the full potential of yourstrengths. Very few people concentrate on fully developing any of theirstrengths. That's where you will have the edge. You know your truedisadvantages but your determination, your singleness of purpose, willinspire you to fully develop the talents and skills you do have.OK. You probably have no interest in playing basketball. Then go to yourassessment of yourself. What do you have a major interest in? What do youhave a natural aptitude for? Go for it. Devote yourself to something youreally like to do. Don't choose something just because you think you couldmake more money at it than you could by doing something else that you wouldreally rather work at. You won't work to develop your full potential. Youmay start out with enthusiasm, but you will soon flag. It will be a choreto go to work. You'll probably find yourself hating to go. It'll bedifficult to work on improving your skills because you don't like what youare doing. You probably won't be working up to your potential. Yoursuccess will probably be limited by your growing lack of interest and yourhappiness will surely be affected.If, however, you devote yourself to something you really like to do, you'llenjoy your work, you'll be enthusiastic, and you'll probably find yourselfworking on improving your skills just for the sheer joy of it. You will beworking to reach your full potential. You'll probably soon find you aremaking more money at this truly interesting occupation than you everdreamed possible. And because you like what you are doing, you will behappier.When you know you are working to your full potential and you enjoy yourwork and begin to feel successful, you will find that self-confidence andhappiness soon follow.But, you must be realistic and honest with yourself. If you set goals thatyou can't possibly reach, you are setting yourself up for failure. Youwill make yourself frustrated and unhappy. The key here is a realistic andhonest assessment of your potential.Although most people will be unnecessarily harsh in their assessments, itis easy to become too hopeful when you start breaking down barriers. If,for instance, you're extremely interested in and fond of music and wouldlove to be a singer, it would be unreasonable to set a singing career asyour goal if you can't sing a note (some talents are inborn). But if youare knowledgeable about the music business and would be happy beinginvolved in some other capacity, then it would be reasonable to pursue acareer in the business.Be wary of making otherwise perfectly reasonable goals unattainable becauseof stringent time frames. When you set a goal, you will most likely settimes for achieving certain steps along your way to achieving your finalgoal. Even if you don't set the time frames formally, you will probablyhave a pretty good idea of how long you are giving yourself. It's wise tosit down and formally set these goals. Think about it and give yourselfreasonable time to achieve them. Make a deal with yourself to view thesetime limits as flexible.Don't get discouraged if things don't work out as planned. Sometimesfinding our place takes both time and error. All of us experience failuresof one magnitude or another. The key is to view the failures as a learningexperience - if nothing else, failures teach us what not to do. Remainflexible. As long as you keep focusing on your strengths and potential,the right thing will come along - and probably sooner rather than later.But don't quit at the first sign of boredom. Even if you have truly foundyour niche, you will not feel enthusiastic 100 percent of the time.Don't worry about others - don't compare your progress with that of others.No matter how successful you are, there will be someone else who, to you,looks like she's got it made - who looks like she's getting where you wantto go faster and easier than you are. Maybe she is. Maybe she isn't. Whocares? Focus on your own achievements. Work to develop your skills andtalents to their full potential. Compete with yourself - your short termgoals should be based on today's accomplishments. If you have reachedPoint A today, make Point B your next objective - improve yourself anddon't worry about the other guy.OK. You have decided what your ultimate goal is. Make sure it is adefinitely defined goal. "Someday I want to be famous" just won't cut it.Define exactly what you want to do. Define a reasonable time frame. Knowwhat you have to do to get there. You don't need to know every littledetail, but you do have to have the big picture and many of the details.If you have a goal in mind but don't know what it takes to reach it, thenyou need to find out. Do some reading, talk to people who know, askquestions and LISTEN to the answers. Think that sounds like a lot of work?Well, remember what you are preparing for - your success and happiness.Surely you want to put a little effort into that! Anyway, a littlereseach into what it will take for you to reach your goals isn't toodifficult.Train yourself into making this "research" the next focus of your life.You will be focusing on your strengths, on your purpose, and on learningand doing. If you have chosen a goal that is right for you, focusing onthese things and devoting the necessary time should not be too difficult.It may take a bit of self-discipline at first, but your determination andinterest will carry you through until the focusing process becomes a habit.When you have a real desire to accomplish something, initiatative shouldonly require an occasional shove - but you may need to give it a nudge nowand again.Get into the habit of visualizing your success. Now sitting around anddaydreaming in generalizations about it is not what we mean. You need tovisualize specifics. To return to the basketball example, daydreamingabout being carried off the court on your teammates' shoulders is justdaydreaming. Picturing in your mind how you will work a play if youropponent makes a particular move, picturing your exact response to it, isvisualizing specifics. If you run through specific moves in your mind, youwill be prepared when the need for those moves arises.Don't be afraid to use your imagination to visualize new and better ways toaccomplish things, as well. Here in your mind, you can try doing things inways that are different from the usual. This is a creative process - youmay have heard of creative thinking. Training yourself to think creativelyis largely learning to let your imagination work on methods that aredifferent from the "way things have always been done." It's breaking awayfrom the idea that a thing can be done effectively in only one way. It'slooking at a problem from all angles. Just play a game of "what if." Askyourself, "What if I did this thing this way?" It's OK to get a littlecrazy sometimes. But, you must also spend some of your thinking time atspecific visualizations of the moves you need to make to accomplish yourgoals.Visualizations are important but actual physical practice of your skills isimportant, too. Practice the boring little skills that are necessary aswell as the skills that you enjoy. Don't let yourself rely on just thethings that come naturally and easy to you. Develop your limitedpotentials as well as those that you feel are your assets.Work on developing the more general attributes that are important to almostany goal:Success comes more easily to those who have a pleasing personality. Thisis not to say that you should bend to eveyone's wishes or scrape and bow.Rather, develop an attitude that is respectful of other's opinions but trueto your own beliefs. Be flexible - don't be so rigid that you can't acceptanother's opinion when it is superior to your own. Be willing, even eager,to learn from others. Changing your opinion in light of more facts is asign of strength of character, not weakness. Be willing to extend ahelpful hand, be a team player. Develop a sense of humor. Be polite andcaring - but be your own person.Learn to guard against emotional responses. You are susceptible to errorsof judgement when you let your emotions get in the way. Of course,everything we do is done based somewhat on our emotions, but strongemotions have little place in decision making. Hold your emotions incheck. Try to delay decisions if you are in an emotional state. Learn toignore your emotions and use reasoning to arrive at your decisions.Develop the habit of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm works like a magnet - it drawspeople and success. It's a pleasing personality trait that people like tobe a part of. It seems to be contagious - the people around you becomeenthusiastic, too, and become more cooperative. Enthusiasm sparksinitiative and singleness of purpose.We've talked of working to develop habits - the habit of focusing on yourgoals, the habit of focusing on your strengths, the habit of learning and"researching," the habit of visualizing, the habit of enthusiasm. Now wewill talk of habits in a little different light - breaking them. First,assess your habits looking for the ones that may be displeasing to others.Offensive habits can hold you back from success - they are often a part ofan unpleasing personality. Look for things like grumbling or grunting atpeople instead of answering, gazing at anything but the speaker whenconversing, smirking or sneering when you don't agree - anything that is anautomatic, displeasing mannerism. It will be very difficult to assess yourhabits accurately. After all, a habit is something that we do withoutthinking much about it. You will have to spend some time at this and bevery conscious of yourself. Ask someone you trust to help you with thisassessment. It may take a lot of work to break yourself of displeasinghabits. Try substituting a different, more pleasing behavior for the habityou wish to break.OK. You have set definite goals, you have a definiteness of purpose, youhave researched and know the specific steps to take to achieve the goals,you have resolved to be flexible and to develop a more pleasingpersonality. Now what?Well, just because you have a clear purpose, know what you want, arewilling to work on developing your potential, and willing to be a niceperson, success will not drop into your lap overnight.You will probably find that one of your first steps in achieving your goalswill be to take a job somewhat below where you hope eventually to be. Butyou've already analyzed the steps to your goal, so you presumably haveplanned for this. However, you do want to advance and, of course, asquickly as possible.As you advance toward your goals, you will undoubtedly run up against somedifficult people (maybe even difficult bosses), and there will be timesyou'll need to deal effectively with them. Since you are working onbecoming a nice, enthusiastic person and a team player, you already havehalf the battle won. Your attitude is as important as the other guy'sattitude when you are dealing with difficult people.Always keep in mind that your job is a training field for you. You aregetting paid as you learn the things you need to know to achieve yourgoals. Pretty good deal, right? If you view your job as a paidopportunity to advance toward your goals, you will be an asset to yourboss. You will also be a happier, more productive person. Viewing yourjob in this manner will allow you to view the difficult people you willinevitably need to deal with as an opportunity to grow. From them and thesituations they create, you will learn to negotiate with, side-step around,and draw out the best in others without letting yourself become upset.Each time you successfully deal with one of these people you will gainconfidence and probably friends to add to your support network. The skillof negotiating with difficult people and the confidence you have gainedfrom these encounters comes in handy when you are ready to ask for apromotion or raise - even if your boss happens to be a nice person.Successful negotiation is not a contest of wills - it is working togetherto solve a problem or come to an agreement. It is an opportunity to learnhow others feel about the issue.Always be prepared. Know who you are talking with. Always know as much aspossible about the person. Know about the person's marital status, family,hobbies, education, difficulties, attitudes, and whatever else you canlearn. The information may give you an understanding of the person. Ifyou know the circumstances, you will more easily find the most effectiveway to get your point across. At the very least, the information will makethe person seem more familiar which will give you more self-confidence.Know the issue - not just your opinions about it. Be able to back up youropinions with reasons and research. If you are asking for a promotion,know the demands of the job in question. Know and be honest about how muchof the job you are already qualified to do and how much additional trainingyou will need. If you may not be as qualified as someone else applying, beprepared to negotiate for a smaller-than-offered salary until you are fullytrained - remember the training is worth a lot to you. Be enthusiastic andfocus on your strengths - don't boast but give an a simple and accuratelisting of the strengths you feel make you a good candidate for this job.The strengths you cite can and should include specific job related skills,your present accomplishments on the job, your interest in the field (notjust this job), your enthusiasm, your ability to work as a team member, andother personal traits that will be an asset on the job.Always enter into negotiations with a calm and reasonable manner. Don'tlet emotion and emotional outbursts have a place at the negotiating table.You must be in control of yourself if you want to get your point across.People are more likely to listen to your views if you present them in acalm and reasonable manner. Present your ideas with conviction but don'ttry to intimidate others or be demanding. State your views simply,completely, and orderly. When you are expressing an opinion rather than afact, use a qualifying "I think" or "In my opinion." When others areexpressing their views, listen carefully and ask questions if somethingisn't clear. Don't disagree until you are sure you understand theirposition. When you do disagree, do so in a pleasant non-threatening way."I see what you mean, but . . ." or "I can understand why you think that,but . . ." are a couple of good ways to begin a statement of disagreement.Be courteous and leave them a chance to save face.Be prepared to face people who are not calm and reasonable. Don't let themget to you. Remain calm and reasonable and even be a little sympathetic.Let's say you have entered into negotiations with your boss for a raise andhe blows up with, "I can't afford to give you a raise. This business isn'texactly a gold mine. Don't you realize how tough times are?" Remain calm.Put yourself in his shoes. Try to find something you can agree andsympathize with. For instance, look sympathetic and agree, "I know youhave a lot of expenses and you work hard to keep this business going. Itmust be really difficult for you sometimes." This will probably not be theresponse he expects. It will probably take the wind out of his sails.Most likely he will calm down, and since you are sympathetic to hisproblems, he'll be more willing to listen to you. If you remain calm,reasonable, and sympathetic, he will calm down. When he is calmer, discusswith him the reasons you are a valuable asset to him. Don't threaten butcalmly and reasonably discuss the bargain a small raise is. With thatsmall raise, he'll be keeping a happy and fully trained employee who knowsthe company. When you consider the expense of finding and training anotherindividual, giving you a raise is a bargain for your boss.Play "Let's Make A Deal." Be prepared to deal. Don't expect to geteverything you want. If you are willing to gracefully make someconcessions, you will be more likely to arrive at a satisfactory deal.After all, a negotiation has at least two opposing sides. This meanssomeone else has something they want, too - even if that something issimply to leave things as they are. Arrive at a compromise that everyonecan live with. Remember, you are working at long-range goals, and you maybe negotiating with them again.Developing your potential more fully is a key to happiness and fulfillment.Although we have primarily discussed this in terms of a job, these sameconcepts can be used in many other areas of your life.In developing your potential to it's fullest, you will want to become amore efficient person - get more done in less time - so you can take fulladvantage of the opportunities that you make for yourself. You will notethat most effective, successful people seem to accomplish a great deal.It's true that this is partly due to enthusiasm, but there's more to it.The first barrier to efficiency is procrastination - putting off gettingstarted. Sometimes you know you are procrastinating. You may not want todo the task at hand so you keep putting it off until tomorrow. The thingto do is to look at it from a different angle. If it'll have to be donesometime, tell yourself, "why not do it now, and get it off your back."And that's just where it is! On your back dragging you down. Puttingthings off makes everything harder to do. If you keep putting things off,you'll soon have several things piling up, and then the sheer number oftasks you have backed up will make it seem impossible to ever get caughtup. This affects everything you do try to do.Sometimes you don't even realize you are putting things off. You may keepyourself extremely busy doing things of little importance to unconsciouslygive yourself excuses for doing the things you really should be doing. Yousay to yourself, "Look how busy I am. I just can't get everything done."But the result is the same as when you know you are procrastinating. Itsoon bogs you down. All you are doing is "running in place."So how do you beat procrastination?The first step in beating procrastination is to admit to yourself how oftenyou do it and assessing your methods of doing it. Not very difficult,really, when you become aware of the tactics some of us use to hide fromourselves what we are doing.The key in overcoming procrastination and becoming more efficient isorganization. Plan ahead. Know what you want to accomplish today, thisweek, and in the long haul.Make lists. The lists for today will probably be more detailed than thelonger-term lists. That's OK. Now look over the lists and rank the tasksin order of importance. Make three or four groupings based on importance.Within each group, star the things you least like to do.Each day you will have a "today" list to work on. Tackle the tasks thatare most important first. If you have several "most important" tasks onyour list, take on the least liked things in that grouping before you dothe better liked ones. When you have accomplished a task, check it off.You'll be surprised what a good feeling you have when you check things off.What a sense of accomplishment! It's an incentive to do the next task onthe list. When you have completed the tasks in the first grouping, beginon the list of next importance. Again do the starred items in that groupfirst. Keep on checking things off as you get them done.Do you see what is happening? You get the most pressing, least liked tasksout of the way early in the day when you are fresh and rested. As the daygoes on you will feel less and less pressure. You have reserved the lessimportant tasks for the end of the day when you will be more tired.With this system you will have not only increased your efficiency but alsoreduced some of the stress in your day. Stress can get in the way ofefficiency. Your new efficiency will help you develop your potential. Itis, in fact, a part of living up to your potential.Another important part of efficiency is in delegating work. If you are ina position where you have assistants or designated people under yoursupervision, you need to learn to delegate. If you are not in such aposition yet, you still need to know - since you're working on developingyour potential you very likely will be some day.Delegating work is difficult for many people. Some find it hard to askothers to do things for them - others find it hard not to demand thatothers do tasks. Delegating is an art.First, you need to realize that the people under your supervision arePEOPLE. Seldom, if ever, should you demand - that takes away self respect.In order to achieve a happy and co-operative crew, you need to help thembuild self-respect and self-confidence. A happy and co-operative crew isan asset to you. Demands do not promote self-respect and co-operation.Oh, it's probably effective to demand in the short run - but in the longrun you will be better off to gain co-operation without demanding.People who are asked to do a task, are given explanations and clearinstructions, and are praised for a job well done will grow inself-respect. They will also respect you as a good supervisor. If youhesitate to ask for their assistance, your crew will feel that you do nottrust them or have faith in their abilities. This affects theirself-respect and, as a reaction, will affect their respect for you, aswell.When you delegate work, don't delegate just the "junk" tasks. Your crewneeds to be given some important tasks to do as well as unimportant ones.The important task gives them a sense of the respect you have for them andthe faith you have in their abilities. It's a good idea to save some"junk" tasks for yourself. Perhaps the most respected and effective bossis the one about whom the crew says, "She never gives us anything to dothat she wouldn't do herself." Why? Because, by her actions the boss issaying that, though her position is above theirs, she is still just "plainpeople."Delegation of tasks is important because you can gain in effectiveness andget more done if you properly supervise a crew. Don't feel embarrassed orhesitant about delegating work. If it helps you to shine, it helps yourcrew shine, too. A well-run, effective department is a credit to the wholeteam. With proper delegating, you can help your crew achieve theirpotential as well as achieving your own.All of us have untapped potential - perhaps even areas of genius - that wehave neglected to develop. Whether your concept of success has to do withbusiness, love, friendship, sports, a combination of these or somethingelse, more fully developing your potential will help you achieve yourgoals. If you can learn to assess your potential, set realistic goals,and go after those goals with determination, organization, and purpose, youwill use your potential more fully, gain confidence, and be a happier and more successful person.

Make Money at Home.

HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE WITH CLASSIFIED ADSAre you ready to make money - lots of it? Can you spare a little time and just a few dollars? If you are prepared to fulfill your dreams and realize your goals, mail order classified ads are your ticket to success.You have what it takes - right now. Classifieds are the best dollar-for-dollar return in advertising, and you can earn a high profit on your product investment. Classified ads are the easiest to write, the easiest to place, and cost the least. They require only a simple follow-up, and bring in hundreds of dollars of sales.People read classified ads for a purpose. They aren't interrupted - as in most advertising - and are specifically looking for products, services and information that appeal to them. As well-placed classified ads will bring hundreds - thousand - of replies month after month, year after year.You don't have to have a special background to make money with mail order classifieds. Any beginner can realize a steady second income or develop a stable, full-time business through classified ads.But you have to be persistent. You must WANT TO MAKE MON_EY, and be willing to stick with it. If you do, you will find that being successful is easy - just follow the steps, one by one, climbing the ladder to the top.WHAT SHOULD I SELL?Take a look at the classified ads in the magazines and tabloids you read. They are filled with offers for services, products and information. And they sound good. The ads show enthusiasm about the materials being offered.What gets you going? There are many things you find of special interest constantly. Could you offer those for sale? Do you have a special trade or service that can be conducted by mail? Maybe you have a product to distribute, such as stamps or coins, a timesaving gadget, or a do-it-yourself kit. Or perhaps you can tap into wholesale or surplus goods that you can sell at a good profit. Bargains are always in demand.The most successful type of mail order product is INFORMATION. Specialized information in the form of ideas, money-savers of self-improvement can be easily produced on a low budget and readily SOLD AT A HUGE PROFIT.Information in the form of how to make or do something is a constant best-seller. People are always looking for simpler, or cheaper, or better ways to improve their crafts. What can you offer?THE 2-STEP APPROACHThe proven method of selling mail order items of information is called the two-step approach. Basically, you place a short classified ad in the back of a magazine or tabloid. The ad does not mention price, but tells the reader to write for free details. Once you have an inquiry, you then send information concerning what you have to offer, and watch those orders pile in. Essentially, a mail order classified ad buys a name and potential business. It may just break even with the actual orders placed. The real money comes from subsequent sales.Profit begins at the second sale and gets bigger and bigger as the sales continue.WHY NOT CHARGE IN THE CLASSIFIED?You'll get far more responses from an ad for free information than you will for gods - at any price. And, since you want a POTENTIAL BUYER, you'll have more inquiries for materials you want to sell later. Charging a small fee to cover postage or the cost of the inquiry will never make you break even - people won't be bothered. And a small fee doesn't necessarily weed out non-buyers. If you find your classified is pulling people who aren't interested in your offer, you can change the advertisement to be more specific as to what you really have for sale.WHERE TO PLACE CLASSIFIEDSThe best advice in placing classifieds is to follow the leader. Find where other goods in your category are being sold and do the same. The mail order business is not a place to be real different - especially as a beginner. Although your product must have an appeal different than the others. Stay with the pack and advertise in the same publications.Look for repeat business. You can review back issues of publications at your library or buy some copies of the publications you might advertise in. If a certain ad has appeared time after time, you can bet it's a winner.Write for the details of some of the offers similar to the one you have. You might even purchase a sample product or two so you can get a good feeling for what is being offered, how the ads run, and what kind of prices are successful.If you have a specific product or information that is appropriate to a specialized type of magazine, check out all the magazines of that topic. Which publication carries most of the ads? What is the circulation of the of the publication? A magazine with a higher circulation may cost more to place a classified, but bargain rate publication won't be the best investment if they don't bring the inquiries.Consider your dollar-for-dollar inquiry. How many people may read your advertisement for the cost it takes to place the ad? Many products have special seasons, and classified ads are no different. December generally returns varied responses because of the holiday season, and is not a good month to include in your testing. The summer months are generally slower for classified responses and mail order packages. The best time to try your ads are the fall, winter and spring months.WHAT IS TESTING?The most important element in mail order advertising is to test. Not only do you need to find out if your product will sell, but you have to find out what the best price is.You have to test the magazines. One may not draw as many responses as another. Or, after three months, it may not seem to pull at all. Then switch to another publication. You may try several publications at the same time with the same ad to be able to judge which has the best dollar-for-dollar response.Don't be too hasty in dropping a publication, however. Sometimes it takes the repeat insertions of three or four months to get the proper percentage of responses. People become more secure with a repeat ad, or they may pass it by the first or second time until they get around to writing for information.Other things you will be testing are the type of inquiry and the response package that contains a sales letter and brochure. You'll also need to test the frequency and number of times to continue mailings after you have a good customer list.Testing is the name of the game - and this is where you need perseverance. Don't get discouraged. GIVE IT A TRY. Because of the low cost of placing classifieds, it's worth it to keep it going. YOU CAN PROFIT.TYPES OF ADSThere are three types of classified ads - qualified, partially qualified, and blind.The qualified ad is specific. It includes several details to inform the reader about what you are selling. The people who respond to highly qualified ads usually are specifically interested, and produce the best quality prospects with the highest percentage of sales. Since the ad may be a few words longer, it is the most expensive to place.The partially qualified ad offers a special benefit, such as money or self-improvement. The readers have some idea of what you are offering, but don't know the specifics.Blind ads offer only the few details, are inexpensive to run because they are short, and bring in the largest response. However, blind ads product the lowest percentage of actual orders because they are often answered just out of curiosity.The best place to start is - you guessed - the middle. A partially qualified ad is a good test ad. It doesn't need to be specific about your product, so it brings in inquiries that can be used over and over for related items. You can rewrite it with more details or trim it down later.What's the best guideline? PROFIT. If you compare the actual orders received from the number of inquiries for each of your ads, you have the rate of conversion. Aim for the ads which pull best for you.KEYING THE ADDRESSHow do you determine what inquiry response cam e form which ad? You code the company name or street address so you can determine what ad pulled the response. This is called keying the address, and it's one of the most important tips in mail order classified advertising.The simple key is a two-part letter and number code. The letter stands for the name of the publication, and the number represents the month the ad appeared. You can make up any code as long as you keep track of what publication it appeared in. You can add the key to the address by hyphenating the street address to include the code. Or you can key the company name by adding specific initials.The surest way to key is to add the code to the address in the form of department, division, or suite number. Be careful it doesn't conflict with any other addresses nearby.WRITING CLASSIFIEDSWriting your own copy for a classified ad is easy. There are so few words you need to use that you don't have to worry about being a writer or a professional in advertising. You are your own expert in selling your product.The selection of words is the most important aspect of classified ad copy. You need to choose precisely, by don't skimp on words to save the cost in the ad.The best way to prepare copy is to first write about your product or service at length. Go ahead - list all the benefits. Scrutinize the features and write them down. What sticks out? What is so great about your product? What can it do for the reader who will take the time to write for more information? How can your product help? Will it show how to earn money, does it offer self-improvement, can it help accomplish something appealing and significant?Choose a heading that points out the most significant aspect or feature of your product. Follow up with a few words or details, and finish with a request to write for more information. The best word in a classified is "free," but you must follow up with something free.SAVE MONEY PLACING ADSMost classified ads are billed a certain charge per word, so you want to keep your words important and precise. Once you have written your ad, take a closer look at it. Can you eliminate extra words without changing the meaning?You might be able to delete conjunction such as "and," articles like "the," "a," and "an," or prepositions like "for," "with," or "from." Perhaps you can contract your company name into initials or use just one word.Each part of your address counts as one word: the number; the street name; the street aspect (boulevard, avenue); the key (if separate); the city; and the state. Many publishers let you include the zip code free of charge.Use figures rather than words for numbers, but don't use contractions or abbreviate. You have to pay for each word in full, so spell them out completely. That way you'll get no confusion when people place orders.RESPONDING TO INQUIRIESOnce you start getting responses from the classified ads, you should send out your sales literature immediately, definitely within one week. The goal is to convert the inquiry into a sale and convert the sale into PURE PROFIT.Your sales literature can be a one-page pitch for your product. It doesn't have to be an expensive color catalog. As you get going, you may prepare a sales package and a series of follow-up offers.You can't tell from the type of inquiry whether the person is a buyer or not. Postcards or letters are potential profit makers for you. What's important is to MAKE A SALE.Type the person's name and address on a label and make at least three carbon copies of these labels to use for subsequent mailings. Your second sales packet should be mailed a month after the inquiry was received, and another month after that.Follow-up sales are where you are going to MAKE YOUR FOR_TUNE. Your classified draws the inquiries, the first order establishes a good customer, and the rest of the orders are pure gold. Testing is the only way to find which plan works best for you in getting orders. You'll need to find out which sales packet works best, and how often to make mailings.THE RESPONSE PACKAGEA typical mail order package - called a conversion - consists of a personal letter, a brochure, an order form, and a return envelope. How elaborate you wan to make your conversion depends on how successful your product seems to be selling and how much money you want to invest.Always start small. A simple one-page offer can work as well as a fancy catalog. After you've built up a few good selling product, you might print up a single page brochure or catalog. Even at that, you don't have to go to color unless your product warrants it.You don't need an advertising agency to put together your sales packet, but you can use one if you want. Be sure to investigate the type of agency and what it can do for you. You should have an agency with a proven background in mail advertising, and you must take a good look at what has already been produced. Talk with clients and see if the agency pulled through for them.Why don't you need an ad agency? Because you can produce all the sales literature you need. You are the best sales person for your product because YOU KNOW IT. If you have done the proper research, you have already found out what the competition is, how much their products cost, and what sales appeals they are sending out. As in placing and writing classified ads, do what the competition is doing. Although you shouldn't - and can't, legally - take directly from them, you certainly can copy the format and general ideas they project.If somebody has been selling something successfully for years, do the same thing. Adapt your product to fit. Of course, you can't convert a sales pitch for surplus goods to an appeal for a self-improvement book, but take notice of WHAT SELLS PRODUCTS.HOW TO PREPARE SALES LITERATUREThe sales letter promotes you as well as your product. It is a personal appeal to a potential buyer. You want the person to feel special and have a reason not only to look through the rest of the literature, but TO BUY YOUR PRODUCT.The appearance of the sales letter is the most important aspect. It should be on company letterhead, cleanly printed, and inviting to read. Although it can be any length, it doesn't have to be more than one page. But it must be double-spaced and typewritten in clear, easy-to-read type.The most effective sales letters are printed in two colors. The second color offers eye appeal and provides emphasis in selling the benefits of your products. The most inexpensive way to product two-color is to print black on two-color letterhead. You may use the second color in alternate paragraphs, or as special paragraphs, indented to catch the eye. Blue, red or green type is harder to read, so keep the second color areas short and important to the reader.Other effective ways to use a second color are as handwritten remarks in the margins of the sales letter, as underlines, and in the signatures.Write the sales letter as though you're writing to a friend - keep it direct and personal. Present yourself and your product as worthwhile, honest and desirable.The beginning of the letter should have a lead line similar to a classified ad. It emphasizes the benefits of the product and points out the strongest appeal.Don't be tempted to use two or three appeals in a row. Choose only one and save the next best ones to try on other sales letters as you test the results.Follow through on the appeal, amplifying WHY the product is desirable. Emphasize its value to the reader. Build credibility. Will it make me a better, or richer, or more secure person? Can it prevent worry, poverty, illness? Why should anyone want to have it? You might admit what the product won't do, then present several positive aspects, stating what it will do.In the next section, mention price and immediately talk about the money-back guarantee. The reader will be more convinced the product will do all you claim if you are willing to stand by your product enough to offer a full refund.Finally, restate the major benefits or feature of the product and push for the order. If you are offering a special premium for ordering immediately, state it here. Include a good reason for why the person should not wait, but ORDER NOW.ORDER FORMSIf you have only a one-page sales pitch, you need to provide space for an order form. It should be well-defined by a line or dotted line around it, and should be large enough for someone to write in the information. If you plan to send out a complete packet with sales letter and brochure, print up separate order forms.Mention the benefit, the product name, and the guarantee. You might want to use the first person in pushing for the order. For example, "Yes! Please rush me my..." Include the price on the card, perhaps in a manner such as, "I enclose my check for $ ."Provide adequate space for the name and address with long lines to write on. You may also want to place a key if you are using more than one sales appeal.PRINTING A BROCHUREPreparing a brochure or sales catalog is not as difficult as it may seem. It doesn't have to be a glossy, four-color fancy booklet. You can send out even a one-page description of the product and an appeal for ordering.The brochure or sales catalog is the visual representation of your product. It emphasizes the features rather than the benefits, and goes into detail about the product. Think about what you're selling. What are the best points of sale? If it's printed information, what is the format-size, number of pages, hardcover or soft. Is the author a well-known authority? How is this a better deal than another of the same subject?If you're selling a product, maybe you'll need to include the colors available, sizes, or the type of materials. Or emphasize the clear, easy-to-follow instructions that are included. When you get stuck, just look at all the other catalogs and compare. What information is included? Follow suit.The important aspect of a brochure is the use of illustrations. Again, these don't need to be series of four-color photographs. Although photos are very good ways to sell goods, don't bother to use anything that is less than excellent in quality. Be careful if you want to use a model. Remember, you WANT TO SELL.An excellent way to illustrate your product is with simple lithe drawings. Even if you cannot prepare the final artwork, you probably can think of what you want and how to place it on the page. Local yellow pages, newspaper ads, typesetters and printers are good places to find an artist to do the final work at a reasonable price.Once you have a good idea about the size and scope of your brochure, you're ready for the rough layout. And this is easy. Just pretend you're an artist. That's right - you don't have to draw to do a rough layout. Pencil in the type for the heading. You can do a stick figure sketch of a line drawing or indicate the size of the photograph. Draw lines to indicate the body copy.Write out all the words for the brochure in accurate, clean typewritten copy. Don't forget anything that will be printed, and don't misspell anything. Then take it to a typesetter or printer. Printers usually can work with you to help choose the type style, size and particulars about the layout. Or, they may know artists or designers who can help you for a small fee. They usually work closely with a few typesetters, but you work directly with a typesetter to have the type put into final form.MAILINGYou can obtain a bulk rate permit at the post office if you send out at least two hundred identical pieces at a time. They must be presorted for destination. The bulk rate cost is lower, but it takes much longer for the mail to be delivered.The most important aspect to mailing your sales literature is the quality of the list of people you are sending it to. A brilliant sales piece won't work it if is not sent to the right people. That's why you must be clear when you place your original classified ad, and that's why you need to test which heading to use and how many details to include.Your own mailing list is the best one, because - since you keyed the responses - you know what these people responded to. You have already profiled the potential buyer, you have already written a sales piece aimed at that buyer, and YOU WILL MAKE MONEY from that buyer.Although you can buy or rent lists of names and addresses form list broker, you can never by sure how well the list will respond to your sales package. If you need more names, just place more classified ads. Test different headings, test different magazines, and test different products.KEEPING RECORDSIt is extremely important to keep accurate records in mail order. It is only through these record sheets that you can determine which ad pulls the best, which advertising lead is the most enticing, and how well your product is selling. Good records are the follow up of good testing.Keep copies of all ads and conversion material in a three-ring binder or scrapbook. You may also include in that book - or a separate folder - a record of all the keys you have used. The separate sheets of records per key or publication will help you be able to compare which ads are bringing in the profits.You can make your own record sheet with a pen and ruler. Then have a few photocopied. You'll need a separate sheet for each ad you place. At the top of the sheet, place the name of the publication the ad appeared in; the issue number or date; the date the issue was placed on sale; the address key; the size and cost of the ad; which ad you used; the price of the product; and - to be calculated later - the profit.The main body of the record sheet has two main categories: inquiries and sales. First, the number of days should be listed in a column at the left. These don't necessarily coincide with the days of the month, rather start with the first days responses came in. The subheads under "inquiries" should be: date received, number received, running total. the subheads under "orders" should be number of orders received, running total, cash sales, and running total for cash sales.These record sheets will help you to figure out the responses to classified ads, orders from sales literature, and how much money you are making.To calculate the cost per inquiry, divide the cost of the ad into the number of inquiries received.To fine the cost per order, add the total cost of mailing the sales packets to the cost of the ad and divide that by the number of orders received.The ratio of conversion is the number of orders compared to the number of inquiries. For example, if you get twenty orders from one hundred inquiries, the conversion is twenty percent.HOW TO CALCULATE PROFITTotal the amount of cash sales. That is your gross profit. Subtract the cost of the product. Subtract the cost of the product. Subtract the cost of mailing. Subtract the cost of conversion and the cost of the ad. That is your net profit, the one that counts. Just stick with it, and you can WATCH THAT PROFIT GROW bigger and bigger each ad, each conversion, each sale.EXPANDING AND GROWING RICHEROver the years, good buyers purchase many times your initial investment in classified ad space. A first buyer indicates a second sale; after that, you have a regular customer who may purchase for years.Promote the field of interest you've selected - don't expand into separate areas. Cultivating your prime customer list takes patience and testing, but you'll find it rewarding.Perhaps you started with one product to offer and are ready to try another. You can run new, separate classified ads in the magazines that have tested successfully to your other offer. And, you can use your list to send out sales literature for the new offer. Regular mailings depend on the number of items you have, the size of your list, and your budget. But follow through is very important.Maybe you are at the stage of printing a small, two page catalog/brochure that offers five to ten products. You can mail this out to the inquiries from classifieds, or you can use any combination of one-page offers you have used in the past. Always run with what sell. Drop anything that pulls no response as soon as you've given it a fair test.EXTRA APPEALSOnce you get rolling with your mail order business, you can try any number of incentives to solicit orders. You can offer a free gift - or free anything - certificates, coupons, fabulous prizes.You might offer a sample, a trial period, or a special guarantee. One way to push for an order is to indicate that the supply is limited or you won't stock a certain item for long. Time limitations will elicit quicker responses. You may offer one price until a certain time and then indicate an increase after that.A successful way to push for large orders is to offer a discount on the larger orders. That way, it is worthwhile to order two or more items - for you because it's more business and more profit in mailing and handling, and for the customer because it is at a reduced price.What do the other mail order businesses do? What kind of incentives do they use? As always, check with the competition. What has proven successful to them probably will work for you too. What kind of "special" offer you can make to push for larger, quicker or more frequent orders?SATISFACTION GUARANTEEDNot only must you print a guarantee in all your ads and sales literature, but you must honor it. Never send inferior merchandise; never take a chance on faulty mailers or guess lower on postage. Deliver a complete product.It is only through satisfied customers that you will get repeat business, and it is through repeat business that you MAKE MORE MONEY.Don't try to get away with anything less than you promote and stand by all claims you make. Honor requests for refunds promptly and politely. A customer satisfied with your honesty remains a good buyer and may purchase from your later offers.MAKING MORE FROM A WINNERYou've got a successful product. The conversion for orders is high, refunds are low, and the draw form the classified ad is great. How can you make more money - even if you think you've saturated your market?The easiest way to increase your inquiries is to run another ad in the same publication with a different heading. If the classified section is large, you might request one to be placed at the beginning, the other towards the end. Although several clever readers will notice the same address, it still draws a significant number of inquiries in. This technique is also good for copy testing to see which heading will draw the most response. Be sure to key each ad separately and keep accurate records.Maybe you have two or more products that you want to advertise separately. This is a good way to do it without going to other publications. Again, key addresses, and be extra careful to respond properly to the inquiries.YOU AND THE LAWYou do not need a special federal or state permit to operate a mail order business. The material you sell must be legitimate however, and you cannot be deceptive or misleading in claims or advertising.If you offer something "free," it must be free, and all claims concerning money must be honored.If you use testimonials in advertising, they must be real and available to investigation. Frauds are discovered and are prosecuted.The federal and state governments require you to report all income, but you certainly can take every legal deduction. Once you make a good deal of money, it's often worth every penny to have an accountant fill in your forms. If your income warrants it, you will be expected to pay income tax quarterly.Most states now have sales tax, so you'll have to find out the regulations concerning the collection and payment of these fees. An advantage to this, however, is that you can get a state resale number and may not have to pay state sales tax on some of the items you need for your business.If you keep accurate records and report the proper information to the authorities, you'll have no problems.ACT NOWClassified ads are the best way to make a high income return from limited sources. You can buy the extras you've wanted, send yourself on an exotic vacation - even create a profitable yearly income.One of the best aspects of this type of enterprise is that the number of successes increase as the number of errors decrease. You learn as you go along and YOU PROFIT CONSTANTLY.Cultivate positive thought. As you can see, there is nothing difficult, costly or extremely risky in making good money from classified ads. What is the best way to get started?Thousands of people have earned a comfortable income from classified ads - with great happiness and contentment in their own business. You can succeed too, if you make up your mind that you want to. Faith is simply a state of mind, but it has been proven that state of mind can CHANGE DESIRE INTO REAL MONEY. There's no better time to get started.