Issue September 2003 - Washington DC     "Keeping Businesses Moving Towards Success"

Editor's Note

Your business should be in full swing as Fall gets underway.  This time of year is perfect to get motivated and get going. I'm sure everyone has some special projects on the back burner and you really need to get started now so you can start seeing profits. There is a saying that is perfect in its accuracy and especially true for small business - "If you keep on doing the same things....you'll keep on getting the same results." Be inspired...go out and do something new.

We've included some great articles this month to help you get motivated and some helpful ideas on effective advertising and selling. Check out our recommended resources for your business needs.

Be sure to watch for our next issue in which you will find marketing tips, sales strategies, and business services that will help you succeed in your business endeavors. Good luck and enjoy!  Please feel free to forward this page to an associate.

Determine What Is Important To You In A Health Plan

In choosing a plan, you have to decide what is most important to you. All plans have tradeoffs. Ask yourself these questions:

• How comprehensive do I want coverage of health care services to be?
  

• How do I feel about limits on my choice of doctors or hospitals?
  

• How do I feel about a primary care doctor referring me to specialists for additional care?
  

• How convenient does my care need to be?
  

• How important is the cost of services?
  

• How much am I willing to spend on premiums and other health care costs?
  

• How do I feel about keeping receipts and filing claims?

You might also want to think about whether the services a plan offers meet your needs. Call the plan for details about coverage if you have questions. Consider:

• Life changes you may be thinking about, such as starting a family or retiring.
  

• Chronic health conditions or disabilities that you or family members have.
  

• If you or anyone in your family will need care for the elderly.
  

• Care for family members who travel a lot, attend college, or spend time at two homes.

For the most comprehensive information on insurance benefits for your Washington DC area business contact Gerry Johnson at 703.941.9535. Or you can click here for more info.

Sales and Marketing Strategies In This Issue:

Clear Out Clutter  -  Use these four steps to clear out the clutter in your life and capture more time.

What's Your USP? - Some helpful advice to help your find your product or service's Unique Selling Point.

Advertising Know How  -  Learn what advertising can and cannot do for you. When should a small business use advertising?

Get Up Get Going - Sometimes you need some motivation to get started.  

"The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat."

By:  Napoleon Hill

directory of resources

Marketing Support -

 creativeBUSINESSworks

Number One Rated Web Sites - Save time searching through thousands of web sites.  Use this free web site to search the best of the web.

The Number One Web Site

Workplace Stress Reducer - Employees are so important to a company's success. Click here to learn how to improve the work place environment. 


The Small Business Marketing Bible  -  Tips, Tricks and Techniques to Help Your Small Business Grow

Make Contact. Build Relationships. Get Results. Check out ACT! 6.0 for 2004 today!

Group Health Insurance - Services for the Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia areas:  Johnson & Assocs.

FUN FACTS & TRIVIA:

• At birth a panda bear is smaller than a mouse.

• Pound for pound, hamburgers cost more than a new car.

• Annually, more people are killed by donkeys than by plane crashes.

• The tongue of a blue whale weighs more than an elephant.

• The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."

• Nine million other people share your birthday.

Monthly Riddle:

Helpful Links:

if you would like to help just click on the link: 

24,000 die of hunger each day.  Help The Hunger Site -    

The Hunger Site

Help fund mammograms for underprivileged women -

  The Breast Cancer Site

Help neglected animals - 

 The Animal Rescue Site

Customer Service

What do you do after you make the sale?  The key to being a great sales person is continually keeping in contact with customers. In doing so, you are building a relationship that can last for years.

Stay in contact by just saying hello, finding out if they need anything, or remembering them on a special day.  The little things mean a lot in customer relationship management.

Marketing Tip of The Month:  

Take Action To Get Results
Procrastination is the number one killer of success. Most people fall victim to it and put off even the best opportunities. Those are the people who will continue to struggle week to week, month to month. A year from today, they will still be struggling -- wondering why success has eluded them.