by Steve Johnsen, Cumulus Consulting 

Many experienced business owners are familiar with the rule of thumb that each of your employees should generate revenues (or value) equal to at least three times their salary. For a salesperson, that ratio should be even higher.

Whether or not you currently have employees, I am going to show you how to "hire" an employee that never sleeps, takes vacation, calls in sick, or asks for bonuses -- an employee who is totally dedicated to making you money, and who returns to you five, ten, twenty, fifty, or even 100 times what you spend on her or him. Sound too good to be true? It's not. That top-selling employee is your website.

Now, it is quite possible that your website is not performing that way for you right now. And I know it can be frustrating, as there are a lot of people promoting various Internet marketing gimmicks that may or may not work. I won't address those gimmicks. I will only address what I know actually works to bring your business profits.

Everything I share with my clients are things I've actually done successfully. In other words, I know that they work, and I know they will work for you.

I've been building successful websites for 17 years, and I have built a $4.5 million dollar software business using common-sense Internet marketing strategies. Let me share an example to help illustrate what I mean, and what you, too, can do to increase your business's profitability.

A few years back, I worked for a publishing company that had spent more than $25,000 building a website with an elaborate catalog. After all that effort, they were bringing in less than $1,000 a year in business from the site.

I created a new website for the company at a small fraction of the cost of their first site, and when the new site was launched, it made more than $100,000 in the first year...and kept on growing. This completely turned the company around. All of a sudden, for a small investment, they were getting a great return - in fact, in the first year alone they got back more than 20 times what they had invested.

So, what did I do exactly? The difference between the successful website and the unsuccessful one did not seem all that drastic (like I said, "common sense Internet marketing strategies")-but the difference in results was huge.

Now I'd like to share some common myths that hold small business owners back from achieving similar results.

3 Common Myths

Myth #1 - I need a website. You might say that you need a website, but I disagree. What you need is a profitable business. The website is simply a tool to achieve that goal. I would maintain that the only reason to build a business website is to make money. Therefore, in order to be successful, the website has to have a clear, realistic and business-oriented goal. Once the website has a clear purpose, it can be designed to accomplish that purpose.

Myth #2 - Websites are expensive. Websites are expensive only when they don't make you money. Unfortunately, for many small business owners, their website is a cost, not a revenue generator. This isn't a function of the price. A $500 website that does not make you any money costs too much. On the other hand, a $150,000 website that generates millions in profits for the business is entirely worthwhile.

Myth #3 - Looks are everything. (Warning! This is going to be the "technical" part of my article.) One reason the publishing company's first website was not successful was that the code the website was written in was too difficult for the search engines to index...so the web pages didn't get indexed. In other words, because it was hard for Google and Yahoo! to read their pages, the pages would never show up in search results. Many people do not realize that the design of a website is as important to its performance as paint color is to the performance of a sports car. I'm not saying that your website shouldn't look nice. It should. However, many people create an "invisible barrier" around their website because of the way it is built that prevents them from getting customers. It's what goes on "under the hood" that makes the website really effective.

The Power of Technology

Technology can be a wonderful tool for making your business extremely profitable. However, in my experience, the "Build it and they will come" approach to Internet marketing rarely pays off. Technology is much more effective when it is part of a comprehensive strategy. A website is much more profitable when it is part of a clear overall marketing strategy, and when there is a plan in place for continuing to grow your online business.

When you get a strategically built website in place, you have acquired a rare asset-your #1 employee-an employee totally dedicated to making you money, and who returns to you many times what you spent on it.

Questions? Comments? Feedback? I would really love to hear from you. You can email me at steve@cumulus-consulting.com, or contact me on my website, http://www.cumulus-consulting.com.

Wishing you the best of success in 2011,

About the Author: Steve Johnsen is the founder of Cumulus Consulting, which helps small-business clients build or turn around their businesses using technology. Mr. Johnsen has been using the Internet since its inception in the early 1980's, and has built many businesses, including two to the nearly $5-million mark. He has a unique understanding of how to join together technology and business strategy for superior growth results. Mr. Johnsen created Cumulus Consulting so he could bring these same successful and effective money-making strategies to other business owners. He also leads Denver's only "Power Strategies Boot Camp."

by Karen Schatz, Virtually With You

Those infamous words spoken by Clint Eastwood will forever be remembered by many of us.  In the movie "Dirty Harry", Clint challenges a robber in a diner, holding a gun to the waitress' head while Clint is holding a gun to the robber's head, and says "Go ahead, make my day."  What a great scene.   

 

In my story though, I didn't use those words to challenge anyone, I used that phrase to describe one of life's precious moments.  I was at Wal-Mart on Tuesday morning, and I did my usual walk-thru of the store, checked out and, as I was exiting the store, our store greeter (whom I shall refer to as Walter), walked up to me and said "You must be a parking ticket" in which I responded "Why?"  He said, "Because you have FINE written all over you".  I have to say, that was the best line I'd heard in a very LONG time.   

 

You might think that was in an inappropriate thing to say to me but you need to understand who Walter is to appreciate how he meant that compliment.  Walter is, I'm guessing, about 75 years young.  He's been working as our exit greeter for many years.  Walter LOVES his job and he loves bringing a smile to the customer's faces.  He purposely slows people down as they leave the store to tell them something funny and uplifting.  Walter is well loved and the customers who know him always look forward to his contagious smile and his funny compliments.  (IMO, he's the best reason for visiting our Wal-Mart.)

 

I left out of that store feeling Walter just "made my day".  One simple statement ... one simple compliment.  That's all it took.  I had the biggest smile on my face and in my heart.  I carried that memory with me all day.

 

I think about how busy "us" business owners are and how we rush through our days ... so busy sometimes, all we can do is think about the next task at hand, the next meeting to fly off to, the kids' schedules or the dinner that needs to be on the table by 6pm.  We usually go through our days feeling pressured and maybe even under appreciated.

 

Walter reminded me that a few kind words can change my perspective of my day.  It changed how I felt, how I acted and how I treated others.  It allowed me to slow down my pace that day and, ironically, I was able to get more accomplished that day than on some other days when I had "so much" to do.

 

So, if you are a "Walter" in life, keep spreading the joy that a word of encouragement or some funny complimentary statement can do to change someone's day.  And if you're like me, slow down and appreciate what others share with you ... it just might make your day!

About the Author: Karen Schatz is a Virtual Assistant who specializes in supporting her clients with their internet marketing efforts.  This includes shopping cart management, email campaign marketing, newsletter management, article submissions and social media marketing.  Visit www.VirtuallyWithYou.com to learn more about her services and sign up for her a fr'ee report, 101 Ways to Boost Business with a Virtual Assistant.