That thing you do - whatever it is - is your expertise. You know more than the average person about your occupation whether you’re in sales, marketing, production, distribution… doesn’t matter. You know more than most people about it. Surprisingly, this edge may be all you need to get an article published in an appropriate trade magazine! (It’s easy to publish on line, but it’s something else to see your name printed on dead trees. It’s heavy, man.)

“Euw! I hate to write - I can’t.” Save it. Yes, you can write about what you do. Why would you want to? Hinted above (the heaviness) of being published on paper can be an excellent branding/marketing tool. When people in your own industry see your byline, you gain immediate credibility, attention and respect. The potential of getting print published is highly likely to pay off as a lofty component of your reputation.

Here’s a good place to consider whether writing is for you.

But the best tip of all is this closely guarded secret: Magazines need ink! Many are actively seeking and enormously welcoming of an article contributed by someone in their field. I know this for a fact. Don’t delude yourself that they have great mountains of wonderful, professionally written articles just sitting around. Call an editor. Odds are, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Writing is a creative art. Writing for others is a commercial science, I suppose - similar to the difference between fine artist and commercial artist. Writers are always writing to some audience, but the difference is, you hire a writer to speak on your behalf to your audience. Tough assignment, because for your writer to have a shot at success, you have to not only carefully explain who your target audience is, but also the message you want to convey. Many many many people believe if they can do that much, they might as well just go ahead and write it themselves. That’s why there is so much terrible writing everywhere.

The commercial artist/designer suffers when the client ties one arm behind his back. “No black, it has to be shaped like a square and the text must be yellow in this X font…….” You don’t need an artist/designer, you need a tracing machine. Do people hire an attorney, then proceed to choose the applicable statutes for the litigation? Do you hire a doctor, then proceed to dictate what tests you will not undergo?

To work with writers, here’s some help. First this article concisely delineates the different types of writers. Then, this site explores some of the abstract difficulties of working with a writer. But, no matter who you work with, when you hire someone for his expertise, please don’t pick him or her to death - that’s a sure fire way to get crap results, even as you are torturing a fellow human. Creatives are fragile folk! Some just pretend better than others.

Most entrepreneurs live in a very fast paced environment filled with mind-boggling problems and difficult decisions to make every single day. At some point, we barely have time to stop, relax, and assess the big picture. If you fit this description, let me share a story with you about a woodcutter…

A man was struggling in the woods to saw down a tree. An old farmer came by, watched for a while, then quietly said, “What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see?” the man impatiently replied, “I’m sawing down this tree.”

“You look exhausted,” said the farmer. “How long have you been at it?”

“Over five hours, and I’m beat,” replied the man. “This is hard work.”

“That saw looks pretty dull,” said the farmer. “Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen it? I’m sure it would go a lot faster.”

“I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” the man says emphatically. “I’m too busy sawing!”

This classic productivity story came from the infamous book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. In short, we should take time out to renew our energy and come back strong. It’s more of working smart rather than working hard. Here are some simple things you can do to sharpen your saw:

1. Take a long vacation and spend more time with your family or friends
2. Read business books and listen to
3. audio books to improve your skills
4. Get a good night sleep
5. Take power naps during breaks
6. Eat the right food
7. Exercise regularly to improve your physical well-being
8. Stick to your schedule
9. Listen to classical or chillout music
10. Meditate or take time to be alone to contemplate about your life and business
11. Clean your office
12. Clear your e-mail inbox
13. Study different skills (preferably not related to your small business)
14. Maintain a journal or diary for all your rants and raves
15. Solve complex puzzles or crosswords
16. Talk with intelligent people
17. Take time to laugh
18. Engage in sports and other recreational activities

We have this popular dictum that excellent salespeople are made, not born. In reality, it is easier said than done. Some of us come from different technical backgrounds and don’t have much experience in selling. Others are introvert by nature and might not have good people skills.

Although there are many selling tactics and exercises to help us become effective sales person, it is very important that we change our attitude first before anything else. Otherwise, all these trainings and lessons will not work. Some of the things we need to improve on include:

1. Patience. Selling is similar to a tree for it takes time to grow. We can’t be very successful salespeople overnight. We should be patient to learn each lesson and not too eager to get ahead.
2. Hard work and persistence. Don’t believe those e-books claiming they know the 150 powerful secrets to closing sales in less than 5 minutes. There are no secrets at all. What we have are basic selling strategies, practice, practice, and a lot more practice. You have to rely on hard work and persistence if you want to be effective.
3. Being objective all the time. A good salesperson should always be open to suggestions and criticisms from other people. You should not blindly believe your product is effective even if your customers are saying it’s not.

For entrepreneurs, negotiation is a powerful skill we need to master to get better results like lower supply price, longer payment period, or additional discounts. As one master negotiator, Chester Karrass, said, “In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.”

What would you do then if you find yourself dealing with a more skilled negotiator? In this critical situation, here are additional negotiation tips to help you out:

1. Work with experts. If you are dealing about legal or financial matters but you don’t have enough knowledge or experience, it would be a great help to partner with experts in these fields. Although you need to shell out money, this will give you enough leverage to haggle more effectively.
2. Be prepared all the time. Don’t feel cocky and relaxed even if you already commissioned an expert to handle the negotiations. It is important that you still do your research and cover all possible arguments.
3. Use the mirror strategy. Based on a new research, mimicking the mannerisms of the other party is proven effective in closing the deals more effectively. Get more details at Business Pundit.

When pitching to potential investors, customers and employees, a number of entrepreneurs focus more on what they need to say and less on how to say it. But do you know that our tone can boost or bust our business?

Yes, a monotonous voice sometimes denotes lack of passion or even commitment. This will definitely not win you any funding or close any sale. Although not everyone is given the gift of gab, there are still some things you can do to improve your vocal approach:

Pitching is something you should learn even before you start your business or present to VCs. It will take some time and lot of effort before you can get a standing ovation.

Blurbs, client testimonials, and quotes are a great way to promote yourself or your book as you let the clients and readers do the talking. No worries about sounding like a braggart. But there are good, bad, and tricky testimonials.

“This is a great book!”

“Joe did an excellent job on the project!”

Do these tell you anything? These are empty and generic quotes. Here’s one that’s an example of a tricky testimonial, but you wouldn’t know it:

“Jane is very reliable.”

This tells part of the story. The rest of the story… “Jane is very reliable in arriving late for work every day.” Makes it easy for someone who didn’t like the person’s work to avoid saying something bad. But in most cases, the employee wouldn’t use such a person as a referral.

When reading book reviews in Amazon or elsewhere, you can tell which ones might be friends of the author’s. They’re short and empty. They tell you nothing about the book. It’s better not to have a testimonial than one like this. What if a big name wrote this kind of blurb? The blurb is useless in terms of convincing you to buy the book, but the author’s association with the person could convince some people to buy it (that old “It’s who you know.”).

When asking for a testimonial after the person agreed to supply one, ask the person to answer this results-oriented question and the testimonial will more likely be valuable.

“What has [product or service] helped you achieve?”

Or, if it’s too soon to know the answer to this, ask for a testimonial about the process of working with the company. How well they did in meeting deadlines, how well they did meeting requirements, and so on.

You can make your testimonials more credible if you include one that’s not positive. Why would you want to include that? It shows you’re honest and human. But why would we want to show our weaknesses? Everyone has weak areas and we might as well as be up front about them and earn credibility points.

About the author

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl.net, helping companies build relationships with clients and prospects through content.

The online world made it possible for me to become a full-time freelancer. All of my clients come from outside of my home state. Here are examples of where I met clients and people online:

Through blogs (especially in earlier days). We bloggers left comments or sent emails to each other. Over time, we learned about each other and became friends.

Through an interview. I found the client because I interviewed (by email, of course) a co-worker of his who connected us.

Through referrals. Two other clients come from referrals from someone I met on the Internet - one through his blog and the other from working on a Web site together. An online networking group, also brought in more clients and friends.

Through searches. One gig came from the editor’s using the search engine to find me. He did a great job because my experience fit well with what he needed.

Obviously, the Internet offers many routes for meeting people and finding gigs (emphasis on gigs as the chance of finding a full-time job is only about 8% as reported in a career-related column). The following lists ways to meet others online:

• Blogs: Leave a comment and link to another person’s entry from yours.
• Forums and email mailing groups: Join discussions.
• Email newsletters: As an editor, I respond to all reader emails and survey feedback.
• Online groups: Mailing list and forum discussions.
• Web site: One that’s content-rich and frequently updated (this is where a blog or blogging-tool can help).
• Emails: Contacting people. Compliment a writer on an article. Congratulate a business on a recent success.
• Articles: One of my first freelance gigs came from a guy who contacted me based on an article I wrote. There, I met another editor and we recently connected and helped each other.
• Chats: You might attend a chat where there’s a guest. Usually chats are secondary — meaning you meet the person some other way before you talk in instant messenger.

You never know who you’ll meet through the Internet. Interact with the virtual world — you never know who you meet.

About the author

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl.net, helping companies build relationships with clients and prospects through content.

SitePoint Newsletter and forums have an interesting discussion on clients who don’t respond or are slow to respond. Most businesses can count on running into clients who don’t respond or respond slowly.

A client wanted me to write his web content and we went back and forth on that. She asked for samples, I sent them. She asked questions. I replied. The next step was for her to get all info together that she has available and send that to me. Still waiting. In normal circumstances, I’d follow up with the client every couple of weeks. However, this isn’t a project high on my list so I haven’t pushed it. My choice. If the client follows up, I’ll be ready and willing.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked with a few web designers to get my web site updated. Almost every single one of them stopped following up in spite of my sending messages every few weeks. The job was theirs to lose. But perhaps, they felt the way I did about the aforementioned client… not a high priority project. That’s OK. Rather than leaving me on hold (since I was waiting on them), I’d appreciate their letting me know they can’t do the project so I can find someone else.

I read an article somewhere about a freelancer in the same boat. She continued to follow up and she continued to market with her email newsletter. Eventually, the client did call her and hire her. She stayed in his mind with her email newsletters. Sometimes the timing isn’t right. Keep your eyes open for business opportunities even when you have a full load because you never know when a great opportunity comes along. Besides, by the time the client is ready, you might have finished a couple of projects and have a lighter load.

Keep working, keep marketing, and keep following up.

About the author

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl.net, helping companies build relationships with clients and prospects through content. She is the author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook.

Telecommuting, also known as working from home using an Internet connection, is growing business trend. Entrepreneur Daily mentioned that 73 percent of remote and home-based workers said they’re satisfied with the company they work for. There’s also a Senate Bill focused on telecommuting for SMBs (Small/ Medium Business).

The question is, are you ready to implement this system in your own small business? To help you answer this question, let me lay down the advantages to your business of telecommuting:

4 Major Advantages

Who Should Telecommute?

Not all employees in your business can take this option. Commonly, this system is applicable to writers, salespeople, researchers, public relations professionals, and architects. With the use of VoIP technology, even phone-based tasks can be outsourced.

Qualities Needed

Even if your employees are technically qualified, you should assess first if they have adequate self-discipline to deal with any distractions at home, the ability to make their own decisions on small matters, and enough drive to deliver results.